Grown-up Christmas list
Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee;
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies.
Well, I’m all grown-up now,
And still need help somehow.(can you still help somehow)
I?m not a child,
But my heart still can dream
So here’s my lifelong wish,
My grown-up christmas list.
Not for myself,
But for a world in need.
No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,(and wars would never start)
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list.
As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree.(wrapped beneath the tree
Well heaven surely knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul.
No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend
The above Christmas song has become one of my favorites of the season. I did enjoy all the excitement of presents, wrapping and bows when I was younger=but the adult me doesn't really need all those trappings to celebrate. My husband Ernie and I's Christmas celebration for the last few years has centered less around presents and more around being in touch with family and celebrating Christ's birth through music, giving for others and just the chance to be together.
May you all find the peace and joy of Christmas and remember the true reason for celebrating-the baby in the manger came as a precious gift to us all to save us from our sins and enable us to have eternal life with Him.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksgiving Along the River in Grafton, Illinois
Our Thanksgiving is always a special day for friends and family to gather together. For many years we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at the home of my parents in University City, Missouri. Dinner there always included what ever family was in town, an assortment of my parents dearest friends, and usually someone who had no other family or place to share Thanksgiving.
In November of 1998 my parents retired from their jobs in St. Louis. They were able to fulfill their retirement dream of building and moving to a house near the ocean in North Myrtle Beach, SC. That left family here to develop new Thanksgiving traditions. The weather in November and our jobs made travelling to Mom & Dad's for Thanksgiving not very probable.
Not wanting to celebrate alone, my husband Ernie and I turned to our church family for holiday celebrations. For many years, we shared a Thanksgiving dinner with our good church friends Art & Lorraine Carlson. We were privileged to have our dinner at the faculty facility the Whitmore House on the campus of Washington University. After Art passed away, we shared a few Thanksgivings with Lorraine- eventually at Sunrise- her assisted living home until she too passed from this life.
Then it was time for new traditions as we who had no local family gathered at the house of one of our church family members to share a Thanksgiving dinner. Usually the hostess provided the turkey and all of us guests brought a side dish or dessert or beverage to add to the feast.
This year, 2011, none of us was quite up to cooking. So we decided to start a new tradition-Thanksgiving out. Jane Vacho, her daughter Maryann, Ernie and I thought Thanksgiving at Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton, Il. would be great fun !! November 24, 2011 turned out to be a warm, partly sunny day. That made the trip across the river to Illinois even more enjoyable. After a 2 1/2 hour wait, which we spent sitting outdoors on the patio chatting and watching the river, we were finally called to table. What a feast it was-turkey,ham,chicken, roast beef, a selection of salads, shrimp, salmon, cranberry sauce, 3 kinds of potatoes, cornbread and wild rice stuffings, assorted vegetable dishes and assorted cheesecakes, pies and cookies for dessert. We finished eating and were on our way back across the river right at sunset. A good meal, A good time and a wonderful trip was had by all !!
In November of 1998 my parents retired from their jobs in St. Louis. They were able to fulfill their retirement dream of building and moving to a house near the ocean in North Myrtle Beach, SC. That left family here to develop new Thanksgiving traditions. The weather in November and our jobs made travelling to Mom & Dad's for Thanksgiving not very probable.
Not wanting to celebrate alone, my husband Ernie and I turned to our church family for holiday celebrations. For many years, we shared a Thanksgiving dinner with our good church friends Art & Lorraine Carlson. We were privileged to have our dinner at the faculty facility the Whitmore House on the campus of Washington University. After Art passed away, we shared a few Thanksgivings with Lorraine- eventually at Sunrise- her assisted living home until she too passed from this life.
Then it was time for new traditions as we who had no local family gathered at the house of one of our church family members to share a Thanksgiving dinner. Usually the hostess provided the turkey and all of us guests brought a side dish or dessert or beverage to add to the feast.
This year, 2011, none of us was quite up to cooking. So we decided to start a new tradition-Thanksgiving out. Jane Vacho, her daughter Maryann, Ernie and I thought Thanksgiving at Pere Marquette Lodge in Grafton, Il. would be great fun !! November 24, 2011 turned out to be a warm, partly sunny day. That made the trip across the river to Illinois even more enjoyable. After a 2 1/2 hour wait, which we spent sitting outdoors on the patio chatting and watching the river, we were finally called to table. What a feast it was-turkey,ham,chicken, roast beef, a selection of salads, shrimp, salmon, cranberry sauce, 3 kinds of potatoes, cornbread and wild rice stuffings, assorted vegetable dishes and assorted cheesecakes, pies and cookies for dessert. We finished eating and were on our way back across the river right at sunset. A good meal, A good time and a wonderful trip was had by all !!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Joy's Bag of Tricks for Pain Relief
As promised in my last post, here is my bag of tricks for pain relief. Try one or all of them !!
