Heidi Chronicles: Masked Invasion

Praying that the steroid kicks in on that inflammation and the pain pills do their job(without doing a job on you)

Awwwww Cheryl.......... Sorry to hear yoru in such pain again. Joining my voice with others that you get some relief and a ood plan for future mgt of th epain or total relief. I know all them days of sittign in court sure didn't help. I wondered about that, the amoutn of time you ha d to sit mor eor less in one position. you done gone and got somethign agrivated again.

be sure an ddrip yoru pipe sagain tonight or you'll wake up to the sam ething. Even though it seems warmer today, that groudn an dthem pipe s still gonan be cold an d may freez e right back up again.

I know this may soudn crazy but have you thought about getting oen of them massage thingie s fo rthe bed. Wonder if that would help. Ya coudl always find a motel that has them quarter machines and giv eit a try and see if it works.

Thanks very much, Everyone.

Most of the time I keep a stiff upper lip and keep trudging on. I guess it is just starting to wear on me a bit now. Back in December when the problem flared up, I just knew that it would go away again in a week or so or certainly after I took a round of steroids. I had no idea it would go on this long. It's beginning to feel very permanent now, and that is distressing. I'm encouraged by the guy I met on jury duty, the one who said after surgery he has no further problems, but I know that each injury and each person are different.

On my new job, the 1st week so many people invited me to go to lunch with them and so forth. I went along for a few [glorious] days, but all the walking just aggravated my back all the more. By the 3rd day or so I had to start to beg out and sit on the sidelines. One guy offered to show me around the building, but I couldn't make it. The pain itself is difficult enough, but it is also embarrassing and isolating not to be able to keep up with the other 'kids'.

Today when I lost it - and I never cry, can't recall the last time I did so - the Dr was telling me not to loose hope as there are things that can be done and that we will do them. Trying to keep that stiff upper lip, but it is difficult because it hurts pretty much all of the time now, feels like I have a daggar through my hip. Walking is excrutiating. Sitting hurts and the pain increases over time. Often lying down even hurts. Nothing except the pain pills seems to give me any relief at all lately, and even they don't eliminate the pain altogether. Oh, what I wouldn't pay for 10 pain free minutes.

Thanks so much for all of your support.

Audrey,

I feel for you. Right now I have to have the cart or go back home w/o shopping, so I go early in the mornings and late in the evenings to avoid the crowds. That seems to work well. .On Sat and Sun I try to get there before 10AM, preferably before 9AM. Failing that I will go around 8 or 9PM. Oh, and if going to WalMart you have to avoid certain days when large numbers of customers get paid. I don't know all of the days but know that the 1st of the month seems to be a bad day.

starlight,

LOL about getting one of those beds that takes quarters. What if I need a message and don't have any quarters?!

I do have several message thingies and keep threatening to drag one out. They only help while I'm using them, but even that beats nothing. To get relief, I have to lie on the device to get it pressed against the area forcefully enough so it's limiting since I still have a lot of stuff to do and can't afford to spend too much time lying around.

I guess the back thing also plays a part in my recent reduction in posts. I have to sit up to type, and that aggravates my back. In a very short time, I get the feeling of that daggar piercing my hip again - like now. Then I can't thing well, my words begin to get garbled and strained, and I just want to lie down again. After a little of that, I start deciding that whatever the raccoons did that night wasn't all that important, after all.

As for the water/pipes, as soon as the water broke through today, I left it dripping! Not taking any more chances. Thanks for reminding me though. This AM when I had no water, I kept thinking of your words a few nights ago - words I should have taken as a warning - about how it was going to get really cold again and how you wondered if Heidi would hide out in her home instead of coming to eat. She did, BTW, apparently 'hole up' somewhere. I went out at the regular time and sat for maybe 15-20min and never saw a single raccoon. Next time that happens I'm going to try to remember to check with the weather channel before going to bed.

