Hi KB,
Sorry but I just had a chuckle because everything you wrote (except about the husband) sounds just like my chaotic life!!! Haha. Thanks I needed that laugh. My dog is sooo in love with me too (Chihuahua Pom mix) that he doesn't like the cat on the bed when he is there with me. He gives the cat the dirtiest looks...it is soooo funny. I have had a 10 gallon fishtank with only one fish!!! And it is small. I had others but he kept eating them all and I had his dad and mom too!! I had to give up my car because I could not drive anymore. It was sooo hard to do but I could not afford to pay car ins each month and it was just paid off. Also, the month I got injured I only had one more college course to go before I got my Bachelor's Degree! It only took me 20 years to do so. I did get it but never could walk down the aisle due to my injury. But I did it and you can too. You are just getting side-tracked for now.

You can say it that rsd does destroy your life (I came close to losing my home in Feb too). Heck, I don't even remember what it is like to NOT have pain. It has destroyed me financially among other things and my son is struggling to help me when he can. Every month for years is a constant struggle. I feel bad that this is his life (and mine too). It has been very difficult being a single parent, ill, and trying to raise a teenager on my own. I have chased him with my cane a few times over the years (albeit very slowly)!

Can you try and get some state assistance for someone to stay with your husband and young son? It took me four months to get an aid (I'm on my third now and that is a whole other story about people helping you). It seems like your situatioin calls for it. Also, maybe check a nursing school or I know high school seniors do community work as part of their program. Maybe someone would be able to volunteer for an hour or so a day at least your husband could get a break and then would be rested before you got home from work.

My son also said the same thing about microwaved food (and eating out). Funny but sad. He told me it has been years he has been doing so and his eating habits are horrible and he hates alot of food. I feel so bad for him. I did "try" to cook a dinner today and it only took me 11 hours to do so haha. I have only done it one other time in the last eight months due to my injury while getting ketamine in the ICU. Eleven hours to make one meal that used to take me a 1/2 hour. It stinks but I have to keep lying down in between it all but at least I did it (I only threw my canes on the floor once today from being so frustrated).

Know that you are doing an amazing job with everything going on! You also need to do something for yourself. I learned that you must take care of yourself in order to take care of others (It only hit me when I was in my early 30s). Even if you take candle lit bath before bed. You just need to wind down for your own health and sanity. I do put myself in "time out" when it gets to much for me. I go in my bedroom and turn all the lights off and just cry in bed. After a bit, I get back up and keep on going.

Everyone here deserves a medal because of all we deal with each day. I have to laugh when I hear others say "Oh, I need a break" and I would change lives with them in an instant to have their problems versus the ones I have. haha. Hang in there and we are always here for each other. We need lots of support to get through it all.
Love to you and all,
kathy d