When I think of all the years I have had difficulty with pain, weight gain, fatigue and so on, it makes me wonder how long I have had Fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is related to Arthritis. I actually starting researching symptoms of it over 2 years ago. I just went to the doctor and was diagnosed a month ago. Why did I wait so long?
Being a caregiver, I am very good at encouraging my clients to go to the doctor if they feel something is amiss. I am also good at telling my husband to get to the doctor, even if he doesn't listen! :) I had however, forgotten about myself and neglected to take the simple but necessary time to have myself checked out.
I have a huge support network of family and friends, as well as working for a company that has been great in arranging things so I can get the help and relief I need.
For so long now, I have been hidden by the pain, stiffness, fatigue and depression of FMS that it was hard to remember who exactly I was. It was almost like a mask I could not remove from myself and the symptoms were stealing me away from who and what I love.
I am so fortunate to have been referred to a doctor who is great, and his protocol of supplements and vitamins have begun to finally ease my symptoms. I can finally start to see who I am again, rather than just dealing with the day to day feelings. I am hopeful that I can be off this protocol after the second or third month and get back on if I have to. The thing I don't like is insurance does not cover the cost of this because it is a homeopathic therapy. $$$ equal OUCH! I think it will be money well spent if it works as well as I have heard this therapy works for people.
I am saying prayers for people who have this and have recently found out about people who suffer from this, only after I posted it on Facebook. What a relief that I don't go through it alone! I only hope they find the relief that I seem to be finding with this. I feel like I am coming out of the fog and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks to those who are supporting me, it means more than I can tell you!
Love to all!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Thoughts On Being a Caregiver
I was speaking to one of my clients on the phone this evening and she informed me that another (former) client of mine passed away last night. My initial thought was, wait a minute, I talked to him just last evening. Well, sure enough, she spoke the truth. I heard he was in the hospital and I wanted to call and check on him. He very weakly told me he couldn't talk. That was at 7:45pm. He passed shortly thereafter. Wow.
I am fortunate enough that some of my clients (past and present) are still in relatively good health, so I take for granted the good days I have with all of them. I feel that care giving is not only helping someone to live well, it is also enhancing their life. Being a caregiver I have lost several previous clients. I mourn them all, in some special way. Whether it be a song, saying prayers or rosaries for them, whatever the case may be. I have to keep in mind that if I get too close to any of them emotionally, it may effect my job with them as a provider of care. I like to say I stay at arms-length. If I am really being honest, it is closer than that! I love them all.
Being a caregiver, at times like this, hurts. That's to be expected. If I didn't care at all, I wouldn't be a good caregiver.
I only hope that I have given them each something special in my time with them, a blessing to take with them. It also reinforces what I will do and how to better care for my current clients.
I have been touched by each one of the people I have given care to, and will continue to do so. I carry blessings from each of them in the lessons they have taught me and special things they have shared.
For any and all of my care giving friends, you know exactly what I am talking about, nothing held back. We love them, they love us. It doesn't get any more special than that.
Now, off to say that special rosary, for my special client and friend.
Love to all...
I am fortunate enough that some of my clients (past and present) are still in relatively good health, so I take for granted the good days I have with all of them. I feel that care giving is not only helping someone to live well, it is also enhancing their life. Being a caregiver I have lost several previous clients. I mourn them all, in some special way. Whether it be a song, saying prayers or rosaries for them, whatever the case may be. I have to keep in mind that if I get too close to any of them emotionally, it may effect my job with them as a provider of care. I like to say I stay at arms-length. If I am really being honest, it is closer than that! I love them all.
Being a caregiver, at times like this, hurts. That's to be expected. If I didn't care at all, I wouldn't be a good caregiver.
I only hope that I have given them each something special in my time with them, a blessing to take with them. It also reinforces what I will do and how to better care for my current clients.
I have been touched by each one of the people I have given care to, and will continue to do so. I carry blessings from each of them in the lessons they have taught me and special things they have shared.
For any and all of my care giving friends, you know exactly what I am talking about, nothing held back. We love them, they love us. It doesn't get any more special than that.
Now, off to say that special rosary, for my special client and friend.
Love to all...
Monday, March 21, 2011
A Girl For All Seasons
May the start of a season full of new life bring new life and hope to yours! Love to all!
