Good to be home

I have to tell you it's good to be home. You see in March of 2008 we moved to Lakeland so I could be closer to my work. Well, to the main location (aka Disney World), MANY more job opportunities there than at the satellite location I was working at. I had been having problems with my hands for months, increasingly so, but I had every plan on getting a diagnosis, fixing the problem and continuing on with my career. By the end of May I would walk into work, be there about 15 minutes and the excruciating pains in my hands would start, so I went out on medical leave. Assuming still I would get a diagnosis, and get back to work. November of that year I was diagnosed with the neuropathy and found out I would not be able to return to work any time soon so I let Disney know right away. But now we were stuck an hour from our home, friends, and families. My husband had a job there and I was working with doctors I thought could help. They didn't.
So this year, shortly after I was dropped by my doctor, an apartment came available in the duplex next door to my cousin. I have to tell you there were times in my life we were so close. I've told you about her before. We were close as teenagers, then when I moved back from Ft. Lauderdale I lived with her and her family, so we were close then also. But life happens and we grew apart. She's lived here, in the duplex, for 10 years. In fact, 5 of my Aunt's 7 children have lived in these duplexes at one time or another.
My husband and I had been considering moving back when our lease was up in March, but we decided to opt out and move back right away so we could take advantage of the duplex being available, and so I wouldn't have to start with a new set of doctor's in Lakeland, then move in a few months and start all over yet again.
Of course, this has caused some serious financial hardship. Money is always tight without me working. But, this is something else.
I am more active here, spending time with friends and family which is wonderful. Unfortunately, between the financial stress and being more active I have been in a severe flare for about 2 weeks. Exhausted, and hurting.I only will take my vicodin for break through pain, not everyday stiffness, but I feel like I have been taking more than normal. I'm not talking 4 or 5  a day, more like a whole one at a time and taking like 2 a day. This is a lot for me. The other day I took a second one about an hour after the first one, man was my head stoned, but I got rid of the pain, for about an hour.
Shoot, this was supposed to be a happy post... MY POINT WAS.... I'M DAMN HAPPY TO BE HOME IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING!!!!!

How to Cope with Sudden Illness or Disability by Martina Roe: Part 4 & 5 of 6

4. Learn how you can best help yourself feel better

Try and find out as much as you can about your particular health problem. Alternative therapies are a great way of harmonising your energy and the practitioners at alternative therapy clinics will be more than happy to advise you on which therapy would be most suited for you. The clinic might also run courses that will help you to apply some methods on your own. Naturally you will not be able to do everything. It takes practitioners of acupuncture years of study and practise before mastering the skills in their field and you would certainly not be able to apply any of the techniques on your own. You can, nevertheless, learn about acupressure or reflexology points and apply them regularly yourself. You can find out about which point corresponds to which organ in your body and which points would be more beneficial to press for you, how frequently and in which sequences.

I try to practise acupressure or reflexology on myself regularly and am quite amazed how much sensitivity or pain I can feel in the points that represent the organs of my body which are not functioning too well. I get also slightly excited that I am a bit of an expert on the subject. I feel it works because of the sensitivity of the points and I can help others to apply the same techniques. If you do not feel like pressing reflexology points on your feet you can just walk without your shoes on grass, on sandy or pebbly beach. In the past when people did not wear shoes and with no hard surfaces their feet were constantly massaged in the same way that the principles of reflexology healing work. Stepping over small stones is very beneficial because you activate and massage all the reflexology points at the same time. And there is so much more you can do to help yourself.

Learn from books or courses how you can help yourself (many local health authorities organise courses for people how to deal with any long term health condition)

Give the techniques which are recommended to relieve your particular symptom a try

Find out what works for you

Stick to the remedies or self help techniques which work best for you and be persistent (naturally follow any breaks which are recommended – for example you are always advised to have a break from herbal treatments in regular intervals).

