NO LONGER SLEEPLESS IN FLORIDA

July 31, 2002

Good Evening All,

Well, I will be sleeping tonight for sure. Ron finally got to talk to his

Dad this afternoon. His Dad has just been too busy to talk to his son in FL.

Dad hasn't even had time to fill out his change of address forms. If the

brother had just given us a quick call, all this worrying could have been

avoided. Ron's Dad was not very nice to him during the 2 minute phone call

and said some nasty things to him. (Dad was on his way to a Bogart movie)

meaning that Ron had missed the boat in caring about them and the only one

who mattered to them was the brother. So I guess that we have been told and

what my brother in law said a few weeks ago to Ron is the feeling of the

entire family. Well, Ron is not the bad guy here, he is a good husband, a

good father AND a good son. Me and the girls will just have to fill in for

his family and my sister and her family will have to pick up the slack

regardless of what we fight over!

My doctor has given me a one time strong dose of sedative so that I can get

some much needed sleep. I was able to take a nap this afternoon after being

in the pool with my youngest daughters.

Tomorrow I go for my third and final epidural injection. To date, I have not

gotten too much relief, so I am hoping that tomorrow's injection will do the

trick.

Thank you ALL for all your concern, love, prayers and help during these last

few days, my feeble words can't begin to describe how much they helped. Ron

and I will now be concentrating on what matters most to us......each other

and our daughters.

Gentle, tender, angel hugs to all my friends,

Debs in FL

July 31, 2002

Deb, I'm so glad Ron's parents are OK. What a relief! On the other hand,

how awful it is that his Ron's father said he had missed the boat in caring

about them. I'm certain that was hard for Ron to hear. You're right,

though, you need to focus on each other. Hopefully in time Ron's parents

will see that Ron is their son and they're wrong to shun him, but should

cherish any time they are able to share.

I'm glad your Dr. has given you something so you're able to sleep, even if

it is a one-time shot. Everything looks better when you're well rested.

Yesterday I was hurting, but my fatigue was less. I guess the Ambien are

helping me to catch up on my rest. I actually got about 5 hrs of accounting

done for the company, and tackled some cleaning jobs I've been postponing

for a long time (like cleaning out the console in the car). I even baked

homemade bread! Oh, I forgot to mention, I walked (20 min) and did

stretching exercises for my back. I got more done yesterday that I've

accomplished in the past week combined.

I hope three's a charm with your epidural. You deserve some relief, my

friend.

I still haven't heard the results of my lab work for the Remicade trial.

They are supposed to fax the results to me so I can forward them to my

rheumy (saving me from getting another blood test). Hopefully today I'll

know.

I hope you're waking up to this message feeling happy and rested.

Love and hugs,

Ethyl (Carol) ;-)

[ ] NO LONGER SLEEPLESS IN FLORIDA

Good Evening All,

Well, I will be sleeping tonight for sure. Ron finally got to talk to his

Dad this afternoon. His Dad has just been too busy to talk to his son in

FL.