Re: New Member Intro

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/13/2004 8:35:01 PM Eastern Standard Time,

helperdogs2@... writes:

Hi, All,

My name is Judith. I'm new here. Just signed on today. I hope no one minds

Hi Judith

First, WELCOME!! And now that have that out of the way, let me just say that

you made an assumption that we all still have " minds " left after all we live

with!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, maybe we have a bit left, but most of us gave up on

that a long time ago. We just " go with the flow, " take it a day at a time,

(sometimes an hour), but not much ado about anything. And we surely would

" mind "

even if we had one! I for one, surely speak from personal experience! The

more, the merrier.

We are an open " family " that opens their arms to all, when you come here we

hope you feel that you are " home " and that no matter what the issue (though we

do try to stay on topic, but sometimes some of us, no one in particular, do

stray a bit............) I may be speaking from personal experience on that

too! But over the 10+ years that I've been involved here, I must say that it's

ranged from some of the happiest times to some of the saddest, that things that

people speak of here, stay here! And you'll often see people speaking of

things that they wouldn't even think of discussing with their family, nor best

friend. We all try our best to just " be there " for each other & are sometimes

on the giving end & sometimes on the needing end & then sometimes there are

people like me that do that, but also put in stuff like this too! I strong

believe the laughter is the best medicine, but back on topic......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't have it myself, although I am disabled with other mobility and

medical issues

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm sorry that you also live with a disability & even though it's not EDS, a

chronic disorder particularly one with mobility difficulties, no matter what

it may be, generally has many similar characteristics that we have & in that

respect I think you will find many of our chats here quite " on point " for you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

but about a year or so ago, I met an incredible teenager with EDS who is an

absolutely awesome person. I wish I could meet her in person, but we live too

far away from each other. We have talked by phone and it is a good thing I

have unlimited long distance from the USA to Canada! the 15 minute phone call

was actually about 3 hours!

I think it's absolutely wonderful that you have taken such an interest in

this young lady & have extended an arm (and an ear.... sorry, I couldn't resist)

to her & you have probably done more for her & likely her for you, than you

could ever imagine. And I definitely HEAR you about those 15 minute calls that

wind up being 3 hours. Just yesterday, after IMing with a friend from Calif.

(and I'm in NJ), due to the fact that my fingers were bothering me from typing

so much, I suggested also, that I call her on my cell phone which also has

unlimited nights & weekends. I thought I'd die when she mentioned at the end,

that she had put her computer (I think that's what it was) and she noticed that

we had actually had been talking, over 250 minutes! And, mind you we were

just about finished chatting when we were done IMing, but somehow it went on

just a bit longer.... would you say?

To have someone to speak to & to be able to be there to listen to someone

else when they need to speak can be one of the greatest gifts that one person

can

do for another. And I think you are an amazing person for having giving a

" lifeline " of sorts to this young lady who truly sounds amazing. I don't know

if she has any idea if our organizations exist, nor where you are she are, but

please relay to her that we are all here, waiting with open arms, for anything

she may need or want & that could change from day to day, from crisis to

happy times.

Anyway, my young friend has the most wonderful outlook on life, and even

when she is in her own pain, if she even thinks I am having pain she

stops everything to cheer me up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gosh, she sounds like an incredibly bright, intuitive & gifted young lady to

be able to pick that up & be there for you at such a young age. You are very

fortunate to have met each other. And please know that we are all here &

ready & able to be here for you as well, as you can see by all of the emails

that

I see that have already been posted, yet I confess I haven't read them all

yet. There was a time, many, many years ago that we all knew each other very,

very well & read every single post & responded, but due to " the information

age " , our numbers have grown so unbelievably, that we have created an enormous

network of caring, loving & giving people & there's always someone out there

that

can help someone, no matter the issue, or is willing to find out, if they

don't know. It's awesome!

The other most inspiring thing about her is that even while she is

'jumping through the hoops' to get the things other kids get, she keeps

plugging away against all odds and succeeds doing things other people

tell her 'she simply can not do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She sounds like my kind of gal! All someone has to say to me is, " You can't

or shouldn't do that " or " Don't you dare.... " , consider it done!!!

Oftentimes, it's those with a challenge to accomplish something, that are the

ones

whom actually do it. It's not something I can explain, but I'm sure you know

what I'm talking about.

She has turned out to be a marvelous dog trainer and seems to have the very

best instincts of how to handle a dog, make it feel brave, or tone it down as

necessary, isn't scared to take chance with one she doesn't know after

carefully observing and assessing it herself, and best of all, she's taken a

Mini

Poodle and has taught it to do wonderful things to help her out on 'bad' days.

But you know what? LOL - they have so much fun together, they just keep on

working together no matter what kind of day it is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This whole thing, with dog training is so incredibly important for her self

esteem & self worth for her future, no matter what life throws her way & what

she has already accomplished will continue to grow with her as she matures,

it's just phenomenal. It's given her goals, which entails planning,

implementing

& seeing it through fruition, which can be applied to anything in life. And

when you said that she makes the dog feel brave, to " tone it down " or perhaps

one could call it " setting limits, " not being scared or afraid of what's to

come, but not before first assessing & & considering the ramifications of going

ahead with her plan, I think it's likely her bravity, ARE, in fact, all of her

very own personal qualities, that she has passed along to the dog.

We do have some people in our group that use service dogs & it always amazes

me to see what they can do & perhaps even more so, the change in their

demeanor, when they are " on the job " and working & when they aren't.

Anyway, enough about my friend. I'll probably lurk here to learn. If

anyone has any doggie questions feel free to ask or privately email me. Just

be patient for an answer because my days can get as interesting as yours

can! but life goes on\

Please feel free to lurk or pop in at anytime. You sound like a remarkable

person & we're delighted to have you.

And I just may take you up on your offer about questions for dogs, which I

would do offline, as we would really consider that part " off topic " , because I

had a Sharpei for 9 years who we sadly lost about a year ago+ & since our house

was soooooo empty, had an echo (LOL) & neither my husband nor I had stopped

crying more than 5 months later (of course for me it was daily, but I caught

him periodically) we decided that, unlike many people can't wait for the quiet &

freedom, when their children split (ours are 20 & 23 & are in college), we

went ahead and got another Sharpei puppy. She is now 10 months & I think the

best way she was ever described, is that she, really should have been a first

dog. " Ajia Vu " (which comes from Asia... she is Chinese & a play on words for

Deja Vu.... that we did it again), is very playful, headstrong, independent,

etc., etc. & Cookie (which was really Fortune Cookie... again being Chinese & I

thought only good things/fortunes, came inside of Fortune Cookies) surely has

some of the same qualities & very much like a Sharpei like

Cookie............. But. Cookie was quite a little lady & would never have

grabbed a napkin off

the dining table & eaten it, nor eaten the piping off of the couch cushions,

to open it up & eat the stuffing in side, nor have partially eaten &

destroyted 5, yes five TV cliker, etc .!! And, is so overly friendly that we

have had

quite a challenge keeping her from jumping up on people & more things that

I'll write to you about offline & may well have you in hysterics, but surely

weren't funny at the time!! And yes, she went to puppy training school, etc.

JUDITH

RockyToo & Dempsey - SDs (Service Dogs)

DJ - SDIT (Service Dog In Training)

http://www.helperdogs.us

I'm so glad that you've joined us & remain active & again, how wonderful of

you to have taken such an interest in this young lady with EDS. Welcome,

Schoenberg

Central NJ

Hypermobile Type