A JOYFUL NOISE

On August 17 th , I was on a plane (with my parents) on our way for a family vacation with my Mom’s side of the family.   The first leg of our flight, I was sitting across from a Dad and his little girl (she couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 years old).   You can tell that this is the little girl’s first time on the plane.   Overhearing the conversation, they were on their way to visit his Mom and apparently his wife just had a baby boy (hey, you can’t really help but overhear conversations, especially with you have to speak up in a louder voice to break the sound barrier).   Anyhow, as the plane was taxiing to the take-off pad (ever so slowly) and as we were waiting to take off, the little girl kept asking her Dad “when are we going to fly???” or “We are flying”.   You can hear the excitement in her voice with every question or thought about flying, and then disappointment with her Dad told her that we’ve not yet taken off from the ground yet.   At one...

Thank you to all of you who have kept me in your prayers, especially these past few weeks.   I decided to update you all via my blog to go into a little more details about what is going on and what the doctors are doing to help me out. My last post mentioned about my recent fall and also about my doctors treatment plan.    He definitely thinks that when I fell, I inadvertently snapped by neck back, causing my already injured neck (from severe whiplash from the car wreck in 2016) to become even more inflamed.   The RadioFrequency Ablation procedure went well, although the recovery time usually takes about a week.    For those of you who don’t know what an RFA is, it is basically going into the nerves via needle-ultrasound and seeing which nerves are causing the pain and burning them; thus, “killing” the nerve, meaning no more pain.   It is all done under a great deal of sedation.   I actually wake up, not remembering much of anything.   ...

 This past year, just as the past several years, has been rough. I was looking back at my planner a few days ago and noticed that almost every week (or every other week), I had a doctor's appointment or some sort of treatment or test to undergo.  It is interesting because many of my friends and especially some of my relatives ask me "what do you do with your time?"  I always respond by telling them that I try to help out around the house as much as I physically can.  As I looked back on my planner from late 2017 into the end of 2018, and saw all those appointments and treatments, it dawned on me how busy I really was and realized how tiring those things makes me.  I guess going to these appointments and treatments are basically "second nature" to me -- I never factor those things in to my "busyness schedule" which ultimately leads to extreme exhaustion (after each appointment). Last year, one of my words for the year is "GROW...

Thanksgiving It seems like such a simple word, yet it holds so much meaning.    It’s a time to gather with friends and family and perhaps reflect over the year and the goodness that God has bestowed upon us. Sidebar: I’ve never seen a movie or TV show that had a Thanksgiving theme episode where everyone went around the table and shared what they were thankful for…..did any of you do that??? We would share with family and friends what we are thankful for in casual conversation, but never around the table.     It seems that as I grow older (gasp!) I’ve been seeing things in a much different way.   For several years we acknowledge Thanksgiving but we also never really made a big deal out of it.   By that I mean, we didn’t go into the big fuss of making an elaborate meals or a special day out of it.   For example, yesterday we had a normal breakfast, simple soup for lunch, and stir fry for dinner.   Mom and I relaxed most of the day because...

You’re [look] fine, just move around a bit! How on earth are you so tired when you don’t even work? Ignore the pain, it will go away! You mean, you’re STILL in pain? ******* There are very few people who don’t understand how health issues can take a toll on the body. Or that fact that some disabilities are invisible.    My chronic pain and neuralgia are very real The vestibular, ocular, and tension migraines are very real .   My periods of confusion and disorientation are very real Oh, and did I mention abdominal migraines (I bet most of you never heard of that)!    Recovering from procedures and the pain of nerve re-growth is very real . So given the above, I can absolutely be doing nothing; yet the pain consumes all energy.    I’m tired.   So. Very. Very. Tired .   Doctors, Shots, procedures, etc…. not just physically tired, but mentally and emotionally.   I’m spent.  Since my last post ….....

Backstory: I can remember it like it was yesterday.   They were ALWAYS there for me Every.Single.Time. Every.Single.Surgery. It didn’t matter to them what was on their agenda, I was their “princess” and I was important enough that they would be there for my surgeries, not only to see me before surgery, but after surgery.   I’m also sure they were there for my parents.   This couple, Warren and Erma Johnson, basically adopted me into their family. They were considered my Virginia grandparents. Warren knew that every surgery brought so much fear into (back then) a little girl’s heart.   I mean who wants to be poked, especially when a little girl faced surgery 2-3 times a year back then?   Warren did what he did best: held me, hugged me, prayed with me, and never let me go until the “sleepy med” got a hold of me.   But he also did one thing that I will NEVER EVER forget…..He ALWAYS sang to me. Oh, how I loved his voice of comfort. I loved how he sa...