OT October Chit Chat

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Finally got back in,, took a while,, but I finally sat down, and got serious, thanks to the adminstratoirs for trying to help me,,

Hi everyone,, September went fast,, we got crops out, garden plowed under,,deer seasom, is upon us,{bow}, wood being split,,just busy,,

Gary,, I know the frustrations, you guys are facing,, we went thru one 9 months after we got married,, we too lost everything,,hang in there,,Jeanie, you and David, are still in my light,,

Weather is unseasonably warm, with no rain in sight, Thursday, a canadian cold front is coming down, and hopefully rain,,

Sam is still cute, and a bundle of energy,, we really do enjoy her,,

later..

[Jeanie Z]

:) Hi everyone. Peg I am glad you got back on. I sent the link to you twice but apparently that did not help.

David's is still taking the chemo pills and his blisters from it have dried and started peeling. So far he has no new ones. He is losing more than a pound a day though. He is forcing himself to eat and has the whole time but he is very thin now and about 150 lbs down from 175.

He sees the oncologist and the nutritionist this Friday. I'm hoping they will give him something to improve his appetite as he finds food repulsive almost.

I am going back to the doctor today. I have taken the Keflex for 15 days and am no better. I am still coughing a lot and bringing up flim.

My 92 year old Mother is still in rehab and now has a cold and sore throat and is to see the doctor today too. She said the nurse told her several patients had the same thing. She is too tired to go to PT or OT today.

Bill (her neighbor friend of almost 70 years) comes daily to visit her. Yesterday he was mowing her yard and picking up a branch got in his eye and he wound up in the ER. It is going to be ok but very bloodshot.

I went to a funeral yesterday for a friend with MS who attended my weekly MS group for 11 years. He had progressive MS. Unfortunately I had to cough several times while there and people probably thought I might be contagious.

I hope all of you are doing ok. Gary I hope you get things back to near normal soon. Cherie I hope David's kidney stones are all over with. I am praying for all of you. Jeanie :)

[agate]

So good to see Peg back again!

Everyone here is in my thoughts but I wish I could send something useful to ease the pain that many here are having--or the helplessness of watching loved ones suffer.

I'm lucky--enjoying truly great weather for quite a while now, with clear skies and temperatures around 70'. That's my idea of perfect weather.

The raccoons must like it too because another huge one was teetering on the wood fence outside my window the other day. They're a problem around here. Some people think they're adorable and feed them. They are cute in a rolypoly way but so destructive!

I'm glad my cat doesn't go outdoors. She might be a snack for one of the raccoons.

Yesterday I got to a farmer's market and came home with lots of berries, tomatoes, garlic, squash, and apples.

Be well, everyone. It's a whole new month and usually one of the better months when it comes to weather. I don't know about other people but I like spring and fall.

[Virginia]

Good Morning Everyone,

Peg, so glad to see you get back on. We have missed you. Thank you for being your usual nice self and starting our chit-chat thread.

We are certainly going through a spell of bad news here on the forum. So many are having such a hard time.

Jeanie glad to see you post and let us hear from David. Thank goodness the blisters seem to have stopped. I know you wish he could gain some weight. Maybe the Neutritionist can help some. I know you are also concerned about your Mother and the fact that you cannot go as often right now. That chest congestion has been hanging on for a long time. I hope you get better soon.

Gabriella, so sorry to hear about Joe. I really thought they would get to the bottom of his problems and be able to help him, but that just has not happened. You are obviously having a hard time. I think Mayo would be the way to go if you just could get in. I agree with Agate about calling - keeps your name in front of them. Then if a opening happens (and I am sure they do) your husband might be more likely to get it. Thanks for keeping us posted and we are praying for him and for you. Like Jeanie I know you must be very tired by now. I can't remember for sure, but seems like I recall you mentioning a son. If so does he live close by? I know Jeanie has one, but I was thinking you do also.

Gary, I just can not imagine going through what you are going through. I really need to go all over my house and take photographs and put them in the safe deposit box. It would be a nightmare at best and with nothing to go by an impossible task to remember every little item. It is heartbreaking. I am glad you all are safe and I hope that you got the motor home by now. I think if you could at least get comfortable and feel that things have started rolling as far as getting another home built that would help a little.

Cherie, hope the very best for your Dad. You are doing so much these days, if you are tired I doubt that you could tell if it is MS fatigue or just plain overdoing.

