To G (On topic and OT)

[Guest guest]

" .......I surprised myself at how emotional I got earlier. It wasn't you. It

was all the other stress I have going on in my life and any one little thing

could have done it........ "

Dear Jennie:

I was just reading over my daily digest this morning and passed over this phrase

that you had posted earlier.

My thought was as I reread it was: How wonderful we have the RA-family to vent

on (or with) when we need to and how everyone have their hands extended as soon

as it appears we are in distress to help us through it. Many people in the

so-called normal world would not understand, take offense and that would be the

end of the friendship. We are all normal in the respect we can understand the

depths that drove a venting of the emotions to the surface. And we are " normal "

people, just people who are challenged with a tad ( " tad " ?) more pain than the

people we normally associate with in everyday life.

There is an overworked adage that could apply here. " When life hands you a

lemon....make lemonade. " RA-Support is my lemonade and how sweet it is!

My driveway, garage, front and side sidewalks, and front and back patios were

poured Thursday and Friday, however my fight is not over yet. Now I am unable

to get anything from them except tired and well used (on women alone) phrases as

to the promises as to when the garage will be done. I have begun to push a

little as this all should have been done way last May. I am also faced with the

arrangement of how the door from the kitchen opening into the laundry room and

the outside door opening into the laundry are configured making it a fire hazard

if an emergency ever were to occur...no one would be able to get out. I'm

getting " Quality Control " at the factory okay-ed it so we're not going to change

it. So howcome, the other same models installed have it in correctly? Many

questions left unanswered that will be addressed by the time the garage is

completed and the front landscaping in....(landscaping is another story

also...I'm being cheated out of the backyard in this also and

it was paid for)...or a state agency will be addressed and if need be....a

federal one. The gates to enclose my backyard are not in either. My dog and my

cats have been staying with dear friends in CA since April and they have been

wonderful about the extended stay. A great deal of my things are still in

storage because the garage isn't in and the storage fees have been racking up.

I don't know yet what can be done with that aspect but you can believe I am

exploring for answers.

Friday, I had a bone density test done. I had one done about 5 years ago and

was told I had low bone density and was prescribed Calcium and Fossamax....both

of which tore my stomach up terribly and I refused to take them. This test was

different...I think it consisted of 1/3 ex-rays, 1/3 (20-30 minutes)of an MRI

with my laying flat on my back with my ankles strapped and turned to the sides

(bow-legged) and lying perfectly still and the other 1/3 MRI...still laying flat

on my back but with a huge cube placed under my legs for another 20-30 minutes.

When I came down from the table surface, it was so hard to walk as the hip and

knee joints were cramping (for the want of a better word) and it lasted until

last night. I ended up taking at least a 3 hour nap on Saturday because of the

pain from walking. I have had hip pain for 30 years ever since when pregnant

with my younger daughter, I tripped on a sidewalk landing full bore on my right

hip and ending up in the hospital for several

days when the pain (which became labor pains also) caused her to arrive 3

months early. The bone density specialist I spoke with told me there are ways

to deal with low bone density now that would not affect my stomach. There is a

HX of this in my family. My grandmother shrunk from about 5'4 " to 4'11 " over

the latter part of her life (no broken bones though) and my mother from 5'7 " to

5'. My mother had several broken bones starting when she was 55 with a broken

hip. I've shrunk from 5'5 " to just a little over 5'2 " now and have had some

broken bones (nothing major...thank goodness). I am not able to get my Calcium

from milk even as I have a lactose intolerance (can do cheese and cottage cheese

though if I don't overdo it).

I think I have rambled on enough for today...see what happens when I get

started?

...(and anyone else), never feel guilty about anything you release here.

We all understand.

Take care. Jan in AZ =^..^=

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. "