Why My Orchid Blooms

Years ago a dear friend of mine named Kathy Richardson Jones gave me a little orchid as a gift.  It sat on the ledge of one of my sunny office windows at work for a few years, and then I brought it home where it sat with my other plants on my front porch in Charleston, SC until I retired and moved away.

Almost all that time it was green and lovely, but it never bloomed.  

Then my friend, Kathy, became very sick.  She went through all the chemotherapy and all the radiation and all the other medication and surgery and other treatments, but the doctors couldn't save her.  God called her home.

The next spring and every single spring thereafter, my little orchid has bloomed, and every time I look at it, I smile, because it reminds me of Kathy's sunny personality. If she were a flower, she would be that orchid.

Today my orchid sits in front of a large window in my den facing my backyard and the small forest beyond.  Right now it is blooming its little heart out.  A lovelier flower you will never see, so I thought I should share its story.  

I was only able to bring four of my plants with me when I moved from Charleston, two Christmas cacti that were cuttings from my Mama's beloved plant, my money tree, and my little orchid.  Those are the ones I treasure most, and I am glad they are happy here in their new home.  

My Cousin, Judith - Mid-1960s Memory

Today I can't stop thinking about a day back somewhere in the mid-1960s.  It was the day my cousin, Judith, nearly lost her life.  She was 12 years old.

Isn't it crazy the things you remember?

I'm about four or five years younger than Judith, so I was around 7 or 8 years old when this happened.  

It was picture day at the local schools that day, so Judith was all dressed up.  Pressed and curled and pretty, but honestly Judith was such a pretty little thing that she would have looked lovely wearing blue jeans covered in mud.  She had long dark hair and that type of milky white skin you read about in romance novels.  Her smile could make you forget what you were about to say.  

Judith was as sweet as she was pretty, and I will never forget her 12 year old self.  I tended to idolize my older cousins back then and often wished I could be more like them.  

I grew out of that, of course, but I digress.

Judith's brother, Steve was in high school at the time and had his driver's license, so he was driving himself and Judith to school that day when the wreck happened. If I am remembering correctly, I believe someone ran a stop sign directly in front of Steve's car, and there was nothing he could do but hit them. 

Steve was not harmed.  He hit the steering wheel hard enough to break it, but he was okay.  Judith?  Well, these were the days before seat belts were in cars.  Judith's sweet face went through the windshield and one of her knees broke the dashboard.  

The day I'm remembering, Mama took me with her to see Judith in the hospital.  The wreck had happened that morning.  I'm not sure why my younger sister wasn't with us, but I don't remember her being there.  We arrived at the hospital in the afternoon.  I'm thinking they took Judith to the Greenville, SC hospital.  I had never been there before that day.  Aunt Julia Mae, Judith's Mama, was crying.  I don't think she stopped crying that whole day.   

I was left alone in the waiting room for a very long time because I was too young to go upstairs in the hospital.  A Top Cat re-run was playing on a television somewhere.  I could hear the music: 

Top Cat!

The most effectual Top Cat!

Who's intellectual close friends get to call him T.C.

Providing it's with dignity.

Top Cat!

The indisputable leader of the gang.

He's the boss, he's a pip, he's the championship.

He's the most tip top,

Top Cat.

Yes he's a chief, he's a king,

But above everything,

He's the most tip top,

Top Cat.

Top Cat!

The song sounded so happy and out of place that it made me feel even worse.  I was so worried about my cousin, Judith, but no one would tell me anything. I was either alone or surrounded by strangers, so I was afraid to ask lest I get a whipping for bothering people.  It was not a happy day.

After we left the hospital, Uncle Bob, my Mama's brother and Judith's Daddy, took us to see the car before we drove home.  It was horrific.  I was literally horrified.  The steering wheel was broken in two, as I had been told, but I was not prepared for all the blood. 

My sweet cousin's blood was all over the place, especially the windshield and the dash.  Uncle Bob reached inside and took out one of Judith's bloody shoes.  It must have come off during the wreck.  He just looked at it with the most sad look on his face.  No one really noticed me.  Children were to be seen and not heard.  But I felt just about like Uncle Bob's face looked that day.  

Judith recovered.  It took many years and a lot surgical procedures, but she has lived well into her 60s so far, with children and grandchildren and everything!  They saved her leg and fixed her face and time moved on, but on the day in my memory that recovery was not a given.  All we could do back then was pray...and pray...and pray...so that is what we did.

Not sure why I'm thinking about this today other than it reminds me to cherish each and every day I'm given.  Life is a gift with an expiration date.  Cherish your life.  Cherish your children.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  

Enjoy these days you are living right now.  They are fleeting and as changeable as the tides.  Embrace the good and release the bad.  The only thing that will matter in the end is how well you have loved and been loved in this life.  Love is the only thing you can keep.  Nothing else really matters.