LOL at me trying to get going this morning. I just could not seem to get it together w/o a bath! I felt so 'icky' and just kept thinking "I have to shower" and then I would remember, again, that there wasn't a single drop of water. I brushed my teeth with Mello Yello! (...and even gave it a quick thought as a demi-bath substitute before realizing the stickiness factor just wouldn't work.) Thank goodness, Widget still had some water in his containers. By noon, when it still hadn't thawed yet, I was wondering if I could get him to drink Sprite when he ran out of water - but I knew better as he is not fond of bubbles.

Water and backs. You don't thoroughly appreciate either until they are gone.

When my sciatica gets bad, I have to stand all of the time, NO sitting at the computer. I stand with one foot on a foot stool. Or, at the kitchen sink, on a spray can. Something about having one rump in a stretch that helps me.

Starlight,

Forgot to mention. I don't know what got my back all out of sorts, and I have no clue why some days are fairly good and others awful. Some have suggested that rain may make it worse, and I think you suggested the cold. Don't know if either of those are actual culprits, but, coincidentally, it was raining on one of my exceptionally bad days and sunny the next day when things went fairly well. Right now it is extremely cold out (again tonight looking for 20F) and the pain is high.

Likewise, as you mentioned, all those hours of sitting during jury duty didn't help much, but I also have to sit all day at work, and, when you get right down to it, there aren't a lot of other options. Sitting hurts and walking hurts even more. Lying down is about the only thing left, and I can't do that all day and all night. I do find that some chairs 'hurt' more than others, and it isn't always obvious which is which until I sit in them. The seats in the jury box were very painful for me, so I was very glad the judge tried to give us a break every hour or two to go back to our jury room. The seats in the jury room were much more comfortable for me. After 30min to an hour in the jury box (in court) I was in escallating pain, while I could sit in the chair in the jury room for hours before experiencing any pain.

Most unfortunately, my chair at work is very, very painful. I sat for hours in the conference room w/o much discomfort but my back is killing me w/in an hour of sitting in my chair at my desk. I think I may have to ask for a different chair but am reluctant to do so when I haven't even worked 2 weeks yet, especially since I know that if I get a different/better chair all of the other children will want one, too. ; )

The one thing of which I am sure is that something is very wrong with my back/hip. This sciatica thing causes pain to run down the leg, too. When I talked to the guy at jury duty, the one who said he had the same thing and surgery fixed it, I knew he 'got it' the moment he said that his hurt so bad that in the end he was willing to do anything, even loose the leg, to make the pain go away.

June,

I guess every situation must be a little different. Standing makes mine worse, much worse. The moment I stand up it is as though a clock starts ticking down. I have a very small amount of time before the pain will begin to escalate. Once it does so, I have to find a place to sit and fast as the pain will be off the charts in minutes.

Sitting even for a minute will help to reset the pain back close to the pre-standing level so that I can stand again for a short time. That is why I had to sit on every bench along the street to get from the parking garage to the court. It's hard to explain, but once the pain escalates beyond a certain point I have to sit somewhere, anywhere fast - and I don't much care where once the pain reaches that level. On the way back to the car from court the 1st day, I made it all the way to the parking garage (and I was parked on Level 1 just a short distance away), but I couldn't go another step. I actually sat right down on the sidewalk and dared anyone to say anything.

Now you may wonder how I could sit down on the ground and get up again with a bad back. I don't know. That doesn't hurt. It's as much a mystery to me as to anyone else. Anyhow, for me, standing and walking are the most painful of all. That said, if I do have to stand for a minute or two, it does seem to help a little to shift my hip 'up' in a manner similar to what you describe. I have also found that when I am sitting it helps if I can elevate the effected leg. I think that takes some of the pressure off that hip.

These days, before I walk anywhere, I have to plan my route carefully to find sitting places and to estimate if I can make it from one to the other. It's pretty said really.

On a happier [and more raccoon related] note...

