Sunday, August 23, 2015

Pain Clinic Dilema

Well most of you wouldn't know that I was involved in not 1 but 2 MVA's less than a yr apart.  The first one was the major one.  It was December 30th and my hubby and I were visiting friends in Sundridge, in fact we had gone to have lunch with them.  It was the only time we  were going to get together over the holidays.  So about 12:30pm it started to rain and my husband didn't like the sound it was making on their patio door.  He asked if they minded that we skip lunch and head for home as the kids (all 4) were at home alone. 


We finished our coffee and were on the road home in less than 15 minutes.  By the time we passed Bray Motors Greg couldn't get the freezing rain off the windshield.  He pulled over cleaned it off then got back on the hwy again.  We were following now 2 cars.  I can remember the color of that car clearly as I hate red cars and it was red, but the car ahead of it, I have no idea.  We were going super slow because of the conditions but then we damn near came to a stop as the car in the front slowed down even more.  By this time we were at the passing lane just south of the High School.  The red car pulled out to pass, he fished tailed a bit but made it okay.  We were driving my Ford Mustang or I should say my hubby was.  He looked at me and said do you think we can make it?  I trust his driving over anyone's, so I replied if you think we can then go for it.  As Julia Roberts said in the movie Pretty Woman, MISTAKE, BIG MISTAKE!  From that moment on my life has forever changed thru no one's fault but that is life.  One minute things are okay and the next your standing next to the devil saying "What the hell?"

Well we started off with fish tailing, then we did 3 360 degree turns, hit the south bound shoulder did one revolution and then went end over end twice and landed with the wheels facing the sky.  Hubby undid his seat belt then undid mine.  I fell face down and tried to move and couldn't.  Greg jumped out of the car and every time I tried to move the pain in my lower back was like a hot knife but the worst was I couldn't move his legs.

The BEST DAMN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT  in the world South River/Machar Fire Dept. arrived to me seemed like hours but was only 10 mins.  It was determined that I had to be cut out of the car, so they put a collar on me and a hard hat with a light then to top it off the ambulance attendant climbed inside to keep me calm and put some blankets to try & keep me warm.  This in itself was almost impossible as the the ditch was filled water, it was raining big time and the windows were open so needless to say I was in Mustang bath. It took almost an hour to get me out of the car and in the ambulance and on my way to the hospital.

I was seen to right away, but the worst thing was that I had to pee so bad that I thought I wouldn't make it.  The nurse said because I couldn't move my leg that I wouldn't be able to pee and just to relax and she would put a catheter in.  No one had said it yet but I knew they thought I had broke my back and wouldn't walk again.  So I relaxed and pissed all over the bed & floor (lol).  She was not impressed and yelled she didn't break her back and left.  Eventually the doctor came in ordered a battery of x-rays and blood tests.   After 6  hrs in the emerg they sent me home.

The next day I was back in Emerg because I couldn't breath and in total body pain.  Turned out, I had a cracked 3 ribs, my sternum,  clavicle, lower rt jaw (lost 5 teeth), dislocated shoulder (rt), bruised rt lung, heart and that all caused by the seat belt.  One could thing though I wasn't dead, I also pulled all the ligaments & muscles from my spine but we didn't find that out for about 6 wks.

Then after months of physio therapy I went to Sudbury for an evaluation and had the second accident.  I suffered whiplash and a concussion and within 7 days had 8 seizures my first since my oldest son was born.  It was hell because I also aggravated my back injury.  I don't know if I was more upset about seizures or back injury.

So since then I've been in constant pain,  So after 23 yrs I've been sent to a Chronic Pain Clinic in Barrie.  It usually takes about 2 and half years  to get into this clinic but the last time I was in the hospital for the seizures I hurt my back again and the Dr that saw me there put it through as an extreme emergency.

So I go, expecting it to be just a quick consult with maybe a few x-rays and then the treatment starting on the next visit.  Boy oh Boy was I wrong.  So all who know me, know that I am no size 2 model, and those that don't know when I get depressed I eat, hell I eat shit I don't even like.  SO this young Dr.(who is in perfect condition and is sooooo hunky but way to young for most of you out there including me) starts to tell me all about the clinic and says he has read my chart and this is what he wants to do for me.  Now I should have clued in as soon as he said that he read my chart that all hell was going to break out and that read & glancing at were two different things.

