About 20 years ago I was diagnosed with a brain tumor that was the size of a lime. I was about 10 years old at the time but looked like I was 5 years old. Anyway, as a result of the operation and brain tumor I no longer have a pituitary gland. I also lost the majority of sight in my right eye. I take 7 or 8 different meds just to make my body function normally. I have water diabetes, hypothyroidism, osteoporosis, etc... I took growth hormone for 10 years just to get to 4'11". About 7 years ago I fell on some stairs and received a compression fracture of the 9th vertebrae and cracked two ribs as a result of the osteoporosis. I have had many broken bones over the span of my life. The osteoporosis is getting better slowly. Come this winter I will practically inprison myself because I am so afraid of ice. The humidity in the air can really make my previously broken bones really ache especially my back.
Cathy
My challenges
Oh, Cathy, I'm sorry you're hurting. Talk to us any time - we understand and we'll listen! :o)
Thank you gardenwife! Everyone here is so kind and understanding! Thank you all!:o)
tinkerbell...sorry to hear you are having it rough...medical breakthroughs have been wonderful for many...without my surgery which was unheard of not long ago...I wouldnt be alive....however I am alive today, I can raise my kids...I however I am not in the shape you are in...I wasnt totally cured...but my life is liveable again...I thank the Lord for that.
Cathy it is heart warming for me to read your against the odds post,,it is nice to know your still trying to enjoy life as you know it,,I know for me I watch my husband try to keep our lives as normal as possible,,I know he does it with a high cost to himself ,,and like most with diabilities he deals with life day to day enjoying each good day to the utmost,,
Thanks everyone! Life can be a struggle at times but I just try to remind myself that I am sure that there are other people out there who are in worse shape than I am. I love, love, love to garden. Even if my body doesn't always like it. Turning over my veggie garden takes a toll on my back. What's funny about it though, is that I keep expanding it!:o) I keep planting new flowers every year too and not always bulbs or perennials either. Go figure! I keep hoping that someday they'll be able to fix my right optic nerve so that I can see out of that eye again. I imagine they will someday. It would be nice if they could do it in my lifetime though! Thanks again everyone for your kindness and understanding!!!!!!!!! This is truly one of the best places on the web!:o)
Tinkerbell, so sorry for your pain, that is so sad. But thank God you can still see your lovely garden work with one eye. I have no sight in my right either. But a friend of mine lost his sight totally two years ago and I suddenly felt very, very lucky. Have you noticed that you hurt more when the presssure changes from low to high or vice versa too? We had a real dry spell this summer when I hurt and finally figured out what was going on. Hang in there Honey.
You are a great person. Isn't it great to find a sight with a place for gardeneners that are handicapable??!!
Hi ozarksue, the dry doesn't bother me too much but the cold does seem to bother me more. Thanks everyone for your support and understanding! It is great to find a web site with a place for gardeners that are disabled!!!:D
hi cathy,
welcome. it is good to hear your positive attitude. i too try to keep mine up and running. :) my pain gets worse in the rain and cold. i very rarely go out in the winter because the cold just grabs ahold of my muscles and sends me and them into orbit. i'm not looking forward to the cold weather and am soaking up every last ray of warmth before the daily cold sets in. 3 years ago i would not have been able to garden. now i can. happy happy joy joy. :-) although god has chosen these challenges for us, she also gives us the strength to enjoy life to the fullest.
take care and god bless. its nice to have you here.
debi z
ps is widefield, anywhere near glenwood springs?
Hi debi z, thanks for your kind words!:o) I like you, try to enjoy life to the fullest. Glenwood springs is north west of me. It is at least a 100 miles west of Denver and Widefield is at least 70 miles south of Denver.
cathy
Interesting to note someone else has made the same observation about the barometric pressure. Yes, I can definitely tell you it has been obvious to me for more than 20 years, and that's long enough to convince me it's a fact. It's worse for me when it gets above 29, but just changing significantly in either direction hurts. I don't mean just the pain of arthritis, it's more of an "I just hurt all over and can't get comfortable" feeling. But reading here about some of the difficulties others must endure, I feel like I'm fortunate. But it has come home to me that, with or without cancer, I have become an old person!
Hi dont know about the baro pressure today but it only got to 50 with brisk wind and my body aches everywhere despite my medicine. I dread going out for supper with a dear friend even-rather stay in the warm but it is better not to give in
I agree 100% with you Aimee and marclay! The barometric pressure does make my back hurt and any bones that have been broken. It's not fun, nor is it easy to not give into the pain and aches. There are days when I wish I could just stay in bed all day long but it's not good for me mentally so I just try to grin and bear it.
You are better than me, there are many days when I do just stay in bed or keep going back. I felt guilty about it, but my sweet daughter in law Julie says if I feel like it, I must need the rest. When the kids were little and I was a single mommy working several jobs, I couldn't do that, so I'm making up for lost time. Is it possible that sleep deprivation accrues interest, so you just get more and more behind? Actually, I don't function on a 24 hour schedule very well, as I will go nonstop for 2-3 days, then collapse in a heap. Makes me seem manic! Winter is blessedly short here, or I would have to hibernate. And those pains don't make me very charming company anyway, so I might as well. It's good to know others are at least tempted, but a little embarrassing to be the only one who gives in.