$50,000 in Credit Card Debt

Don't scoff. It could easily happen to you. Just one major illness can land anyone in this much debt in these United States of America, and none of your "fixes" will work to pay off the debt.

If you have a chronic, very expensive, illness like Lupus or Fibromyalgia or Parkinsons or Diabetes or debilitating arthritis or IBS or Crohn's Disease or any of the hundreds of other chronic illnesses that plague mankind, forget ever getting out of debt unless you have a very rich spouse.

ESPECIALLY if you are single and live alone in a house or apartment way too small for a roommate, you will eventually hit rock bottom with the skyrocketing medical bills.

Sorry to be the one to break the news to you.  Pollyannas who tell you that all you need to do is not go farther in debt, save your money, and pay off your bills are speaking to you from a place of great privilege.  Ignore them.  They know not what they say.

No one with enough money ever gives anyone with less than enough money good advice about how to get out of debt.

The only way out of debt is to make enough money to pay all your bills every month without having to go further in debt. If you are sick and try to work more than one job, the extra doctor bills will cost you more than your extra income, and may also cost you both your jobs or even your life especially if you are already over 60 years old.

If you are sick and try changing jobs to make more money AND you have a pre-existing condition, you could be setting yourself up for MASSIVE medical debt because your new insurance company may refuse to pay for your illness.

Oh...and don't forget the dental bills and the ophthalmologist bills. When you are older, you suddenly need root canals and crowns and such.  Cha-ching!!! 

Because of the medication I have to take that requires special eye tests, my ophthalmologist bills are close to a thousand dollars a year, which I never have so I have to charge it, not counting my glasses, which I have to have to see.  I am not alone in having to pay all these medical bills.

If you are over 60 but not yet 65, there is nothing you can do but pray that you will live long enough for Medicare and hope beyond hope that the present administration in Washington doesn't gut Medicare before you reach the magic 65th birthday...or worse...make you wait until you are 70.  You could die from the stress of the debt by then.

It is not just the doctor bills.  There is also the medicine you have to purchase every month. Even generic medicine can be expensive if you must take several prescriptions every day, but some medicines do not have generics, of course, and those huge prescription bills are not counting the supplements.  Vitamins, calcium, cold medicine, sinus medicine, antihistamines, probiotics, etc. are often the only things keeping you out of the doctor's office yet again.

Now add in the special diet you have to eat because of your illness.

Now add in all the specialist visits, emergency room visits, and perhaps even physical therapy costs.

You can not afford to retire, but you can also not afford to NOT retire because your health will improve when you're not faced with the exhaustion of working 40 to 60 hours a week.

It is a vicious cycle.

Me?  I plan to sell my house and pay down my debt...hopefully to a manageable point.   Then I plan to move to a place that is less expensive than Charleston, SC.  I may end up in a small town, but as long as there is good medical care nearby, I'm okay with that.  MOST places in America are cheaper to live than Charleston, SC.

I am one of the lucky ones.  I have a pension and I will be able to keep my health insurance.  I am blessed.  So very many people are not as fortunate as me. 

People with this much medical debt are helpless when the fridge breaks or the washing machine breaks or the water heater explodes or the roof leaks or the car breaks down or needs new tires or the pets need to go to the vet.  EVERYTHING that happens starts adding to the debt because even if you make a good living, the debt takes over your life and there is nothing you can do about it but go further into it.

You stop socializing except for birthdays or other rare occasions.  You can't afford to buy your family nice Christmas presents anymore.  YOU ARE NOT SPENDING MONEY NEEDLESSLY.  You probably don't have cable or even a home phone.   What you do have is medical debt.

Please hear this plea, American politicians.  FIX THIS. 

The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is the ONLY first world country on this planet where you can lose your home, your savings, everything you have worked for your entire life, just because you get sick. 

Fix this.  Fix this now. 

Americans, you can help fix this too!  Vote the privileged politicians out of office as soon as possible.  Vote the bought-and-paid-for-by-the-pharmaceutical-companies politicians out of office as soon as possible.

Fix this before it happens to you.

Mark my words.  It can happen to you.

My Friend, Kathy, Died Today

My friend, Kathy, died today.

Kathy was such a positive person.  Always upbeat.  Always encouraging. Always a teacher. Always a listening ear when you needed a friend.  She was always there for everyone. Hardworking and conscientious.

She was a devoted and loving wife to her husband, Wes, and the mother of five children.  If I looked up "caregiver" in the dictionary and found her picture, I would not be surprised.  

Kathy did not smoke.  She was a Southern Baptist and did not drink alcohol.  She attended church regularly, loved God, prayed every day, and lived a Christian life. She ate right, exercised, and, as a science teacher, took her health seriously.  She always followed her doctors' orders.