Joy’s Bag of Tricks for Chronic Pain Relief
Over the Counter Remedies
Aleve Naproxen
Aspercreme Biofreeze
Icy Hot
Exercise –related Remedies
Stretching by Bob & Jean Anderson =a very good reference book
Swimming or whirlpool/hot tub
Walking- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
Yoga =www.yogajournal.com
Mindful Remedies
Creative Visualization http://hypknowsis.com/Visualization-Techniques/LV6-Guided-Visualisation-Exercises.php
http://meditation.org.au/online.asp
Natural Healing=http://www.natural-healing-health.com/index.html
Curl up with your dog/cat
Meditation- http://heartspring.net/meditation_music.html
http://theconsciouslife.com/how-to-meditate-a-guide-for-beginners.htm
Heat /Cold Remedies
Ice packs
Therma care wraps
Warm/cold shower or bath
Other Remedies
Massage= http://www.massagetherapy.com/learnmore/index.php
Physical Therapy- http://www.moveforwardpt.com/
http://www.mckenziemdt.org/approach.cfm?section=int
AromaTherapy- http://www.aromaweb.com/
Shopping:
http://www.relaxtheback.com/stores/naperville
www.giam.com
www.shelterpub.com
A couple of great sites for weight loss info and tools and programs:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/Index.aspx
http://www.sparkpeople.com/
Joy’s Bag of Tricks for Chronic Pain Relief
Over the Counter Remedies
Aleve Naproxen
Aspercreme Biofreeze
Icy Hot
Exercise –related Remedies
Stretching by Bob & Jean Anderson =a very good reference book
Swimming or whirlpool/hot tub
Walking- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/walking/HQ01612
Yoga =www.yogajournal.com
Mindful Remedies
Creative Visualization http://hypknowsis.com/Visualization-Techniques/LV6-Guided-Visualisation-Exercises.php
http://meditation.org.au/online.asp
Natural Healing=http://www.natural-healing-health.com/index.html
Curl up with your dog/cat
Meditation- http://heartspring.net/meditation_music.html
http://theconsciouslife.com/how-to-meditate-a-guide-for-beginners.htm
Heat /Cold Remedies
Ice packs
Therma care wraps
Warm/cold shower or bath
Other Remedies
Massage= http://www.massagetherapy.com/learnmore/index.php
Physical Therapy- http://www.moveforwardpt.com/
http://www.mckenziemdt.org/approach.cfm?section=int
AromaTherapy- http://www.aromaweb.com/
Shopping:
http://www.relaxtheback.com/stores/naperville
www.giam.com
www.shelterpub.com
A couple of great sites for weight loss info and tools and programs:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/Index.aspx
http://www.sparkpeople.com/
MY AS STORY
As a tribute to April is Ankylosing Spondylitis Awareness Month I thought I would share my story. I am most grateful to the Spondylitis Association of America for their support and research. You make contact them at www.spondylitis.org
I must start off, for those of you who may not know, with a definition of Ankylosing Spondylitis.
***(thanks to Michael Smith of Spondyville for this info)
For several years Dr. Kantor and his replacement Dr. Christine Kovacs followed me faithfully. Dr. Kantor and Dr. Kovacs saw me through many ups and downs of AS, including repeated flare-ups of Iritis. During this time period, I experimented with various drugs to treat my AS, including Clinoril, Voltaren, Indomethacin, Prednisone, Daypro and Vioxx. After several years of experimenting the drugs ceased to offer any relief and I was still having flare-ups of the Iritis. Then, at the suggestion of Dr. Kantor, I began to take Azulfidene. This seemed to keep the iritis from flaring up quite so often. Every time I tried to stop taking the Azulfidene – the iritis would return!
At first I didn’t like Dr. Sommer all that much, having been spoiled by how caring and what a good doctor Dr. Kantor was. Over the years, Dr. Sommer has grown on me. He also is a deeply caring physician. This is evident in the fact that he never rushes you through and appointment. This keeps him behind schedule most of the time, but the assurance that he will listen to and devote as much time to you as you need is well worth the extra waiting time. This is also evident in that he recently moved his office from the University Club Tower building in Richmond Heights to the new DesLoge Outpatient Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. The building in Richmond Heights served its purpose while his office was located there. Recently, there has been a lot of retail construction in that area and most of the services which were located in the building (x-ray, lab, MRI, etc.) have moved out of the building. The new Outpatient Center contains most of these services on the same floor, with space for doctor’s offices on the floors above. I remember several years ago, a center like this was just a dream for AS Patients and now it seems that the medical community has caught on to how helpful this type of arrangement is.
