A collage made entirely from buttons. From close up it looks like random buttons glued on a board, but from a distance, you can see the word HOPE written in the colored buttons. Sometimes hope isn’t always clear, but there is always hope. HOPE 2011 Mixed Media, 9 x 11 inchesRead More →
I’m reapplying to college to continue my education at a community college in the fall. It is by far less expensive than the college I was at before and I’m sort of excited about classes, but more excited about the fact that it brings me one step closer to my dream of being a nurse. In the process of getting ready, I have recently written an essay for a scholarship about my current goals. I thought that I would post it here for others to read. “Painful as it may be, a significant event can be the catalyst for choosing a direction that serves usRead More →
So far, I have learned many things from CPRP. But one of the things that is most influential to me is the idea of living beyond the pain. I once read a quote somewhere that said “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” Only now am I really realizing how true that is for me. Pain is something that I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life, but that doesn’t mean that I have to suffer for the rest of my life. I can choose to live a life, even with my pain. Pain may limit me in some ways, butRead More →
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.” Matthew 6:34 One last prayer request is for my foot/ankle. Back in September, I was experiencing some pain in it, which was diagnosed as Cuboid Syndrome, which basically means that one bone in my foot occasionally twisted a little bit, which caused pain. Last Thursday, the pain became much more severe and moved to the other side of my foot. I’m experiencing a lot of swelling and it is excruciating to walk. In fact, I’m using a cane to help me walk and would probablyRead More →
Tomorrow I’m starting something completely new and different. I returned to Cleveland Clinic yet again last Monday where I went through an hour and a half of questions as part of an assessment for admission to the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program (CPRP). Tomorrow, I will begin the program. Because the program is outpatient, I will be staying at the Ronald McDonald house, which is a huge blessing because it is less expensive than a hotel and is directly across the street from the building I where the program is located. I am hoping the program will be able to help me not only physically withRead More →
This poem came to me in an e-mail from a blog called How to Cope with Pain. It really captures the idea of the fact that in spite of the pain, in spite of all that has happened in my life, I am still who I was, I am still me. My dreams may have changed, some of my abilities may be different, I may think differently about some things, but the truth is, beneath it all I still am who I was, I just have a different take on life. I Am Still Me My disease after all these years Has brought to lightRead More →
Today is just one of those days where you wake up and realize that not too much is going to happen because you just don’t have the energy. Last night, I had a friend spend the night and probably stayed up too late, but changing my meds probably doesn’t help much, I don’t think either. Mom mentioned something this morning about my goals for the day which had been to work on a workbook and reformat my hard drive. I hadn’t done either, but started to list what I had done: got out of bed, got dressed, laid on the couch, slid off onto theRead More →
I’ve not been around much, and I suppose there are excuses for it, but I’m not going to go into them in depth here (maybe later). This post is to talk about this crazy holiday we are celebrating. Recently, I’ve become rather anti-Christmas. The last few years, it was mostly just the commercialism of Christmas – trees, presents, decorations, that sort of thing. This year, whether it is because of my depression or because of my pain or because of my relationship with God, I have become anti-Christmas to the point that most manger scenes annoy me. When people talk about the real reason forRead More →
No matter how bad my day has gone, I still have things for which I can be thankful. A friend who has CRPS also, Kylee, has a blog and made a neat post that I decided to copy. She made a list of 10 good things from the day. Since then, I’ve been trying to think of things to be thankful for each day. So, since today is Thanksgiving, I’ll share my list of 10… 1. I’m thankful for God and the strength and courage He has given me to face each day of life2. I’m grateful for the family and friends God has providedRead More →
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