Kathy did everything right.

Cancer didn't care.

Cancer is the Devil.

Cancer took her life even though she did everything right.  

Yes.  My friend, Kathy, died today, and my heart is broken.

Cancer doesn't care.

Please pray for a cure.  Please. 

Nuclear Stress Test - Treadmill and Medication - Personal Comparison by a Person With Asthma

Around a decade ago I had my first Nuclear Stress Test.  At that time they opted to have me do the treadmill version of the test.  At this point, you should know that I have asthma that is often triggered by exercise or exertion. Yes.  I told them this.

Here's what happened:

• They did a session in the machine that takes pictures of your heart first. No one told me what to expect, and when I asked questions I was told the doctor would answer all my questions after the procedure.
• Then they took me to the room where the treadmill was located.  They told me to just leave my purse in the dressing room near the first machine.
• I told them that I have asthma and if I get overheated by exercising or just being out in the sun too long, I will have an asthma attack.  They said I should be fine and told me not to worry.
• I did start the stress test fine.  Walked as far as that particular doctor said I should for my age, weight, etc., but the techs thought I should keep going to see how much I could do.
• As my breathing became labored, I started sweating profusely, and my asthma attack began.  Pretty soon I could not breathe at all and was coughing and wheezing terribly.
• One of the techs RAN for my rescue inhaler that was in my purse in the dressing room.  
• The other tech RAN for the doctor.
• The tech came back with my purse.  I grabbed my inhaler and used it.
• The other tech came back and said the doctor had left the building and could not be found.
• In the meantime I still could not breathe, so I took a second dose of the albuterol from my inhaler.
• I finally became able to breathe again.  They finished the picture-taking part of the test and I drove the several miles home.  It all took about three hours. 
• The doctor never came back in the building, so I never saw him, and none of my questions were answered.
• The techs never wrote down that I had an asthma attack at all.  No record of it is in my medical records from that cardiologist's office.

I will NEVER go to that cardiologist again. 

Fast forward a decade or so to yesterday.

Yesterday I had another Nuclear Stress Test at a different cardiologist's office.  Wow.  What a difference!  This time I had the medicine version of the test.  No treadmill because I have a sprained and arthritic knee right now.  

Here's what happened:

• The tech took me into a room where the treadmill and a table were both located along with the machine that does all the measurements.  No picture machine at first this time.
• The tech explained the whole procedure to me and answered all my questions.
• The physician's assistant came into the room and administered the medication to open all my veins and speed up my heart.  He stayed in the room the whole time.
• He explained that the medication was a vascular dilator and told me exactly what to expect, but he didn't know that with my veins dilated, I would suddenly be able to feel my feet!! It's been years since I have had normal feeling in my feet due to what they believe is small fiber neuropathy (No. I am NOT diabetic.), but now I'm wondering if it may be a vascular problem.
• When the shortness of breath and asthmatic coughing began, I had my rescue inhaler in my pocket, so I took a dose right away before the asthma attack had a chance to get out of control.
• The physician's assistant did not leave until after my heart had slowed down to normal, and my asthma was under control.  
• After my heart slowed down, the tech took me to another room where the machine was that takes the pictures they needed, and that test was run.
• They made sure I was okay before sending me the few blocks home to do a nebulizer breathing treatment.
• They told me to take it easy the rest of the day, and assured me that I should have my test results sometime next week.

The moral of the story??  All cardiologists are not the same.

If you have a bad experience with one cardiologist, find another cardiologist.  Find one who hires good, honest, and caring people.  Find one who is good, honest, and caring him or herself.  Worrying about a heart problem is bad enough without having to also worry about your cardiologist.  

I will say that some people have told me they had no trouble with this test at all.  That has not been the case for me, but if you are scheduled to have the test, I hope that is the case for you.

The most useful thing I can tell you is, if you have asthma or COPD or other breathing problems, tell them before your test, and PUT YOUR RESCUE INHALER IN YOUR POCKET!!! 

I wish you well!

The machine that does the picture taking part of the test will look similar to this.  Do not worry.  This part is painless. You just lie on your back and wait for the machine to finish.  Easy.

Women's Heart Attacks

One bright and beautiful June morning in 1956, up in the hill country of western North Carolina, my maternal grandmother woke up not feeling very well at all.

Grandma was living with several sisters and brothers at the time in the house where they were raised.  She told  her sister, "I'm not feeling well this morning.  I'm going to go ahead and get the laundry done so I can lay back down for a little while."

As my grandmother was hanging those damp clothes on the line, she suddenly had a massive heart attack.  They said she was dead before she hit the ground.

She was 61 years old.  The same age I am now.

