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Grex > Agora46 > #8: I'm Bummed, I'm Bummed, I'm really really Bummed | |
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| 25 new of 594 responses total. |
jaklumen
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response 421 of 594:
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Aug 16 17:27 UTC 2003 |
I am working like a dog to get a job as DSHS is about to apply
pressure. (I meet with a case manager on Tuesday who is said to be
over the top and is going to blow a lot of hot air.) I spent 2 1/2
hours Thursday getting 7 resumes faxed, about 1-2 jobs sent online,
and looking over several more jobs. Most of these were professional
jobs that sometimes required tests. I definitely had to get cover
letters crafted for them, and some I had to print off applications
for. I had some help from staff with the agency that is sponsoring my
current state job.
The usual search involves looking over the newspaper classifieds, job
bank websites, employer websites, and so on. Some sites gave us the
runaround-- had to put in all this information just to look at jobs.
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anderyn
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response 422 of 594:
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Aug 16 18:02 UTC 2003 |
Sorry to hear that you're ill, Sindi. Best of luck with the treatments.
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dcat
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response 423 of 594:
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Aug 16 18:43 UTC 2003 |
What does DSHS stand for? Department something something Services, I'd
guess, but from the somewhat minimal context of your message I'm rather at
a loss for what the middle letters mean.
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michaela
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response 424 of 594:
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Aug 16 20:38 UTC 2003 |
IBB I ended up in the hospital last night. I got stung by something, and my
hand was swollen like the Michelin Man. I managed to get the ring Ken bought
for me off my finger by wrenching it and yanking it all the way there, but
they had to cut off my Clauddagh ring. I've had that ring on my finger since
1993, so I was pretty bummed. :(
(I went to the hospital because the swelling was spreading, and I wanted to
make sure it wouldn't move to my throat and cut off my breathing).
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keesan
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response 425 of 594:
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Aug 16 21:47 UTC 2003 |
I was advised to take Benadryl-type pills for beestings. I also swell. The
Benadryl worked immediately (and also put me to sleep). Every 12 hours for
two days. I carry it with me.
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polytarp
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response 426 of 594:
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Aug 16 22:55 UTC 2003 |
There's no way the Benadryl pills worked immediately. They must've taken some
tens of minutes to work!
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rcurl
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response 427 of 594:
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Aug 17 02:01 UTC 2003 |
I knew someone for whom this was such a serous problem that she always
carried a hypo for a shot of adrenaline. The first time, though, I got
her to a doctor barely in time as her throat swelled shut.
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jep
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response 428 of 594:
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Aug 17 02:15 UTC 2003 |
Best wishes, Sindi. I'm sorry to hear about your lymphoma. Do you
know when you'll be taking the next step in treatment, and what that
treatment will be?
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i
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response 429 of 594:
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Aug 17 06:39 UTC 2003 |
Very sorry to hear that, Sindi. My *impression* is that diagnosis of
anything like lymphoma via CT is really just guesswork - they have to
eyeball the suspect cells under a microscope (or similar) to really
know what the "extra blob thingie" shown by the CT actually is.
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keesan
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response 430 of 594:
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Aug 17 12:13 UTC 2003 |
They will be doing a biopsy under guided ultrasound next week.
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mary
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response 431 of 594:
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Aug 17 13:22 UTC 2003 |
Best wishes, Sindi. Take it day by day and be good
to yourself. If it feels right, keep us up to date.
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slynne
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response 432 of 594:
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Aug 17 14:12 UTC 2003 |
I dont know much about lymphoma but I am sorry to hear that you'll have
to deal with something like that.
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michaela
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response 433 of 594:
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Aug 17 18:29 UTC 2003 |
Good luck, Sindi.
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scg
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response 434 of 594:
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Aug 17 20:05 UTC 2003 |
I'm sorry about your illness. Good luck with it.
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jaklumen
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response 435 of 594:
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Aug 17 21:46 UTC 2003 |
resp:423 Department of Social and Health Services
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happyboy
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response 436 of 594:
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Aug 17 21:58 UTC 2003 |
in washington state it operates out of a refridgerator box
ar aurora & denny way.
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keesan
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response 437 of 594:
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Aug 18 05:03 UTC 2003 |
Thank you all for your wishes. My brother in Boston suggested I get some sort
of power of attorney form to give Jim the right to make medical decisions for
me (and visit in the hospital). Where do I find one of those? Jim's brother
is a radiologist.
I have yet another pulled muscle. I hate lying down. I am trying to get back
some back muscle strength and now it hurts to sit again. I seem to be okay
at the office chair in front of the computer that Jim set up for me. The
board is from JEP and now it does not do random resets. It did not like its
Cyrix cpu. It is happy with an Intel MMX. It also has no Com2 but we don't
use a modem and mouse at the same time. It has replaced two Compaq 486s with
noisy power supplies that drowned out the radio. This case (from a 286) also
has a noisy power supply that drowns out the radio.
