Good Morning Everyone! It’s a wonderful, glorious morning, with a bit of cold at 41dF. I need to get out the little portable heater since I love being outside. Plastic chairs in the 30’s feel quite chilly on parts I like to keep warmer. And that’s exactly what I just did. When all else fails, read the directions. Speaking of reading directions, we have one nephew who does and like me, he keeps the owner manuals. He’s better, he fills out everything on it. I really need to start doing that. None, zero, zip, nada of the male members in our families bother with reading directions, many just toss them out with the packaging as they view directions as a waste of time.
Back in 2019 when we purchased my little tractor and implements, I didn’t like the way it mowed the mostly Bermuda grass. Down to the store I bought it at and picked up a mulching kit. Two nephews on BH’s side were up because BH went and had an ischemic stroke on Halloween of all days, make up and everything. BH was administered TPA after the CT which showed no rupture. The hospital neurologist wasn’t there so the ER got out what they called their robot. FYI, it’s not really a robot, it doesn’t have arms, it does have wheels because it’s just a screen that they did a zoom call with a neurologist at Baptist who started explaining why the CT was ordered. BH says in slurred words we know all about SAHs. Diagnosis between the 2 doctors is ischemic stroke. Let me tell you that TPA stuff when it can be given in the specified window is a miracle drug! Obviously I wasn’t putting it together because we were at hospital. A story of protecting loved ones and challenging professionals who upped and changed the diagnosis from the ER. I was not a happy camper and the hospitalist who changed it refused to come by and explain themselves.
Mind you, one of the nephews has an engineering degree, from Georgia Tech, the other is a mechanic with no degree but he’s the one that’s anal about the owner’s manual. Mechanic nephew wants to put it on the mulching kit so I say thanks and get out the tools which of course includes a torque wrench. Boys start working together, Engineer starts to take over, Mechanic stands his ground for a bit and everything is torqued under the deck to the correct lb per manual. Mowing deck flipped right side up and the piece that stops the grass from exiting is being put on by Engineer whilst Mechanic is greasing the zerks. Engineer in all his lack of common sense, grabs the torque wrench for a tiny 10 mm nut, it set for the blades, he snaps the bolt off the first turn. I questioned his judgement and decided then that it was just a “Y” thing. Mechanic and I find a replacement bolt, drill out the broken stud and fix it with Engineer told to watch but not touch, in my stuttering way that takes words forever to get out.
Stress can be a very nasty thing for us who have brain issues, best try to avoid it or challenge it flat out. My wonderful neighbor passed away the day I had my images taken working in her landscape garden which she loved to maintain. She was only 71. Her SIL came the next day introduced himself and told me. I confused her with her MIL and was a bit upset when BH saw it on FB. I hate cemeteries with a passion, it’s the walking across dead folk. Hard to know how the old cemeteries are set up as they aren’t always in straight lines like at VA cemeteries. I took a lorazepam because I know how I get when I hadn’t ruptured. Bless Ms. Jan, her plot with her husband is right by the road. She was always a very thoughtful, kind woman. Preacher has known her all their lives and was telling some good stories, relative came up and was sharing some funny stories both with how much of the loss they feel. Some older person came up on the back side and a couple family members stood up, grabbing their chairs. Next thing, there’s a dozen or so folks around the person who hit the ground. I’ve been thinking someone needs to turn off the truck that’s running right next to us as it’s interfering with the stories. When I saw all the people huddled around, I patiently thought y’all need to give some room and call 911. SIL did call 911, not sure why the dozen of folks around the poor soul didn’t. Preacher had to cut Ms. Jan’s service because EMTs had shown up in less than 5 minutes! The truck running was because Ms. Jan’s 94 yr old MIL was in it and he had the heater running. The group started leaving but found it difficult to see around the fire truck that parked up at the road. No one had started directing traffic yet. Ms. Jan was a jokester especially to her husband but everyone was fair game. I think she would have enjoyed the commotion if the person is okay. I met Ms Jan a week or two before we could move in to our home because a Deputy came up to us to see if we belonged there. Sheriff had gotten a call that a guy was going to break in to the building because “the old man died and left a bunch of tools”. The husband at our new home had passed away 9 years prior, but Ms. Jan’s husband who was in construction had died that March. So we drove over and introduced ourselves. We’ve had each other’s back ever since. Any one strange who drives down our gravel drives, we would let each other know. Ms. Jan had her back patio lights on and now they’re off. When she would get scared because of a noise, all her lights around her home would come on and I would text to see if she was okay. When our security alarms would go off, we sent a text to make sure all was well. I’m going to miss her.
This all leads to the importance of having support groups for us as individuals. Hopefully a support group that consists mostly of folks with common sense and knows how to access information if they don’t know and don’t assume they know. Also to take meds as they’re prescribed and what they’re prescribed for, I miraculously had the foresight of taking my lorazepam which helped get me through the noise, commotion, and being in a cemetery. I actually discussed it with an internet pal which is like a pen pal because I’m not sure of the correct term before the day of the funeral. If anyone knows the right word, please let me know. I sure get a lot of help from y’all and I really appreciate those who dumb it down for me when I don’t get it. Enough rambling let’s welcome our newest members!
@Propey is up in Western New York and her husband had a hemorrhagic stroke back in April 2020. He was treated endovascularly (coiling). Jennifer come talk to us! I and other members hold caregivers aka carers in high esteem. Caregivers have a very long, hard and difficult road, We can help!
@sgw16 is up in Iowa. Sonya had a brain aneurysm at the age of 52, spent three weeks in ICU which makes me wonder if it ruptured. She had coils and a shunt then additional coiling and a stent. Sonya enjoys gardening, canning, crafts and vintage thrifting! Oh my, are we related?
Ending our week is @KC2 Cayla hails from Connecticut and has a pending angiogram coming up on 21 November. She has an aneurysm, dural AV fistula and a connective tissue disorder! Cayla, we know a good bit about aneurysms and angiograms here, you may want to also add Ben’s Friends AVM Survivor Group https://avmsurvivors.org/ to your list. There may also be a support group for your CTD, unfortunately they don’t have one for mine.
That’s it for this week’s welcomes! In case you’re wondering the little propane heater works pretty well, I’m amazed. Much better than the patio heater we gave away. We never know when we are going to end this life of ours or when folks we like, admire, love will get the call. Don’t take folks for granted, let them know how you feel every time you see them.
I also want to take the time to thank those who have responded this week to help other members. I really appreciate it! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, you’re the best! Really big hugs to you!
Of course I’m going to add another scolding because we have a lot of members who read but don;t respond. Please, please respond. You’re probably a member who reached out for help at one time or another and some responded to you. Please pay it forward by responding to others in need of a little support. You may not have the same exact experience, but to know one is not alone goes a long way in kindness. If I feel the need for the third scolding, next week I’m going to take a time out and just do what I’m supposed to do - admit new members, do the weekly welcomes, make sure everyone is following the rules and the other things I’m supposed to do as a Moderator. This is after all a group support group, not a handful, but an entire group if you’re still alive and able to communicate.
Have a great week y’all. Remember to use the General tab to start a new topic, Support tab if you need. Find the music and funny t-shirt topics and add if you’ve got something. Check in and let us know how you’re doing. We can’t help with our experiences if you don’t ask. None of us took mind reading 101 in school. If you need any help with the site, please reach out to me @Moltroub or the wonderful folks @ModSupport and one of us will respond. Remember we’re volunteers with our own health issues who are in different countries so different time zones, be patient.