5. Concentrate on the present, do not dwell in the past or worry about the future.

Have your caught yourself ever saying, “If this did not happen I would not get myself in the state I am in. I should have done things differently and so on?” Such claims might or might not be true, it does not really matter. What matters is that you try to ignore such thoughts because they will not help you advance in your life. You might be experiencing pain because someone has wronged you in the past. My sister keeps constantly reminding our mother how badly she brought her up and that she never had time for her, basically drawing attention to the mistakes our mother made. Some of these accusations might be true, others are not really justified but that is not important. What matters is that my sister should let go of these feelings of hurt otherwise she will always feel grudge against her mother and it will not help her advance in the relationship. In any case it is something, which happened in the past and can no longer be changed, so there is not much point trying to change it. If my sister really wanted to improve her relationship with our mother she should concentrate on ways how the relationship between them could be improved.

As a child I was sexually abused by my uncle, luckily for me he died when I was 14 years old. As I wanted to move on in my life I forgave him when he passed away, otherwise I would just live my life full of anger with images of what happened haunting me all the time. Such feelings of anger can sometimes completely dominate your life making you even ill. For your own sake it is important to let go of these ill feelings, this will naturally not be easy and you might need to seek help of a psychiatrist or a counsellor. But it is important to free yourself of any such feelings. You cannot forget but you have to forgive so you can live a happier and more fulfilling life. If you ever experience disturbing thoughts from the past you can keep saying to yourself. “What happened in the past happened, I let it go, I let it go, I let it go, I shall now put it behind me and concentrate on the present. There are good things for me to build on so I can achieve my dream one day.”

The present is the most important part of your life. Take a moment to reflect on how you feel. Can you experience the ‘here and now? Can you sit down for 5 minutes to be in a calm state concentrating on deep breaths without any thoughts spreading to your mind? Unless you practised this kind of meditation before I am sure you found this exercise difficult. Meditation techniques are very beneficial because they help us discover more who we are. That is not an easy matter in today’s extremely stressful society.

Reflect now on the thoughts, which were springing into your mind. Did you worry about your problems for which you have no answer? This is completely normal. As a result of your illness or disability you might have less power to influence matters in your life. I myself often worry what will happen to my children, or what if my illness deteriorates quickly and so on. But such worries are useless; they will only make my life more difficult and I am learning not to worry about anything that might go wrong in the future. Worrying only helps us to let our worries come alive. Mothers often worry about their children being cold or catching a cold and would not let them play with cold water. Children often feel warmer than adults and it is therefore better just to take a jumper with you rather than forcing them to wear it. The funny think is that if children catch a cold in the majority of cases it is not because they were cold or got wet (even though this might increase their chances of catching a cold). Usually a virus spreads around and everybody has it at the same time.My husband always complains about rain, yet it is his hostile attitude towards rain that makes him more uncomfortable than the rain itself. At the end of the day a bit of rain that we can feel on our bodies is only beneficial for us in the same way as walking barefoot in the wet morning grass.

I know and have accepted that I shall never live into my nineties as my grandmother did but then what does it matter. I am hypothesizing about something, which would be happening a long time away from now. Instead I rather concentrate on this very moment making sure that I am enjoying life to the full, that I give the right support and guidance to my children and that I can see them grow into responsible citizens. Even though your life is or seems to you to be much harder than anybody else’s do not imagine it to be harder. In our actions we often follow what our mind tells us to do. Make sure you give it positive commands. Do not worry about the future, sure you want to plan for it and see where you are going. It is only positive to have a dream or a challenge for your future. Your dream can, however only be achieved if you set yourself little challenges which you achieve day by day.

Do not dwell in the past

Forgive those who have wronged you

Do not worry of what could go wrong in the future – just let anxiety and worry go and allow reality to happen instead

Do not believe things will end badly.