Living in a climate that has four pretty distinct seasons is something I love about the Cleveland area.
In the winter I love to stay warm by the fire or curl up with a good book. I hear so many people talk about the winter blues, but I see nothing depressing about spending time with loved ones and the comfort of a throw to warm you.
I love spring because of all the flowers coming back to bloom and new green leaves to replace the ones lost in the fall.
Summer makes me think of the warm feel of the sun on my skin and picnics, baseball games (personal favorite!) and explosions of colors coming from backyard gardens in the the form of fruits, veggies and flowers. Amazing!
I adore the colors of autumn and how those play in to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.
We have so much to be thankful for in the seasons we've been given. Living in the Cleveland area, as I said allows me to feel the warm and cold of summer and winter, respectively. However, I love 50 degrees or so in both spring and autumn and how different they feel. Spring warms you and autumn cools you even if it is the same temperature! It is invigorating in the fall, cool and crisp and in the spring it is such a great change from the frigid cold we've been blasted with for the three previous months!
Always at the start of a new season, I am anxious for the change in weather. What's your favorite season and why?
Love to all!
Living in a climate that has four pretty distinct seasons is something I love about the Cleveland area.
In the winter I love to stay warm by the fire or curl up with a good book. I hear so many people talk about the winter blues, but I see nothing depressing about spending time with loved ones and the comfort of a throw to warm you.
I love spring because of all the flowers coming back to bloom and new green leaves to replace the ones lost in the fall.
Summer makes me think of the warm feel of the sun on my skin and picnics, baseball games (personal favorite!) and explosions of colors coming from backyard gardens in the the form of fruits, veggies and flowers. Amazing!
I adore the colors of autumn and how those play in to my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.
We have so much to be thankful for in the seasons we've been given. Living in the Cleveland area, as I said allows me to feel the warm and cold of summer and winter, respectively. However, I love 50 degrees or so in both spring and autumn and how different they feel. Spring warms you and autumn cools you even if it is the same temperature! It is invigorating in the fall, cool and crisp and in the spring it is such a great change from the frigid cold we've been blasted with for the three previous months!
Always at the start of a new season, I am anxious for the change in weather. What's your favorite season and why?
Love to all!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Blessings and Prayers
As prayers go up, blessings come down.
I just love this saying. As most of you know, I am a caregiver for a home health care agency. Hands down, it is my favorite profession. I care for a few different clients at this point. One of them has a coffee mug with this expression on it. Actually, now that I think about it I am wrong. This is a refrigerator magnet. Her coffee mug has another great saying that I love. "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." Too cute!
I am a big believer in the power of prayer, and how the more you pray and have faith the more blessings you receive. It makes your life rich with good fortune. Not necessarily monetary wealth, but wealth in your heart and soul, love from family and friends and to truly be at peace with things around you.
I am not a "holy roller" in that I say and do things wrong all the time, but I know this about myself and apologize for any faults that I have or make. We all have shortcomings. We have to be at peace with those as well. I believe so strong in my faith that I do feel angels are among us and we receive blessings all the time. We just have to learn to look through and beyond the lessons we are being taught. We have to look at those around us and learn what they are teaching us, how they most assuredly are blessing us with their presence. Every friend and loved one is a blessing. Listen to them. And enhance someone else with your presence!
Love to all!
I just love this saying. As most of you know, I am a caregiver for a home health care agency. Hands down, it is my favorite profession. I care for a few different clients at this point. One of them has a coffee mug with this expression on it. Actually, now that I think about it I am wrong. This is a refrigerator magnet. Her coffee mug has another great saying that I love. "It takes a long time to grow an old friend." Too cute!
I am a big believer in the power of prayer, and how the more you pray and have faith the more blessings you receive. It makes your life rich with good fortune. Not necessarily monetary wealth, but wealth in your heart and soul, love from family and friends and to truly be at peace with things around you.
I am not a "holy roller" in that I say and do things wrong all the time, but I know this about myself and apologize for any faults that I have or make. We all have shortcomings. We have to be at peace with those as well. I believe so strong in my faith that I do feel angels are among us and we receive blessings all the time. We just have to learn to look through and beyond the lessons we are being taught. We have to look at those around us and learn what they are teaching us, how they most assuredly are blessing us with their presence. Every friend and loved one is a blessing. Listen to them. And enhance someone else with your presence!