Aimee, don't feel guilty or embarrased about giving in! Everyone deals with pain differently. That is the one thing that I have learned through this whole thing. Even if you and I were hurt in the exact same way we would still deal with our pain differently! Who's to say that I wouldn't be the one who gives in all the time. I'm sure that you deal with your pain the best you can. So what if you don't function on a 24 hour schedule! Is there some law written somewhere saying that you have to regardless of your pain. I don't have arthritis so I don't know the pain you go through and you don't know the pain I go through. I do have that "can't get comfortable feeling" in the winter. If I lay down I'm not comfortable. My husband will want to sit and hold me while we watch a movie or something. I hate to do it but I end up saying I can't let you hold me because I'm uncomfortable and hurting. I wish our winters weren't very long. It seems like winter lasts forever!!!!!!! I love living in Colorado because it is so beautiful here and my family is here. I wish that we had a home somewhere where it was warm that we could go to in the winter though. Don't feel guilty or embarrassed!
I once told a friend, "I feel like a teenager in a 90 year old body"my whole life has been overlapping in chronic pain.one thing after another.I feel I haven't accomplished much in my life. I see others with worse disabilities than I ,who have been able to do things to support themselves. I have always felt I was a burden to my birth family, and now to my own family. I do the best I can, and leave the rest to God.For whatever reason ,I believe I am his work in progress. Helping to give a little cheer to those around me is my goal. I keep myself busy with many projects, I can do myself,When I get tired, no matter what time of the day, or how often, I lie down,I've learned to somewhat pace myself and I eventually get most of the things done that HAS to be done....Sermons over for today .GOD BLESS
Thanks Tink Shirley
Tink76627, you shouldn't feel like you are a burden to your birth family or your own family. I am sure that both love you and care for you just the way you are!:) As long as you do the best you can in whatever you do I am sure that's all that anyone ever wants from you. That's good that you give a little cheer to those around you. It's good that you don't sit around and feel sorry for yourself, not that you would. However, I have known people who are blind or disabled in one way or another and they walk around with a chip on their shoulder. It doesn't do them or anyone else any good. In my opinion, the best thing anyone can do is to live their lives to the best of their ability. I think that there is obviously a reason why all of us are here on earth. Perhaps the reason is for people to understand and to have compassion for those of us who are disabled in one way or another.:)
You're welcome Shirley.:D
tink (Cathy)
Cathy,
I know how you feel. I am so sorry that things are so hard on you. I think we should all get together in one large house and than at least someone ought to be able to do what needs done. :) Take care ((((((((Cathy))))))))
Hey, ya'll, I can do dishes and I sweep a mean floor. And I can rotate that with deep cleaning the bath and organizing the kitchen cabinets. If we find a house big enough, say about half the size of Texas, you can count on me. But will someone else plan the meals and do the shopping? And maybe I can count on Tink to keep the CDs playing in the background. But Shoe and Jim will have to change the light bulbs, I just can't deal with things like that.
Thanks HoniBee!:) ((((((((((HoniBee)))))))))) Everyone here is so understanding. I think that's a great idea for all of to get together in one large house so that someone can do a task another can't!:D I'd be glad to keep the CD's playing in the background and plan the meals. ((((((((((Aimee))))))))))
Things have been going pretty well lately. Haven't had much pain until about a week ago. I started having a pain on my left side on my back. I keep thinking that I must have pulled a muscle while planting some bulbs. However, the pain isn't going away and if I forget and bend over to the left I get a sharp pain. My DH thinks I should go see the doctor. I told him if it isn't any better by the end of next week I will. I just hate going to the doctor just for him to tell me I pulled something. I feel like I'm being a hypochondriac!!! I've tried putting mineral ice on it but it doesn't seem to be helping. Thanks again everyone for your support and for listening!! Hugs to all of you!!!!!
Tink, please don't wait too long. I felt like I could just tough it out, and ignored pain and other symptoms for over two years. When I finally gave in and went to the doctor, it was almost too late. Initially, I was told the cancer had advanced too far and I had just a few months to live. I gained absolutely nothing by not going earlier, and missed all the joy of living pain free for that long. Even if I had only been told I had nothing serious, it would have been worth it to have peace of mind. Like you, I worried even when I resisted going to find out, although I didn't say anything. Last Thanksgiving, my family got together at a restaurant I had always wanted to go to, at my request. I tried to act like everything was okay, but my daughter later told me she thought I was angry throughout the day. My pain just couldn't be hidden, and my loved ones didn't understand why I wasn't myself. For them, if not for yourself, make an appointment and go. Please!
Hi Aimee, you are right!!! My husband and I had a friend in college who kept have stomach pains for at least a year before he went to the doctor. When he finally did go he found out that it was cancer and that it was too advanced to do anything about it. He ended up dying a few months later. I promise that if it isn't better on Monday I'll make an appointment to see the doctor. You are so right that it is worth knowing for your own peace of mind. I sincerely hope that you are better now!!! Take care!!!