This is what he told me  to start off with:  NO -- sugars
                                                                    NO -- fruits they contain sugar
                                                                   NO -- flours, rice or tapioca included
                                                                     NO -- dairy, cheese, cream in coffee, yogurt nothing
                                                                   NO -- tea or coffee
                                                                     NO -- pork, red meat
                                                                    NO -- desserts

BUT I CAN HAVE CHICKEN & FISH EVERY OTHER DAY AND ALL THE VEGGIES I CAN EAT.

Now he had a Tim Horton's coffee on his desk which I immediately looked at when he told me all this to which he quickly said "I don't suffer from chronic pain and I'm not terribly obese"

At this point I wanted to Bitch Slap him but I knew if I started I would be led away in handcuffs and charged with 2nd degree.........

He then tells me he wants me off my meds, and wants to add Lyrica for pain & inflamation control.  Now this is where I KNEW FOR SURE HE HADN'T READ MY CHART.  If any of you have seen the commercials on this shit then you would have got up and walked out.  But not me, because my husband just drove 2 1/2 hrs to get me here and they did get me in quickly.  So the side effects are as follows ; may & have caused severe depression (hell I'm depressed already), may increase thoughts of suicide (just got thru a spell of that), those with liver or seizure disorders shouldn't use this medicine.  F U C K  I'm epileptic and I have hemachromatosis.   Then he said well do you want to start the injections in your back today, so like a fool I said yes.  So 4 needles with freezing were put into either side of my spine.  The right side which is where most of my pain is didn't hurt or bleed much but the left side hurt like a bitch and really bled.  Now the ride home was okay because of course my back was frozen but the next day I was in sooooooooooo much pain it made me sick to my stomach but the next 3 days it felt really good.  But now after a wk it is back to where it was before.  I am going back for another consultation/injections and tell him that for one I can't afford to come down once a wk for a year and that the medication Lyrica needs to be looked into more closely by him because IF he had read my chart he would know I can't or shouldn't be taking it.  So that's my take on the Pain Clinic.  Everyone I had talked to that day had been going there for years, now if it was working then why were they all going for so long.  Because like everything  else  these 7 doctors are running a business and it is a sweet deal.  They all have full time positions in other offices and hospitals.

So I am a little leery of my next visit but I am not going to give up.  I forgot to mention that he also wanted me to have yoga breathing, more physio, acupuncture, hypnosis and massage therapy.  So if you have read thru this then let me know what you think,

Saturday, August 15, 2015

There are Good Days!

Over the past 23 yrs since our Motor Vehicle Accident and the return of my seizures and the loss of my mother and siblings it has hit me very hard.  There was an incident about 2-3wks ago I swear I was about 4 glasses of water away from the here after. BUT my counsellor, hubby, my boys and a friend that has come back into my life stopped me and I'm sure it is because she knows I need her even if I didn't at first.


She also suffers from a debilitating condition and suffers from a cloak of a different color.  She is much younger than I am, yet is wiser than me be far.  She brought to me today a gift and if I had a cell phone I would take a picture of it.  Inside MY little box were sticky notes with words on them as she saw me.  She didn't want me to read them as we were going out for lunch, but also in the box was stones with words on them like: Believe, Courage, Strength, Peace, Patience, Love.  Then there were about half dozen small smooth blk stones and she told me that when I can't carry the larger ones, when things feel too heavy then take one of these tiny stones to smooth away the fears. I have never had anyone bring me such an aw inspiring gift and all it took was some rocks, sticky notes and words of encouragement. 


Thank you my friend, you will help those not so good days brighten up with nothing from you but one small box full of love & friendship.


So from the words she wrote on some of the sticky notes is: What I learnt today- is - That I'm awesome - Today is a new start - Nothing stays the same - Look after yourself - Love - Believe in myself  and most of all the last one I read was YOU MAKE MY DAY.  So today was a very good day thanks to my buddy.  Oh did I tell you some of the sticky notes were in the shape of a thumbs up sign.  Love it.


Anyone out there help any day, I will do what I can to help and if means making you a special treasure box with special notes and sayings in it, then I'm your gal. 