I must start off, for those of you who may not know, with a definition of Ankylosing Spondylitis.
***(thanks to Michael Smith of Spondyville for this info)
My experience with AS did not start with the typical lower back pain. Several years ago I worked in a small room which was crowded with 9 workers; very tight quarters.
At one time a virus ran rampant through our small work group. Shortly after that, I began having several cases of Iritis (also known as Uveitis. For a while, I even had the inflammation in both eyes. I also had a retinal hole, which was repaired by laser surgery in 1982 by my ophthalmologist Dr. Navin Amin. During a follow-up eye examination, Dr. Amin saw something-and kept urging me to go see a general practitioner. While cleaning up the kitchen after dinner one night my mother, who is a nurse, noticed that I could not turn my head from side to side very much and began to worry. She took me from doctor to doctor trying to discover what was wrong. A round of physical therapy only served to make things worse instead of better. I credit my ophthalmologist and physical therapist and my mother for actually putting all my symptoms together to figure out what was going on. Five years of visiting different doctors brought no answers. Yet I still had cases of iritis and back pain and could not move my neck in normal range of motion. Finally I found and made an appointment with Dr. Owen Kantor, a Rheumatologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital . The hospital is a teaching hospital of Washington University Medical School in my home city of St. Louis, Missouri. The school and hospital have the reputation of being one of the best in this Midwest area of the country, always getting in on the latest in medical advances.
Today, I can still remember my husband Ernie’s reaction when Dr. Kantor handed him a booklet about AS. He started flipping through the booklet, and after a few minutes he exclaimed, “This booklet is all about you”! In the back of the booklet was a form to send in to become a member of SAA. I, always being an information seeker, was quick to fill out and send this for.
For several years Dr. Kantor and his replacement Dr. Christine Kovacs followed me faithfully. Dr. Kantor and Dr. Kovacs saw me through many ups and downs of AS, including repeated flare-ups of Iritis. During this time period, I experimented with various drugs to treat my AS, including Clinoril, Voltaren, Indomethacin, Prednisone, Daypro and Vioxx. After several years of experimenting the drugs ceased to offer any relief and I was still having flare-ups of the Iritis. Then, at the suggestion of Dr. Kantor, I began to take Azulfidene. This seemed to keep the iritis from flaring up quite so often. Every time I tried to stop taking the Azulfidene – the iritis would return!
Sadly, Dr. Kantor died of a brain tumor in July of 1997. For a while I lived without seeing a doctor. Who could replace Dr. Kantor? Soon I ran out of my meds and got a really bad flare. I knew that I needed to see a doctor and return to taking my meds. Because of this circumstance, I then became a patient of Dr. Rand Sommer. I decided against visiting another doctor at Washington University/BJC because their offices are on the 16th floor and require a long walk from the parking garage to the office suite. Dr Sommer’s office was located in a medical office building on the 10th floor and could be reached by a short walk from the parking lot and an elevator ride.
Under the care of Dr. Sommer, I have been through many more up and downs of AS and other medical conditions.
At first I didn’t like Dr. Sommer all that much, having been spoiled by how caring and what a good doctor Dr. Kantor was. Over the years, Dr. Sommer has grown on me. He also is a deeply caring physician. This is evident in the fact that he never rushes you through and appointment. This keeps him behind schedule most of the time, but the assurance that he will listen to and devote as much time to you as you need is well worth the extra waiting time. This is also evident in that he recently moved his office from the University Club Tower building in Richmond Heights to the new DesLoge Outpatient Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri. The building in Richmond Heights served its purpose while his office was located there. Recently, there has been a lot of retail construction in that area and most of the services which were located in the building (x-ray, lab, MRI, etc.) have moved out of the building. The new Outpatient Center contains most of these services on the same floor, with space for doctor’s offices on the floors above. I remember several years ago, a center like this was just a dream for AS Patients and now it seems that the medical community has caught on to how helpful this type of arrangement is.
Today, my AS is kept pretty well under control with daily doses of Celebrex and Azulfidene and twice weekly injections of Enbrel. I also take other medications for GERD and Hypertension and Depression/Anxiety as well as a multivitamin, B12 and Benefiber. At night I sleep with a CPAP machine to control obstructive sleep apnea. Recently added 2 different nasal sprays for sinus problems. I try to do my stretching exercised on a daily basis, but still struggle with getting enough aerobic exercise. When time and pain levels allow, I do enjoy walking, swimming and riding an exercise bike, some Yoga and working with a Balance Ball.
Many years of living with the pain and discomfort of AS has led me to develop my own bag of tricks for pain relief. I share them in my next post.
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