Please follow the link and read the petition regarding tax breaks for families with special needs children, and sign if you support the idea. Pass it along to anyone you think might be interested, whether they have special needs children or not.
http://www.petitiononline.com/txbrk456/petition.html
Thank you.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Live With It
I've been MIA for a while now. Part of the reason is that the school is hassling me. (I'll save that for another post.) The other reason is that my arthritis is giving me grief.
Some of you know that I have arthritis in my knees, and that I have had knee surgery. I've been told I will be a candidate for replacement on my knees, but because of my YOUNG age (I love saying that), they will do arthoscopic surgery several times before they go the replacement route. It seems you can only have a limited number of knee replacements in your lifetime, and the replacements only last a limited numnber of years, so they don't want to do the surgery on someone so YOUNG (bear with me, this is fun!), so they go the "scope" route first. I sometimes walk with a cane when the pain acts up, or when the ground is icy (it makes me feel more stable). But I do find that the surgery I had a few years ago was like turning back the clock ten years.
I've had other arthritis pain, too. I have gout, which is the most common form of arthritis, and usually affects your toes or feet. I've got arthritis or tendonitis in my hands, feet, back, elbow and shoulder.
Lately my shoulder has been really giving me grief. It is extremely painful. And it has gotten worse over the past couple months. Just getting dressed in the morning is absolutely excruciating now, and has left me blinded with pain, and nauseated. I have a super high tolerance for pain, but this is way beyond my limits.
I went to the doctor, just my general practitioner. I figured this was some kind of tendonitis, bursitis, or maybe a nerve? I was shocked to be told that the pain is due to arthritis. This seemed so much more painful than anything I've dealt with, with other parts of my body. I didn't expect that. Then the nurse tells me, "this is just the aging process" and told me there was nothing I could do about it. She told me to keep taking the pain meds (but they aren't doing anything!) and come back in late May for a follow up. I was desperate. "But I can barely function!" I told her. She LAUGHED at me, and told me "it's tough to get old!" I asked isn't there anything I can do to help the pain? She told me I needed to learn to live with it.
By the way, I'm 46. It's not like I'm a senior citizen here. I have a ten year old son. I work full time. I run an autism website. I have to be able to function. I have a life to live here. I can't just take it easy when the pain hits. It hurts to get dressed, undressed, to shop, to drive, to dry or curl my hair, to put my coat on, to reach up or behind, to lift, etc.
I can't live with this level of pain. If you told me it would be bad like this for a while and get better, I think I could cope. But I can't handle pain that nearly makes me faint, and pain that makes me sick to my stomach. Not every day. Not for the rest of my life.
Now, I'm no wimp. I handle a lot of pain. After I had my c-section, I took NO pain medication. Not even an aspirin. And I was down the basement doing laundry the week after I got home from the hospital. I went to work immediately after having two wisdom teeth pulled, in spite of the fact that half my face turned a horrific mixture of black and blue. I can even take cortisone shots without even a blink or a flinch. My tolerance for pain really freaked out my ortho. He'd never had a patient take a cortisone shot without even a flinch. Never. So it's not like I'm a simpering wuss. I can handle pain. But this shoulder thing, this is more pain than I can live with for the rest of my life. The thought honestly panics me. And to laugh at me, and tell me "it's tough to get old" is not only lacking in empathy, it's downright cold, and cruel. It hit me hard, and I was very depressed about it. It felt like someone chopped off my arm, for all the good it was to me at this point. And it was a kind of death sentence, at least for life as I knew it.
After a while, I decided to call my knee surgeon. I heard he specialized in knees, so I wouldn't be able to go to him for my shoulder, but at least maybe he could recommend someone. It was actually hard for me to make that call. I was really afraid that a second opinion would only confirm what the first doctor told me, and I wasn't ready to deal with that. But I finally screwed up my courage and called my knee miracle worker.
The nurse at that office was MUCH more compassionate. When I told her I couldn't live like this, she murmered "of course!" and spoke to me in an empathetic manner. Then she gave me fantastic news! She said my doctor DOES work on shoulders, and she'd be happy to get me an appointment to have him look at my shoulder!! YIPPEEEEE!!
I'm sure that this doctor will be able to accurately diagnose the situation, and help me to deal with this. Even if this is arthritis, and there is nothing that can be done to improve it, at least he might be able to help me figure out how to cope with it. Maybe physical therapy, or vitiamin/diet supplements, exercises, something, anything! Accupuncture, even! Don't just tell me to 'suck it up old woman.' I'm a human being. Give me some hope, some compassion, some control...
Anyway, now that my orthopedic surgeon is involved, I have hope again. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?
Some of you know that I have arthritis in my knees, and that I have had knee surgery. I've been told I will be a candidate for replacement on my knees, but because of my YOUNG age (I love saying that), they will do arthoscopic surgery several times before they go the replacement route. It seems you can only have a limited number of knee replacements in your lifetime, and the replacements only last a limited numnber of years, so they don't want to do the surgery on someone so YOUNG (bear with me, this is fun!), so they go the "scope" route first. I sometimes walk with a cane when the pain acts up, or when the ground is icy (it makes me feel more stable). But I do find that the surgery I had a few years ago was like turning back the clock ten years.