My grandmother didn't know the signs of a woman's heart attack.  She most likely knew the chest pain and shortness of breath a man experiences, but her heart attack wasn't like that.  She didn't feel well.  She may have been a little nauseous, or she may have been sweating for no reason.  Her neck, jaw, or back may have hurt.  She was overwhelmingly tired, as she told her sister this, but she didn't know that is a sign of a woman's heart attack.

Even if she had known these signs and symptoms, the doctors of the time would have dismissed them.  It has only been in recent years that the medical profession has recognized that women and men have different signs and symptoms before they have a heart attack.

Recently I've been having some health problems and will go through all the heart tests soon.  Hopefully the cardiologist is wrong and there's nothing really wrong with me other than my medicine needs to be adjusted or some other such simple fix, but these problems have got me to thinking that I should do a post about women's heart attacks.

Here are some heart attack signs and symptoms common to both men and women:

1. Chest pain
2. Shortness of breath
3. Stomach pain
4. Unexplained sweating
5. Lightheaded

In addition to the above, here are some more heart attack symptoms common to women:

1. Jaw pain
2. Arm pain (especially the left arm)
3. Discomfort between the shoulder blades
4. Sense of impending doom
5. Unusual fatigue

Please watch the following short video.  It could save your life.



For more information about women's heart attacks and heart disease click HERE.

Making Sense of Drugs Like Prednisone and DexPak and Why It Is So Important to Taper Them - Steroids

Recently I fell and sprained my knee which caused a lot of inflammation in my body due to my other health woes.  My doctor prescribed a 10-Day DexPak.  I have to take Prednisone a LOT, but I'd never taken the DexPak before and will NEVER take it again.

Here's what I have learned about these two drugs.  They are NOT the same:

Prednisone

Prednisone works by suppressing the body's immune system. In diseases like asthma, arthritis, lupus, and others, it is invaluable when your system becomes inflamed.  It reduces inflammation (heat, swelling and pain).

When it works it is a miracle drug, and I am very thankful that I can take it.  I just have to be very very very careful to taper it off as directed or it can harm me since I have to take it so often.

Prednisone can make it hard to fight off infections, so if I get a sinus infection or sore throat or something I have to be careful to have that treated right away when taking Prednisone.  If I don't then the infection will run rampant and make me very very sick.

Prednisone comes with a laundry list of side effects.  The worst one for me is I gain around 10 pounds everytime I have to take it.  I've gained over 80 pounds in the past 15 years mainly due to having to take Prednisone...as well as my hypothyroidism, but that is another story.

Many people experience worse side effects on Prednisone than me.  It does also make me bloat, have more trouble than usual sleeping, and tends to make me more angry and aggressive, but some people have a mixture of THESE side effects, which can even include cardiac arrest (heart attack).  This is a serious drug.  Know that before you take it, and please be aware that this drug must be tapered off.  NEVER suddenly stop taking it.  NEVER.

Why You Have to Taper Prednisone

Prednisone is what they call a corticosteroid drug. Corticosteroids mimic your body's natural adrenal gland hormone, cortisol. Prednisone gives a boost to your body's usual adrenal gland hormone levels, thus suppressing the inflammation.

It is important to note that cortisol is also known as "The Stress Hormone."  It influences and/or regulates:

• Blood sugar (glucose) levels
• Fat, protein and carbohydrate metabolism to maintain blood glucose
• Immune responses
• Anti-inflammatory actions
• Blood pressure
• Heart and blood vessel tone and contraction
• Central nervous system activation

See?  Important.  To learn more about cortisol and its functions, click HERE. For an article that explains it better in layperson's terms, click HERE.

If you take Prednisone often, your body will become used to having the higher levels of cortisol and it will get very lazy and stop making its natural hormones.  To prevent this, you MUST taper the Prednisone slowly to give your body time to start its hormone production factory again.  Otherwise you can become dependent on Prednisone and its side effects will increase until you become totally miserable.  Seriously miserable.  

Please take another look at these side effects by clicking: HERE.  You do NOT want this.  ALWAYS taper if you have to take this drug for more than three or so days.  Always. Always. Always.

DexPak 10-Day Taper Pack (Dexamethasone)

DexPak 10-Day Taper Pack is the drug I was recently given that has given me these terrible side effects.  I can take Prednisone, but I will NEVER take DexPak again.  Never.  My side effects from this drug have included:

• severe insomnia
• ravenous insatiable hunger
• anger/aggression
• severe sweating
• shortness of breathe
• bloating and stomach pain
• explosive diarrhea
• vision problems
• acne
• increased urination at night
• acidic feeling throat and mouth
• shaking hands and jittery feeling

All this and I was still afraid to stop taking the medication because of the knowledge I have about why I, personally, ALWAYS must taper steroids due to my having to use them so much and the damage they can cause to my body if I don't taper.

