Courage

[Guest guest]

Courage

Your virtual tour was just what the doctor ordered. Thank you for

taking me on an overnight stay where there was no time to think of

anything except getting my butt in high gear to keep up with everyone

else. I think I can be of some help with driving the bus. I drive our

F150 Extended Cab Ford pick-up. I have to kind of 'jump' into it but

once in...I am a driving maniac. I also drive a catering van...with a

real back up horn, for my day job at Aramark. I think my crudentials

more than qualify me for the " Bus Driver " . Also, I AM hypoglycemic...so

we won't have to fib over that one. That in itself should get me front

center in line for all the eating establishments. I do have a real love

affair going on with food...

So, again, I want to personally thank you for ending a very sad,

heartbroken week with an uplifiting tour of Toronto!

I am grateful for your enthusiasm, creativity, and imagination!

Love-

Sandie

[Guest guest]

You're welcome Sandie and now that I know that you can drive the big rigs

and do have hypoglycemia you will be playing a leading role in our next

virtual trip. Tell me...have you flown any planes lately?

Courage

Re: COURAGE

>Courage

>Your virtual tour was just what the doctor ordered. Thank you for

>taking me on an overnight stay where there was no time to think of

>anything except getting my butt in high gear to keep up with everyone

>else. I think I can be of some help with driving the bus. I drive our

>F150 Extended Cab Ford pick-up. I have to kind of 'jump' into it but

>once in...I am a driving maniac. I also drive a catering van...with a

>real back up horn, for my day job at Aramark. I think my crudentials

>more than qualify me for the " Bus Driver " . Also, I AM hypoglycemic...so

>we won't have to fib over that one. That in itself should get me front

>center in line for all the eating establishments. I do have a real love

>affair going on with food...

>

>So, again, I want to personally thank you for ending a very sad,

>heartbroken week with an uplifiting tour of Toronto!

>I am grateful for your enthusiasm, creativity, and imagination!

>Love-

>Sandie

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

OMGosh.....have I flown any planes lately???!!! Well, no, but as a

matter of fact, now that you ask, I bought my husband a half hour flight

in a WWII Texan Warbird, fighter trainer plane. It was dual controlled,

with Todd in front and an experienced pilot seated behind him, and

believe it or not...THEY LEFT THE COCKPIT OPEN. They did barrel rolls,

nose dives, 4 point rolls, loops...while Todd was flying a plane for the

first time. I guess they knew what they were talking about when they

named the controller a " Joy Stick " . Personally, I would have seen my

cookies many times over seeing on the video just what they had

experienced. So, if you don't mind...I will bring him along for the

next virtual tour...and we shall call him " Pilot Todd " .

Talk Soon-

Sandie

[Guest guest]

Courage

I guess, together, we make quite the team...nincom

signed

poop

[Guest guest]

hahahahahahahahahahahhaahaha!

Re: Courage

>Courage

>I guess, together, we make quite the team...nincom

>signed

>poop

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

Maybe you should crash your neighbors backyard barbeque...I will bring

my truck, and I will drive...you bring the water balloon and soak

the......

you get the picture.

Sandie

[Guest guest]

hahahahahahahhahaha...sounds good to me Sandie!

Well, I've had to call security again at 8:30 this morning as she not only

called my daugther a " dirty " last night as she was walking by the

neighbour's house but was back at it again this morning. I had just walked

out into my backyard, tea cup in hand and hardly had my eyes completely

open. I swear it was as though she were waiting for me.

I'm just waiting on the security guard now to fill out a report and I'm

leaving! I refuse to stick around here to get harassed today and instead am

going to see if my mom is up to a wheel chair ride to her local park which

is hosting a Portuguese festival with good eats, games and rides. I need to

have some fun today. BTW, I took my mom to the same park on Friday and we

watched the people setting up the games and rides together. My mom just

adores stuffed animals (plushes - not the real thing ) and I approached

one of the women about purchasing a Tweety Bird for mom. Guess what? She

gave it to my mom for free. See, still some awfully nice people in the

world! When the woman asked my mom which stuffed animal she wanted my mom

responded with wonder in her eyes " one " .

It does seem as though a lot of not so nice things have hit me lately and

I'm trying to stay positive so that I don't invite anymore with a bad

attitude - the old inviting your nightmares thing.

Have a great day everyone,

Courage

Re: Courage

>Courage

>Maybe you should crash your neighbors backyard barbeque...I will bring

>my truck, and I will drive...you bring the water balloon and soak

>the......

>you get the picture.

>Sandie

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

Am proud of you for recognizing your dad on Father's Day...even if you

had to call back as a reminder to look for the gift. It is all in the

thought.

