[Alffe]

We're looking forward to my sil coming tomorrow and I've been cooking ahead, cleaning some and laying on my butt reading. *grin

Mr.Alffe got tickets for the Gathier's Fort Wayne concert in Dec..I wonder if Abbie knows there are coming.

I can't believe it's August...walking around in sweats here and they feel good. And I can't believe I'm talking about December...

What's on your plate???

[Alffe]

empty plates aye???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3SbjjMChqw

***************

[~scrabble]

I'm sipping red wine while waiting for pizza .... homemade pizza that my son made from scratch. (Late dinner - 9pm) Wholewheat crust with sage and rosemary from my balcony, pepperoni salami, portobello mushroom and yellow pepper. MMmmm ....

Speaking of plates ... my shrink told me this week that the dahlias are in full bloom at Butchart Gardens and some are as large as dinner plates. He even showed me a few photos that he took on his cell phone camera! I think I shall go there tomorrow ...

PIZZA TIME!!!

ciao!

[who moi]

hmmmm, hopefully it gets cooler on Alpho's plate soon

and hope that made from scratch pizza is as delicious as it sounds, scrabbly!!

as soon as I get better, I'll be making scratching pizzas also.

today will become very busy soon, my mother decided to cook here for her boyfriend's birthday and invited all his children.

We were just going to spend a nice, quiet, quality days with my in-laws for this is their last day here. And as da wife and I were talking about it last night, we're always in fear that "THIS" would be the last time that we would see one of them each time we see them....*sigh...

the rest of day, we'll be off to buying more uniforms for the kiddos, getting some groceries and staying out of my mom's way while she cooks....

Then, hoping for a little bit of quality time with the in-laws....

and, I am wrapping up my last post here at this here them there forum....making one last post before I go into my 9/10th retirement....

I hope everyone's plate is FUN today....and enjoying life to its fullest even in all the trials and tribulations...

for the plates..

[Alffe]

Oh moi...if your Mama is cooking there's no place like home. Mr.Alffe and I still talk about that meal she prepared for us....swooning here. You really should post pictures...or at least the menu. And anytime with you and Moss is quality time.

[FeelinGoofy]

Went to church, took sis out for lunch.... i try to have a mom daughter day at least once every couple weeks... Its amazing the things we talk about

going to spend the rest of the day doing nothing..... its been a busy weekend and i'm exhausted.... not sleeping to well at night for some reason....

think i'll go cuddle next to my hubby who is already laying down

[Abbie]

My plate today is fairly empty...

Went and put gas in my car...
Stopped by a road side veggie stand and purchase some beautiful tomatos.
Went to Walmart to exchange a couple of pairs of shorts--for my dad.

Now I am vegging myself...

Mom to doc in the morning, then doc for me in the afternoon.

I also have a doc appointment on Tuesday morning.

I'm sure something will pop up between now and then...

for all.
Abbie

[Nik-key]

I have a few things on my plate that I would like to share....

My nephew still is in so much pain. He has seen specialist after specialist to try to figure out why he has so much extra fluid in his brain. He has to have lumbar punctures to relieve the pressure and takes so many pills! They are trying to protect his eyes from permanent damage while they try to figure out what is causing this.

He just turned 13, the pain can get so bad that all he can do is hold his head and scream...it just kills me to see him in so much pain! praying for answers
………………………………...........

Evelyn, one of the residents I have grown to care for passed away last week I have only known her since Feb, but I can't believe how much her death is effecting me. I had to leave I was crying so hard. She was alone, no family surrounded her as she left this world

After her death I tried to tell myself to not get so attached, to stop visiting them, but I just can't! I see them every day, they just light up when they see me. And for many I am their only regular visitor... how sad! I don't know how those of you who work at nursing homes do it, Angels on earth in my book
...............................................

I am going to be having surgery. I can’t believe I am saying that! I swore after all the failed brain surgeries that I never would again. It isn’t that I regret the surgeries, it is more that I got my hopes built up so high, that when they fail, it plunged my world into deeper darkness.

