Pat, you are not complaining – just describing your life as it is now. I miss the planting, etc., I did in the yard too. But, my hubby sets up a table in the patio for me and brings me all of our flower pots, and I start planting in the pots - love it! Also, last spring was the first time I could go shopping for the flowers by myself. I used the carts they provide and they helped me, but I did the picking out and filling of the cart with the flowers. I may have to rest for a while after I do something like that, but that is okay. I am glad you moved closer to your family. There are a lot of pluses to that. Well, I have chatted enough. Talk to you later. Janice
From: Pat Cooley Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2013 11:28 AM To: Linda Egli Cc: tmic-list@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [TMIC] Tonight, Today, Tomorrow For me TM came 4-1/2 yrs ago. At that time, I had no health problems and was still working part-time which is what I wanted. In 2 days time, with TM I was unable to walk. After 6 weeks in rehab, I was able to use a walker and after 7 months was able to go back to my part-time job. I enjoyed the interaction with the people. I missed being able to go shopping and doing the everyday things. About 3 yrs ago, we relocated 150 miles away to be near my daughter and her family. Of course, I had to give up my part-time job. With TM and getting older, we thought it would be best to have family close. Believe it or not, I miss many of the things we did around the house. It was even difficult to use the vacuum because I have terrible balance. I miss being able to work in the yard. The house we bought has 8 acres of land and I can't even walk it to see what it looks like. I hate the fatigue after doing the simplest chore around the house. I miss being able to run in and out of the store to get something. It is a chore to get out of the car and walk into the store. I know it is simple things that I complain about, but to me it is a big thing to have to depend on other people. I have it so much better than a lot of us, but it still po's me. Boy when I re-read this, I sure sound like a complainer, which I guess I am. I don't want to complain around my family so I guess you are all my shoulder to cry on. Patti in Wisconsin On Sat, Jan 26, 2013 at 11:10 AM, Linda Egli <le...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: I lost a wonderful job working in a local Public Health Department. I had worked there for 12 years & loved every minute of the job. I went to the doctor with severe numbness & loss of motor function, I then saw a neurologist & after a 36 years as a nurse, my career was over. I left work that day & was never able to return - very hard to deal with & probably took 2-3 yeas to finally accept. I miss dancing; I was not the greatest but I enjoyed it. The main thing I miss now is only having partial use of my hands. About 2 years into TM I developed essential tremors in both hands (especially the right hand & I am right handed). I take Primidone but it really doesn't help a lot. The main thing that helps the tremors is alcohol & I can't drink every 4-6 hours, (but some days I try). Between the severe numbness & tremors, using my hands can be difficult. I had always enjoyed sewing, needlework, crocheting, scrap booking, & just anything involving arts & crafts. I got rid of 95% of my craft & sewing items because I could not stand not being able to use them (I had a whole room for crafts). I have found I can do jigsaw puzzles - the 3-D ones with larger foam pieces or a little crocheting if I keep it at 15 -20 minutes. I try to be positive as much as possible, knowing there are many people with much worse difficulty than me. On a good note, I have a wonderful supportive husband (helps with laundry & tries to help cooking), good medical coverage, & am able to afford someone in to help with the house 3 days weekly. Life is what you make of it. Linda E. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: john snodgrass <jcs...@yahoo.com> To: transverse myelitis <tmic-list@eskimo.com> Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2013 5:44 AM Subject: Re: [TMIC] Tonight, Today, Tomorrow i was a work-a-holic i sure miss that! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: "heyjude48...@aol.com" <heyjude48...@aol.com> To: tmic-list@eskimo.com Cc: heyjude48...@aol.com Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 10:32 PM Subject: [TMIC] Tonight, Today, Tomorrow Hi everybody, Tonight, sitting here doing nothing, I'm wondering how Transverse Myelitis has affected your life. What has it stolen from you. Maybe everything, maybe nothing. I'm sure it is a personal thing. Some people choose to focus on life and believe that everything in life happens for a reason. I love life and refuse to let TM steal one minute. Life is made up of many joyous moments and I choose to focus on those moments, not TM. Because of my love for life, I refuse to feel sorry for myself. I've learned to be outspoken about my TM and I've become a demanding person because of TM. I hate that I've had to give up driving and remember how it used to feel heading down the highway with my arm resting on the window turned all the way down. Always remember that today could be potentially the best day of your life. Never take today for granted. When you wake up each morning remember to thank God for giving you another day. Always end the day with a positive thought. No matter how hard thing were, Tomorrow is a fresh opportunity to make it better. (unknown)