Think of you often, and keep you in my prayers.

Sandie

[Guest guest]

Thanks Sandie and you know it's mutual!

Courage

Re: Courage

>Courage

>Am proud of you for recognizing your dad on Father's Day...even if you

>had to call back as a reminder to look for the gift. It is all in the

>thought.

>Think of you often, and keep you in my prayers.

>Sandie

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

Thanks to Russ, I now know aricept is sin the same family of meds as

Reminyl. Mum is on 8 mg of Reminyl a day. Was just saying to someone

recently how people who keep in touch with Mum have been commenting how well

she is, with little evidence of her symptoms. I put that down to finally

getting her meds balance right. The most recent addition has been Reminyl,

and this is taken in addition to 100mg of Seroquel.

Note your mentions of Olivia taking Seroquel, was wondering how she was

getting with this. I noticd an almost immediate improvement in Mum when she

started on Seroquel.

> ,

>

> Aricept is a cholinesterase inhibitor, usually prescribed to treat

symptoms

> of cognitive loss. The other cholinesterase inhibitors are Reminyl

> (Galantamine) and Exelon.

>

> -Russ

>

> >Mum's not on Aricept, have noticed lots of posts about it, but forgotten

> what it's for. Can you >remind me?

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

Again, thank you for all of your support. Also, a huge thank you for

asking God for us to meet...I truly believe that will happen even if I

have to bring my truck up there and find " nasty " ...whoops, there I go

again. Must slap my own hands for the thought...as soon as I get the

truck keys out of my hands....hehehehe

Will let you know what I find out!

Hugs to ya Courage-

Sandie

[Guest guest]

Courage

We can wash down the Horse Tranquilizers with the best liquor this side

of the sun...thanks for the tip...:-))

Sandie

[Guest guest]

Courage

I had posted the test results, or atleast of what I know, that I don't

know yet. I will check my emails first, then repost if I need to.

Thanks for thinking of me. What you wrote keeps ringing through my

mind... " I asked God for us to meet, in this lifetime, not the next " and

that has truly sustained me. What a blessing it is to call you

'friend'.

Love to ya-

Sandie

[Guest guest]

Ditto here my friend!

Courage

Re: Courage

>Courage

>I had posted the test results, or atleast of what I know, that I don't

>know yet. I will check my emails first, then repost if I need to.

>Thanks for thinking of me. What you wrote keeps ringing through my

>mind... " I asked God for us to meet, in this lifetime, not the next " and

>that has truly sustained me. What a blessing it is to call you

>'friend'.

>Love to ya-

>Sandie

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Courage

Wow, thank you for the such kind heartfelt words to me. I feel as if we

have already met in person, therefore, some day we will. I will not

forget your virtual tours you have taken me on, and for the vivid

outings you have included me in with your mom. Thank you! You have

given me more wonderful memories of spending time with a parent and I am

forever grateful. Thank you for saying you will stay in touch, I just

can't imagine life without your insight, your humor, and your heart.

Plus, the way I look at it, we have a deed yet uncompleted...NASTY!, and

my truck hood ornament. I will keep in touch, and will keep you in my

prayers always. We shall meet someday, in THIS lifetime.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, plus the many hugs of

strength sent my way.

Holding you closely in my heart, and praying for you often!

Sandie

[Guest guest]

That's an interesting point about time. I do know Mum has little concept of

time. Hadn't thought about whether she realised I had been gone for a while.

That could well account for some of the comments she made while we were driving

down.

Would definitely like to make it to Canada, especially Toronto, Canada's always

been a fascination of mine. Now I know you are there it has become much more

appealing. Your offer of a sleepover at your house definitely appeals.

Anyway, it's getting late, so better hit the scratcher. Good Day from New

Zealand.

Whale watching photos

> > > Reply-To: LBDcaregivers

> > >

> > > Hi folks,

> > > Been lurking in the wings a bit recently. Busy decorating the back

> > > bedroom,

> > > sorting out the holiday photos, in fact anything except going

through

> > > dads

> > > box of papers or going to spend some time with him while he's still

> > > here.

> > > Feel rather bad really. Why is there never enough time in this

world.

> > > Anyway the point of all this is that a few weeks ago I went on a

whale

> > > watching trip between England and Spain. I promised to post some of

the

> > > pictures. I have to say that I think the wildlife photos are

> > > disappointing

> > > although some of the other ones I took are quite nice. See what you

> > > think...

> > > http://www.btinternet.com/~tracy.white/Pages/Bilbao.htm

> > > If you click on the first little photo you'll get a bigger one. You

> > > can then

> > > move through the whole series using the link under the photo.