Have a great wkend Love ya

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Glass Houses & Cecil the Lion

My mother, your mother all mothers at one time or another would tell you "those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"   Well here we are with the perfect example.  A young man, whom I don't know nor will I ever meet, nor will half
 the world.  He works hard and his hobby is trophy hunting, do I agree with it, hell no, would I do it hell no.  He is by all means living the dream, works hard at his job/career and when he can goes to a foreign country to fulfill his dream of shooting a lion and not just any lion but a great one.  So he goes thru the channels, gets all the shots, buys all the proper permits required from the Foreign Country which is allowing him to do this and off he goes.


Does it matter that he is a dentist, hell no.  Does it matter he has a family, hell no.  Does it matter that he used bait to get his kill, hell no.  WHY because he did what was allowed by this country to fulfill his dream.  Do I agree with it Fuck no.  But every year in the  States & Canada we bait animals to trap, shoot or bow hunt.  We call in ducks, geese and other fowls tricking them into thinking there is a mate near by, is that okay?  Well it must be to all of you out there that are crucifying this poor bastard.  Hell I'm as mad about it as all of you but Jesus take a step back and look at what you are saying and doing.  He has done nothing wrong other than you are all upset about a lion you never knew existed till now. 


Animals are killed daily for their furs, their skins, tusks, livers, gall bladders, fins, teeth, and yes even their penises.  Have any of you found out who is doing this and ruining their life, have any of you gone to a rally or signed a petition or taken a bill to your government to stop all this.  Most of you haven't, hell I haven't either but I'm still as pissed about what happened as anyone.  But it boils down to this, it is allowed as is; baiting bears, chumming the waters for a pickerel in the winter, deer scent & deer feeding stations to keep the deer close, (national geographic) hunters use old antlers to rack against the trees, hoping to trick moose near to defend their territory.


It is like telling a woman after she has been raped repeatedly and she finds out she is pregnant that she has to keep that baby.  Do I approve of abortions no, but if it was me I don't know if I would want the baby.  Abortions are as bad as killing animals,for no other reason than you can show the picture that you did it.  Is that an extreme example hell yes but what you are doing to this man is also extreme.


A friend of mine went to Africa 2 yrs ago, it cost him 25,000.00 for the chance to kill a Zebra, Water Buffalo,  Giraffe.  They paid 5,000.00 alone for the permit to do this.  They were not allowed to bring home any part of the animal but they could take as many photos as they wanted.  So he goes over not knowing anyone else in the group.  Now this man is 75 yrs old at the time and was as excited as could be.  He talked about it for months and finally the day came and off he went. He got there bought the proper gun and ammo needed as did all 7 of them and then the next day when they were ready to start the hunt were informed only 1, not all 7 but only ONE of them could kill an animal.  So they drew straws of grass.  The shortest got to do the kill and if he didn't kill one then  oh sorry for your luck. He did not get the straw and the man that drew the right straw did shoot a Zebra.  They all stood around the dead animal taking pictures, then they gutted it and gave it to the local village people.  So are you going to ruin their lives to because of what they did.  Cecil the lion was just as important as the fallen Zebra but someone somehow got wind of his plight and now a mans career and life will for ever be changed because he killed Cecil, not the gun.  Yet in the states they always say that it is their right to bare arms because it is not the gun that kills well tell Cecil the Lion that.


So the next time you want to put someone down or throw stones from your Glass House, remember the words from a very kind man I hear! "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Grandkids & Scarfs

Well on my last posting I was so depressed and I had never felt so exhausted as I did then.  My cloak was more like a shroud.  It was so tightly wrapped around me with no end in sight.  But on Friday afternoon sunshine pierced the shroud in the form of 3 little grandchildren.  I cried so hard when they first got there for so many reasons; happy to see them, still depressed and thought I might ruin their holiday, yet I knew without a doubt that they would find the end to my shroud and unravel until it was just a small scarf.  And that my friends is exactly what they did.  My littlest one said "why you crying Nana Moe, I'm here now and I have a whole bunch of soft kisses for you"  Well I started to cry all over again but with it came laughter that I thought I had lost.  My oldest grandchild hugged me and told me she missed me and even the middle one was happy to see me but wanted to wha-hoo right after they went swimming.  I asked if he wanted to be my partner, which came back quickly with a "NO".   Nope he didn't want his mom either he wanted either his sister or Grandpa.  So my daughter & I whopped their asses 12 games to 0.  LMAO  The poor little fella said he didn't want to play this darn game for a long, long time.  


