Just Checking In - Update

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

, nice to see you are finally getting some great health care and

attention. I do pray your feet get better soon. Heidi, nice to see you filling

the mailbox with your posts again. Dawn and Judy - I was on methotrexate for 7

months, ending in October of 2000 and have not had a flare since March of 2000.

I was on 15 mgs a week to start, had a headache from it, but adjusted to it as I

was able to reduce the dosage after every 8 weeks of blood work. Finally, Dr. T

took me off completely .. no pred, just the meth did the trick. Liz, I'm soo

sorry to hear about your sister but she is in a better place and pain free.

Just remember she's watching over you now. Cath, I'll keep you in my prayers

..... what a horrible nightmare to go through alone without any help. Hope they

figure out what is wrong soon. Happy birthday to all those I have missed and

welcome to all the newbies!

I'll catch you up on my world now. A lot of you know that I had major knee

surgery the end of January. I am seeing a surgeon today to look at my left arm.

I think I have some blood clots as a result of the IV needle they put in my arm.

I have three huge lumps and it is very sore, which has progressively gotten

worse in the last couple of weeks and now there is a red mark running up and

down my arm. You can only see the veins just below my wrist. They disappear

after that ... also had to take my med alert bracelet off ... it is that swollen

now. Hope to have some news today after I see the Dr.

Things have been pretty crazy around our house and finally the last two weeks

have put us somewhere back on track. Never having been a discipline problem and

such an easy-going loving child, my youngest son, Jimmy put us through 8 weeks

of hormonal hell, from eyebrow piercing, smoking, trying pot, drinking, ditching

classes, going from a A's to almost failing, getting kicked out of band (he's

played the trumpet since he was seven and has added acoustic guitar as well as

base guitar), quitting LaCrosse, etc., etc., etc.. It all came to a screeching

halt 2 weeks ago Friday when we had to take Jim to the police department to

clear his name in a drug bust at school and a beating of another student who

ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw (of course, the 15 year old kid was a

coke head and drug dealer, so we find out later)! This of course followed a big

meeting at the school due to his grades, lack of attendance, where a panel of

teachers, physiologist, vice principal, Igor !

and I sat through reports of eac

h teacher indicating what a horrible change they had witnessed in Jim's

attitude, attendance, etc. ... It was heart wrenching, needless to say. He was

told the school would be considering filing a PINS petition with the court

system (following a 30 day probation period to turn himself around) which

basically they would assign a probation officer to him to monitor his school

progress and ditching classes. They went so far as to inform him, if he couldn't

be controlled and re-focus his energy on school, he could eventually be removed

from the house and put into foster care! We also agreed to drug testing and

additional family counseling, as well as an on-site student physiologist who

sees him now once a week. So, after all of this, (oh forgot the blue hair and

then the Mohawk with a blue stripe and then a razor-shaved head ... bald as a

baby's butt)and the trip to the police dept, he's back on track .... drug test

came up clean and he admitted to trying pot twice as well as drin!

king some beers, the smoking has

stopped after Igor threatened to buy a package of cigarettes and make him eat

every one of them and those he couldn't swallow he was going to shove them up

his butt! We just received his progress report and teachers indicate he' s back

in the B range in all his classes but Spanish. I had to monitor my blood

pressure for a month because of it and my husband couldn't get much past his

mouth, working on an ulcer! Hours and hours of talks, and I even smacked him

hard one night which prompted Jim to leave the house for 4-5 hours, not knowing

where he took off to while my husband was at a function in the city for work and

couldn't leave. I'm not kidding, with as much crap as the older boys put us

through, we NEVER had to go to the police department. Jimmy now knows what guilt

by association means, whether or not you are involved! Fortunately, the police

officer was also his football coach, so he really got a butt chewing session in

an interrogation room. It scared the living daylig!

hts out of Jimmy. Since then, he

's now with a brand new set of great kids, all of who have been over for dinner

and hanging out and things are pretty much back to normal. Know we know why

there are some species of animals who eat their young!