2 nights ago when I went out Heidi was out there waiting in her tree. When I called her she jumped down and came to me. I stooped down beside her bowl and used my hand like a crane to pick up handfuls of dog food and drop it in her bowl. At 1st she was a few feet back from the bowl. By the time I was putting the 2nd handful in the bowl, she was standing with her nose almost touching it. She stood there patiently [for Heidi] while I added a 3rd handful. She didn't even shy away as the hand moved from bucket to bowl so close to her. Then when I had finished, she reached out with both hands, one on either side of the bowl, and grabbed the bowl pulling it towards her as she backed away from me. She stopped about 2ft back and sat down to eat.

Well, ok, she wasn't happy until she moved the bowl back from me a bit, but all in all, I guess when a wild raccoon is willing to stand while you shovel food into a bowl right up against her nose, that's not half bad - even if she does signify that she doesn't care to eat beside you. I tried not to take it too personally.

I also gave her a cup of blueberry yogurt, fruit on the bottom, regular type with good, old-fashioned sugar, but she didn't eat it. When she took her bowl back a ways, she left the yogurt behind. As she was eating the kits kept trying to get tot he yogurt. Heidi kept grumbling at them, and each time they would walk away until finally one kit could wait no longer and started eating the yogurt despite Heidi's grumbles.

Once Heidi left the kits argued over the yogurt. At that point, I started passing out finger sandwiches with a very thin film of strawberry frosting. All of the kits were willing to come to me to get the frosting wiches, and this allowed the yogurt cup to pass from kit to kit as its owners left to get their sandwich. With only a thin film of frosting, the kits all ate the s/w bread and all instead of just licking the frosting off as they so often do.

I had also picked up 3 more of those huge acorns from the sidewalk and had taken them out that evening. I tossed 2 to Heidi as she was eating but did not see (or hear) her eating them. I tossed the 3rd to a kit who was eating near me. He picked it up immediately, and I could hear him crunching it. I need to get out behind the building to gather more before they are gone, but the back issue has kept me from venturing too far.

Tonight, if anyone is out there in the cold, I will be serving raspberry preserves on bread.

Hubby has a walker that has a seat on it JUST for that. Best $225. he ever spent.

Oooooh, June,

Did 'Hubby' have a job at the time? Somehow I think that would be a deal breaker at the office. People aren't supposed to discriminate against the handicapped, but somehow I think that would be like putting a big bull's eye on my back labeled 'old person'. Not good when everyone at work is so young and healthy. So far I've been trying to hide my 'decrepid' problems at work.

...but I will keep that recommendation in mind if things get much worse...

I did buy a little folding stool that I can carry over one shoulder. It's marketted for artists and only weighs a 2lbs or so. I actually bought 2. One has a nicer seat but is somewhat bulky to carry. The other is almost as small one of those umbrellas that folds down to about 10-12in. That one is easier to carry but not as nice for sitting. I have carried them with me a few times and am tempted to take them with me to work since I have to walk a good distance now from the parking lot.

A suggestion I would make for the parking lot journey if pushing off with your foot is not a problem is that you consider purchasing one of the skinny razor scooters that seem to be popular right now. Pretty inobtrusive and you would probably have to hide it from the other kids or they would be zipping around in the halls with it.

No luck with the raccoons. Actually, it was a lot like Christmas Eve. Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. It's 29F out right now. The water in the pool was not frozen, but something was definitely amis out there as there was not a sign of like anywhere. Normally, if the raccoons were not around those 2 mice - Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb - would have been sneaking around trying to get a morsel of something, but even they were no where to be found. According to the weather channel the low is now set for 18F (OMG! I've never seen anything like that here!). I wonder if the animals realize the mercury is plunging downward steeply - maybe they all think it better to stay in their homes and conserve warmth now rather than running around now and going back to their homes all frozen later when it is 20 or below.

ROTFLOL, tetleytuna!

Now that would be a hoot! Hmmm. I might consider trying one of those. Have you tried one? Are they hard to balance? Wouldn't want to risk breaking anything else until I get the back fixed. I love how that idea turns the need for 'assistance' around and makes me look young and hip instead of old and decrepid.