So when your body is busy and you are thinking of other things then the bad shit can't penetrate your mind.  When they arrived the cobwebs of my mind lifted and all I thought about was how I was going to make their stay memorable.  We didn't go fishing this time or go on a road trip it was way to hot, but we did a lot of swimming, played games, watched very little tv and had a birthday party for my littlest one.


Family is important, it keeps you grounded and although I have been dumped by my own family pretty much I have the LOVE of my two boys, my 2 step daughters, 2 wonderful son-in-laws and the most amazing 6 grandchildren a girl could ask for.  But more importantly is I have the love of a man that no matter what happens to me or us he is right beside me throughout it all.  He doesn't understand all my troubles or how to handle most of them but he is always right behind the ambulance after a seizure or holding me tightly when all I want to do is die.  I will never do it because of his love and the love I have for all those listed above but mostly because I have a dear friend that I can call on whenever because she has gone thru many of these feelings.  She carries her own cloak of horrors but mostly because of the Muskoka/Parry Sound Crisis Centre and their dedicated staff.  I could not have gotten thru those few days without my counsellor and I don't give a damn if anyone knows I'm depressed or if they talk about me going in & out of the building.  It is a lot better than coming out of a building in a body bag and that's when you know the cloak wins.


Keep busy, be kind to one another and stay safe.  Love Moe

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Cried so Hard

I haven't yet read what I wrote the other day, don't know if I can yet.  I truly mean that I have not cried that hard or long since the passing of my dad.  It was exhausting, I felt listless, foggy, my nose was plugged from blowing and blowing, my head felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls.  The pain and anger that was built up inside me came rushing out.  I literally exploded from the inside out.  My poor husband came home from work and I stood beside his chair and said nothing but with one look at me he got up and hugged me tight and kept saying over & over I'm here.


I went to bed after he did, not much because we were getting up and going to the Bay to do grocery shopping cause my grandkids & their mommy were coming to visit us.  I couldn't  go I still felt like if someone would look at me they would have known that I did something wrong.  But the truth of the matter is for the 1st time in a VERY long time I did something RIGHT.


I finally got up and got the coffee made and Greg came home with the car full of groceries, and before we got them put away a very dear friend dropped off my most favorite flower, a bouquet  of sunflowers.  It was the 1st positive thing that happened that day and it made me realize that people besides my husband & children do care about how I am doing today.  That for the first time in a long time someone recognized that I had done something positive, I had stood up for myself and she knew how much courage it took me to do that.  Silly isn't that I would use the word courage, but it was scary, beyond belief that I walked up to this person and quietly and  told him how much he was hurting me and embarrassing me when I had done nothing at all.  She gave me praise which I still find hard to accept but it is true, I did it the right way, and without malice or judgement as he had.  So thank you my friend for seeing the good in me before I did.  My counsellor told me that the Sue-do seizures were a trigger, that card man (we'll call him that) was a trigger for all the hurt unleashed on me as a child from my siblings.  Then I remembered so many things that happened to me as a child and young adult that were all caused by my siblings.  My memory is so bad yet things that I had supressed were flooding my mind so quickly that it was causing pain again.


My counsellor pointed out to me that when a child is born it has no choices, but thru crying it relates that it is hungry, hurting, and thru smiles that it is happy and content.  A baby is taught from the beginning who can hurt him and who loves them.  As life goes on and events unfold you find you have epilepsy that it was not something you asked for you had no choice yet somehow someone along the way they  made you feel you did it on purpose and you believe.  Babies aren't born so that they can suffer with cancer, or abuse or other horrible illnesses or acts of terror.  They are born to love and nurture and it is up to the parents to try and guide them thru with positives, like loving unconditionally, teaching them right from wrong and when something happens negative to soothe them.  When that doesn't happen then cloaks of depression form.  When your a child you know why your sad but the person who made you sad is also suppose to be the one that loves you, so you smile and learn to hide the hurt,  I have had so much of it that I can hide it better than even Robin Williams.  He put an end to his pain and constant triggers of hurt.  I am going to learn that thru positive actions & thinking that I won't have to take Robin's way out.  Not that I haven't tried or thought about it.  But I want my loves of my life to remember me positively & lovingly and the only way I can do that is to be believe "I'm worth it"  "hell I look good for 60".  So here I am, one day at a time, one positive thought at the time.  Thanks GR & SR and mostly thank you Greg. 