Today is my last day on this drug.  Thank goodness.  I know it will take at least five days to go out of my system and maybe longer, but I hope to start feeling better very soon.

I'll try to explain further.

DexPak (Dexamethasone) like Prednisone is used to treat many conditions. These include adrenal insufficiency, inflammation, allergic reactions, ulcerative colitis, certain cancers and other conditions that do not respond well to Prednisone.

Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid.  It is NOT Prednisone.  It is in the same family, but much like your sibling, is somewhat the same AND entirely different. Please know that your body may react very differently to these two drugs.

KNOW THIS when your doctor mentions that you might want to try this "other steroid."  It can be used to TREAT some of the same things, but it is NOT the same thing.

DexPak is a glucocorticoid. Glucocorticoids are adrenocortical steroids that can be either naturally occurring or synthetic. They modify the body’s immune responses to fight inflammation by basically messing with your endoctrine glands:  the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands in order to fight inflammation in your body.

These glands control your body's reaction to stress and regulate many body processes, including digestion, the immune system, mood and emotions, sex drive, energy storage, etc. etc. etc.  You do NOT want to mess with these glands for very long.  You NEED these glands to function.

This is a very powerful drug. 

It can certainly help what ails you, but you MUST be very careful to taper it if you have to take steroids of any kind very often.  Seriously.  I can NOT stress this enough.

Why You Have to Taper DexPak

There are three things that can happen if you do NOT taper this type of steroid.

1. secondary adrenal insufficiency (suppression of the HPA axis)
2. steroid withdrawal or deprivation syndrome
3. relapse of the problem you are trying to treat

Yes.  All three things can happen at the same time.

The most feared complication that can happen if you don't taper is secondary adrenal insufficiency. This can be partial or total, and can do serious damage to your adrenal glands, AND the scariest part is:

It is not possible to predict with confidence which patients will be affected even when factors such as dose and duration of corticosteroid therapy are taken into account.

Read that again.

This means, its true prevalence remains unknown.

Some studies have considered it to be fairly infrequent due to the fact that physicians are taught to gradually reduce corticosteroid doses, thereby allowing your adrenal glands to recover their original function.

Thank God for physicians who tell you to taper these drugs.  NEVER suddenly stop taking them.  NEVER.

Now read this statement:

Recent reports have indicated that incorrect withdrawal of corticosteroids from patients who have been on them for prolonged periods is the primary cause of adrenal crises and secondary adrenal insufficiency.

Please read that again.

Symptoms of adrenal insufficiency include: anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, weakness, tiredness, lack of energy, emotional exhaustion, muscle pain, joint pain, weight loss, low blood pressure, sleep-walking, depression, and more.

In severe cases, an acute adrenal crisis may occur (vomiting, diarrhea, fever or hypothermia, acute dehydration, hypo-tension, hypoglycemia, shock and coma), which is a life-threatening situation.

In other words, if you suddenly stop taking oral steroids after taking them repeatedly for 15 years like me, then your body will not automatically produce the steroids you need to be your normal self.  You will not have any steroids in your system, and THAT IS BAD. 

BAD = YOU COULD DIE (in a MOST unpleasant way)

If anyone tells you to NOT TAPER your steroids without knowing your entire medical history, do NOT listen to them. 

GET ANOTHER OPINION FROM SOMEONE WHO IS AN EXPERT ON STEROIDS.

YOU NEED YOUR BODY.  Please education yourself and take care of your body as best you can.   

Research.  Listen.  Learn.  Ask questions.  Ask more questions.  Consult experts up to and including our National Library of Medicine whose databases are online.  Make your own decisions about your health based on educating yourself.  

Do ask your personal physician, but don't always stop there.  Your doctor is human and has not memorized the side effects of every single medication a drug rep slips in front of him/her.  No human has time to do all that research, so make it your mission to inform yourself about your own body, and do find yourself a physician who is caring, with good listening skills, to help you along your path.

This getting old stuff really is NOT for sissies.

I wish  you all well, and I hope you learned a little something from today's post.  Question it.  Always question everything.  Don't just take my word for it either.

One last thing:  This particular medical article is an oldie (2008) but a goodie.  It contains a lot of good information about steroids with citations.  You may want to read it.  If so, click HERE.

Just Some Questions to Make You Think Today

If you were to be given another life after this one, what are your top five things you'd like to change for that new life?  

Mine are:

1. I'd like to be more patient from the get go.  I never want to have to learn patience again.  It takes way too long.  😉
2. I'd like to be born to parents who were madly in love with one another, in their 20s and healthy, and would both live to see me grow up.  It would be nice if both of them had all the good qualities of this life's parents without any of the bad.  I know...I know....
3. I'd give my child-self a healthier self-esteem, if I could, so all the hard lumps of childhood wouldn't be so damaging.
4. I'd be less afraid to fail and more eager to try new things.
5. I'd like to only have relationships with people who never lie to me or lie to other people about me.