Love to all!
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thoughts of August
Thoughts Of August
A glimmer of hope;
Tiniest of thoughts
Darting in and out
Of your busy life.
Teasing you
Here I am.
Where are you?
As notes strung together
Riding on a midnight sky,
Something stirs, begins to come alive.
Can you feel me in your heart?
Can you hear me
In the breeze lulling you to sleep?
There it is…
The rhythm of
My heart beating stronger.
I know you hear me,
Feel my longing to find you
Before time takes you away,
Hides you away from me, again.
Dormant,
As light in our darkest hour.
Don’t forget me, I pray.
Come find me.
Hold me.
Tell me you didn’t forget
I was here in your life.
Cradle and lull me in a gentle lullaby,
I am stronger than you realize.
As are you.
The bond cannot be broken.
I am,
Found.
A glimmer of hope;
Tiniest of thoughts
Darting in and out
Of your busy life.
Teasing you
Here I am.
Where are you?
As notes strung together
Riding on a midnight sky,
Something stirs, begins to come alive.
Can you feel me in your heart?
Can you hear me
In the breeze lulling you to sleep?
There it is…
The rhythm of
My heart beating stronger.
I know you hear me,
Feel my longing to find you
Before time takes you away,
Hides you away from me, again.
Dormant,
As light in our darkest hour.
Don’t forget me, I pray.
Come find me.
Hold me.
Tell me you didn’t forget
I was here in your life.
Cradle and lull me in a gentle lullaby,
I am stronger than you realize.
As are you.
The bond cannot be broken.
I am,
Found.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Things We Connect With
There are things we come across in during our lives that, somehow, we just connect with. Whether it be people, music, movies or whatever the case may be, we find things that seem to fit us.
Take, for me, the month of August. To me August used to just mean summer, my birthday and the start of school. Not that those were the only things it ever meant, but those were the big things. Over the last 6 years and some months, it has come to mean much more than that.
I started talking to my husband, Bob, in August on the phone, although we didn't meet until early September in person. We realized that we both had August birthdays, his being just one week after mine. As our relationship developed, we got engaged, on my birthday. Turns out, that was the very date that my mom and dad got engaged. How funny that exactly 9 years later, I was born! As we had dated for two years, we decided that a one year engagement would be appropriate. I originally wanted a December wedding, then April, but we finally settled, again, on August.
Needless to say, that August is a very special month for both of us. It is filled with anniversary and birthday celebrations. More often that not, we spend part of August on a special vacation that combines all our days at once! It is just Bob and I and nobody else to worry or think about. Just me and him and it's the greatest week of the year. It reminds me of the reasons I fell in love with him and we just have that chance to connect on our level. Awesome!
As I mentioned movies, Bob and I have seen a couple movies together that we have really bonded over. One of those is "Marley and Me", because of our love of our Chocolate Lab, Cody. The other being "August Rush". Not because of it being the month we got married or anything, but the music and the emotion. Good heavens. The movie is about a music prodigy, orphaned at birth and his quest to find the parents he knows are out there.
Bob saw the movie first. I admit I was a bit crabby and wasn't in the mood to watch it when he first put the DVD in. But he told me that he knew I would love it and just to relax. Well, let me tell you... I couldn't take my eyes off it. There is a symphony played at the end of the movie that has both of us welling up with tears. It is emotional and beautiful! Both of us have the soundtrack CD in our cars and we listen to those on a regular basis. We have talked about that movie and the reason we connected in the first place comes back to us in droves. Tonight, I will post a poem that I wrote specially with the thoughts of that ending symphony and what I think it says. For those of you that have heard it, I hope you agree with my interpretation!
Enjoy your day, and love to all!
Take, for me, the month of August. To me August used to just mean summer, my birthday and the start of school. Not that those were the only things it ever meant, but those were the big things. Over the last 6 years and some months, it has come to mean much more than that.
I started talking to my husband, Bob, in August on the phone, although we didn't meet until early September in person. We realized that we both had August birthdays, his being just one week after mine. As our relationship developed, we got engaged, on my birthday. Turns out, that was the very date that my mom and dad got engaged. How funny that exactly 9 years later, I was born! As we had dated for two years, we decided that a one year engagement would be appropriate. I originally wanted a December wedding, then April, but we finally settled, again, on August.