I had the brain surgeries for trigeminal neuralgia, they left me in worse pain, and also caused occipital neuralgia and anesthesia dolorosa. There is nothing more that can be done for the TN, there is nothing that can be done for the AD…..I have come to a sort of peace that I will have to live with this pain for the rest of my life.

The only condition there is hope to help is the ON. I have the ON pain constantly, but then I also have flairs. The combination of all 3, is just horrific. In the midst of attack after attack, I beg God to take me, but He seems to think it isn’t my time yet. It is to the point now where I can’t sleep more than 15 mins at a time. I can’t lay on my sides or tummy due to the TN pain, so my only choice is to lay on my back… this is where the occipital nerve is.. Accck

I just got over a 5 day ON flair, literally I couldn’t lift my head without vomiting. The pain was intense. I never liked it! But now, Lynn depends on me. I NEED to see him every day. I have to try again, for him. I must admit I am scared to death. Not of the surgery, but of getting my hopes up.

[GmaSue]

Far too much for any one person~why can't PAIN of all kinds be spread out more to everyone? I cannot understand. "Life is not fair" is the understatement of all time.

Who takes care of you when you are that ill? Are you all alone?

Does your nephew have a shunt? Does it malfunction? Is it the kind you have to pump with your finger? Please tell him you have a lot of online friends who know you have a nephew who is having a hard time and that we are pulling for him.

[Nik-key]

Thank you ((Sue))

He does not yet have a shunt because they haven't been able to figure out the cause. 4 years ago he developed dizziness and had headaches, he was diagnosed with mega cisterna magna. He got better and we were told it was harmless and they would keep an eye on it over the years.

He had an accident in gym this fall, a girl fell off the climbing rope and landed right on him. He blacked out and has since had horrible headaches. At first he was diagnosed with just Post-concussion syndrome until they did his first lumbar puncture. This consistently shows his CF levels to be between 40 and 50 % higher than normal! This is causing great stress on his eyes

Then he was diagnosed with a pseudotumor. Which basically means he has every symptom of a tumor, but not the tumor. In my words, it means they don't know what it is but rushed to put a name to it. grrrrrrrrr

The latest specialist feels he has an Arachnoid cyst. An MRV shows he has a vein behind the mega cisterna magna or the Arachnoid cyst , Or? That is not passing any blood through it due to the extensive pressure. We are waiting for more testing and are trying to remain hopeful.

He is ok a lot of the time. But when he gets an attack it is so painful. They live with me and he comes to me because he has seen me in pain all his life. I lay with him and he squeezes my hand and screams and cries. I encourage him to let it out... I have never believed boys/men shouldn't cry. Hog wash!

I then get him to lay down and whisper soothing words to him. It is now a routine with us. Once he is settle I get him to concentrate on his breathing and repeat over and over just breath baby until the worst of it passes or he falls asleep from pure exhaustion. Poor bugger

As for me, I had two people I could always turn to. My Dad and Lynn. They are the only two people I ever let see the depths of my physical pain. When I was first diagnosed and Lynn was at work, Dad would come and stay with me. He would hold me, rock me back and forth soothing me. I could always count on him.. God I miss that man!

Before I had to place him in the nursing home, even with AD, Lynn would still try to protect me and comfort me. I truly don't know how I would have survived all these years without his constant love and support.

My sister and her kids live with me, and when I am THAT bad I hide out. I try to keep the worst of it from them. It scares the kids to see me in that much pain. And I HATE being the cause of their distress. They already have so much on their little plates. *sigh

This past week they were on vacation and I was alone when the worst of it hit. I didn't eat for 3 days because I couldn't get up and stay up long enough, but other than that, all things considered I did pretty well. But, it isn’t how I want to live. What upset me the most is that I couldn’t go see Lynn! He needs me. If this surgery will help with the ON, I feel I have to try. accck