Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[gvallee]

15 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

I'd say that "gringo" and "gringa" still have negative connotations (understandably so) in Mexico and parts of Central America, but not so much in South America. As you say, it's just a bit odd, by our standards anyway. Mind you. I've been called worse in Canada. 🙃

 

If that's the case, I apologise to Edo for any upset. I did not realise, it was just a light-hearted joke.

[cbimages]

31 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Catchup on my recovery. I’m in the process of weaning off the pain pills.  For instance, I’ve been 7 hours without one, and hopefully the rest of the day I won’t need one.

The bone stimulator caused a huge setback, big-time pain. I’ve finally gotten back to where I was before. But I’m supposed to call the guy about using it again, possibly at a greatly reduced time. Like 20 minutes instead of 2 hours at a time each day. I’m terrified it will cause more pain, yet I feel I need the bone stimulator to achieve a good fusion. I have donated bone pieces in my disc spaces, and over the next year, it needs to harden and fuse with my own bone.

I’m doing physical therapy now, and also have exercises to do at home. Mostly to strengthen my legs and core. 
I can’t seem to gain weight. I’m 7-10 pounds less than before surgery, and I need those pounds back.

My legs are very weak, especially my right leg. I think the left is ok, but don’t know for sure. It’s like my right leg isn’t getting the message from my back nerves. I’m trying to concentrate on it.

I gave up the walker today except maybe for times when I’ve pushed too hard and  I’m very tired. I have 2 canes, which will force me to use my legs properly, and make me walk more upright.

I put on a pair of grey fashion jeans yesterday. I loved it until I couldn’t keep them up. I’m too skinny. I have probably 10 pair that are now too big for me. Where’s the fattening stuff to eat. Until then, back to the exercise pants with elastic waists. The sweatshirts are a given until spring is here.

I gave Echo a shower in the kitchen sink this morning. She loved it and I finally felt capable of doing it.

I have felt NO pain all day and I think I might be getting a taste of what this surgery has done for me. I truly find it hard to imagine a future without the kind of pain I’ve lived with for so long.  I might need to brush up on dancing to “Staying Alive” and a Texas two-step like “Tulsa Time”.

The day I can walk with no assistance devices, I’ll let you know. Because that will be the day I have my life back. Done and out for now.

Great to read of your improvement Betty, it's been a very tough journey, but you're getting through it. And hopefully it will continue. hugs to you. xxx

[NYCat]

2 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Catchup on my recovery. I’m in the process of weaning off the pain pills.  For instance, I’ve been 7 hours without one, and hopefully the rest of the day I won’t need one.

The bone stimulator caused a huge setback, big-time pain. I’ve finally gotten back to where I was before. But I’m supposed to call the guy about using it again, possibly at a greatly reduced time. Like 20 minutes instead of 2 hours at a time each day. I’m terrified it will cause more pain, yet I feel I need the bone stimulator to achieve a good fusion. I have donated bone pieces in my disc spaces, and over the next year, it needs to harden and fuse with my own bone.

I’m doing physical therapy now, and also have exercises to do at home. Mostly to strengthen my legs and core. 
I can’t seem to gain weight. I’m 7-10 pounds less than before surgery, and I need those pounds back.

My legs are very weak, especially my right leg. I think the left is ok, but don’t know for sure. It’s like my right leg isn’t getting the message from my back nerves. I’m trying to concentrate on it.

I gave up the walker today except maybe for times when I’ve pushed too hard and  I’m very tired. I have 2 canes, which will force me to use my legs properly, and make me walk more upright.

I put on a pair of grey fashion jeans yesterday. I loved it until I couldn’t keep them up. I’m too skinny. I have probably 10 pair that are now too big for me. Where’s the fattening stuff to eat. Until then, back to the exercise pants with elastic waists. The sweatshirts are a given until spring is here.

I gave Echo a shower in the kitchen sink this morning. She loved it and I finally felt capable of doing it.

I have felt NO pain all day and I think I might be getting a taste of what this surgery has done for me. I truly find it hard to imagine a future without the kind of pain I’ve lived with for so long.  I might need to brush up on dancing to “Staying Alive” and a Texas two-step like “Tulsa Time”.

The day I can walk with no assistance devices, I’ll let you know. Because that will be the day I have my life back. Done and out for now.

 

I love to hear that you are having time without pain. Oh joy! Echo is OK with the canes?

 

Paulette

[Betty LaRue]

31 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 

I love to hear that you are having time without pain. Oh joy! Echo is OK with the canes?