How to Cope with Sudden Illness or Disability by Martina Roe: Part 2 & 3 of 6

2. You are not alone – make most of all help and support groups

Sometimes I take a lady from the neighbourhood shopping with me. Like me she has health problems, some of them are similar to mine.I truly enjoy talking to her.

We can complain to each other about our problems, we can learn from each other how we deal with our ailments, what remedies alleviate our symptoms or which alternative therapies are helpful. We share a common problem and I know she will not be bored. We can put ourselves into each other’s shoes easily. But I know that the rest of the world including my family will not understand or be interested in what I am going through. I have therefore learnt not to bring up the subject of my illness in front of others.

This might be difficult because you might want to share your problems with your friends but you do not want to bore them with it. It’s therefore better to think of matters, which are more cheerful and positive. Or just listening to your friends will do the trick - people just love to talk and will appreciate that you listen. At the end of the day if you recount to people how hard life is treating you, they will only tell you how much harder their life is.

Rarely might you come across somebody who understands and will be willing to listen to you but apart from these rare individuals you have to find those who will like to share their own problems with you. I have a friend who has health problems but never mentioned them in front of me. As soon as I let her know that I became ill she suddenly flooded me with e-mails, how she herself was not well and how she coped with it. Her normal messages of a few lines suddenly turned into long pages. She knew I would understand and that I would not be bored.

I first thought that there was nobody else who had to suffer in the same way as I do. It was only when I got to know my friend with similar health problems, I realised, I was not alone. I learnt there were others who had to endure similar difficulties. Sometimes they manage to cope well; other times they find it harder to cope. But they can be there to support each other.

It is therefore only to your advantage to join support groups and be there for each other learning from your strength. I know of people who complain of such groups not seeing any point in them. They argue that at the end of the day they still have to come to their own homes, being unable to pay for all their bills and having to cope on their own. Support groups will naturally not solve all people’s problems, but they can help people overcome some of the unpleasant sides of life.

It is important to appreciate all the help of the professionals who organise these support groups and put people in contact. You can either ignore them or make most of them. The choice is yours. When I was coming to terms with my new situation I was given a contact of a woman’s group. When I looked at the details I could see that this group was intended for women with mental health problems. Even though I was depressed I was not suffering from long-term mental health problems. I therefore ignored this particular group. Your own family members might sometimes not approve of you joining such groups. They might feel that you will just become absorbed with your illness thinking of nothing else and making yourself even more ill by analysing what you suffer or not suffer from. Do not look for your relatives’ approval. Instead decide what works best for you. Like with everything else in life take the middle route, do not go into extremes. Enjoy the support of your like-minded friends but only to enrich your life. Do not get stuck in complaints about your misfortune.Surround yourself with people with whom you feel great, avoid people who are distracting you from achieving your goal.

Try to be yourself; do not listen to criticisms of other people. And do not compare yourself to celebrities who look ‘perfect’. They only look perfect in magazines but they have real problems of their own.

You are not on your own, there are others with similar problems you can join forces with

Use the support of others in similar position like yours to enrich each other’s lives

Use the middle route; it is OK to complain about your position in the short term, in the long-term concentrate on the positive.

Feeling sorry for yourself will take you nowhere.

3. Nurture yourself

I have a question for you to which I would like you to give me a sincere answer.

Who is the most precious person in your life, who do you value most? Give it a thought before you read on.

Your partner, your child or perhaps your parent? Was this your possible answer?

I am sure all these people mean a lot to you otherwise you would not be naming them. But there might be times when even they can let you down.The only person you can always trust is you.I know it sounds funny but you will always be in your own company. You can either cheer yourself up or make yourself miserable. But first of all you need to take care of yourself and make sure that you can keep yourself as healthy as possible.

Naturally you cannot cure your illness or disability but you can learn how to live your live to the best - that is how to relieve your symptoms in the best possible way.