Gotta go my grandsons & granddaughter need my full attention;  bye for now

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Cloak of Pain

If you read my last couple of entries you have read that I am having a hard time accepting, but accepting what is the question.  Sunday was so horrible the cloak I carry with me weighed so heavy not just on my shoulders but on my whole body.  But Greg was working all wkend and to boot he was on the midnight shift.  So I would see him for about 30 minutes in the morning and then for an hour & 15mins in the evening before he would take off for work.  Some of you women would say to me and many have "Lucky You".   No, I'm not because I depend on him, I don't do so good here by myself and as heavy as the cloak was on Sunday it was nothing like today.


Monday morning Greg came home from work and we did all kinds of little jobs around the house, as our grandkids are coming for a visit and let me tell you that is a joyous occasion no matter when.  But all day long the cloak felt like a shawl holding me back from what I wanted to do and what I need to do yet not heavy enough to take the smile off my face.  I cried a few times on Monday for no reason and I gave myself a good talking too and threw the shawl off my shoulders.


Tuesday morning I woke up in a heavy state, I had a horrible headache, and within 5 minutes of being up I was in a panic state.  I say state because it never left me all day.  I went to see my counsellor and we had a great session and I was so proud that I had gotten thru 1 session without breaking down.  He was a little disappointed as he had moved the Kleenex box closer to me just before we started.   Then by the time I got into the car the tears were streaming down my face.  I couldn't stop them, hell I didn't he know why they were falling.  I think I now know that I have so much hurt inside me that it is like a boil and it is bursting little by little.


Wednesday  was so bad, I woke up had a shower took 2 Ativan and laid down for 2 hrs.  I woke myself up crying and before you know it I was sobbing has hard I did when my dad died. 
I didn't know what to do, I thought of calling the crisis centre here in town but then I thought what if it is someone I don't know.  How do explain something that is happening to you that you can't explain even to yourself to someone you haven't talked with before.  So I didn't.  I paced, I went outside and walked around the yard, I watered the flowers, came back inside & made some butter tarts.  Then when they were done started to pace again.  I had told June the night before that I was available for supper tonight if she wanted to cook for me.  She asked if Greg was coming and I said no he was working days.  Now you would think I would be back to my old self but hell no that fucking shawl was starting to turn into the damn cloak again faster than June can knit.  June came and picked me up and we had a little talk before supper and the girls got there to play cards.  June thinks that my biggest problem is that I don't love myself.  How does one do that, how does someone loves themself  in order to get better.  there it is the million dollar question "How do I learn to first like me then love me as I am".   Hell I don't know but I dreamed about the last wk and what she said all night long.  Different people coming in & out of the dreams, some were frightening beyond belief so bad that I woke myself up and drank in a breath of air as if I was just held under the water for 5 mins. 


The doctor ie: Neurological Specialist told me and re affirmed at least a half dozen times that the seizures I have been having since February are real in nature, and there is nothing I can do to stop them it is my body defense against stress & depression.  He also confirmed that I am an Epileptic with the diagnosis of Genetic Generalized Grand Mal Seizures, that cluster.  Panic Attacks hit people in many ways and most times people think they are having a heart attack, but because my body knows that I totally shut down when in a seizure and for a day or so after that is the reaction my body is taking.  So I can't control them nor the moon.


So I wake up Today and think, fuck it's growing again but as this damn cloak is growing it is causing me pain.  My head hurts as if a hot blade is going thru it, I have diarrhea so bad with cramping.  I have such a pain behind the right eye much like when I use to get migraines in my teens.  It seems that I can't do much without suffering and then the flood gates burst wide open.  Not knowing what to do, I call my counsellor.  We talk for a few minutes but I really don't let him know how bad I'm feeling, but I find out later on I was only fooling myself.  I make an appointment for the following day.  He repeatedly asks me if I feel suicidal, hell that's all I can think about.  I want the pain, the tears, hurt, the words, the looks, the shuns, the bully and the self hatred to stop and that means only one way for me.  But I can't do it, because I love my husband and my boys more than my own life. Right?  What the hell scares me now is because it is getting worse then maybe it will be easier to do the other.  But my counsellor assures me that I am worth the fight and that I have a lot more to give to my family and my friends.