 

Paulette

Each new device, Echo looks down with curiosity and accepts it. I did use the walker to get her to bathe. She rode on the front bar of it while I put her towel on the seat. Later, I used the cane to put her in her cage from the stand and she was fine.

[NYCat]

She's a good girl.

 

Paulette

[sb photos]

8 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Catchup on my recovery. I’m in the process of weaning off the pain pills.  For instance, I’ve been 7 hours without one, and hopefully the rest of the day I won’t need one.

 

 

Betty, that's more good news, especially if the pain killers were to be opiate based. I had been taking prescribed codeine phosphate for some time prior to my hip replacement, it was the only way I could get to sleep. Pain during the day could be accepted, but not when in bed trying to get some sleep. When I left hospital I was given more, but I soon stopped taking them. Even mild paracetamol based pain killers aren't good for you when taken over long periods.  

[Allan Bell]

13 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Catchup on my recovery. I’m in the process of weaning off the pain pills.  For instance, I’ve been 7 hours without one, and hopefully the rest of the day I won’t need one.

The bone stimulator caused a huge setback, big-time pain. I’ve finally gotten back to where I was before. But I’m supposed to call the guy about using it again, possibly at a greatly reduced time. Like 20 minutes instead of 2 hours at a time each day. I’m terrified it will cause more pain, yet I feel I need the bone stimulator to achieve a good fusion. I have donated bone pieces in my disc spaces, and over the next year, it needs to harden and fuse with my own bone.

I’m doing physical therapy now, and also have exercises to do at home. Mostly to strengthen my legs and core. 
I can’t seem to gain weight. I’m 7-10 pounds less than before surgery, and I need those pounds back.

My legs are very weak, especially my right leg. I think the left is ok, but don’t know for sure. It’s like my right leg isn’t getting the message from my back nerves. I’m trying to concentrate on it.

I gave up the walker today except maybe for times when I’ve pushed too hard and  I’m very tired. I have 2 canes, which will force me to use my legs properly, and make me walk more upright.

I put on a pair of grey fashion jeans yesterday. I loved it until I couldn’t keep them up. I’m too skinny. I have probably 10 pair that are now too big for me. Where’s the fattening stuff to eat. Until then, back to the exercise pants with elastic waists. The sweatshirts are a given until spring is here.

I gave Echo a shower in the kitchen sink this morning. She loved it and I finally felt capable of doing it.

I have felt NO pain all day and I think I might be getting a taste of what this surgery has done for me. I truly find it hard to imagine a future without the kind of pain I’ve lived with for so long.  I might need to brush up on dancing to “Staying Alive” and a Texas two-step like “Tulsa Time”.

The day I can walk with no assistance devices, I’ll let you know. Because that will be the day I have my life back. Done and out for now.

 

Great to hear your news Betty.

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

9 hours ago, sb photos said:

 

Betty, that's more good news, especially if the pain killers were to be opiate based. I had been taking prescribed codeine phosphate for some time prior to my hip replacement, it was the only way I could get to sleep. Pain during the day could be accepted, but not when in bed trying to get some sleep. When I left hospital I was given more, but I soon stopped taking them. Even mild paracetamol based pain killers aren't good for you when taken over long periods.  

I agree. They tried to give me the bad meds (Oxycodone) right after surgery, but I refused to take them. In spite of my befuddledness, (is that a word? 😄) I still had enough of a brain left to ask what they were giving me. That’s how so many people got hooked…through a legitimate pain event. What I’ve been taking is a controlled med, but my doctor told me it doesn’t have a history of causing dependency. I would have been okay with the meds I did take, except the rehab place only were giving me 50mg every 6 hours instead of the recommended 100mg every 4 hours. So the pain came back with a vengeance and then when they did give me meds, it was too late and not strong enough. We would put an animal down before allowing them to suffer the amount of pain I was forced to suffer. It’s only through my childrens’ intervention that finally saved me.
Where I am with the pain is still nerve pain from all the root nerves being manipulated and handled during surgery. A few were impinged upon, which was the cause of my pain for the past 4 1/2 years, as I went from a straight spine to a crooked one.

Also, now that my back is straight, I’m dealing with the pain caused by straightening it. I had muscles and tendons that had shortened on one side, lengthened on the other side. It took those years to happen, then in the 3 1/2 hours of surgery, everything was forced into the “before going crooked” stage. How long it will take before my body accepts the status quo, I have no idea.