Jim fixed me up a really nice little room here, with a mattress instead of
a camping map (that was pretty uncomfortable to sleep on, especially with no
body fat) and more than 16" next to the bed. I have a chair, a lamp (compact
fluorescent so as to heat less, thermometer (so I will know why I am too hot
to use a top sheet, until yesterday), little boombox on the wall.
Armchair out in the bigger room to eat at and play scrabble and I can sit for
an hour at a time in it. Nice little bucket in a milk crate with a toilet
seat on top of it. (There is a rainwater flush toilet downstairs but I am
not up to stairs right now). The stuff they gave me to drink Wed. is still
coming out - it stinks. Even in my sweat.
During the blackout I had a portable radio with little speakers plugged in.
And a fancy round battery lamp on the wall that you had to push just right.
You need body fat to sleep. I keep waking up after an hour with a very sore
bottom shoulder. Any ideas? We put a thick polyester sleeping bag on the
cotton mattress.
Hope this is amusing for people. Jim has been awfully nice about dragging
all sorts of gadgets for propping yourself up in bed and bed tables here and
he even somehow carried over the armchair (on his head or his bike?). My apt
is over a block away. It is too noisy to sleep there - the upstairs kitchen
is over the downstairs bedroom.
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michaela
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response 438 of 594:
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Aug 18 06:25 UTC 2003 |
Sindi - you can buy some foam mattress covers that fit under a fitted sheet.
They add support and padding. Also, make sure your pillows are
extra-fluffy-feathery types (if you aren't allergic). I don't really know what
to suggest, since I have enough body fat for three people. ;-)
As for the power of attorney form -- can you get that at a hospital? I
remember talking about it with the nurses when I went in for surgery, but I
can't remember (thanks to Demerol) what they told me about the forms. If
anything, I'm sure you can get one at the city offices or a lawyer's office.
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cmcgee
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response 439 of 594:
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Aug 18 11:31 UTC 2003 |
Check the web for a "living will", "durable power of attorney" etc. Because
you and Jim are not married, you may need an attorney to double check that
your family cannot override your wishes if you are not able to make decisions
yourself, like being under the influence of strong narcotics, unconscious,
etc. A simple form may not be sufficient for your situation.
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jmsaul
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response 440 of 594:
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Aug 18 11:49 UTC 2003 |
Sindi, I'm very sorry to hear about this, but stay tough: people beat
lymphoma every day.
Here's the UM Health System page on establishing a durable power of attorney
for health care:
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/aha/umlegal02.htm
It's a good starting point, but I agree with cmcgee that you should also check
with a lawyer who knows this area of law and see if they think you need
anything else because you and Jim aren't married.
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cmcgee
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response 441 of 594:
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Aug 18 11:53 UTC 2003 |
Also, consider that the most critical issue may not be "which treatment to
give" but whether or not to _withhold_ or withdraw a treatment. Families can
get downright hostile when one person decides that the doctor's recommendation
to withhold or stop a treatment be followed.
That happened recently to a friend who was suffering from cancer. His
family's grief and anger about the cancer got focused on his live-in lover,
who had been there for the 6 months of diagnosis and treatment because his
family lived too far away. When hospice decisions needed to be made, even
though he was pretty rational, his family displaced a lot of their hostility
about the decisions on the lover.
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keesan
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response 442 of 594:
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Aug 18 16:31 UTC 2003 |
My brother would be happy to have someone else make decisions. When my mother
died he went on vacation for three months and left me to empty out the house
(keeping what I wanted) and sell it and do all the paperwork. I talk to him
once a year on his birthday.
I will look at that website next time I sit up.
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tod
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response 443 of 594:
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Aug 18 19:44 UTC 2003 |
This response has been erased.
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michaela
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response 444 of 594:
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Aug 18 20:41 UTC 2003 |
My brother beat lymphoma when he was eight years old. Stay strong. :)
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senna
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response 445 of 594:
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Aug 18 22:12 UTC 2003 |
I'm sorry to hear about that, Sindi. What hospital are you attending for
treatment? Cat Scans aren't all that pleasant, but you learn to get used to
them and in the end it's not all that bad. My dad had to get them every six
weeks, and he would barely mention it if we didn't ask about it.
I know of several people who currently live normal lives following various
lymphomas. Even more serious cancers, such as what my dad had, are only
obstacles to be overcome. Good luck. If you want to read something rather
inspiring, read Lance Armstrong's book. Consider, when you read it, that he
just won his fifth consecutive Tour de France this year, tying the record.
I hope things go well.
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