LOL at the other kids wanting to play with it in the hall during recess. I can see my 30yr old colleagues zipping around on it now.

I should clarify that I don't think for one minute that using a walker or any other form of assistance makes one old and decrepid - not to mention that I am old and decrepid. And I think we all know by now that generally I don't care what people think of me. Work is the one exception because, like it or not, agree with it or not, what people think of you on the job will effect your job, your opportunities for advancement, and your salary.

Work really is an awful lot like high school, and the other kid's opinions of you can be quite subjective and, unfortunately, can greatly effect your opportunities.

Terese,

How are things at your house? I was curious when you mentioned that there was no luxury but you were happy to have a crockpot. Can you not use the stove? I've seen on TV that things are very bad in KY, but didn't realize they might also be bad where you are.

Starlight,

I forgot to tell you but one day during the recent cold spell in KY, they mentioned on the news that one that particular day it was colder in your state than in Alaska. Wow. That really put things in perspective for me.

It is cold here right now but all in all I think that we have had it pretty good. Today it was colder in Atlanta than here. Seems like it has been colder above us and below us, as though we are in some kind of [slightly warmer] pocket. That said, I sure hope I still have water tomorrow.

melody,

Thanks for checking in. It sounds very rough there, but I'm glad to hear that you are getting by and are still in good spirits as that is probably 1/2 the battle. That is incredible that your house is staying around 62F. Is that w/o any heat or do you maybe have a fire going or something like that?

Hang in there and let us know if we can do anything to help.

KY has been officially declared a disaster area so that we qualify for federal aid. I'll bet there are other states that qualify, too, but I didn't hear. That is freaky about SC getting so cold! I hope the racoons have all put aside their differences and are cuddling together to keep warm.

On the tv I heard that the nat guard is going door to door to check on people in KY and deliver food - including, apparently, poison peanut butter - hey, I guess the gov't probably got a bargain on the stuff. Not really very funny though as the cold must be miserable enough w/o food poisoning on top of it. Hope everyone in the super cold areas is getting by ok.

So, do you guys up there need food? Is it that you can't get out to get to stores and/or they are all closed? Are you able to get mail, UPS, etc? Do you need stuff and can we send you staples to hold you over until things clear up a bit?

KyWoods,

Have you 'heard from' feral kitty yet? I've known outside cats to stay gone for days before and come home fine but very hungry. It's like they go on mini-vacations and don't know why we are so worried and why we aren't filling the food bowl faster. I don't know about the severe cold, though. That is scary. Hope she is ok.

I'm sure none of these raccoons have ever seen such bitter cold before, not even Heidi. I hope they know how to take care of themselves. Even Heidi's mom could not have prepared her for this kind of cold. Hope the instincts kick in. I sure hope she doesn't have any kits out there. I don't think so, but don't know for sure.

Just to clarify, the inland parts of SC, especially up near the NC border do routinely get this cold and colder in winter. Some areas up there even get some snow on a fairly regular basis. It's here along the coast, particularly the mid to southern coastal areas that rarely see freezing temps and virtually never go below 28F.

Our household is ok, thanks to chains and studded snow tires. Good question on the mail delivery, though, in some of the remote areas...Yeah, isn't that awful about the peanut butter? They said no illness reported, but they are not handing out those meals now. sheesh...
That's a good idea, Cheryl--I wonder if an emergency thread could be opened, like it was for the hurricanes?

Edit: Yes, KittyCoon is alive and well and holed up under the covered back deck, beneath two layers of carpet remnants.



This message was edited Feb 5, 2009 10:40 PM

Anybody know who to ask about the emergency thread?

I know we had one after the floods, but I don't think I was here during the hurricaines. I helped during the floods, to locate people.

On a different note, I was just checking the fridge. I have a spare slice of tiramisu in there that I don't want, but I don't suppose that would be an appropriate treat for raccoons/wildlife. Huh? Hate to waste 'food', although tiramisu may not actually qualify as such. I can just see Psycho on a caffeine high.

Try a bite to see what happens! They might not like it.