> > > If you get to the end the last link takes you to the sites main page

> > > and you

> > > can look at some of the other stuff I've done. Click on " whales and

> > > dolphins " and there are a couple of photos that show what you can

get

> > > when

> > > things work out.... Maybe the next trip to Norway will get some

better

> > > whale

> > > pictures.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > PS Especially for Courage who wanted to come and for Sandie who has

> > > never

> > > seen the ocean. (I sent her the link a couple of days ago so she has

> > > seen

> > > them.)

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Courage,

I say " Ditto " to Piper's wishes for you and your family this weekend.

May the Brides' Mom be the most beautiful and well as her grandma. I

hope your Mom has a good time and you can all sleep for a few days when

this is over.

Happiness to the Bride and Groom!

Donna

[Guest guest]

Courage, i'll ditto that too.

Love and happiness to the bride and groom, here's hoping the mother of the bride

relaxes and enjoys herself and grandma has a wonderful time too.

Send us lots of pictures.

.x

Re: Courage

Courage,

I say " Ditto " to Piper's wishes for you and your family this weekend.

May the Brides' Mom be the most beautiful and well as her grandma. I

hope your Mom has a good time and you can all sleep for a few days when

this is over.

Happiness to the Bride and Groom!

Donna

[Guest guest]

Courage:

It's so amazing that you wrote that to me today of all days.

Just this morning I was driving down to see my dad at the hospital

and I called him to tell him I'd be a bit late due to traffic. As

always, when I hung up I told him I loved him. As I shut the phone I

thought to myself how odd it was that it no longer seemed strange

that I was so open about my feelings with my dad. Growing up, my dad

was not demonstrative and was truly the proverbial " strong, silent

type " . Today, I must tell him I love him several times a day. At

first, it made both he and I uncomfortable because we hadn't done

that before. Now I do it on impulse, almost unconsciously. He

doesn't tell me he loves me back but I know he does just the same.

Thanks Courage for the reminder of how important it is to love -

always love.

Abby

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 1/12/2004 10:06:43 PM Eastern Standard Time,

coyote81067@... writes:

> I agree with Abby, we have a VALID reason to be sad, but as you said when

> you have depression to begin with you just feel like you are getting sucked

> right under.

Hi Girls:

I am sorry you all have depression, of course, you have a reason to have it,

and that makes the medicines you are taking not be so effective. The pills

don't make the reasons for depression go away! They can only lessen their

effect on you. I know you all have tried a lot of stuff, I wanted to suggest St

Joh's Wort. It works for me, I took it when I was in a really deep depression.

It made me a little like a zombie after a while, when I noticed that, I

lowered the dosage (the dosage in the bottle) and by the time I was not taking

any,

I was not depressed anymore. I am very sensitive to all medications and

normal doses are overdoses to me, but I thought I would let you know. Take

care,

love,

Josie

[Guest guest]

Just a thought, and encouragement, love,

Josie

[Guest guest]

Coyote, it does indeed help me to know that there are others who feel like I

do - not that I'd wish this on anyone but it does help me to know that I'm

not alone in this. Thanks.

Courage

Courage

>Oh, I can SO totally relate to how you are feeling, even though my

>personal circumstances are a little different. I guess we just keep

>going because we HAVE to, but I know that feeling of " If I'M not

>there, the whole world will come crashing down " . We feel so out of

>control as it is with this stupid disease. I agree with Abby, we

>have a VALID reason to be sad, but as you said when you have

>depression to begin with you just feel like you are getting sucked

>right under. I dont know about you, but I have tried every

>antidepressant under the sun (now on celexa and finding its the

>best), but there is NO antidepressant that'll make this go away.

>Life is not fun right now. I honestly cant tell you how I manage to

>keep going...I have no interesting ideas to offer you (although I

>found LOTS of inspiration in Abby's post). Just wanted to let you

>know that I fully understand where your coming from, if that is any

>consolation at all.

>Big hugs, Coyote x

>

>

>Welcome to LBDcaregivers.

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you so much for this wonderful post. Gosh, you almost had me in tears

about the Olivia stuff and my caregiving but then I couldn't help smiling

when you told me about your singing!

How awful of your choir master to tell you to just mouth the words! I hope

the other kids didn't tease you about this. You reminded me that I, too, was

in a choir when I was a young girl and I so enjoyed it. My teacher thought

I was pretty good and made me sing solos which mortified me beyond the

beyonds. This should make you feel better about the singing: Since I wasn't

allowed to go out and play like the boys in my family I used to spend hours

singing along to Barbara Streisand on my parents stereo slash bar (do any of

you remember these pieces of furniture?). Well, you know Babs can hold a

note like no ones business and I'd try to keep mine going as well only to be

interupted by my three brother howling like dogs. Of course, I'd chase them

out of the room screaming or I'd tell my mother to pound them! I still

like to sing on my own at home but I haven't done that in a while -

something to put on my to do list.

