May chit-chat

[agate]

I promised Peg I'd post the May thread.

Time to play "Mother May I"? Is that game appropriate for May, or maybe (heh heh) there's a maypole to dance around?

No word from Peg yet but she did say she'd be gone for a couple of months. I believe there's some surgery coming up for her soon as well.

Jeanie, is more PT going to be allowed for you?

nuthatch, how is your mother doing? When is your move going to happen?

Gary, you didn't have another accident with another finger badly cut????

Sorry you have hearing loss due to loud noises--I understand that's a very common cause of hearing loss.

renee, you're going to be on the new Copaxone routine soon? You and NanMacan--hope it will mean an improvement in quality of life.

Not much new around here on the Oregon Trail but I'm still getting used to the new wheelchair. I haven't got up the courage to try taking off the snap-on wheels yet. I was shown how to do this but I'm afraid that if I snap the wheels off, I won't be able to snap them back on again. One of these days I'll be very brave.

For those interested in birds, if you'd like to try origami, there's an origami passenger pigeon project sponsored by the Audubon Society. I posted about it in the Artistic Expression forum here. You don't have to donate any money or do anything but download the piece of paper that is marked already and fold it according to the instructions.

Hope some people who haven't been heard from lately will find time to stop by.

[nuthatch]

Hello everyone,
Still haven't moved, countertops are being installed, then tile floors, shower tile, light fixtures, faucets, door hardware, patio cement, driveway . . . it just goes on and on, but someday we'll get there!

Mom is in rehab and is to be released soon, but she was put back on oxygen today after having it removed just yesterday. She was a little confused today due to lowered oxygen levels. Concerned that her heart isn't pumping efficiently and old age is catching up with her at 90. Hoping she can rebound.

Hot here today, in the 90s. May has had temps like mid summer the last few years. Then August seems to be cooler . . . weird!

We've observed we have a nuthatch nest in one of our birdhouses! Parents are busy going back and forth with bugs, so they must have young inside there now. Papa bird has been observed rubbing down the birdhouse with what looks like an insect or a seed, several times now. I read that they do this to repel squirrels and other birds from their nesting site.
We also have a family of 4 deer that have taken up residence in our back yard. Guess they like it here . . . lots of oaks, no dogs, nobody bothers them.
Deer around the new house too . . . and jackrabbits. DH reported on Sunday there was a 5 foot gopher snake stretched out sunbathing in front of the new house and a great blue heron hunting for ground squirrels in the lot across the street! Ahhh . . . nature . . . I love it!

[Gary]

Thanks Agate for stepping in for Peg.

I am almost embarrassed to say this...................... The other day I sawed a branch off a tree with my left hand (I am right handed) and tore half of my right index finger nail off. It didn't seem like it was enough so the next day while building some new tomato cages I held the wood with my left hand because my right hand has a boo boo. And with my right hand nailed them with a pneumatic nail gun. Well you guessed it when I shot the 1 X 1 together I had a 2 inch nail and shot it through the board and my LEFT index finger.

Yeah don't say it. Besides learning to not over do it I need to not get in a hurry. Which both are a result of. Don't even ask what I was told. Daughter and SIL were over for dinner and she said WHY do you have band-aids on BOTH fingers?!? Family has said if I cant be careful they will take my toys away:(

So anyway........... weather has been nice sunny and upper 60's lower 70's the garden is in and yard is slowly taking shape today's project is bird feeders put back up it is almost humming bird time. I started the hummingbird feeders and now they expect them. They stop here during their migration every year, an amazing story in itself, and if they are not up or if they are empty they get close to the window and squawk and if you happen to be outside they dive bomb you, the cats and the dog.

This morning the Magpies chased one of our cats across the field and right up to the porch. When they dive bomb they actually make contact the cat had some missing chunks of fur.

Time to do some chores and yes I am taking a box of band aides with me.

[Frog42]

Family has said if I cant be careful they will take my toys away:(

Sounds like your family kinda likes you for some reason!

[agate]

Eek, Gary! OUCH! It's hard to know what you're able to do. I don't know how many tasks I've felt up to tackling but halfway through them, I'm dropping and spilling things and getting injured by a misplaced knife or scissors.

nuthatch, will you be able to enjoy nature in the new place as well?

I hope your mother makes a fast comeback. More and more people are living past 100--I've known a couple of them myself.

[SalpalSally]

Hello All. I'm here and doing pretty well, for an old babe with MS.

Nuthatch, hope you get to move in soon and your DMom feels better soon.

Gary, if I were you I'd give up farming a go back to brain surgery.

Agate, This is Mother's month for me and the Blessed Virgin. DD was born
on Mother's Day, 1970 and we always have an Asti Spumanti Party each yr.

Peg, sending you my best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Love you too Vicky.

[Frog42]

Love you too Vicky.

Aww Sally!

[Jeanie Z]

:) Hi everyone.I think we all need to be extra careful so we don't cause ourselves unneeded injury (Gary take note).

I am distressed over no news on Thelma. She did get admitted and is getting treatment and oxygen. Since I am not family they will give me no info. The hospital she is in is about 45 minutes away.

I am not getting any further PT. I am doing all the exercises they taught me on my own and am stronger. Today I called about Thelma this morning then went back to bed. I slept most of the day and for a change I was listening to my body.

