Party room- a place for fun, pity, commiserating, or any other thing you come up with

[Jo6]

Hi Mark and Sandi. Is there someone here named "the Trol? Maybe I spelled that wrong. Well, I spent seven days in the hospital with Pneumonia in both lungs. You would think someone as old as me would know how to take care of themselves.

Getting back up out of that hole is not so quick this time. I'm still trying to get some strength so I can at least try out my new power chair that came in about a week before I went to hospital. I haven't give up, just coasting along. I don't know what we will do about the holidays. We have many grandkids and at least 5 great-grand's makes me tired to even think about the. I do love them but don't think I can handle the holidays. We shall see.

I hope you and Penny will have good times for the holidays. Get some sleep Mark, that is most important. Sandi, I wish for you and your family happy holidays. I know it will be hard, but you will be in my prayers.

Take care all, you too Trol foderoll, where ever you are. I love you all, Julia

s

[Mark N]

Ju;ia, good to see someone is checking in. Sorry to hear you haven't learned how to stay out of the hospital. I have an idea for you for holiday, sit back and let everyone take care of you and keep you entertained. One of the oldtimers from this site HellBent Troll has been stopping by so I hope he sees this post. Sandi if you are coming around I hope you have a good holiday.

Penny and I are trying to get things fixed up for Thanksgiving but until the in-laws decide what they are doing we aren't sure when we will do our dinner. Penny got a 'new' car a two weeks ago after shopping the internet for two years. Our Cadillac was still in great shape but it wasn't a car to be driving two blocks or eight blocks at the most. It was a great car to have on the road but we don't do that much any more so I finally got her to get a more realistic car for what she drives now. It is a 2012 Ford Focus and she loves it. I hate having a car payment again after not having one for ten years now but we will pay it off long before she retires. The trip to Louisville to get the car and then a trip to my mom's to see IU football game really hit me hard but it was a fun trip both times. At the car place I met two Marines that worked there and we talked a bit while Penny negotiated for car. The the football game at IU v Michigan was a great game [2 overtimes] but IU came up short. It was the first game I had gone to at IU that the crowd really got into it. Tyrel is now working at UPS and doing well so I think he is on the right medication and dose. Maybe this next Fall he will start going to college again while working part-time. As much as we love him it is time in the next 6 months for him to move out and let us get back to a empty nest again.

Take care, everyone and have a good holiday.

[Jo6]

Yes, happy holidays to all of you whether I know you or not.

I took my power chair for a test drive yesterday. Don't think I injured anyone. I need to practice more before I get too frisky with that thing!! Hope all are well and looking forward to a great Thanksgiving.

My love to you all, Julia

[Mark N]

Julia, good to see you have stayed out of the hospital so far. Just put a horn on that chair so people know to get out of your way as you come by.lol
Have a great holiday with all those young ones and let them come to [great]grandma instead of you doing things for others. We are doing our Thanksgiving Saturday and we should have our Christmas tree up so the granddaughters will be excited that day.

Sandi, I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[Mark N]

holidays

We were on our way to a very good Christmas despite the limit of spending money because my mom came down to see all of us but especially to see the great granddaughters. On Christmas Eve I was not doing well so my wife and mom went over to see the girls and for my mom to see the changes my daughter and SIL have made to their house. Everything went well until they were walking to the car to come home. My mom broke her hip and was lucky a couple of guys could help her into the car. My wife and mom came to our house and called me out to the car to see what I thought. It was clear to me that they needed to go to the hospital so I got my keys and led them out to the hospital [my wife is awful about directions and knowing where to go]. To shorten the story we spent Christmas Eve in the hospital while my mom was in pain and getting images of her hip to see what really was going on. Once they saw the break then the decision was where to go since our hospital didn't have an orthopaedic doctor. Fortunately mom's home hospital could take her in so after leaving us she had a three hour ambulance trip. She had to wait until the day after Christmas to have her surgery and she came out in good shape. She is slow in getting able to get out of bed and using a walker but she is in a place the hospital transfers patient needing recuperating. I and my son, daughter and her family went up the following weekend to visit and I was disappointed with the lack of progress my mom was making. I know she will need time to recuperate since she is 78 years old but after two weeks out of surgery I was hoping she would be able to move in her bed but she seems to be content to just stay in the same place. I am thankful her mind wasn't too effected since she has Parkinson's and often they don't do well going under for a surgery.

