Christmas is almost here!

   It's hard to believe that another year has almost come to an end!. 2018 has been a very difficult year for me and my family. It has been just over 13 months since my car accident & I am still struggling daily with low back pain, weakness and pain in the hips, and left lower extremity pain and tingling. I finally had a 2nd neurology consult & the doctor is going to order a brain MRI. I have bilateral lower extremity hyper-reflexivity and positive for clonus in both lower extremities. The right appears to be more prominent than the left. And, sometimes it is more prominent than others. I hope to find answers with this upcoming exam (if worker's compensation approves it). The doctor is not overly concerned with the hyperreflexes as he is with the clonus bilaterally. He said it is highly unusual for clonus to be present in both lower extremities (which could indicate brain damage on either both sides of the brain or deep in the center of the brain). I struggle daily with getting around. Simple tasks such as sitting or standing for more than 1 hour become very difficult I have tried to explain to all the doctors, therapists and lawyers of my daily struggles & pains but nobody, seems to be able to pinpoint the exact problem. So I am hoping the brain MRI will reveal something. Fingers Crossed. I started aqua therapy this past week, finally after waiting since June. I would not wish dealing with worker's compensation on anybody. It is so frustrating and disappointing. They want you to get back to work, but don't want to approve any of the therapies or MD appointments that will get you back to "normal" or at least semi-normal. I don't think I will ever be the same pre-accident. I have days where I think that I've finally crossed that bridge and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, then the next day it's like I got hit by that truck all over again. And, with the winter months setting in, the damp and cold days are very difficult and painful.
    I am very grateful for my parents. I live with my parents and they have been very supportive during all of this craziness. My dad takes me to all of my appointments and my mom always has a hug and a shoulder. I don't know what I would do without them. I certainly don't think I'd be where I am today. I love and cherish them everyday.   
    I am going stir crazy!!! I would love nothing more than to be able to return to the work force. It may not be in the capacity that I was previously, but maybe in a position where I can still use the degree that I worked so hard to achieve. I will have to start looking to see what might be out there and available for me. Right now, I am waiting to hear back from NYS Social Security Disability. If they deem me disabled, then I will not have to hunt for a new job. I guess I can work on my photography stuff and finally get those two courses completed. I haven't opened that online program since late August / early September. I really want to work on the photo projects for the sections I've already completed, before I continue on. And, I really haven't been able to get out and about to work on the photo projects. Ugh!!
  I've failed at trying to keep this updated more frequently. I will work really hard at posting more often. This has been very therapeutic to post an entry. Until next time, lots of love to all who follow me!! Thank You for listening.
 
 

July 4th Come & Gone!

It’s hard to believe that July 4^th has come & gone. In the past several I have not gone out to see the Fireworks, mostly because it’s on a weeknight & I have to work the next day. One of these years I will get back into doing so, as I really enjoy watching them. It’s just with my current situation, that I really don’t feel like doing much of anything. It’s difficult to get around & I am in constant pain. It does not make for having much fun. I have been spending a lot of my days working on my online photography course, lying in the sun, working on some CEU courses and playing on the computer. Some times I get very distracted with the computer games and before you know it, several hours have passed. Then I feel like I’ve wasted a lot of time in which I could have been productive doing more educational work. Oh! Well, I’ve just got to be more self-disciplined. This morning I was very productive, although I missed Church because I was in too much pain to go. I was able to get all my emails taken care of (I have 3 email accounts & haven’t checked email in a while), paid bills & balanced my checkbook. Now onto more reading & course work for the online photography.

Have a great day!

Updating the Blog

 As I started this blog thing back up, it looks like there are a lot of the blogs I had subscribed to, that have not been updated in a very long time. Some as much as 1 to 2 years ago. Um!! I guess Facebook, Instagram & Twitter have really taken over. I kind of like the option of blogging, it gives you the opportunity to work on your writing skills and you can really get a lot of information in one post. It’s hard on the other social media platforms to do that. I know that when I am surfing any of the above-mentioned platforms, if the post is really long, I skim over it. Mostly, because I am I don’t like to ready very much and I am easily distracted. But, I am trying to work on that. I like these other platforms for quick & to the point messages.  So, I guess I will have to clean up my blog “following” list.

            Well, I had my Mammogram with Ultrasound last week and I was going to update this blog following my Mammo, but I had such a migraine during & following my Mammo, that I just could not even concentrate on anything. I felt so sick to my stomach & my head pounded, as though I had a Drumline in my head. I came home, took some Tylenol & Pepto and laid down. I woke up about 3 hrs later.

            Anyway, I had complained that my left breast was tender & it turns out to be “good” & no issues. However, in my right breast they found a deep “cyst”. The Dr. doesn’t think it’s really anything to worry about, but with the family history, she wants to keep an eye on it. I am suppose to have a breast MRI (which I am overdue for ) as soon as I can. If I don’t have the breast MRI within 6 months, than the Dr. wants to see me back for another mammo with ultrasound.  At that time they will decide the next step.