Igor (my better half) and I just went to Albany for the weekend, actually Troy,

NY. I had entered my lighthouse quilt (no ribbons this year for me but the

exposure was fun) and had volunteered for white gloving for a few hours (I

will e-mail a copy of the pictures when I get them developed). Poor Igor, didn't

bring a fishing pole, was bored to tears and I didn't even sign up for a class

or go to any lectures. He was supposed to hook up with one of his company's tug

captains who lives up there, but Rich must have gone away for the weekend. I

even made him stay in one of the college dorm rooms with split beds !!! It was a

hoot! I told him that women who are quilters, or women in general, don't

necessarily need Hilton's to have a good time in. Next year I will definitely go

alone. I just don't like to drive by myself back here the first time I attempt

to go somewhere. I never know where I'll end up.

We will be going home to CA in September. Our son, Rob, is getting married on

the 8th in San Diego, so we have made reservations at our vacation time share in

Del Mar. I plan on being a grandma for a week! My brother Mike and his family

will be here visiting in NY the end of June for a brief visit and then the first

full week of July, the three of us are going on a Maine Windjammer cruise. Our

middle son, , will be home on the 1st of June for a quick visit. He is

doing an internship for Igor's brother-in-law's company this summer. So he'll be

spending his summer in Belgium. (my brother-in-law) works for an

international shipping company and is interested in international

business, so this will be a great experience for him He just finished his junior

year at USC. He has to wear a suit, so we're taking him shopping next week for

shirts, ties and accessories. He's planning to purchase the suits in CA and

we'll do the rest.

So, that's kind of it in a nutshell. I submitted my resume to American Airlines

for the flight attendant position I have always wanted to be, but I'm torn with

leaving Jimmy and Igor alone right now to go to Dallas for 6 weeks of training

(they may kill each other). I'll know soon if I passed the written application

and background checks and get a call for the personal interview. I've already

done the phone process. I've got a quilt to finish this week for a woman in

Florida as well as matching pillow shams, throw pillows and contrasting pillow

cases. My summer schedule includes teaching 2 quilting classes and a dress

making class at JoAnn's etc., here at our mall and I'm scheduled for 3 quilting

classes in the fall. So yes, I still have no time to breath! Thank goodness,

Sony re-vamped its vacation package and I get 3 weeks vacation now. I need at

least 2 of the 3 to work on quilts! Only kidding.

Be well everyone and think positive .... Love, Kathleen (Kat - NY)

[Guest guest]

hi catheleen

wow your life sounds like mine in the past, i raised

2 boys by myself and that was interesting to say the

least, although they gave me a few scares i was very

blessed in that i never had to go to police station

with them. You hang in there they do become human

again at some point. hope all is well dawn

--- katwench@... wrote:

> Hi All,

>

> , nice to see you are finally getting some

> great health care and attention. I do pray your

> feet get better soon. Heidi, nice to see you

> filling the mailbox with your posts again. Dawn and

> Judy - I was on methotrexate for 7 months, ending

> in October of 2000 and have not had a flare since

> March of 2000. I was on 15 mgs a week to start, had

> a headache from it, but adjusted to it as I was able

> to reduce the dosage after every 8 weeks of blood

> work. Finally, Dr. T took me off completely .. no

> pred, just the meth did the trick. Liz, I'm soo

> sorry to hear about your sister but she is in a

> better place and pain free. Just remember she's

> watching over you now. Cath, I'll keep you in my

> prayers .... what a horrible nightmare to go through

> alone without any help. Hope they figure out what

> is wrong soon. Happy birthday to all those I have

> missed and welcome to all the newbies!

>

> I'll catch you up on my world now. A lot of you

> know that I had major knee surgery the end of

> January. I am seeing a surgeon today to look at my

> left arm. I think I have some blood clots as a

> result of the IV needle they put in my arm. I have

> three huge lumps and it is very sore, which has

> progressively gotten worse in the last couple of

> weeks and now there is a red mark running up and

> down my arm. You can only see the veins just below

> my wrist. They disappear after that ... also had to

> take my med alert bracelet off ... it is that

> swollen now. Hope to have some news today after I

> see the Dr.