Then the Bone Stimulator caused bone pain, which wasn’t touched much by my pain reliever. Bone pain is bad…I don’t want any more of it. I feel so sorry for people who have cancer in their bones.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Betty LaRue

[Betty LaRue]

15 hours ago, NYCat said:

She's a good girl.

 

Paulette

😅 She’s a good girl except when my son is around! He doesn’t like her, she knows it and reciprocates. Of course, parrots will bite occasionally. Bogie bit me every time he could. Echo is bonded to me, so she doesn’t bite me. I know her so well that I can tell when she’s getting irritated or doesn’t like something I’m doing to her, and I back off.

Jeff can’t understand why anyone would have a pet that bites. He’s living with me right now. Cooking my meals, taking me to PT, giving me my meds and in general being my nurse. He has to cook Echo’s food for her.  If she’s in her cage when he brings her food, she fluffs up and strikes the cage bars with her beak. Strikes with the speed of a snake. If given the opportunity, she would give him a nasty bite.

[NYCat]

15 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

😅 She’s a good girl except when my son is around! He doesn’t like her, she knows it and reciprocates. Of course, parrots will bite occasionally. Bogie bit me every time he could. Echo is bonded to me, so she doesn’t bite me. I know her so well that I can tell when she’s getting irritated or doesn’t like something I’m doing to her, and I back off.

Jeff can’t understand why anyone would have a pet that bites. He’s living with me right now. Cooking my meals, taking me to PT, giving me my meds and in general being my nurse. He has to cook Echo’s food for her.  If she’s in her cage when he brings her food, she fluffs up and strikes the cage bars with her beak. Strikes with the speed of a snake. If given the opportunity, she would give him a nasty bite.

 

I was in a pet store once that had macaws and one of them was sitting on my shoulder as I walked around. When the clerks saw me they were appalled. They said she didn't like women. Well she liked me. Sitting on me was her idea. Very glad she didn't change her mind.

 

Paulette

[Michael Ventura]

2 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Bone pain is bad…I don’t want any more of it. I feel so sorry for people who have cancer in their bones.

 

So true.  A very close friend of mine had leukemia in his early 30's.  He was a strong athletic guy but that disease took him down so hard.  To see him in the pain he was experiencing was just awful to watch.  

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, NYCat said:

 

I was in a pet store once that had macaws and one of them was sitting on my shoulder as I walked around. When the clerks saw me they were appalled. They said she didn't like women. Well she liked me. Sitting on me was her idea. Very glad she didn't change her mind.

 

Paulette

That’s absolutely wonderful! The bird didn’t sense fear from you. Parrots are intelligent as most birds are, and they seem to be intuitive. That’s why the hummingbirds sat on my thumb to drink from the small red cup I held. They had watched me renew their nectar every day and connected me with good things and a food source. It blew my hubby’s mind that I charmed a squirrel to take pecans from my hand, and hummers to light on me. 

[Betty LaRue]

2 hours ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

So true.  A very close friend of mine had leukemia in his early 30's.  He was a strong athletic guy but that disease took him down so hard.  To see him in the pain he was experiencing was just awful to watch.  

These days, most leukemia is curable. It makes my heart hurt for those who were lost before new treatments were discovered.

[Bryan]

While my wife wanted a house extension, all I wanted was another double electrical socket in the lounge. We've lived for 30 plus years with wires trailing across the floor.  My wish has been granted, the electrician, while wiring the new build, also installed my longed for power point. An expensive but welcome and actually useful home improvement. As for the extension, more space to heat, a dining room large enough to accommodate a street party, but normally hardly used, we usually eat with trays on our laps watching the TV. The price of domestic bliss......

 

I am currently witnessing a similar scenario being played out by another couple amongst our allotment friends, she wants a bigger kitchen. I've pointed out that cooks on trains and submarines cater for umpteen working from a space the size of a cupboard, but to no avail.

 

C'est la vie !

[Ed Rooney]

 

Bryan, it seems that my primary mission in life has become recharging the batteries in my many digital gizmos. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB3ruxchwaY

 

Betty, does Echo speak English? Like this African crow? Maybe African parrots speak Swahili. 

 

Edo

Edited February 19, 2022 by Ed Rooney

[Betty LaRue]

5 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Bryan, it seems that my primary mission in life has become recharging the batteries in my many digital gizmos. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB3ruxchwaY

 

Betty, does Echo speak English? Like this African crow? Maybe African parrots speak Swahili. 