I've had other arthritis pain, too. I have gout, which is the most common form of arthritis, and usually affects your toes or feet. I've got arthritis or tendonitis in my hands, feet, back, elbow and shoulder.
Lately my shoulder has been really giving me grief. It is extremely painful. And it has gotten worse over the past couple months. Just getting dressed in the morning is absolutely excruciating now, and has left me blinded with pain, and nauseated. I have a super high tolerance for pain, but this is way beyond my limits.
I went to the doctor, just my general practitioner. I figured this was some kind of tendonitis, bursitis, or maybe a nerve? I was shocked to be told that the pain is due to arthritis. This seemed so much more painful than anything I've dealt with, with other parts of my body. I didn't expect that. Then the nurse tells me, "this is just the aging process" and told me there was nothing I could do about it. She told me to keep taking the pain meds (but they aren't doing anything!) and come back in late May for a follow up. I was desperate. "But I can barely function!" I told her. She LAUGHED at me, and told me "it's tough to get old!" I asked isn't there anything I can do to help the pain? She told me I needed to learn to live with it.
By the way, I'm 46. It's not like I'm a senior citizen here. I have a ten year old son. I work full time. I run an autism website. I have to be able to function. I have a life to live here. I can't just take it easy when the pain hits. It hurts to get dressed, undressed, to shop, to drive, to dry or curl my hair, to put my coat on, to reach up or behind, to lift, etc.
I can't live with this level of pain. If you told me it would be bad like this for a while and get better, I think I could cope. But I can't handle pain that nearly makes me faint, and pain that makes me sick to my stomach. Not every day. Not for the rest of my life.
Now, I'm no wimp. I handle a lot of pain. After I had my c-section, I took NO pain medication. Not even an aspirin. And I was down the basement doing laundry the week after I got home from the hospital. I went to work immediately after having two wisdom teeth pulled, in spite of the fact that half my face turned a horrific mixture of black and blue. I can even take cortisone shots without even a blink or a flinch. My tolerance for pain really freaked out my ortho. He'd never had a patient take a cortisone shot without even a flinch. Never. So it's not like I'm a simpering wuss. I can handle pain. But this shoulder thing, this is more pain than I can live with for the rest of my life. The thought honestly panics me. And to laugh at me, and tell me "it's tough to get old" is not only lacking in empathy, it's downright cold, and cruel. It hit me hard, and I was very depressed about it. It felt like someone chopped off my arm, for all the good it was to me at this point. And it was a kind of death sentence, at least for life as I knew it.
After a while, I decided to call my knee surgeon. I heard he specialized in knees, so I wouldn't be able to go to him for my shoulder, but at least maybe he could recommend someone. It was actually hard for me to make that call. I was really afraid that a second opinion would only confirm what the first doctor told me, and I wasn't ready to deal with that. But I finally screwed up my courage and called my knee miracle worker.
The nurse at that office was MUCH more compassionate. When I told her I couldn't live like this, she murmered "of course!" and spoke to me in an empathetic manner. Then she gave me fantastic news! She said my doctor DOES work on shoulders, and she'd be happy to get me an appointment to have him look at my shoulder!! YIPPEEEEE!!
I'm sure that this doctor will be able to accurately diagnose the situation, and help me to deal with this. Even if this is arthritis, and there is nothing that can be done to improve it, at least he might be able to help me figure out how to cope with it. Maybe physical therapy, or vitiamin/diet supplements, exercises, something, anything! Accupuncture, even! Don't just tell me to 'suck it up old woman.' I'm a human being. Give me some hope, some compassion, some control...
Anyway, now that my orthopedic surgeon is involved, I have hope again. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya?
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Help Chevy Help Autism
Play the video. Just a few minutes of your time could help make a lifetime o difference.
April is Autism Awareness Month and Chevrolet is proud to partner with Autism Speaks to help create awareness of autism and the effects it has on our families.
Just click on the “play video” button below and complete a virtual tour of the North American Car of the Year. When you do Chevy will donate to Autism Speaks. The more people who participate, the more Chevy will donate to help find the answers. And for your time, you will receive a free 30 day trial of XM Radio Online.
It’s one small click that can make a big difference for autism.
http://www.chevrolet.com/autismspeaks/
April is Autism Awareness Month and Chevrolet is proud to partner with Autism Speaks to help create awareness of autism and the effects it has on our families.
Just click on the “play video” button below and complete a virtual tour of the North American Car of the Year. When you do Chevy will donate to Autism Speaks. The more people who participate, the more Chevy will donate to help find the answers. And for your time, you will receive a free 30 day trial of XM Radio Online.
It’s one small click that can make a big difference for autism.
http://www.chevrolet.com/autismspeaks/
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)