Meneire's Disease part 2

   After trying different medications & receiving some relief in my ear, but still having vertigo at least twice a week, falling & near falls (family members caught me before going down) my ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat specialist) informed me that the Meneire's was not uncontrolled if I was still having vertigo twice a week.  That was a shock & a bit of a let down for me. 

  He then informed me that I am down to one more medication to try before having to move to injections into my ear & proceeded to explain it to me.  I think I turned a couple colors of white.  I hope I never come to that.

  As of now, the medication is working.  Thank God!!!!  The ringing in my ears, can not be fixed.  But the vertigo is less, still happens for time to time.  I have sprained my ankle big time & trying to recover from that.  It was sprained from rolling it, not a dizzy spell & passing out.   Now in PT for that, hoping for no surgery.


  If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Mental Illness

  Mental Illness has many types and combinations that make for some interesting folks.  Not to sound like I am making fun of or disrespecting anyone who is dealing with or has dealt with these issues.  My heart goes out to all who have faced it, lived it, lived with it or is dealing with it.   

   There are five major categories of mental illness.  Within the major categories there can be subcategories.  Then there can be combinations of any number of major and subcategories.  When dealing with the combinations of mental illness it can be more difficult and can take longer to form a proper diagnosis.  Some folks can live a lifetime struggling with mental illness & may not seek or receive help.  That can destroy family relationships, jobs or any type of relationship.   

   Mental Illness can be caused by trauma,  abuse, virus, or the brain does not develop properly in the womb.  The cause and type of mental illness can help determine the course of treatment. It's not an "easy fix".   Some might say there is no "fix" or "cure".   I agree to a point.  There are so many things the medical teams do know & don't know about the brain, it's functions and it's inner workings.   However they are progressing.     

   Mental Illness is a very complex thing.  There is no easy way about it.  For families that have a mentally ill loved one, life is a challenge.    

   This post is just a scratch on the surface of the topic of mental illness.  It is by no means an in depth answer for mental illness.  This might just generate more questions. Mental illness can bring feelings of isolation both for afflicted and their loved ones.  I am just trying to shine some light in an area that many people may feel uncomfortable talking about.   I hope more light will bring more knowledge.  Knowledge is power.  I encourage you to start these conversations with your loved ones and medical team
   
  Mental Illness can leave people feeling very powerless & hopeless.  I pray this will help start to fight the powerless & hopeless feelings you may have. 

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Vertigo

  It's been awhile since I have made a post.   I have been dealing with vertigo from my last ectopic pregnancy a year ago.  As I made progress with the vertigo through physical therapy & vision therapy, I have had a set back from life events.  It was just a set back but able to move forward still.  Then an ear infection hit, which cause more dizziness & vertigo stuff.  Ear infection did not want to leave without a good fight.   Still working on healing from that.

  With having vertigo for a year straight, I have had to learn how to do normal stuff without stirring up vertigo or I had to find the limit of where vertigo would start.  It's a hit & miss.  Normal activity has became a difficult progress to do.  For example typing out this blog is taking me days to do.  I'm unable to be on the computer for to long or read for more than 20 minutes a day. After the 20 minutes I'm done & need a nap to recover.   Lots of naps have been taken in the past year.   

  Vertigo has changed my life.  I have to stop & think about if it will cause dizziness, or how long can I do it before vertigo stirs up, is it worth the energy & time to invest in, how long will recovery take after doing something.  These are only a small fraction of questions to think through when dealing with vertigo.   Then the effects of vertigo tossed in with every day life stuff.   Then if anything else is tossed in on top of that.  All can be a bit overwhelming while learning how to deal with vertigo & praying it goes away as fast as it hit.   

  Then trying to explain to people you know what is going on with ya & why you can no longer do the things you use to.  And not get depressed by what you can no longer do & not sure if you will be able to do it ever again.   Feeling like your not yourself but you still have the desires to do all of it.  Is very frustrating, overwhelming, depressing, exhausting,  angry are just to mention a few emotions to deal with.  

  Having to deal with all the emotions plus the physical of vertigo is one crazy mess.   Having people to support you & to help you through it all is life saving.  If you are dealing with vertigo I hope you have a good support system around you to help you deal with the emotional stuff & the physical stuff.   

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

TBI: After the Court Date

I'll try not to depress anyone, I'm sharing the details that followed my husbands court date after he won his disability hearing.   To get even that point it took him over 3 years & numerous doctor appointments, test & paperwork.   The 3 years leading up to that point were no cake walk.  But we made it.

After going before the judge of SSD (Social Security Disability) & having him rule that my husband will receive  SSD & back pay for the 3 years he was unable to work.  We thought & felt relief that finally our lives will out of the waiting period & we can move forward & it is all be hind us.  We can now fully focus on what our future will look like.

It's been over 6 months from the judges ruling.   Yes, he is receiving his monthly, but has not received his back pay.   Each time he calls the SSD office he gets  new excuse & run around answers & little information on what is going on.   He was even told that his money was going to be released to him a month ago & was not sure why it was not.  They sent a message to the office that deals with that & are waiting to hear back.  That means we wait more too!