There is so much you can do to help yourself feel better. We are all different and not every remedy or therapy will help everybody with the same health problem. Take for example allergies – they all work on the same principle when the body starts to defend itself against substances which are normally not harmful, yet the symptoms can be so different ranging from runny nose, itchy or weepy eyes, sneezing, rushes, eczema and digestive problems to name the few. It is therefore understandable that some remedies will work for some but not for others. A lot of people have said they tried so many remedies or therapies and nothing ever worked. Some therapies take longer to kick in and it is important to be patient and observe the changes, which are happening to your body. Often the most effective self-help techniques are the easiest ones. Think for example of the time when you try to imagine throwing all your negative thoughts and all your pain into the bin and getting rid of them. This is known as a visualisation technique and you can imagine almost anything you wish; you can let your imagination work. Imagine yourself being strong, as a leader, as someone who can make it to the top of the mountain. Or think of yourself lying on the beach, sunbathing and the sun’s energy travelling into each part of your body making you feel warm and energised. You might be amazed that by imagining it you can actually get all the benefits of it happening in real life. You could also consider autogenic training, where you will learn to relax and it might even help you go to sleep if you are experiencing problems with your sleep.

Try and find something that you enjoy, develop an interest or a hobby. You might enjoy a good story or just a cup of tea can be nicely spent just on your own. It is much easier to work hard at achieving something for which others will say well done. It is much harder accepting that because of your illness nobody will say well done for something you really wanted to achieve but could not. Nobody will praise you for coping with your illness so say it yourself each day.

“Well done for coping so well.”

Praise yourself for any little achievement of the day no matter how small. If it helps put your favourite poem on the wall or any positive quotes to remind you every time you pass that place?

Were you more positive today than yesterday? Then I would like to congratulate you. I send praise to all of you.

Learn how to exercise can help you. The problem with exercise when you are ill is that you do not feel like it because you experience too much pain, stiffness or lack of energy. But it is often exercising that helps to alleviate stiffness or muscular pain. It is important to find the right exercise for you, gentle exercise is more appropriate than anything vigorous and the rules are little and often. Be persistent; do not expect any immediate results immediately. Likewise it is important that you follow a healthy diet. You should certainly not be embarking on any drastic diets to lose weight. Some of the diets to lose weight can actually cause havoc to your health. Very often people who lose weight after dieting gain it back sooner or later. This is actually more dangerous to your health than maintaining the same weight at all times; the body has to deal with the skin constantly expanding and shrinking when people lose and gain weight too often. It is important to eat regularly. Small portions more often are healthier than big portions less frequently. It is crucial that all the food groups (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) are included in your diet.In this respect please note that diets, which only involve one of the food groups, can be very dangerous for your health. And naturally always consult your GP if you want to embark on any new diet plan.

It is important to realise that you are the person who matters most

Make yourself comfortable and do something you enjoy each day

Praise yourself for all your little achievements

Follow a healthy, well balanced diet and if possible try to do light exercise each day.

**I want to note there is something I do that often helps me sleep. This may sound silly but if I am in pain and trying to sleep I tried to find a spot on my body that does not hurt , even if it's my knee or just my ear, and concentrate on thinking of that body part. I visualize it. Give it a try, what can it hurt? (pun intended)

Sour Cream Blueberry Scones from Marlene Koch

I saw a picture of these and had to share, man do they look delicious!!!

Sour Cream Blueberry Biscuits

For a bit more fiber I make these you can replace 1 cup of the all purpose flour with white whole wheat flour or to make them extra light replace 1 cup of the all purpose flour with 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour. As with all biscuits it is important that once you add the milk to the flour mix that you do not overwork the dough or your biscuits will not be tender.

 

To make them quicker and eliminate re-rolling scraps of dough (as when making traditional round biscuits),  pat the dough into a 12x4-inch rectangle, cut in half vertically, and then across five times to make 12 2x2-inch biscuits. Bake as directed.

