Gratitude

Dear Life,
Today I'm grateful for sunshine, friendship, casseroles, caring people with warm hearts and prayers reaching out across the globe.
Marlene

On Saturday morning we went off to the Fairgrounds to help set up for the Fall Fair which is starting this coming week. I was ordered to sit and be quiet. Hmf! But it was nice to see all my friends. Working the Fall Fair is like meeting family.

Hubby was doing the heavy lifting and sorting, I wiped down plastic and drank coffee. Oh and showed those who wanted to see, the staples in my head. Always something to do, right?

Sunday we ventured out to Church - me wearing the pink pirate's hat from Jan (see post) and large earrings to complete the look. Really don't want people to get sick when they see my head at this stage, although it is a very neat and tidy wound. The support and outpouring of love made us feel humbled and overwhelmed.

We are embarrassed but Rev. Lloyd sat us down in hospital last week and told us to allow people to help, to reach out, and to embrace us. Thank you, everyone, for every greeting, every smile, every casserole or loaf promised, for driving and looking after us during this time. We sincerely appreciate every gesture and email.

PICTURE FUN - The twins
Joe is my champion, my brother, my twin, my friend. Picture below was taken at church the Sunday before my surgery on Tuesday -- we didn't know how bald I'd be after surgery and we needed to have a record! Front view with wide smiles, as you can see. Below that is the one from yesterday ...

Back views of our heads a week later. Who looks best? Yes, I know no warning on the staples this time, but it is clean and no blood and only the partial wound! Staples will be taken out on Friday, ten days after surgery. There is very little pain and I've only taken ordinary Tylenols two or three times a day since surgery. 

(Full wound taken on surgery day is on this post if you are curious. LINK) 

Today I'm by myself for the first time in days! Friends will pick me up for a coffee date and we'll have fun and laughter in the sunshine for an hour or two before the old bones would have to be rested on bed again. Seems the body will take a while to shake off the effects of the anaesthetic and the surgery, but there is a heap of improvement already, for sure. 

Arno is ready for his surgery on Wednesday. I think he just wants to get it over now so that we can carry on with our lives. 

My brother André was finally discharged today after his surgery last Wednesday! I have pictures of his wound, but haven't asked permission to use them. There is still some bleeding and yesterday two blood clots came out but at least he was set free and would be able to sleep in a quiet bed now. He still has to take it easy for a week as the internal wounds heal. 

Arno's brother Chris in Australia, who had cataract surgery on Sept. 3, says he can see colours so much clearer now. Although the eye is still a bit scratchy, it feels a lot better to be able than to see through a haze as the other eye still does. That one will be done in a few days. 

UPDATED AFTER MEETING WITH FRIENDS

What joy to be with friends, to be out in the sunshine, to share coffee, cookies and stories and to know a week ago the surgery was still on the schedule. What amazing lives we live! I am always referred back to the poem often contributed as being written by Walt Whitman, but it was really Angela Morgan. 

[Shared on this blog in 2011: Such An Age As This ]

Sue picked me up and friend Anne B. met us at Fortinos to share conversation and catch up. We had to pose for a picture, right? Marilyn did the honours this time.

With Anne

Anne with her smile and blonde hair, and me with the pink pirate's hat and silver earrings. 

Marilyn brought a gift of her homemade scones, which are a particular favourite of mine --- only have to have brain surgery to convince her to make me some, hehehe! So we had to go hunt for clotted cream, which has been sold out for months lately. 

Ran into Sheila and we had to smile for a picture of course!

Such joy to have so many friends, to run into familiar faces, to be happy to see each other and to feel the warmth and care holding us up. 

With Sheila

GUESS WHAT???

Today, for the first time since about May, there was Clotted Cream in Fortino's!! 

I just had lunch of fresh scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream, added some rooibos tea --- now to rest and enjoy life!!

Thank you, Marilyn, for this gift; thank you all my friends for your love. There's more, many more to thank, and you know who you are and what you are busy arranging. 

Clotted cream

....."Due to its high saturated fat content, the regular consumption of clotted cream is usually thought to be bad for health, though some dairy fat in the diet is considered beneficial. ..."    

and I want to believe!!  LOL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clotted_cream

grat·i·tude

ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/

noun

1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

It DOES get better!

Pussyfootin' to health in my beloved toe socks

As I'm trying to write this post without being overly dramatic, I hope you'll get the feeling that goes along with it. But if not, please ask or reprimand or comment and I'll try to fix or explain better. For now, I'm softly stepping onto the path of better health.

It is now going for a month of my being off antibiotics. (blog post)  The first few days were giddy ones, feeling like a vacation and freedom, not having to swallow pills every few hours. And then the symptoms slowly started creeping back. I didn't notice so much, or I tried to ignore them, but hubby was ever vigilant. I felt bad for a few days but of course nothing was as bad as it was before.

And that's what I want to say to other Lymies who might be reading here: It DOES get better.
Truly, it does. We might slip back, might feel worse for a few days, but not those horrible, dark, pain-filled days that seem to be never ending as when we are very sick. This I've heard from a few lucky ones who have experienced these golden days, and now I can add my own voice to theirs.

What I didn't realize, is that a meal replacement hubby started me on years ago when I was too sick to eat and didn't feel like chewing or going to the trouble of digesting anything, did more for my general well-being than I knew. We ran out of the powder more or less at the same time as I went off the antibiotics. As I became more run down during the days following, hubby started saying we need to get the powder back and start using it again. It took a few phone calls but we were quickly back up and running.