Another month pasted, husband called again.   He received a line of excuses of why he did not have his back pay.   They now are saying there is 5 to 6 issues.  What are the issues was asked!!  More excuses were offered.  They were asked who is going to be held accountable for this, their reply was no one & he can contact his Congressman about it & the government is in a  shut down & to call them at the end of the month.

I went on the hunt for what it looks like to contact our Congressman about this.   What I found out was not comforting.  The Congressman would look into it & that is about it.  Does not mean that the Congressman would hold them accountable,  just that they will be looking into why the delay.  

After yet another call to SSD, to see if any answers would be had or the back pay would be released, we got more of the same nothing.  Then with more of a push they gave the number to the processing center.  The processing center is what is holding the money & the answers.   They would not even talk to my husband or I (his Representative) but only the to the lawyer that helped us on the case.  Ok, we called the lawyer.  The following week we had the back pay.  

Hope you take from this that never stop fighting!!  Yeah, it can be exhausting but worth it!!!

 

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

TBI Part 4

Living with someone who has a TBI may not be the easiest.   You see the same person that you knew before the life changing event, but they are not the same person or will ever be that same person.  How do you move forward with that?

It's like the picture at the top, same body of water, but one side is very choppy & rough & the other is claim & peaceful. The only thing that is making it different is a breaker wall.   That is a poor example of what life is like with living with a person with a TBI.   Please don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing anyone here.  Just sharing what life is like.  

At times you can say it is like being married to a stranger.   After 20 years of marriage & that is not including the time dating, then one day everything changes as you know it.   How do you move forward in a relationship?

In everyday life, I as the spouse of a TBI have the same responsibilities as before the event that is not including the load I picked up after the event.    You might be thinking, but isn't that what marriage is?  You help each other out in tough times.   Yes, you do.  It's not about helping each other through the tough times.  When the person you grew to know know over the years, now has changed on the inside how do you move forward?   Changed even with their likes & dislikes of food.  Not saying run for the hills.  

After a TBI it can change the goals & dreams you both shared & looked forward to before the TBI.  It may take some time to dream new dreams & goals.   During the time of laying down the old dreams & goals can be very painful.  Having a good support group around you will help.   How do you move forward?

Moving forward is not easy.  You pick to move forward with the person everyday.  You make the choice to fight to stay together.   It could have been very easy to run for the hills at times, but easy is not always what you want in the end.   Having a good support group helps.   

Having a good support group is not just family & friends.  But having someone who has walked & is walking through the same stuff you are dealing with.   I go with my husband to his group therapy every week.  I have learned more about TBI there than on the internet, books or doctors.  Getting around people & talking about what is going on, what works & what does not work helps.  Knowing you are not by yourself helps.   

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

TBI Part 3

Part 3 of TBI.   TBI is an on going process.   So far I do see an end to this. This is not like a bone break.  Our life is forever changed.  Not to sound doom & groom.  It's just the facts. 

Here's a little update on our lives.    In January we were rear ended.  We all had whiplash from it & some damage to the car.   We could have taken the position of anger & hate towards the lady that ran into to us, mad that another bad thing happened when we are already at the bottom of what we can handle or deal with.  Not us, let me tell ya what we did.

I actually gave the lady not one but two hugs before parting our ways.  She was just as rattled as we were.  We are choosing not to be man & angry full of hate.    Guess what, none of us woke up & had that on the agenda.   But it's how we react in the moment that sets the tone of the situation.  

We did all the info swap & the police came etc.   We are dealing with the insurance companies, car repairs & all the paperwork.   Yes, its never fun but its what needs to be done.

Now, back to the whiplash....... with the injuries I received,  it has been able to help my husband with the TBI describe what he is feeling & going through.  With the TBI his ability to process information has been broken.   The silver lining in a rough time?!  Could very will be.    I get to experience some of what life is like for him.   In that crazy little nut shell, we hope this all will be able to make some form of progress in information about TBI.   Cause the folks with the TBI have problems getting out what they are feeling emotionally & physically. 

When your processing part in your brain stops working or works so slow stuff is unable to come out, its a prison.  My processing works great.   It's so freeing to a person to be able to speak about what they are feeling emotionally or physically.  Having language match up with it, is a freedom from the prison.  

We are all recovering slowly from the whiplash.  With help from Massage Therapy & Physical Therapy the muscles will unlock & heal.  The car is repaired, life will go on.   It may not go as we thought or as fast as we thought, but it will go on.    

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

TBI Part 2

This is part 2 from the first post on January 29, 2017.

How to keep the family moving forward when the Dad has the TBI.   It could not have been done without God, family & friends coming around us.   Yeah,  there were times when I wanted to just quite.  But the humor of it, there is no just quite.   There is just do it.  

Each day is different.  You never know how the day will go.  Being flexible helps.   Between doctor visit trying to find out what is going & why events keep happening to trying to see what he can still do & for how long.  That can even change from day to day what he can do.  There is so much the medical teams do not know about the brain & how it works.   It's still a guessing game & learning area for them.    