Here, I found this thread about our issues in the Weather forum:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/946772/

Oops. I just remembered one very important fact. It takes me a few months to mail anything - priority. My bad. I mean well, but, especially now with the back pain and inability to stand in long lines at the PO, I think folks in dire need of supplies will not survive if they have to wait for me to get a package in mailed out to them.

Oh, and I am STILL working on that paperwork I never finished for my new job. I am on HR's speed dial, well, no, actually I'm on speed-email. That's because my phone has not been turned on yet, and do you know why? Because I didn't fill out some IA document certifying that I had reviewed the IA rules. Oh, I really, really am a mess. It is a very good thing that my actual skills are still in vogue or I would never get or keep a job.

Speaking of skills, I am a bit confused about some things. Well, a lot of things really, but one in particular. Every day on the news I hear that thousands and even hundreds of thousands more people are loosing their jobs - which is very, very scary. I keep hearing and reading that things are very bad and will get worse before they get better. The source of my confusion is that everywhere I go in my city, I see 'help wanted' posted on just about every business, everywhere. So I figure, ok, but many people don't want those types of jobs. Maybe that explains it. But now, my new job has me all the more confused. This company sends out [internal] job opening emails - all day, every day. They are filling up my inbox like crazy. 3, 3 more, 4, 6 more, etc, etc. All types of jobs from blue collar to white collar, admin, IT, Program Manager, you name it.

I tell you just in the few days since I finally managed to hack my way into my email account, I'll bet I've collected 4 dozen or more of them. Jobs in Charleston, VA, MD. I don't read them all, so there may well be other locations.

My group is desperate, desperate I tell you, for more people, primarily developers, integrators, problem solvers. The other day the guy sitting near me in the bldg (and whom I know from a prior incarnation) came over to ask if I have any friends or aquaintances with xyz skills because his group is desperate...

So, how can this be? How can there at once be massive unemployment and multiple companies and projects desperately seeking workers? Location? Maybe most of the folks live elsewhere and don't want to relocate. Or maybe these still are not the jobs and benefits that they want. Or maybe it's a mismatch between skills and requirements. Still, it does make one scratch there head. I for one think companies need to think more in terms of hiring people from around the country and allowing them to work remotely. I think the time has come for that sort of thing. We have the technology. Why not use it especially in this age when jobs are becoming so fleeting that one hates to relocate for a 3yr gig?

Ok, that's my rant for today - too much medication if you know what I mean, but it is strange to get a few dozen job opening emails a day and have people come to my desk to plead for resumes and then go home to hear on the news that there are no jobs.

Hmmm, must be location. There's an Ohio DGr's husband who's been looking in several states with no luck. They have six kids and one on the way, too! She even posted his resume on an Ohio River Valley Gardener's thread and said to send it out to everyone you know. So please see if his experience meets your company's needs, Cheryl. That would be wonderful for them!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/craigmey

KyWoods,

I gave it a quick look just now. Will check the list of openings tomorrow to see if anything looks like a potential match. Seems like something should fit. Not all of the openings are in SC. Many are in MD and VA, probably other places, but those are the only ones I recall. Will get right on it tomorrow. : )

Another DGr just lost her job suddenly, in Ohio. I'll tell her about you. Another one in Mi. is sending out resumes. I'll tell her, too.

I'm not about to laugh at your freezing pipes, Cheryl; we went through that far too many times after first moving to this area from VA. We'd never had a well before, and they do have their issues; the water lines are above ground in the little "pump house" outbuilding where the pipes enter and leave the pump. The first winter, our pipes seemed to freeze every time we turned around. We added more insulation to the pump house, and they still froze. Thankfully the little outbuilding has electrical power, so we put an electric radiator out there that we can turn on low on cold nights. That mostly solved the problem, but there are still nights when we have to leave a faucet dripping; especially lately, when we've been in single digits many nights. I do truly hate waking up to no water; or finding that the pre-bedtime shower is not an option.