Renee, you seem to be doing pretty well. Going to the seashore with your Sister sounds like a nice time. I no longer enjoy it because the sun and heat are the two things that will do me in, but I remember the fun. Sometimes try peach daiquiri. They were fun at the beach. So what's the part-time work? Did I miss something? Hope it is something you can do from home. You have had quite a bit of family time with younger brother and now older Sister. Glad to see they are hanging in there with you - it doesn't always happen. Hope Copaxone goes well, and I feel that it will. I think most people do not have a problem with that drug with the exception of the site reactions. They can get kind of ugly, but then some of the others do also.

Ann, so what are you and your SO up to these days? I hope you are still doing well and the walking and Physical Therapy is doing you lots of good. Why haven't you brought us any chocolate lately? Don't you think we have been behaving?

Hi Sally, how's the weather where you are? It has been cooler here but is due to warm up the end of the week. Thankfully, not like it was back in the summer.

Hi Agate! We are still enjoying your research. This is where I find out what is new and what is going on in that area. I use to meet with a MS group here, but we lost so many of our people including the man who started it and was facilitator. It finally just died out and I do not attend one anymore.

I noticed Lorraine stopped by last month. Hope she does again.

Parsi let us know what is going on with you. At one point you were entertaining and doing quite a bit.

I am alright, but wish everyone on here could get back on track. I just hate to see so many of our people hurting in so many ways. I went to a family reunion with my friend of many years Saturday (his). This was 80 miles from here and then when we got back we had to go have dinner with a few of my family to celebrate my youngest nephew's 19th birthday. He came home from Wake Forest University for the week-end.

Jendi, hope you are doing well. Check in when you have time.

All others that I have left out - it is not on purpose - I am getting a little braindead at times.

I have some work to do. I still occassionaly help out the people that I use to work for, so since it is the first of the month and the end of the quarter I have some things to do. Also, I have not read a book since the first of last week, so I am getting antsy to sit down with another one now.

Talk to all of you later,

[Gabriella7]

We went to the neurologist today. He is also the neurologist I see and when he walked in he called us "the complex couple". He is trying to come up with a diagnosis but at this point he doesn't seem to be able to connect the dots. He has ordered a C-scan of Joe's lungs, abdomen, and intestinal track to look for the source of weight loss which might be cancer. He brought up some other possibilities but it has already been 5 months since Joe really took a down turn. His speciality is MS so I don't believe he has the knowledge of neuro-muscular diseases that he needs as he mentioned doing the EMG over again in November and doing it himself.

I called Emory Clinic which is the Emory University medical center here in Atlanta which has an ALS Center run by a very qualified neuro-muscular, neurologist who is also over the general neurology department. I have to get all of Joe's medical records together and fax them to his assistant for the doctor to look over and see if he wants to take on Joe's case. This is going to be our next step as Joe has decided he doesn't want to go to Mayo. I believe he doesn't think he will make it another 6 months.

Thanks Virginia for your kind words. We have 3 sons but 2 of them are in other states. We have one who lives here but has been in ill health since having a heart attack last year at age 49. He has had the flu/cold last week so can't be around either of us until he is better. I will have to call on him when he gets well as all this stress is beginning to wear me out. I do what I can, go to bed for a while, get up and do a little more but never get it all done. Of course at the moment the most important thing is to take care of Joe.

Blessings,
Gabriella

[SalpalSally]

Hi all, It's still kinda warmish here, Virginia, but going to cool off to the 60s next week, which is my idea of perfect weather with low humidity of course.

Feeling much better with UTI all gone. DD is going thru some personal grief right now, so worrying about her..as Mommies do.

I have you all in my prayers each and every day and hope the Lord is listening and will end all of your suffering.

[jendie]

Hi all, I'm checking in from unseasonably warm northwest Washington state. It's sunny and dry. We haven't had measurable rain since July.

I'm doing fairly well, though still unpacking my things after the move to the new apartment. Hooray for no more stairs getting in the way between the living room and the bathroom. I've down sized a bit and am not sure where I'll be putting the things I just can't bear to part with.

I hope everyone is doing well and am sorry to hear about those who are still dealing with extra challenges.

Take care... until next time,

Jendie

[Frog42]

It's only about 52 here and rainy. It is supposed to go up to the 70s tomorrow and last until Friday but then it's back to the cooler weather again. Summer is definitely over.

[boston/maine]

I don't know why but I have not been able to access the site, I don't know how I got here today. I really miss reading the posts not much new with me I still have MS and waiting to meet my new Neuro at the end of the month. Hope everyone is well.

Well if I try to go back to the site I see this group of silhouettes telling me my page is gone, Help someone Please


jsmoore53@roadrunner.com

[Frog42]

That was happening to me too so, if I'm remembering correctly, what I did is start off at the Braintalk home page (www.braintalkcommunities.org) then worked my way down to this forum. Then I bookmarked it so I wouldn't have to do it each time.

I hope this helped you.