I think if we set our words to music we would be a magnificent chorus of understanding and commond bond...

Every post to this thread echoes my thoughts, isolation and conflict.
I have to redefine myself.. the person I was before RSD reflected my personality, my interests, and plans...
The loss of mobility beyond 100 yards..has been huge..
When I lose calmness, I worry about the future, about spread, about finances..about coping with my responsibilities...and my 97 year old mother that I oversee...

Fear of making plans.....pain level is so unpredictable..
I have to take Saturday classes for 2 months in order to keep an adult education teaching credential current..I've never used it except as a substitute for adult evening classes (pre-RSD)
I am afraid to commit to the classes, (attendance to each class is mandatory) because I fear I will be too exhausted to go on Saturday after the work week and/or will be in too much pain...

I've decided to commit to the classes(not refundable after attending the first session) because maybe I'll get better and I'll be able to use the credential in the future.. ..also I simply want to TRY...
I keep thinking about the adage that "we don't regret what we did in our lives...it's what we didn't try to do"....so I've commited to take the classes which begin this Saturday..I am so grateful to have the mobility scooter..otherwise I couldn't do it..

Ali has really inspired through her posts about her plans for college and her determination..she is such a wonderful young person!! so kind, compassionate and full of perseverence....she amazes me...I am beyond retirement age, but Ali's spirit is an enormous inspiraton to me...

Most helpful has been trying to learn to harness my mind..through books, meditation,
and a course called "Mindfully Based Stress Reduction" developed by Jon Kabat -Zinn...also a C.D. called "Breakthrough Pain" by Shinzen Young...I can't convey how helpful both of these have been......

AllenTGamer..your penchant for adventure despite your challenges is uplifting!!! Gotta love those road trips!! despite the pain and everything else..

All of you are in my thoughts daily..and your honesty about what's going on in your lives and thoughts and heart quell the RSD loneliness..
Hope4thebest xoxox