Where would you want to spend this new life?  

• Wherever I am loved for just being ME.  Not for my body.  Not for what I can do to help others, but for myself.  Just me.  But hopefully that place would be safe and temperate, with enough food, water, shelter, and space to make me happy.

Are there any people from this life that you would like to spend more time with in the next life?

• Yes.  I admit there are a good many I'd like to see again, but there are also many I hope I never see again as well.

If you died today, and were given the opportunity to cross over to Heaven or come back to earth for a few more years, which would you choose?  Why?

• This is a difficult question for me, as I hate wearing out my welcome.  I don't want to be a burden to anyone in my later years, and those years are fast approaching.  Still...I have to think of my good dogs.  I wouldn't want to leave them.  They wouldn't understand, so I might come back for them.  My family is fine without me now.  It is doubtful that their lives would change very much if I were gone, but my dogs would miss me.  They love me and wait faithfully for me to come home everyday.  They worry about me when I am late.

If you chose to come back to your present life, would you make any major changes?

• Yes.  If I could, I would retire today and move away from the heat and humidity that is Charleston, SC.  I never liked the weather here.  Truly, I've never been a beach person.  I prefer mountains.  Always have.  I moved to Charleston to be near my eldest brother.  Not because I like the weather.

 I've been thinking about things like this lately.  How about you?  How would you answer these questions?  


Something to think about. 

NOTE: All my answers may be different tomorrow.  It is a woman's prerogative to change her mind!  😉

Buster, The Therapy Dog

From May 2006 until December 2013, I had the honor and privilege of being the owner of a registered therapy dog named Buster.  

We visited Heartland of West Ashley Rehab Center and Nursing Home from around July 2006 until the week before Buster's death (cancer) in December 2013.

Buster LOVED those visits so very much.  He had a routine and knew exactly what to do and where to go.  He enjoyed dressing up for the patients on special occasions, like his Halloween outfit below.  He would wear that hat and cape for hours and never try to take them off.  My good boy.  I will always miss him. 

Buster
(2005-2013)

Buster and I had many adventures at the nursing home, so I thought I'd tell you a little about our time there today.  

Buster was very well trained.  He had a lot of tricks he would do for the patients that they enjoyed.  Perhaps their favorite of Buster's tricks was when he would say his prayers.  I would hold my arm down level for Buster and he would put his front paws on my arm and bow his head between them.  This trick was always a big hit with the patients, and many of them would ask Buster to do it for them again and again.  

There used to be a retired priest who lived there who would always ask Buster to say his prayers, and, of course, Buster would oblige.  Then the priest would bless Buster, but truly I was the one who was blessed to get to witness such an exchange.  

Buster seemed to realize this was a solemn thing.  He would sit so still for the priest to bless him.  If you knew Buster, you know that was a miracle!  Buster was a wiggly boy most of the time. 

That priest's face would light up every time he saw us coming.  He had the best smile.

Buster was also well known for "dying" when you would shoot him with your finger and say, "Bang!" He would fall over on his side and lay very very still for a few seconds, but his little nub of a tail would be wagging the whole time.  This always got a big laugh from the patients even though many of them had seen it many times before.  There was just something so joyful about Buster thinking he was tricking us by playing dead.  He was so pleased with himself.  Too funny!

Buster and I met all kinds of people in the nursing home.  There were former preachers, homemakers, bankers, store owners, military officers, a retired dean, artists, and even one professional dancer.

The dancer was a man who absolutely loved dogs, so Buster and I spent a good bit of time with him.  It made me sad to see a dancer spending his final days in a wheelchair, but Buster didn't care about any of that.  His only objective was to let that man pet him.  He would position himself right beside the wheelchair so the man  could easily reach him and then Buster would look to me for a treat.

Buster always knew when he was doing good and deserved a treat.  Makes me smile to think of it. 

The patients would sometimes ask if they could give Buster a treat, and most of the time I would hand them a treat and let them give it to him.  Those people became Buster's favorites, of course.  

Many of the people wanted to tell us about their dogs.  There was one lady who used to have a dog named Rags.  She would laugh and talk about Rags every week.  She missed Rags.  Rags died before I was born, but he lived bright and whole in her memory.  Buster always reminded her of Rags.

Another lady always told us that she just liked little dogs, and then she would call Buster over to her and pet and pet him with the biggest smile on her face.  I'm assuming she meant she liked living with little dogs because she sure seemed to like big dogs too!

Buster always made a point to stop by that lady's room.  Even if the door was closed, he would insist on visiting.  Then one day he just passed the room by!  I mentioned to the nurse how odd that was for Buster to not want to go visit, and the nurse said the lady passed away that morning.  