Schedules have to be flexible.  That makes making plans very interesting.    A lot of last minute cancelling happens, either it was from a "bad" day or just forgot.   Or we just get to a place & have to leave right away from over stimulation.

We are finding that TBI's are similar to Autism.   I know little confusing with that statement.   How could that be?  We are finding that with the TBI there is over stimulation & what causes it & what happens when over stimulation happens, it has similar out comes.  The cooping methods are similar.  

Knowing the facts of TBI's does not move you forward.   It's what are you doing to try to move forward with what you are dealing with.  Do you have a schedule/ To Do List for the day?  Do you have a plan for "bad" days?   These are things that has helped us.  Also working as a family unit & everyone pulling together as a team to get through each day helps.  

When dad has the TBI & no longer can do the tasks like before, its stressful until you find out who else in the family or friends are willing to step up & fill in.  That helps make a rough times smoother. 

When is it time to help & when is it time to step back & have dad do anything?  That is a fine line & can change from day to day.  You don't want to baby a grown man but you also don't want to leave him in the dark if he needs help.   Communication with each other helps with that.   But sometimes the person with the TBI remembers that they use to be able to do something with no problems & is now having problems or just can not remember how to do it.  That can be very hard on the person to coop with.  They may be caught up in it & forget to stop & ask for help.  That can cause for emotional out bursts that can catch you off guard.

What to do when emotional out bursts happen?   Remain at peace & give the other person grace.  Talk nicely to them.  Ask are you ok?  Sometimes they are unaware that they just snapped.   Asking if you can help with anything can be a double edge sword.  They need to be able to regroup.   Helping them find the pattern that lead up to the out burst will help & having a plan on what to do.  

My husband has have great help with O.T., Speech therapy, Vision Therapy & Physical Therapy plus TBI support group.   The TBI support group has helped me understand more about TBI's & how it effects each person who has it.   It has help me understand why my husband does some of the things he does & what also to keep my eyes open for.   My husband also has learned of what works for other TBI survivors & what he can try.  

The wandering has kept us on our toes.   That has been it's own treat.   When at the stores trying to shop, stop to look at one thing for a second & he is gone in a flash.   Now you must go get him. At least he is over  6Ft tall.  It makes it easier to find. 

After a TBI happens to a person, it will change them.  Sometimes to the other people in their lives they can come across as a completely different person.   That can be hard to deal with.   Your eyes are telling you that it is the same person but they now might not like the same things or act the same.   Now you are having to start a new relationship with them.

Comparing the person with the TBI to the one before the TBI is not fruitful.   They are different.   They are dealing with that a lot with themselves.    It is hard to adjust to the new person when you still see the old person.   Take one day at a time.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Traumatic Brain Injury/TBI

TBI can happen at any point in life by many things.   This is what my family has learn since 2014.   In a flash your whole life, life goals & dreams is changed.   I'm not saying everything is gloom & doom.   I am saying after a TBI life will be changed. 

It changes not just the life of the person who received the injury but it changes the lives of every person in the family.  TBI severe or mild it is lives will not be the same.    Before I depress you any more, there is hope.

Life with a TBI is not easy & skips through fields of flowers.   Not being able to function as you once did in a flash is a hard adjustment for a person to go through.  It is also difficult to be a family member of the one who was injured. I'm not ragging on the one who was injured.  Just talking about what it looks like.

The person who has received injury can no longer do everything they use to do.  They may gain back some of their abilities, but it is not to the level before the injury to the brain.   Now the family will do their best to help & not hinder the person with the injury on their road to "recovery".   We will not get into the battles with insurance companies or doctors.   That is all to depressing & exhausting to get in to.   If any who are going through it and feel they need to talk about, email me. 

When your life changes in a flash, how do you pick up the pieces ( and which ones do you pick up to move forward with? Some pieces you might not want to pick.)   It has helped us by going to TBI support group.   You need a group that comes together to help each other overcome the bumps, rough spots & who else is having this happen problems.   A group that wants to see each other move forward in their lives is a group worth going to.

Moving forward?  I have used that term a bit already.   Yeah, with a TBI you get the chance to do that a lot.  Sometimes you can have set backs.  Then you might get the fun of starting over or just take a few steps back.   You get to learn how to live again.  It will not look like the way before the injury.

One hard lesson is to stop comparing yourself or what your life looked like before the injury.  Easier said than done.   That lesson can take months if not a year or two.   Each injury is different to the brain but everyone has common areas that they struggle with.

This post may have a part Two coming in the future.  

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.

Learning Disablities

Do you have any learning disabilities? Or know someone who has them?

Learn disabilities come in a large spectrum of different things.   Going through school is made a little bit more interesting when you have learning disabilities.   Parents/ teacher/care giver's work to see what will help with the learning process.   Lot's of it is through trail & error.   What worked for one does not work for everyone. 

Having the flexibility as a parent/teacher /care giver's are important to meet the level of care for the person with the learning disability. 

If what I offer here is relevant to you in any way, please consider donating. As I tend to my family (disabled hubby and homeschooled kids) I write in my free time. No knitting here but I love Taco Bell now and then and your donations help keep the spicy food coming. Every donation is appreciated!!!

Donations are not tax deductible.