So then it happens a friend blows up at me at cards, this person is very hard of hearing and has an attitude to begin with.  He yells across the room "Moe shut up, now what was your bid,(then without stopping) would you stop talking we are trying to play here".  He has done this to me at least once a wk, yes I have a loud voice but most of them there do because they are all hard of hearing. 


It was like a bomb had exploded in my head, limbs  and all I had left was my torso slowly falling down.  It was like an out of body experience, I literally pulled myself together and walked over to the table put my hand on the table and looked at him straight in eye.  He waves me off and says "yes, yes I know it wasn't you, now leave so we can finish our game"  I then lean in farther and say quietly but loud enough that I know he will hear me and tell him "this isn't the first time you've yelled at me and told me to shut up when it wasn't even me talking.  I've had enough it upsets me and I'm not going to put up with it any further"  He spatters something back at me but by this time I'm so panicked I grab my purse and go outside. 


A lady gave me a ride home and as soon as I entered the door I fell to knees and sobbed uncontrollably, then I thought I was going to be sick so I quickly stood up, took some deep breaths and called Gord.  He wasn't there and I didn't know what to do or say, the young girl talked with me and started to calm me down and then a knock came to the door and it was Gord.   I have never wanted to die so badly as I did today, yet as I said I can't let down my husband, children, grandchildren friends, me and yes even Gord. 


So my cloak of Pain now owns me for a few days.  I am going to fight with all my life no matter what the pain to beat this.  Life is to precious, yes even mine.  Goodnight all.  Moe

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Sundays

Do you have one day of the week that is the worst for you?  Mine is Sundays, and for many reasons:


1-most of the time my husband works them and when he does the midnight shift is the worse because he is gone all night and sleeps all day. I talk to my cat but she never answers, language barrier for sure.


2-most people get together with family and have family outings or family dinners.  Since none of my family include me in any of these it hurts like hell.  Especially when you hear from someone that they are all getting together at a sisters place on the lake and having a bar-b-q yet you have not been invited.  I'm #6 out of 8 so it's not like they didn't know I was in the house growing up.


3-most of my friends are busy with their own families and those that aren't are working shift work like my husband.


4-the only time I wasn't depressed or hated Sundays was when I lived in Toronto.  There was always something to do and all within a bus, walk or subway ride away.  Now that I've lost my license again because of the seizures I can't even go for a ride or go to the Bay for some shopping. Living in Toronto I never felt lonely like I do up here.


5-when my mom & dad were alive and then after my father's death it became a tradition for mom & I to get together on Sundays.  There were Sundays that my mom would go to a siblings place for the day and then stay for dinner and if other members of the family were invited she would make them invite me too.  Most times I wouldn't go because if they really wanted me there they would have called me too. Families!


6-During the years before my mom went into the nursing home, mom would come & live with us after surgeries, when she broke her arm or just wanted to come back to South River for a visit.  My one sister lived for a time just around and I mean just around the corner from me.  She would call and say that she would pick mom up for church and then take her back to her place for the afternoon and then would call later and say she was staying for supper.  I would find out later that half the family was there for supper except for me & my boys.  Damn that hurts and still hurts today, you know the old saying you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family or your friends nose. LOL


So there it is, I could go on and on and still it wouldn't change how I'm feeling.  So I've gone for a walk, didn't work.  Gone to the garden and pulled weeds, didn't work, baked a pie which I'm sure I'll end up eating most of it because that's what I do when I get down.  So now I'm making a pasta salad for supper and I'm going to walk over and get a chicken to go with it. 


Have a great day to whom ever reads this and remember Your Happiness is Yours, Your Anger is Yours, Your sadness is Yours all of your feelings are yours and yours alone except if you are depressed on Sundays then you can blame your whole DAMN FAMILY.   LOL  Love ya Moe