Now.  How did Buster know?

There was another time Buster pushed a door open and barged into a room dragging me along behind him saying, "Buster!  You know better!" Inside that room was a mother sitting on the bed with her blind 30something year old daughter who was crying.  It was her first day in the rehab part of the facility and she was feeling overwhelmed.  Buster went right up to her and nosed her hand on top of his head.  By the time we left everyone was laughing and talking and the mother thanked me profusely for bring Buster to visit.

I said, "Thank Buster.  He brought me in this room."  They smiled happily.

Therapy dog work is the most rewarding thing I've ever done.  People would always thank me for visiting them, but honestly, truth be told, I didn't do it totally for them, I also did it for me.  I left the nursing home every week feeling that I had received a thousand blessings.  It was just THE BEST.

The dogs I have now are not well suited to being trained as therapy dogs, but I treasure my time with Buster, the therapy dog extraordinaire, and I hope to one day be able to do therapy dog work again.  I hope I hope I hope....

The man in the photo above had to transfer to a more intensive care facility in the end. I hope he recovered. He was at Heartland for several years, and he always loved Buster.

This man LOVED to read, so Buster and I would stay in his room a long time while he told me about his latest book. I really missed him when they transferred him.

This lady LOVED Buster the most of all. She actually got better and went home in 2008 after spending more than two years in the nursing home. 

I wish I knew what happened to her. She was Buster's very favorite patient at Heartland for a time. He would DASH into her room as soon as we got off the elevator. She would always laugh and greet him. So precious. She was giving him a treat in this photo. Buster was always so very gentle taking treats from the patients. Such a good dog! 

If you have a dog who loves strangers and can be calm and gentle with them, I'd highly recommend for you to consider therapy dog work.  

If you have such a dog and ever find yourself wondering if you should train your dog to be a therapy dog, I say, "Yes!  You should absolutely do it!"  You'll be glad you did.

Tai Chi for Arthritis

My rheumatologist recently told me that she wants me to take Tai Chi classes to combat my joint problems, bursitis, and general inflammation, so I started researching the Tai Chi classes offered in the Charleston, SC area.

Yes.  I know.  I'm a research-aholic.

Here's what I discovered:

• Most Tai Chi classes in the area are offered via martial arts studios and have a martial arts focus.  All ages can attend these classes.
• Tai Chi classes offered nights and weekends are mainly for younger people and are not of the arthritis/joint help variety.
• The Medical University offers Tai Chi classes, but you also have to buy access to the Wellness Center so it is $125.00 per six weeks' course (Wednesday morning only) for all ages (about $21.00 a class) and you have to pay for parking.
• The Lowcountry Senior Center offers a Tai Chi course through Roper Hospital that focuses on arthritis.  Only people ages 50 and above can take this course.  It meets every Thursday morning and costs $45.00 a month (about $11.00 a class unless there are five Thursdays in the month, then it is about $9.00 a class) AND there is free parking.

 Guess which course I am taking?  Any idea? 😉 I'll give you a couple of hints.  I need the arthritis focused Tai Chi, and $11.00 is less than $21.00 (plus parking).

Yup.  You guessed it.  I'm at the Lowcountry Senior Center.  I'm having to take annual leave from work to take the course, but it is so worth it.  I've only had two classes so far, but I have another one this morning.  It is easy for me to do and I feel much better afterwards.  I sure hope I can find something similar when I move next summer, as I believe my rheumatologist is correct.  I need to take Tai Chi.

My instructor's name is Reggie Westbrooks.

Reggie is the director of the James Island Masters Studio. He is a 5th Degree Black Belt in the art of Shaolin Kempo and a certified instructor in Tai Chi, Kung Fu and Fitness Kickboxing. Reggie also trains in Wushu and Wushu Weaponry.   

Reggie receives his Tai Chi training from Laoshi Joshua Grant. Joshua is the director of the Tai Chi and Internal Martial Arts program at the Boston Kung Fu/Tai Chi Institute, and is the U.S. Gold Medalist Tai Chi, 2x U.S. National Champion in Wushu Tai Chi, and Founder of the Boston Kung Fu Tai Chi Institute.

I feel honored and privileged to study under such a multi-talented and accomplished Tai Chi instructor as Reggie Westbrooks.  

For the Lowcountry Senior Center Tai Chi classes he has focused his teachings on movements that help with arthritis, and I find him a patient and excellent teacher.  

He also furnishes his Tai Chi students with a DVD of the movements so we can practice at home.  When he forgot to bring a DVD to class for me, he sent it to me in the mail at his own expense.  That is the kind of person he is.  Excellent!

