Thanks for the welcome

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who has welcomed me into this group. I appreciate

the words of encouragement; this weekend has been one of those where

I've needed all the help I could get. My grandma's blood pressure has

been up and down for three days now- but she's adjusting to a new

medicine, and she's been worrying over some family difficulties. One

of my aunts may be losing her job soon, and my uncle (her brother) is

having financial problems,so, being their mother, my grandma is

naturally worried. But, they have both been here in the last day or

so and some of the things that were said seem to be reassuring her

that they will be okay. Hopefully, that will help that part of her

problems. She's also having difficulty with her stomach-the muscle

that separates her stomach and her small intestine is weak, and it

allows bile to seep into her stomach. This causes her to be queasy

almost all the time. Therefore, she doesn't eat much, which seems to

just make the problem worse for her. We've come up with the idea of

her trying a really bland diet for a couple of weeks to see if that

gives her stomach a chance to heal from the irritation all of this

has caused and maybe she'll be better able to eat. Time will tell if

this is right.

To give a little perspective on me and my particular situation, let

me tell you a bit about my family. My grandma and grandpa (who died

22 years ago) have three children- my dad, who is the oldest, his

brother- the middle child, and their sister, who is obviously the

baby. I'm my parents only child, and I'm single with no kids or

other entanglements...plus I've always been close to my grandma,so

that's partially why taking care of her has become my " job " . My uncle

has four grown children and one adopted child who is almost 6 and is

a special needs child. All of the grown children are married or at

least have a significant other, and have children. My aunt has two

daughters, with whom I'm fairly close; the oldest girl is almost 21

and a newlywed, the other girl is 14 and in high school.

Also, I lost both of my other grandparents- my mom's parents- within

a year of each other. That grandma died on New Year's Day 2005; her

husband died Jan. 13,2006.

The last statement is why I sometimes have difficulty dealing with my

situation. It's hard to see someone suffer, but it's worse when

that's your grandmother, someone you're very close to- and to not be

able to do anything about it. And, of course, her mortality is in the

back of my mind. I know she could have a good many years left (her

dad was 97 when he died-in 1997); but none of us knows for sure. So,

I try to help her enjoy and make the best of every day she has.

As for taking care of myself- I do the best time will allow. Most

nights, I spend about 45 minutes or so reading before I go to bed; I

usually squeeze in an hour or so on my PS2 about every other day; I

spend a couple of hours online at least every other day, and I spend

as much time with my dog as I can.

Speaking of which, I have to go now...my mom just called and asked me

if I want to go shopping with her..and that's just not an offer I

refuse easily So, I'll post more some other time.

Hope everyone has a good week.