Back to Christmas Day, the granddaughters and family came over to our house and thankfully we did present before dinner as I was wiped out from cooking and being under the weather. The girls were very excited this year and enjoy their presents. My mom had brought down presents for everyone so we opened them too. I really appreciated the picture she gave me of my grandparents that I had commented I would like to have in several years. I got to explain to my kids what each had done which was amazing considered they were two poor farm kids growing up. The family had a really good time and where here for four or five hours unfortunately right at the end of dinner I couldn't go any longer. I went downstairs to my chair and fell asleep with sounds of laughter from upstairs.

I hope all had a good Christmas and New Years. Post if you can about your family gathering and I hope no one else had a medical emergency to deal with.

[Jo6]

Oh Mark, how awful for your Mom!! 3 hr. Ambulance trip? I really feel for her on that account! the hr. long trips I had had was bad, but I cannot imagine 3 hrs of that. I hope she is doing better now. It is sad it happened during the holidays, but it is sad it happened at all. I will add her to my prayers list.

I'm sorry you are having some rough times. You did the right thing to go take a rest when you got so tired. You aren't nearly as old as I am, but when you suffer from chronic pain it is just hard do like we used to. I had a good day Christmas, but was so worn out by the time everyone went home I went to sleep in my chair, had a cup of coffee in my hand , drop the thing, spilt coffee all over me and the floor, woke Ken up, he was asleep in his chair and he jumped straight up!! I couldn't help but laugh, but that coffee was HOT!!

I enjoy hearing you talk about the granddaughters. they are such fun, eh? We had grown up grand's, but 1 great grand daughter and she is something else!! She loves her Papa and granny too. Smart as a whip, of course you know about that!! She is just 2, but there isn't much she can't do.

Sandi, TRoll and everyone else that drop by I hope you had a grand holiday. Mark, you take care and make Mom take care of herself also. I hope Penny is doing well.

I've been up longer than I should have been. Give out, but it was good to read how your holidays went. Hope to hear from you soon, Julia



s

[Infrared Charlotte]

Hi, not sure what this is all about. I have MS but also suffer with Stenosis. It is was it is, eh? Anyways i just wanted to say Hello to evetyone.

Peace

[Mark N]

Charlotte, this thread is a place where people can come to and complain about their medical problems or talk about our lives. We give and get much support when we need it the most.

Jo, IU had to chuckle about you falling asleep in your chair and dropping your cup. There have been many times I have woken up finding my drink on my lap as I had fallen asleep while drinking my beverage [water or Coke]. I set my drink down on a table next to my chair if I feel drowsy yet there are times I drop off to sleep in an instant. Yes you are right that we can't do as much as we did in the past because CP takes so much out of us. It is good you were able to make it through out the family's visit and only conked out after they left. My kids lived with me long enough to know and understand what it means when I need to go to my chair.

Not much change in my mom. I talk to her a couple times each week and I will have to be patient with her recovery.

[Lil E]

Hi Mark,
Glad you had a good holiday, mine was as well. Didn't do too much but had a great family visit. My Mom (88) and I last about the same amount of time so now that she's with me its not always me that gets tired first! I am using marijuana successfully although I still get those days where not much works. I drink it (tincture)and it takes about an hour to take effect but lasts for around 3 to 4 hours. Feel better than with opiates. Hope your Mom recovers quickly.

[Mark N]

Lil E, it is great to hear that MJ is working well for you. I will go up to my mom's the middle of Feb and stay for ten days to care for her. I hope she has shown major improvement by then. The care facility won't release her until she shows she can care for herself at home. She will still need help with every thing but personal care. I certainly hope getting home picks her spirit up although she isn't too bad in that respect.

Would life be great for us if the saying "no pain no gain" were true. We would have gained tremendous things with all the pain we have dealt with in our lives.

[Mark N]

I guess the party that never stops ended Jan, of this year. For so long it seemed like we would come up with an idea that would reignite the party but finally the best ideas couldn't even do the job. I will turn the lights off this time and lock the door. It was a great party while it lasted.

[KaTEE2160]

Hello Mark,
New here, hope you feel bettersoon. I know I think about the timethat I will never get back also. I was wondering how did you find your Doctors? Have you
stuck with the same one? You sound like you are very informed. Thank you for all your information!!

Loving light, Katee

[HellBoundTroll]

The party that never ended....hmmm....well....that sort of described the forum back in the 1990s, when you could, sort of get a little wild.

Don't get me wrong. There was a lot of GOOD information passed on. And, a lot of caring. But, there were times when we all just lowered our pants and slid on the ice, too. And, I think that was good for everyone.

Then, we got a bunch of too up-tight moderators. Well, O.K. This was their playground, we could live with it. Sort of hang out on the edge and grumble, but jump back in when it suited us. Not great, but do-able.