>

> Things have been pretty crazy around our house and

> finally the last two weeks have put us somewhere

> back on track. Never having been a discipline

> problem and such an easy-going loving child, my

> youngest son, Jimmy put us through 8 weeks of

> hormonal hell, from eyebrow piercing, smoking,

> trying pot, drinking, ditching classes, going from a

> A's to almost failing, getting kicked out of band

> (he's played the trumpet since he was seven and has

> added acoustic guitar as well as base guitar),

> quitting LaCrosse, etc., etc., etc.. It all came to

> a screeching halt 2 weeks ago Friday when we had to

> take Jim to the police department to clear his name

> in a drug bust at school and a beating of another

> student who ended up in the hospital with a broken

> jaw (of course, the 15 year old kid was a coke head

> and drug dealer, so we find out later)! This of

> course followed a big meeting at the school due to

> his grades, lack of attendance, where a panel of

> teachers, physiologist, vice principal, Igor !

> and I sat through reports of eac

> h teacher indicating what a horrible change they had

> witnessed in Jim's attitude, attendance, etc. ... It

> was heart wrenching, needless to say. He was told

> the school would be considering filing a PINS

> petition with the court system (following a 30 day

> probation period to turn himself around) which

> basically they would assign a probation officer to

> him to monitor his school progress and ditching

> classes. They went so far as to inform him, if he

> couldn't be controlled and re-focus his energy on

> school, he could eventually be removed from the

> house and put into foster care! We also agreed to

> drug testing and additional family counseling, as

> well as an on-site student physiologist who sees him

> now once a week. So, after all of this, (oh forgot

> the blue hair and then the Mohawk with a blue stripe

> and then a razor-shaved head ... bald as a baby's

> butt)and the trip to the police dept, he's back on

> track .... drug test came up clean and he admitted

> to trying pot twice as well as drin!

> king some beers, the smoking has

> stopped after Igor threatened to buy a package of

> cigarettes and make him eat every one of them and

> those he couldn't swallow he was going to shove them

> up his butt! We just received his progress report

> and teachers indicate he' s back in the B range in

> all his classes but Spanish. I had to monitor my

> blood pressure for a month because of it and my

> husband couldn't get much past his mouth, working on

> an ulcer! Hours and hours of talks, and I even

> smacked him hard one night which prompted Jim to

> leave the house for 4-5 hours, not knowing where he

> took off to while my husband was at a function in

> the city for work and couldn't leave. I'm not

> kidding, with as much crap as the older boys put us

> through, we NEVER had to go to the police

> department. Jimmy now knows what guilt by

> association means, whether or not you are involved!

> Fortunately, the police officer was also his

> football coach, so he really got a butt chewing

> session in an interrogation room. It scared the

> living daylig!

> hts out of Jimmy. Since then, he

> 's now with a brand new set of great kids, all of

> who have been over for dinner and hanging out and

> things are pretty much back to normal. Know we

> know why there are some species of animals who eat

> their young!

>

> Igor (my better half) and I just went to Albany for

> the weekend, actually Troy, NY. I had entered my

> lighthouse quilt (no ribbons this year for me but

> the exposure was fun) and had volunteered for white

> gloving for a few hours (I will e-mail a copy of

> the pictures when I get them developed). Poor Igor,

> didn't bring a fishing pole, was bored to tears and

> I didn't even sign up for a class or go to any

> lectures. He was supposed to hook up with one of his

> company's tug captains who lives up there, but Rich

> must have gone away for the weekend. I even made him

> stay in one of the college dorm rooms with split

> beds !!! It was a hoot! I told him that women who

> are quilters, or women in general, don't necessarily

> need Hilton's to have a good time in. Next year I

> will definitely go alone. I just don't like to drive

> by myself back here the first time I attempt to go

> somewhere. I never know where I'll end up.

>

> We will be going home to CA in September. Our son,

> Rob, is getting married on the 8th in San Diego, so

> we have made reservations at our vacation time share

> in Del Mar. I plan on being a grandma for a week!

> My brother Mike and his family will be here visiting

> in NY the end of June for a brief visit and then the

> first full week of July, the three of us are going

> on a Maine Windjammer cruise. Our middle son, ,

> will be home on the 1st of June for a quick visit.

> He is doing an internship for Igor's

> brother-in-law's company this summer. So he'll be

> spending his summer in Belgium. (my

> brother-in-law) works for an international shipping

> company and is interested in international

> business, so this will be a great experience for him

> He just finished his junior year at USC. He has to

> wear a suit, so we're taking him shopping next week

> for shirts, ties and accessories. He's planning to

> purchase the suits in CA and we'll do the rest.