It's funny that you write about not feeling guilty about taking time off

because I slept in horribly this morning and didn't make it to my moms -

yep, I feel guilty! I did speak to my sister and she is going to go over to

moms and give her lunch which is one last thing to worry about.

Mom still can't comprehend or rather rememeber that she has lost two

brothers in the space of a month and I don't remind her of it. My aunt told

me that she came by last weekend and spoke to my mother about her brothers

passing but got no response - thank God for that as I hate to see mom

crying - she has enough to deal with as it is. A small mercy perhaps.

Mom doesn't have a UTI and I think her blood tests were OK because I didn't

get a call back from her doctors. I will be contacting him soon though

about getting a script for memantine. Hopefully it wouldn't be too

expensive so that my dad doesn't freak out about the cost.

Its great that you can knit and never mind about it not being a boy thing.

Lots of men knit to help with stress. There are entire sports teams that

knit away before an important game to get their nerves in check. I used to

be able to do cables but forget how to do them now. I'm wondering if I

should worry about not being able to recall the various stitches/patterns

that came to me so easily? I wanted to knit a bunch of gloves and mittens

for children in need for this coming winter but forgot how to do this. Do

you have an easy pattern for this?

Thanks again for your post and wonderful support!

Courage

Courage

>Courage

>

>Wanted to write to you regarding some of the things you have said in the

group recently.

>

>First of all, I think you are doing a wonderful job looking after your Mom.

Your love for her shows through in your every post. I bet she is extremely

proud of you, even if she doesn't tell you. Remember that we as caregivers

make decisions, some small, some large, for our LOs every day. These

decisions are the right ones as they are made with love and the best

intentions. You should therefore not, I repeat not, feel guilty about the

things you do for Olivia.

>

>I am sorry to hear that you continue to suffer from alopecia. I note form

my Encyclopedia of Family Health that one of the causes of Generalised

Alopecia is stress. You have to look after yourself Courage. We all rely

on you.

>

>You mentioned that you were lost on the days off you get now. You need to

pamper yourself. Go and have a facial, have a colonic irrigation, what

about a massage, or a manicure and a pedicure. Do something that you want

to do. Remember that Olivia is being looked after and don't worry about

something you have no control over.

>

>I have trouble sleeping too, wonder if it's related to the caregiving role

we have taken on. I tend to put it down to my lack of fitness though.

Can't remember the last exercise of significance I did. As mentioned in an

earlier post, I am intent on joining a gym, see if that makes a difference.

Have you thought about how well you sleep, maybe you have a problem

breathing while you sleep.

>

>I really admire you, the thing you did for those animals, wonderful. I can

knit, not really a boy thing but there you go, can even do cables. Haven't

for a long time though. I also remember the efforts you put in getting the

word out, sending all those emails, I have all the responses in a special

folder in Outlook, called Courage.

>

>You also talked about singing on Christmas Eve, painfully reminds me of how

pathetic my singing is. Like to sing along with songs but have to temper it

incase someone hears. I went to a boarding school where we all were on one

of eight Houses. Each year we did a House Song, and competed with the other

houses. In my last year we did Those Magnificent Men, was fun, but before

we performed it in the competition I was firmly told to mouth the song, the

powers that be didn't want my voice to ruin things, even though there were

about 80 of us. We went on to win the competition and the prize was to

perform the song publicly in Wanganui. I was reminded of my role.

>

>How is Olivia now? You mentioned she had a sore stomach and that you were

going to test for a UTI. I can't get Mum to do any exercise either. She

says she can't do anything because she gets puffed so quickly. She is very

unfit, but haven't noticed her coffing so much. I was sorry to read she had

lost two brothers in recent months.

>

>Thinking of you and hoping things get better for you soon.

>

>Hugs

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Good idea Donna! My sister has a membership there and I'll speak to her

about this.

Courage

Re: Courage

>Courage,

>

>Do you have a Cosco in Canada? If you are going to get the M drug for

>your Dad, I have heard that Cosco prices, at least here in MI, has the

>best prices around.

>

>Donna

>

>

>Welcome to LBDcaregivers.

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Good idea Donna! My sister has a membership there and I'll speak to her

about this.

Courage

Re: Courage

>Courage,

>

>Do you have a Cosco in Canada? If you are going to get the M drug for

>your Dad, I have heard that Cosco prices, at least here in MI, has the

>best prices around.

>

>Donna

>

>

>Welcome to LBDcaregivers.

>

>

>

>

>