Needless to say, that August is a very special month for both of us. It is filled with anniversary and birthday celebrations. More often that not, we spend part of August on a special vacation that combines all our days at once! It is just Bob and I and nobody else to worry or think about. Just me and him and it's the greatest week of the year. It reminds me of the reasons I fell in love with him and we just have that chance to connect on our level. Awesome!
As I mentioned movies, Bob and I have seen a couple movies together that we have really bonded over. One of those is "Marley and Me", because of our love of our Chocolate Lab, Cody. The other being "August Rush". Not because of it being the month we got married or anything, but the music and the emotion. Good heavens. The movie is about a music prodigy, orphaned at birth and his quest to find the parents he knows are out there.
Bob saw the movie first. I admit I was a bit crabby and wasn't in the mood to watch it when he first put the DVD in. But he told me that he knew I would love it and just to relax. Well, let me tell you... I couldn't take my eyes off it. There is a symphony played at the end of the movie that has both of us welling up with tears. It is emotional and beautiful! Both of us have the soundtrack CD in our cars and we listen to those on a regular basis. We have talked about that movie and the reason we connected in the first place comes back to us in droves. Tonight, I will post a poem that I wrote specially with the thoughts of that ending symphony and what I think it says. For those of you that have heard it, I hope you agree with my interpretation!
Enjoy your day, and love to all!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wonderful World
Status: MSNBC has a great News tab called "Wonderful World" full of feel good News stories about people who are doing great things to change their corner of the world. What a breath of fresh air! Peace and blessings to the Middle East as they slowly but surely make the change to democracy. Love to all!
Well, there is so much I can say about this. Where do I begin?
As I pointed out above, if you go to www.msnbc.com, you will see a tab for "Wonderful World". It's about people donating, doing nice things for people, all great pieces. I happened upon this when I clicked to read a very sad news piece. I needed something to make me feel good! I got it! Sad thing is, I had to wade through the bad to get to the good. I guess that is they way things go. Sometimes you have to go through bad things to where you want to be, where you can be happy. But the site is really good, check it out!
Wonderful World is also s beautiful song from Louis Armstrong, one of my personal favorites! "I see friends shaking hands, saying 'How do you do?' What they're really saying is 'I love you!' I love the line, 'The bright blessed day, The dark sacred night, And I think to myself, 'What a Wonderful World'. Oh, the whole song is just like a hug! :) How do you not love that?
I think it's also a good thing to reflect on just how small our wonderful world is! I had a Facebook friend who posted her wedding pictures, turns out,another Facebook friend performed the marriage ceremony! Wow! Two people i never imagined knew each other. Hopefully, that will be the reason for us to meet up and catch up again. I can only imagine the conversations we might have!
I hope you all take the time to think about the great things you have, the wonderful people surrounding you and take comfort in your greatest inspirations! Hope your day is a good one!
Love to all!
Well, there is so much I can say about this. Where do I begin?
As I pointed out above, if you go to www.msnbc.com, you will see a tab for "Wonderful World". It's about people donating, doing nice things for people, all great pieces. I happened upon this when I clicked to read a very sad news piece. I needed something to make me feel good! I got it! Sad thing is, I had to wade through the bad to get to the good. I guess that is they way things go. Sometimes you have to go through bad things to where you want to be, where you can be happy. But the site is really good, check it out!
Wonderful World is also s beautiful song from Louis Armstrong, one of my personal favorites! "I see friends shaking hands, saying 'How do you do?' What they're really saying is 'I love you!' I love the line, 'The bright blessed day, The dark sacred night, And I think to myself, 'What a Wonderful World'. Oh, the whole song is just like a hug! :) How do you not love that?
I think it's also a good thing to reflect on just how small our wonderful world is! I had a Facebook friend who posted her wedding pictures, turns out,another Facebook friend performed the marriage ceremony! Wow! Two people i never imagined knew each other. Hopefully, that will be the reason for us to meet up and catch up again. I can only imagine the conversations we might have!
I hope you all take the time to think about the great things you have, the wonderful people surrounding you and take comfort in your greatest inspirations! Hope your day is a good one!
Love to all!
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