So sorry to hear that the pain has been so bad for you. Have you ever considered trying a chiropractor? I know many people think they're quacks, and there certainly are problems they can't help; but I come from a family prone to back "issues," and chiropractors have often been the only thing keeping us mobile and pain-free. I have a close friend who suffered for years with periodic episodes of sciatica, so I'm very familiar with the level of pain you're describing. Finally she got desperate enough to take my suggestion to try a chiropractor. He got her through that episode after several visits, and suggested she come back once a month to help keep her spine properly aligned and not pressing on the problem nerve. Of course, once she felt better she stopped going; and after a while the sciatica returned full force. She now goes for regular visits, and hasn't had sciatica in over a year. Just a thought; it's a whole lot less invasive and expensive than surgery, and you know pretty quickly if they can help you.

I'm sure the raccoons are doing fine despite the record cold weather. Nature has a way of knowing when it's going to be a hard winter, and gives the creatures extra-heavy coats to get them through. The biggest problem for wildlife is finding sources of non-frozen water; but in your area, it no doubt warms up enough in daytime to keep that from being a serious threat.

I seem to have been missing forever, but actually it was only 9 days and 35 minutes. And it is very nice to be back, and to be warm again. Cheryl, I am sorry for your back problems, I think I mentioned to you about my situation, which also might help you.

I lost lots of trees, plants, too, I guess. But except for a few places on the roof I hope my house is intact. Insurance adjustor will be here on Saturday so we'll see. I am really truly fortunate, because so many lost their homes and others lost their lives. I am also fortunate to live in a tight knit community, and last Sunday, all the kids who are now grown up, but who at one time were students of mine, came over and got the branches out of the front yard so that I could get my car out. Of course the back and side yards are still a disaster, but maybe I can get that cleaned up on the weekend.

Nice to be back home, too. We had no electricity where I stayed, but they had a fireplace, so that was good. I tell folks that I really can live off the land, but the problem was I could not find the land for the ice and debris (limbs, trees, electrical wires....) it has really been a rough time.

But tonight I am sleeping in my own bed, and my house is almost up to 60 now, so all is well.
Thanks for your warm wishes and good thoughts.
Cheryl, I am concerned for your back.

Sharran, so glad to hear you're home and safe. So sorry to hear about the losses to your garden: inevitable but very painful, always. Hope the spring will bring unexpected things back to life; take care and stay warm.

Ky woods. I was thinkign about the sameperson you were as soon as I saw Cheryl's post about job emails. Would be greta if he could find something, would remove alot of pressure on the family for sure.

For emergency threads I think you need to Dmail Terri or Dave and they will decide if such a thread should go up.

I know when we had Katrina go up there were lots and lots of folks that had no homes literally to go to our places to say and we put how many rooms up and how many people we could take for somebody who needed a place to live.

With the warm spell coming this week, wondering if Heidi will have her babies. Does anybody happen to remember did she eat tons before she gave birth , then disappear for a bit.

Cheryl. The idea of the super duper roller board thign reminde dme of somethign else. What abotu one of them thinks that like a motorized scooter. Mail folks andothe rfolks use use, they got a movie out right now too mall cop that uses one. Can't think of the name of them for nothing, but think they fold up in the car. That would certainly get ya across the parkign lot faster. Since ya work with technology maybe folsk wouldnt even notice or ya could say ya workign on idea or design for motorized ones that run by computer control commands or something.

While the disaster is huge, we've got the basic services up and running. Stores, gas stations and banks are now open. Our ice and snow is gone, just the damage remains. I'm not aware of any DG'rs in extreme need, but thanks so much for thinking of us.

My crock pot was my friend...couldn't run my electric range on the generator. Crock pot didn't pull much elect.

I could make soup and keep it hot for a couple of days. (until we ate it)

Great idea, Melody, I will file away that bit of info in case I ever need it!
It's 51 here in the northern tip of the state today, and that's supposed to continue at least 'til Wed!! I hope for the same for you more southern KY folks.

Missed you today, Scutler...hope you are OK.