 

Edo

Yes, Echo speaks English. But I think she sometimes cusses me out in a strange language. Love that video! 😁

Edited February 19, 2022 by Betty LaRue

[Betty LaRue]

A couple of days ago, I used a cane instead of the walker. I tend to put too much weight on the walker.  My legs are still weak and I want to make them stronger. I can’t quite understand why they still are so weak.

Well, I found my left leg, the one that had a bit of numbness before surgery, while still fairly numb seems to be strengthening. But the right leg is wobbly, rather like what I would imagine a stroke victim would feel. It’s like it’s not getting the message from my brain, or the nerves from my back. All my concentration and trying makes no difference. My stride with the right is half the stride with my left. I’m hoping this is just a blip, and nothing permanent. I don’t see the surgeon until March 2nd.

[Allan Bell]

24 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

A couple of days ago, I used a cane instead of the walker. I tend to put too much weight on the walker.  My legs are still weak and I want to make them stronger. I can’t quite understand why they still are so weak.

Well, I found my left leg, the one that had a bit of numbness before surgery, while still fairly numb seems to be strengthening. But the right leg is wobbly, rather like what I would imagine a stroke victim would feel. It’s like it’s not getting the message from my brain, or the nerves from my back. All my concentration and trying makes no difference. My stride with the right is half the stride with my left. I’m hoping this is just a blip, and nothing permanent. I don’t see the surgeon until March 2nd.

 

That's the day I have my hair cut. Another type of surgery.

 

Allan

 

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Bryan, it seems that my primary mission in life has become recharging the batteries in my many digital gizmos. 

 

 

Indeed Edo, and my new electrical socket includes two USB charge points, luxury beyond my imagination.

[NYCat]

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

A couple of days ago, I used a cane instead of the walker. I tend to put too much weight on the walker.  My legs are still weak and I want to make them stronger. I can’t quite understand why they still are so weak.

Well, I found my left leg, the one that had a bit of numbness before surgery, while still fairly numb seems to be strengthening. But the right leg is wobbly, rather like what I would imagine a stroke victim would feel. It’s like it’s not getting the message from my brain, or the nerves from my back. All my concentration and trying makes no difference. My stride with the right is half the stride with my left. I’m hoping this is just a blip, and nothing permanent. I don’t see the surgeon until March 2nd.

 

Goodness, Betty, you are impatient. i would expect a long recovery from your huge ordeal. Perhaps the physical therapist can help with the difference in legs. They do seem to know what they are doing even though they want me to do the exercises I HATE.

 

Paulette

[CAROL SAUNDERS]

Well that's 4 new fence panels ordered, 2 that came down totally and 2 as they look a bit iffy at the bottom.  Delivery hopefully Tuesday.  My bamboos are still standing, let's hope they continue that way as they were originally tied up to the fence now they are on their own....

 

Carol

[Ed Rooney]

1 hour ago, NYCat said:

 

Goodness, Betty, you are impatient. i would expect a long recovery from your huge ordeal. Perhaps the physical therapist can help with the difference in legs. They do seem to know what they are doing even though they want me to do the exercises I HATE.

 

Paulette

 

Yeah, Betty -- poco a poco.

[Betty LaRue]

1 hour ago, CAROL SAUNDERS said:

Well that's 4 new fence panels ordered, 2 that came down totally and 2 as they look a bit iffy at the bottom.  Delivery hopefully Tuesday.  My bamboos are still standing, let's hope they continue that way as they were originally tied up to the fence now they are on their own....

 

Carol

I lost a large part of my back fence in a storm a couple of years ago. The whole new fence is holding up well, now. I hope your bamboo survives the vicious weather.

[Rebecca Ore]

On 16/02/2022 at 13:46, Michael Ventura said:

I have 2 canes, which will force me to use my legs properly, and make me walk more upright.

 

I recommend half crutches, but if possible, try before you buy.   This is my set of walking aids.

 

 

[sb photos]

On 17/02/2022 at 14:10, Betty LaRue said:

They tried to give me the bad meds (Oxycodone) right after surgery, but I refused to take them. In spite of my befuddledness, (is that a word? 😄) I still had enough of a brain left to ask what they were giving me. That’s how so many people got hooked…through a legitimate pain event.

 

Re your reference to Oxycodone Hydrochloride I recently read this "The Sackler family owners of Purdue Pharma have proposed a settlement worth up to $6 billion to resolve allegations the company and the owners contributed to the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to a mediator's report."