Amazingly when I called the pharmacy they filled both of the RX's that they had said were voided. Also both say they have refills. I was glad not to have a hassle over them. Peg check in when you can. Jeanie :)

[Cherie]

Hi all,
It's May? Where did April go?

Gary,
Ouch x2! I hate to ask, but did you see it happening a split second before it did? That's what happens to me when I get hurt...I see it happening and often make a decision to ignore the warning them pay for it.

Agate,
You'll get the hang of the snap wheels in no time.

Nuthatch,
These renovations somehow never seem to go according to schedule.

Peg,
Holding you and praying the surgery goes smoothly and recovery without incident.

My dad continues to do less and less well. Will probably be headed back to Upstate NY Sunday after church for his Oncology appointment Tuesday. PSA is not coming down with the new therapy started last visit and he is not feeling as well as he was then which is not great.

I have not felt all that well myself for the past three weeks. BP and BS going up. Achy, weepy. Signs of UTI for me but urine is negative. I kind of think this all started with a broken tooth and ultimately a crown that became permanent yesterday.

[agate]

Cherie, I've had some broken tooth problems that made me feel pretty rotten until the tooth got fixed up.

I have a broken tooth now though and haven't noticed that I feel worse than usual. Maybe it depends on whether the tooth is on the verge of becoming infected.


Anyway, it's too bad you haven't been well. What with Peg falling and breaking her hip, and Gary slicing himself up again, I'd say people here have their problems.

I gave away my power drill and my saws a long time ago. I used them only very rarely anyway. Nowadays I keep scissors in cases and kitchen knives in one of those knife safe deals that sit on a countertop. I don't trust me with sharp things.

[renee]

So everybody is having accidents.
That's no good.
It must be spring and you got the fever.

I am soooo restless.
My family is giving me agita.
Some of them live so self-defeatingly it makes me crazy
to even think about them.

Forget about conversation. It's like talking to drywall.
I need an aura cleansing afterward- this is where being stinkingly
wealthy would be convenient.

Starting Copaxone II in ~ 2 weeks.
Went to another pharma dinner- not tasty but informative.
Has anyone here used Acthar?
Sounds like an insurance commercial.

Got my garden again this year.
Mentally healthy people garden.
%>)

Agate, I can't believe you gave up a power drill
but I'm glad to know you owned one.

[Pegakafarmgirl]

Just a quick hello,, I snuck into the computer room,, I'll probally be in trouble,,lol

Thanks everyone for thinking of me and sending me good wishes,,

It was just plain silly, why I fell,, I tripped,, and I knew it was broke,,

farming is unhold till we dry out, we been wet most of the week,, all gassed up, and ready to go, so we hurry up and wait,,

thanks again,, later

[Cat Dancer]

Glad to see you checking in, Peg. So sorry to hear about your broken hip! Falls are not a good thing.

I am hanging in. Folks, DON'T get pressure sores (previously known as "bed sores". ) They are NASTY. And PERSISTENT. Just when I think I'm healing, they're back!! Been dealing with this since December, and I'm TIRED of it! Visiting nurse is coming weekly, husband is a trooper and treating them 2x day...yet they're still open, still ugly. Really depressing.

I seem to be doing OK on techfidera. No side effects that I know of. No real change that I could note, either. I'm still weaker than I was before the exacerbation (last April!, already), but given my age (67), probably not unusual. I've lost maybe 40 pounds, maybe more: 4 jean sizes smaller, and probably close to 5. Hard to buy clothes...don't really know what size I am, anymore, and keep having to send things back as "too large". Don't want to buy too much until the weight stabilizes, or I'll have another closet full of clothes that don't fit. Goodwill was happy to see me with 3 boxes of stuff, not knowing that I sent another 2 boxes to my chubby sister in law and niece... I just don't have an appetite, and when I do eat, end up with esophageal spasms, so end up losing a lot of what I've just eaten. After that, I really am not hungry! Anyway, having to adjust to my new size, too, is a challenge.

Anyway..I read the forum regularly, but don't have much to add. Take care, everyone.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Hi everyone. Peg and Cat thanks for checking in.

Cat Manuka honey or 100% pure honey can heal bedsores. Clean the sore first and then apply honey on a sterile dressing seversl times a day. The nurses and doctors do not tell you about honey's healing powers but they are quite strong. One male friend had a terrible open sore with red streaks up his leg. He used the honey 4 times a day and the streaks went away and his sore finally healed but it took awhile (about 6 weeks).

I am feeling lonely and I hate the pain. The Fentanyl patches only take the edge off and only for the first two days. I have been taking 2 or 3 Ibuprofen every couple of hours. If I don't it hurts too much to use the leg and I need to make it stronger by exercising it.

I saw my 103 year old friend Thelma yesterday and helped her with her dinner. I'mpraying that she gets well enough to go home.

Cherie your Dad and whole family are in my prayers, as are all of you.
Those of you who are "accident prone" be more careful. MS is enough without adding injuries to the mix. Jeanie :)

[agate]

Cat, I'm so sorry you're having pressure sores. I understand that strides have been made in treating them--hope that's true.

And you're putting up with esophageal spasms too. It sounds as if you're managing in spite of them and looking on the bright side--? A new wardrobe could be a bright side, maybe?

Do you still have a cat or two? I don't suppose they're helping much but at least they're fun to look at.

Peg, it was so good of you to check in in spite of your broken hip. Hope it heals up fast and thoroughly for you.