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup Splenda granulated (or sugar if you prefer)*

1 teaspoon orange zest (rind of 1 orange)

3 tablespoons shortening

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

½ cup light sour cream

3/4 cup 1% milk

 

1 large egg white, beaten

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Coat a baking sheet with nonstick baking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, Splenda and orange zest.
3. Cut in the shortening with your hands, the tines of a fork, or a pastry knife. It is well blended when the mixture is a crumbly cornmeal like consistency. In a small bowl combine sour cream and milk. Add to flour mixture. With a spatula or wooden spoon mix just until ingredients are just moistened and form into a ball (dough will be a bit sticky).
4. Dust counter top with flour. Gently press down on dough and roll out to a ½ inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2" round biscuit cutter cut 12 biscuits. Place biscuits on a baking sheet. Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
5. Bake for 13 - 15 minutes until tops are shiny and golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

How to Cope with Sudden Illness or Disability by Martina Roe: Part 1 of 6

Illness and disability might come in many forms. Some illnesses and disabilities have to be faced from birth; others are developed during people’s lifetime.

They can come on suddenly or gradually develop over many years without the person knowing about it. People are usually genetically predisposed but illnesses can also be the result of the polluted environment or the lifestyle we adopt. Coming to terms with any illness is not easy and might take a long time especially when your illness surprises you all of a sudden.

Imagine that you are happy, you life is going very well and you are very proud of all your achievements.

You have got a great family and circle of friends until one day something very unfortunate happens to you. You become ill or have an accident and you can no longer enjoy life as you used to. Suddenly everything seems to be falling apart. All kinds of scenarios may come up; you might no longer be in a position to support your family financially, you could lose your job, simply your dreams are falling apart.

This is the hardest time and naturally you will be down about it, yet with a few changes you might still be able to live your life to the full. The following easy steps should help you in the right direction.

1. Allow yourself time to come to terms with your illness

I understand fully how you feel. The whole world is upside down and you are in the middle of it believing life will never be the same again with you just being miserable fighting your illness or disability. You might lose your friends because you will no longer be able to socialize as you used to. But this is also the time to find out who your real friends are.

They will be there to support you and do anything that is in their strength. They will, however, not feel sorry for you forever and you will have to find out soon that if the only topic of conversation is your illness, with time even your kind hearted friends will lose interest. It is also important for you to judge, whether your friends are honest with you.

Even though it might not be obvious to you some of your friends could be taking advantage of you and drain you emotionally. My sister, before her marriage broke up, used to look for emotional support from her friends. Someone, who she really trusted and thought highly of, actually used to say to her things which were making her feel even more depressed and she did not realise it at that time. Once I went to see her friend too and she told me nasty things about my father that were not true, with a view to manipulate one of his decisions about my future education. I was on top of things so I just ignored it and did not think highly of my sister’s friend but she could not do it herself at that time. Later she realised how much her friend was harming her and stopped visiting her.

Thinking positively is no easy matter but it is important to be enthusiastic about life again. There are only two choices for you to make. You can stay depressed and complain about your problems till the rest of your life or you have the option of trying to make most of your life even with all your limitations. We all know that cancer patients who remain positive live longer than those who become very depressed. The same applies to any chronic illness or disability. My sister’s first husband lost his leg in an accident. He eventually drank himself to death. If he had taken a more positive approach and enjoyed the little things that remained to him, he could have still been here with us enjoying all the achievements of his daughter who is now in her twenties.

Allow yourself time to let all the negative emotions to go first, which might take time. It is good to know that there are people who you can talk to and counselling might be especially appropriate at this time. I found the help of a counsellor especially helpful at the stage of my life when I myself became ill and could no longer achieve my own goals. I was always very ambitious and performed very well at school. Everyone thought highly of me and believed I would do very well in my life. I remember people did not approve when I chose not to go to University. After I had my children, however, I studied part time with the Open University and finally got my degree. I wanted to become a teacher of modern foreign languages but unfortunately an illness stopped me from pursuing my ambitious plans. I found it very difficult to accept and even thought life was not worth living. I felt frustrated because I was not getting better; my illness was to stay forever. There is no remedy or pill. I kept asking myself why did this have to happen to me, why is life so cruel?