I'm so very pleased with this class and would recommend it to all my peers who have trouble with stiff joints and arthritis.  I truly am blessed and I know it and I am very thankful!!!

The Anniversary of a Real Life Nightmare: A True Story

All mothers live in fear of the call I received, August 13, 2015, a year ago today.  

I will never forget that day and the weeks that followed.

I was at work and had just come from a 3.5 hour meeting when I saw a "Call me immediately!" email from one of my sons.  When I pulled my cell phone from my purse and saw how many missed calls I had, I panicked.

My son was trying to reach me to tell me his brother needed me, "Mama, don't panic," he said, "But Dave has been in an accident at work."

Dave was working as a welder (welding Mac trucks) at the time, so I knew how serious the accident must have been.

I immediately prepared to leave work.  Saved my files and shut down my computer. Sent emails to cancel my appointments, etc. Told my Dean I had to go to Charlotte and I didn't know when I'd be back, but I'd take Annual Leave for the trip. He was fine with that.  Thank goodness!

Called my dogsitter. Rushed home. Packed.  Drove the 3.5 hours or so to the Carolinas Medical Center in record time and found my son, Dave.

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Carolinas Medical Center - Charlotte, NC. Yes, I did finally find my son there after a LOT of walking and asking people to help me. The workers in this hospital are awesome!

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By the time I found Dave, he was still conscious, but he had lost a LOT of blood and he was in a lot of pain and needed surgery.  I stayed with him until he had recovered enough from the first surgery to care for himself.  Then I went back last December (2015) to stay with him again for his second surgery.  

Dave is still disabled from the accident, and may need a third surgery before all is said and done, but they saved his right arm (although it is terribly scarred and without feeling in places), his right hand (although it doesn't exactly work and may require more surgery), his shoulder, and, most importantly, his life.

I will always be grateful to his co-workers who took action and saved his life a year ago today.  If it were not for them, my son would have bled out, screaming for help, on that concrete floor of his workplace. 

Those brave men who acted quickly, faced all that blood, and saved my son's life, are now and will always be my heroes.  I can't thank them enough. May God bless them all.

Lupus Information

It is my hope that they will find a cure for Lupus and all the other autoimmune diseases one day soon.  In the meantime, raising Lupus awareness seems to be the best I can do to help the fight, so today's post is aimed at doing just that.

Many people think "Lupus" is one thing, but there are four different types of Lupus.

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
• Discoid Lupus (Cutaneus)
• Drug Induced Lupus (DIL)
• Neonatal Lupus

SLE is the most common and most deadly form of Lupus.  SLE is unpredictable.  It flares.  It goes into remission.  It can and will kill you, but it usually takes a very long time to do so.

With SLE you will be okay one day and the next day you can barely move or breathe, etc.  SLE can affect your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, blood and/or skin in very bad ways.

These are my Lupus symptoms when it is flaring:

• White or purple fingers and/or toes from cold or stress (Raynaud’s phenomenon)
• Painful swollen joints 
• Muscle pain
• Sometimes unexplained low-grade fever
• Breathing problems
• Hair loss
• Sensitivity to the sun and/or heat and/or high humidity
• Swelling (edema) in legs, hands, face, glands, etc.
• Mouth ulcers that don't necessarily hurt
• Extreme fatigue
• Fuzzy thinking and memory problems when too tired

You may have other or different symptoms.

My ANA will be positive when I'm flaring.  My inflammatory markers will be too high in my bloodwork.  My C-Reactive Protein will be too high, etc.

Discoid Lupus on the other hand only affects the skin.  You will have unexplained rashes that can appear anywhere on your body, but typically appear on your face.  A butterfly rash on your face that extends from one cheek across the nose to the other cheek can be a sign of Discoid Lupus. 

Discoid Lupus is often unsightly, but it will NOT kill you.

However, Discoid Lupus can sometimes turn into SLE.

DIL is similar to SLE, but will go away once the offending medication is stopped.  At least 46 drugs are presently known to cause DIL in some people.  These include drugs for (but not limited to) heart disease, thyroid disease, hypertension, and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Very rarely a mother who has Lupus can give birth to a child with Neonatal Lupus.  Symptoms of Neonatal Lupus include rashes, anemia, or liver problems, but these symptoms usually go away after a few months and cause no permanent damage.

People with all types of Lupus can live a normal life span.  However, there is nothing normal about your life when you have Lupus.  

Living a normal life span and living a normal life are two entirely different things.

Remember that when you encounter a person with Lupus.  

People with Lupus do NOT look sick!!  This does NOT mean they are healthy.  This does NOT even mean that they are okay.

Remember that when you encounter a person with Lupus.

If you suspect you have Lupus, a rheumatologist is the specialist you need to see.

For more information about Lupus, click HERE or go to http://www.lupus.org/