            Well, I am ready to get to bed for tonight. Tomorrow, I think I will go to DMV & renew my drivers’ license then come home & work on my photography course.

            Have a Great Night!!

June 2018

        It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly 7 months since I wrote my last post. My goal was to stay more updated with my blog & place an entry at the very least 1x month, but with my current health condition, I really haven’t felt like doing too much. Especially since this past Winter & Spring were so cold and long. I don’t even think we really had a spring to be honest. And, the beginning of this Summer hasn’t been much to write home about.

        My car accident was almost 8 months ago and although I don’t feel as terribly as I did in the 1^st few months, I still don’t feel well. I have fair days & horrible days with pain, discomfort, tingling in the leg & muscle fatigue & weakness. The fatigue & weakness increase with the more I try to do, as does the pain. I hate that I am not feeling like myself yet, and working at least on a part-time basis. I just am unable to tolerate any one position too long, so it makes it difficult to participate in functional activities. The horrible days are far more than the fair days. I also had to have a change in medication. I was on Gabapentin 600mg 3x/day & it wasn’t helping. I was still having the tingling in the leg & the medication was making me “loopy”. I couldn’t even concentrate on any kind of reading, paperwork or TV programs. Basically anything that required me to use my brain cells. How awful is that? It was a terrible feeling. So now I am on Lyrica and although the tingling is not as intense it’s still there as is the pain.

        I have spent a lot of time (maybe too much) playing on the iPad & my cellphone with games, Facebook & surfing the Internet non-productively. I have made a commitment today, that I really need to get out of this FUNK & get myself back on track. So I’ve limited my game time today (I did play a little) and got some more important things completed like: sorting mail, paying bills, balancing checkbook, filing important papers & even starting up this blog again. I also finally (yesterday) scheduled my two annual female appts (Pap Smear & Mammo w/US). Yeah! Me!

I have my Mammo tomorrow, which I am glad because for about a week now, my left breast has been tender, especially when I roll over onto it during the night.

        Later today I plan to work on my NYIP courses and sorting out the UC files on this computer. Who knew, I would have so many files, etc. from my college time at UC? It’s incredible. I hate to get rid of it all, because I have the belief that someday I will need to refer back to it. So, for now I will sort it delete doubles & triples & save to a thumb drive.

        Well for now I don’t really have anything else to say, so I will end here & hopefully keep this up-to-date more often, as I promised in January. Haha! Only time will tell.

Thanks for listening.

Welcome 2018

Well, here we are the first day of 2018. I made a resolution last year to update this blog more often, yet I never did. I fell back into the same old bad habits & spent a lot of wasted time playing computer games night after night. I’m so disappointed in myself. I did not work very hard on my online photography courses at all, nor did I work on my photography skills. I guess partly because I am very hard on myself & get disappointed when the photos don’t come out the way I like them to. So, I put down the camera for extended periods. I am going to work extra hard on improving my bad habit of procrastination & get these online courses completed before November 2018.

This past year was not without it’s challenges. In Feb, I began having heart palpations that were almost continuous through March. It was as though, I was in a constant state of anxiety, but mentally I did not feel anxious. So, in April I finally made an appointment to see the cardiologist. I was put on an event monitor for 30 days. The results were negative for any serious heart issues & just deemed I had some minor A-Fib.  In March, my dad had some type of tumor on his back close to the spine. At first we though it was cancer, so we were a bit scared. He was put on some serious antibiotics for several months. We missed out annual family vacation to Fl because of his illness. He recovered with the antibiotics & is doing much better. Mom & I took the annual trip to FL at the end of July.

In July, Tommy & the girls came home from Ca & they stayed with us. This was not anticipated, so it was a bit crazy. They were home for two weeks, but because Mom & I already had our trip planned, we left for our trip while Tommy & the girls stayed with dad. It was a nice visit, but overwhelming at the same time. I am not used to having that many people in our house 24/7. Yikes.

In June I bought a new 2017 Honda CRV.  What a nice vehicle. By Oct. I was still learning all the electronics & workings of the computer systems. In November I was in a bad car accident, my “new” vehicle was totaled & I was injured. I have been out of work since. I’ve been having a really hard time. My progress has been slow & minimal. I am not sure that I will be able to return to work in my current capacity because of the demands. This makes me a bit sad. I really enjoy working with people, especially in their homes. I’ve been in physical therapy since mid November & I haven’t had tremendous progress. I have good days & bad days. Because of my injuries, I haven’t felt the Christmas spirit. I am hoping to get back on track for 2018 & feeling better. Here is to wishing 2018 is better than last year.

          Happy New Year!!