When I was about 10 years old my mother went with her friends to see a healer who made a diagnosis from the retina of your eyes. As a young child I was constantly ill and on antibiotics with pneumonias, ear infections, or tonsillitis. I eventually grew out of these illnesses but was always aware of them. The lady healer looked at my eyes and told my mother that I was healthy then but one day I would be ill. I never worried about these words but when I became ill I suddenly realised she was right. I could do nothing about it, I had to accept it and start a new life.

At that difficult time of my life it was really good to talk. I was aware, however, that conversations with my family and friends just became dominated by my illness and that this was no fun for them and arranged counselling. My counsellor could understand my problems better than anybody else. I could not comprehend why anything so unfortunate had to happen to me.

I never did anything wrong, to the contrary I always thought of others before I thought of myself. But my counsellor and others told me not to think like that. It is just the way life is and there is no point trying to find an answer why. The important point to realise though is that illness is not a punishment of something wrong you have done. My counsellor also told me to enjoy and appreciate the good things in my life that I still have and I always think of that because I have many great things to enjoy in my life that help me to forget the hard side of life.

The process of accepting your illness or disability can be a long one. It is absolutely normal to feel depressed as long as you are enjoying it. But you will soon start to realise that feeling sorry for yourself will get you nowhere. You still have a life that you can enjoy; you can review what your strengths are and what you can still do. Now is the time not to dwell in the past but concentrate on the things you can still do in the future. Consider all your strengths, the qualifications you have; seek the help of a career advisor who will be more than happy to help you find a suitable job you might still be able to do bearing in mind your limitations. I shall come back to your career opportunities in strategy number 7.

Take time to accept your new situation

Talk about your problems – seek help of a professional counsellor

Start to think of your strengths rather than concentrate on your weaknesses

Rethink your career opportunities.

Healthy Snacks for Diabetics

Choose low in fat, low in calories:

lowfat or no sugar ice cream or yogurt
lowfat low sugar pudding
sugar free popsicles
sugar free jello
fruit with cool whip
low fat cookies like vanilla wafers, graham crackers
baked chips
pickles
raw veggies, low fat dip, salsa, low fat cream cheese

Michele's favorite veggie dip

2 cups plain yogurt
1 package dry vegetable soup mix
2 tbsp mayonnaise

Mix well, let refrigerate overnight to rehydrate the vegetables in the soup mix.

Beef Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce

I'm really excited to try this Indonesian favorite. Satay is usually served as an appetizer or main course both accompanied by a spicy peanut sauce.
If you freeze the steak slightly this will make slicing the meat easier. I use this trick a lot with bacon.
I think I will serve this with a jasmine or basmatic rice and a salad, if you have any other side dish ideas for this let me know.
Makes 8 skewers, 4 servings, and contains 9 carbs per serving.

Beef Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce


Marinade:
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp grated onion
1 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

4 large green onions with green tops, cut into 1" lengths.
1/3 c fat free evaporated milk
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
bamboo skewers

Cut the meat into 1/8 to 1/4 " strips (they should look like ribbons of beef). Place in a plastic bag. Combine all the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add to the bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, flipping once. Soak bamboo skewers in cold water while  the meat is marinating.
Preheat the broiler. Drain the marinade into a small saoucepan. Thread the meat accordion style onto 8 skewers, althernating the meat strips with lengths of green onions. Broil 4 - 5 inches from the heat about 3 minutes per side, or just until the meat is no longer pink, turning once. While the meat is cooking add the milk, peanut butter, and additional pepper flakes to the reserved marinade. Simmer over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently; do not boil. Serve the peanut sauce in a small bowl for dipping the beef.