>

> So, that's kind of it in a nutshell. I submitted my

> resume to American Airlines for the flight attendant

> position I have always wanted to be, but I'm torn

> with leaving Jimmy and Igor alone right now to go to

> Dallas for 6 weeks of training (they may kill each

> other). I'll know soon if I passed the written

> application and background checks and get a call for

> the personal interview. I've already done the phone

> process. I've got a quilt to finish this week for a

> woman in Florida as well as matching pillow shams,

> throw pillows and contrasting pillow cases. My

> summer schedule includes teaching 2 quilting classes

> and a dress making class at JoAnn's etc., here at

> our mall and I'm scheduled for 3 quilting classes in

> the fall. So yes, I still have no time to breath!

> Thank goodness, Sony re-vamped its vacation package

> and I get 3 weeks vacation now. I need at least 2 of

> the 3 to work on quilts! Only kidding.

>

> Be well everyone and think positive .... Love,

> Kathleen (Kat - NY)

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

>Kathleen,

So good to hear from you, geez you sure have had your hands full lately.

Glad to hear your son is getting his act together. I raised 5 kids, still

have 2 teens at home with me. Boy, I bet we could share some good " war "

stories when it comes to raising teens. LOLOL

Hope you get some help concerning your arm. Let me know what the Doc says.

Love Ya,

Sandy

> I'll catch you up on my world now. A lot of you know that I had major

knee surgery the end of January. I am seeing a surgeon today to look at my

left arm. I think I have some blood clots as a result of the IV needle they

put in my arm. I have three huge lumps and it is very sore, which has

progressively gotten worse in the last couple of weeks and now there is a

red mark running up and down my arm. You can only see the veins just below

my wrist. They disappear after that ... also had to take my med alert

bracelet off ... it is that swollen now. Hope to have some news today after

I see the Dr.

> > WE ARE NOT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, THEREFORE ANY INFORMATION THAT IS

RECEIVED HERE IS FROM EXPERIENCE ONLY. PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR DOCTOR

BEFORE TRYING ANYTHING THAT IS SUGGESTED. WE ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR YOUR

PHYSICIAN AND ARE NOT TRYING TO BE. REMEMBER EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND

TREATMENT MAYBE DIFFERENT FOR MANY OF US. THANK YOU

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Kat, boy,....just reading your post made me tired. LOL I sure hope your

arm gets taken care of. Please be sure to let us know. Have missed your

posts and now I know why you haven't found any time. LOL

Glad to hear your son is on the right track. They can sure give us Ulcers

huh?

Congratulations on the quilt. Bet it was beautiful and can't wait to see a

picture of it.

Stay in touch, I always look forward to hearing from you.

lots of hugs

[Guest guest]

Wow Kathleen,

You have been thru a lot, but your attitude is inspirational, Thanks for the

update, sorry you have had so many troubles, kids can really upset their

parents at times. Sounds like you have your in control now. Good for you! I

would love to see your quilts, especially the light house. Take care,

Love

Lu

> Be well everyone and think positive .... Love, Kathleen (Kat - NY)

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'd say so girl. Geez, you have a very busy life. Glad to hear your son is

finally back on track.

You take care of yourself, hear me????? Don't get too busy. Take time to rest,

OK?

W

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Things have been pretty crazy around our house and finally the last two weeks

have put us somewhere back on track.

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 05/24/2001 12:58:27 PM Central Daylight Time,

katwench@... writes:

<< am seeing a surgeon today to look at my left arm. I think I have some

blood clots as a result of the IV needle they put in my arm. >>

Good heavens, Kat, you have certainly had a time of it, haven't you? I hope

you do see your dr immediately, blood clots are nothing to play with. I'm

sure the " wee " bit of stress you've been under hasn't helped! I don't know

how you hven't gone off the deep end! I've always been of the belief that

God gives mothers teenagers so they won't cry when the leave the nest. If we

get thru it without killing them,I think you're doing great! Hang in

there,and please let us know about those cloth, that worries me...a lot!

Love, Judy O