Then, the constant shutdowns, problems, etc.

Don't get me wrong. I like to think that I actually gave tons of good advice to people and received tons of good advice back regarding dealing with life with spinal issues.

But, the end was written when they got really heavy-handed with the moderators.
dave

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Dave)))))) ~

Good to see you here again! How are you?! Are you still pain-free? I hope that you are well.

While you reminisce about the "Good Old BT Days," it's important to realize that the people, who ran BT in those days, are no longer associated with BT.

We don't have heavy-handed Moderators any longer. We have Moderator #7, who graciously and generously volunteers to help maintain BT. I have been a member of several forums through the years, and I've even been a Moderator on one or two of them (not on BT ever), and it's a thankless and difficult job. Moderator #7 is by far the best Moderator of any forum I've joined in the past 17 years.

Mike Weins, David H, and Dr. Dan, all volunteer and pay for this bandwidth, so we can be here to share and support each other. You don't see any spammers here. You don't see any pop up ads here.

I've been a BT member for 16 years, and I remember when the joint was jumping, with thousands of members. It was exciting, but also often chaotic. On my "home forum," Child Neurology, there were squabbles on a regular basis, and members were suspended and banned. The bickering, name calling, animosity, all of it was astonishing. That didn't create a healthy environment for those parents, like me, who were in dire need of support, help, advice, comfort, compassion, and LESS STRESS!

Many of us migrated to a different, private forum, just to be protected from the commotion on BT. We started email groups. We didn't leave BT/Child Neuro, but we moved our needs to different venues. Then Facebook was invented, and everybody exited stage right.

There may not be very many of us die-hard BT members left, but those of us, who are still here, still posting, still welcoming newcomers, and returning members with open arms, are sincere, caring, compassionate people. We have a sense of humor too. We also have Stick-to-it-tiveness. We make an effort to keep the BT community viable and available to all. We have gratitude for Mike, David, and Dan, who provide us with this space to communicate.

We've all had to let go of the past to do this. I'm not on Facebook, and our private hideaway forum no longer exists. Do I miss the many friends I made 16 years ago on Child Neuro? Absolutely. But I don't miss the conflict.

We're here for you and for Mark and for Katee, and for all who visit BT. We may not offer what you need, but we're here to try to help in any way we can, to listen, support, and share our experiences with you.

I just ask that you don't paint us with the same brush as the one used in "The Good Old BT Days." That was then. This is now.

Love & Light,

Rose

[HellBoundTroll]

I understand what you are saying, of course.

And, I really, really, try not to live in the past. But, there was just something about the dynamic back there. Sort of the "greatest minds of our generation" thing where we really got into the issues of spinal problems that mattered.

Gosh, I posted a lot. And, 97.7 percent of it (LOL) was good solid information/advice/questions.

Those spurred other questions.

Then, we got all those posts that clogged the pipe -- "Oh, my little taterhead grandbaby just waved at nothing."

I understand, those are important things for people who are in pain/confined/etc.

But, there needed to be a separate forum for that. I advocated for that from the beginning. Sure, a little detour here and there in the medical posts was O.K. and good, but it got to be TOO much.

This sounds like a rant. And, considering it is coming from me, it actually isn't. I am thinking/processing out loud.

Anyway, I do appreciate the time you spend on here. And the support you give to folks.

My pain is a wily thing. It went away and then it came back with a -- well, let me just say that most people would be off demanding drugs. Myself, I have -- do not ask me how -- managed to stay away from alcohol for quite awhile now -- May explain my "thinking out loud" -- and everytime the pain becomes too bad, instead of a bottle, I take a walk. I tell myself if I still want booze after the walk, O.K.

I live on a very rural farm. I can walk for miles without seeing anyone. Last night the neuropathy was so bad around 8 p.m. I told dog walk. good thing about a dog is that when you say that they are always ready.

We went, I slipped down a rocky slope into a thicket of blackberries, dog ran back and barked at me "Hey, you loser, pull yourself up and lets get going. There are deer to chase."

I did. I got back. Had some green tea. Went to bed.

So, I guess I should probably, maybe stick around some and really see what you guys have built here since the great exodus, but, honestly, I have seen some of the cliché stuff and if that works for you all. Great. I am truly glad it does.

But, I guess, we Trolls, have to just roll in the blackberries!

dave

A PS of sorts, reading this back, I sort of sound like a conceited jerk. And, I know some who would agree. But, seriously, I am not trying to say I know (or actually knew, as I have not kept up) about all things spinal or anything else. But we all tried.

Anyway, best to all.