Almost immediately I felt a difference. After about two weeks it is clear: The powder does help, and I feel so much better for drinking my smoothie again in the morning! I should probably do a blog post about that on its own, but please ask if you want to know. There's a contact button at the top of this blog. If you view this on your mobile device, you might have to switch to the Web version - not sure how everyone's displays work!

BUCKET LIST
Maybe you had a look at my Bucket list before. Items 5, 7, 10, 11 and 15 on the list could probably be scratched out now, since the last two weeks or so!

Examples:
Going out at night (item #11): On Friday, March 15, I enjoyed an evening of darts with a group of friends. I'm no big darts player and am happy when I hit the board, but my husband is and he loves it. On that evening, I closed two games (gasp!) and was promptly dubbed "Hawkeye" by my team captain. It was a fluke, be sure ... but afterwards, we sat and chatted, sharing jokes and taking pictures, and I was in no big hurry to get home to bed. I didn't think much of it until the next morning, when hubby said it was the first time in years that I actually sat and visited with the people after darts instead of being dead on my feet.

Thanks, patient friends, for still allowing me to play sometimes even though I've been a deadbeat the last few years! And Tom, I still believe you were "crying-laughing" !

TV Programs (item # 5): The last week or ten days I've been able to actually follow along while watching "Criminal Minds" instead of having to pull over the laptop and look for a synopsis of the episode. I could do it all by myself! I didn't want to get too happy, thinking it wouldn't last. But now I'm starting to think it might be a sign of getting the concentration back.

Made 11 jars of antipasto and didn't burn anything!

Recipes (item #7): Last Sunday I attended an event at a home with some friends. Girlfriend Pam was hosting and had several goodies to share. I tasted around all my old favourites and then found a mixture with olives and things. It was delicious and I stayed put, munching away, insisting that she shares the recipe. She did and five days later I made a batch of Antipasto myself. Sure with hubby helping to chop, but for the first time in years I was in charge of the pot and the mix, while he was behind the chopping board! What joy! Especially to take a jar full to an event last night and to watch the ladies scoop out every last drop of the mix, commenting to Pam that they need the recipe too. They didn't know how joyful it made me, seeing them smack their lips and knowing that I knew what is in the recipe and could recite it back, as in days of old. Before Lyme, that is.

Concentration (item #15): The biggest improvement that makes me happiest is that the concentration seems to be coming along. So much so that I am enrolled for an online course and have done several of the assignments already and actually retaining the information. Humbly grateful to have that gift again, which I used to take for granted before. Hey, I could even tell a few jokes the other night and remembered them all by myself as before!

Lymies: We have to change the tide and together we can get better. It is such a supportive community and having someone say, I understand, is a powerful gift to receive when you're awash in a sea of disbelief.

I also looked back on my "List of 100" and had fun reading them again, thinking that some of them might get crossed off now in the near future. Always did want to jump out of a plane, so maybe one day.

NEWS ABOUT THE BRAMPTON WALK
Things are getting together! We need a few official sponsors, though - they will come, I firmly believe. I've ordered the small items that sold so well last year at the Walk and they should be here by mid-April.

Confirmation received that Dr. Murakami will be with us on the bus to Niagara Falls, and will attend the Brampton Walk on May 18. Have you booked your seat yet? There is an online registration spot if you want to join in, but you can also send me a cheque or pay via PayPal if you want. Just let me know in time, please, so that I can secure the bus.

As the last thought: My dear friends who read here on this blog from time to time, thank you for being on the journey with me. Without your support I wouldn't be doing very much of anything. Thanks for your acceptance and for sharing your lives with me, for helping and volunteering and cheering along, donating your time, giving me a gift of yourself. 

Brain healing

Yesterday morning on the way to work, I stopped at a spot with a wetland, that always fascinates me with changing colours, sometimes reflections, sometimes gunk covering the water - always something different. Took the picture below, among the 40 or so others that were squeezed off. Even though the Fall colours are fading, the reflection in the perfectly smooth water was so pretty! A camera can just not capture every nuance of the play of light and dark that the eye can see.

Then, driving home later, there was a talk on the radio about taking a short walk in a wooded area or park during the work day. Seems the part of the brain that is needed for sharp concentration, is healed while the other part of the brain that is nourished by nature, takes over for a few minutes. What a blessing to have something living and green somewhere, to look at, enjoy and to find healing at the same time!

I had the privilege to speak to a group of women last night about Lyme disease, the lack of treatment in Canada, the fact that testing is inadequate and that doctors are not equipped to diagnose the early stages. Those who try to help, are often pushed out by other doctors, for treating "a disease which doesn't exist in Canada". Mind-boggling.

We need more publicity about the early stages and the fact that Lyme disease is treatable if caught early; we need doctors to be aware of the early symptoms; more information must be posted everywhere, since knowledge is power; better and more accurate tests are desperately needed; and doctors and patients who are dealing with Lyme disease and the co-infections need to be protected from ignorant people who still deny it exists.

Let's hope and pray the ILADS* Conference in Toronto will be attended by many doctors, nurses, medical students and others in the position to constantly help get the word out, and to prevent more people getting sick and then being set adrift with no treatment!
(*International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society)

Healing Prayer Meeting

There is not much time to update the blog, but this graphic was quickly made, from a gift given today, and the greater gift of a group of friends taking time from their own busy lives to share in a healing prayer meeting for me. My appreciation can not be expressed, for all the care and concern so freely and warmly given.