F.A.Q.

WHEN I HAD MY STROKE, MY FAMILY HAD 2 SCOUR THE INTERNET 2 LEARN ABOUT MY CONDITION, & I STILL GET QUESTIONS EITHER ABOUT MY DISABILITY, OR ABOUT BEING DISABLED.

HERE I WILL FOCUS ON ANSWERING THESE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, ABOUT ME, &/OR ABOUT MY CONDITION,ONE AT A TIME.

FEEL FREE 2 CONTACT ME (BY MY 2 EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE “CONTACT ME” PAGE) W/ANY & ALL QUESTIONS THAT U WANT 2 KNOW. IN TIME, I WILL DO MY BEST 2 ANSWER U, & I MAY EVEN COPY & PASTE IT 2 THE FAQ SECTION OF MY BLOG.

Busy a summer!

I’ve been busy this summer with several family affairs, & other things. It’s been quiet here now though, & I have time to type: All my kids have been in Utah (Soph was at ballroom dance camp, Jess was at EFY, & Zach is at summer school). However, they’ll all be back on Saturday–they fly back tonight, & they’re bringing a dog to join the family!

On Thursday, June 18, Zach left for summer term at college. (Yes, he’s coming home briefly before fall term begins!) When Mark flew with Zach to Utah (to set him up at BYU), I stayed home. Saying goodbye was like ripping off a band-aid, & besides the family being smaller, it seemed like we were fine. But we recently had our 1st family trip w/o him, & it just didn’t feel right w/o Zach, so we made him come out & briefly join us for a few days on our family reunion/50th wedding anniversary celebration in Hawaii!

The trip was a long flight, so I was worried, but the flight there was great: it had been broken up into 2 manageable flights, & for some reason, on the flight out, we had sleeping pods (those are usually for international flights.). It was a blessing that I could experience sleeping pods, cuz I found out I could lay completely flat, making an international flight a possibility! (Those pods are worth every penny to upgrade to 1st class!)

I was nervous about the 8-9 hour return flight not being broken up as well, & not having sleeping pods (Mark couldn’t find any), but we upgraded to 1st class, & since it was so late, I slept most of it, & since my chair was reclined for most of the flight, my butt was fine, & I never had to potty on the plane!

Anyway, these flights to Hawaii were the 1st flights in 11 years that I actually enjoyed. I’ve progressed enough that I can do minor shifts, & I can sorta’ help my ears when they hurt. Also, Mark’s been helping me learn to deal w/my anxiety, so I’m sure that helped me as well!

When Mark was in Utah w/o me (in June), I spoke to Mark on the phone! I’m not so good at it yet, so Sophie was there too, but I did it, & it was so awesome! Recently, my sister accidentally called me to wish me a Happy Birthday, & we actually carried on a short conversation! I was super tired when she called, so my speech wasn’t very clear, but we talked w/o anyone there, & w/o using my version of the morse code on the phone! Lately, I’ve had several good speaking days, & I have held several short conversations, & even introduced myself! It’s exciting!

I have also started to help clean up my house more: Starting in April, I began tidying up the kitchen, so this summer I have tried doing more this time. I have an OCD personality, so this was long over-due, & it feels good to be able to take pride in my home again!

Give me 5 ways you keep positive when you are feeling helpless or useless. 😊
  1.  Pray & LISTEN (often, I naturally wake at 4 AM, & lie awake waiting for Mark to wake, & I swear the veil is thinner then, probably because there are no distractions)
  2.  Read the scriptures. I once heard that we talk to God by praying, & He talks to us through the scriptures…I sure hate to essentially “cover God’s Mouth” by not opening the scriptures!
  3.  I figure out ways to be grateful…ex.: when a zipper broke on a costume, I was grateful my dress could be stapled in back.  Another ex. When things are rough between someone & I, I search for why I am grateful for that person–even if it’s unrelated to the situation at hand.
  4.  I listen to something uplifting, so my mind is distracted & I don’t dwell on things
  5. service–I serve by emailing others a bit of joy that I noticed in their lives or by journaling to my future posterity–helps me see it in my own life…for some reason, things are, made clearer to me when I type!

 

I am convinced that before u feel down, u need to prepare for those days by strengthening your testimony, attending church, learning to recognize the spirit, etc…I truly believe that Satan wants us to feel that way, & will find any way into our home, & sometimes the way in, is when he finds a way to make us feel down on ourselves.  That only seeps into our relationships, & makes us get even more down on ourselves…so, a huge strategy of mine is to recall when things were good, & figure out  why Satan wants to ruin things, & see how he “got in”, so it doesn’t keep happening. This is a fairly new strategy for me, but it works.

Does PBA medicine help?

Oh my, YES! It is a miracle drug, & has changed my life! My family sees a HUGE difference as well, & it’s the 1 medication my family feels is essential for me to take! I don’t know how my family or I survived w/o it before!

I think it has depression & anxiety meds in it, becuz when I feel it wear off in the evening or if I take the 2nd dose too late in the evening, I get weepy…&. also since it wears off over night, I’m very weepy & anxious in the mornings, until I take it. I have learned to not trust my emotions if we run out & I miss a few doses, becuz I get angry or sad very easy. The world seems “grayer” too, & I can feel numb to happiness.

Before the PBA medication, I had a hard time going places because of the emotions it’d trigger, & it was frustrating that I couldn’t control it. So, I completely stopped attending baptisms & funerals, & in order to attend the LDS temple, where I’d feel so close to God, I needed a priesthood blessing for strength to control my emotions! (In the LDS church, the priesthood is the power and authority of God here on the earth, which is given to worthy males, who can, in time, perform blessings for others.)

I had to “de-sensitize” myself so I didn’t feel the spirit in public, or I’d start to not just cry, but wail, as my PBA made me very extreme on emotions like happiness & sadness, though my anger is extreme too. I’d get super upset at members of my family for stupid things, or I’d wail if I felt proud of my kids, which must’ve been so embarrassing for my family! It was just horrible, & any anxiety (like worrying about how I’d react) just made it worse.

Are there side effects of the PBA medicine you don’t like?

My legs shake every now & then, for about 3 seconds, every 10 seconds for 1 hour–though I’ve had it last longer, & gotten shin splints from running a marathon horizontally! 🙂 Usually the shaking leg is just an annoyance, but it hurts bad with shin splints or if it gives me a Charlie Horse.”

It usually occurs in bed, but it has occurred at church, at the movies, at my computer…often it is anywhere I should be still for a long period of time. And it almost always alternates legs, so I may only get shin splints on 1 leg at a time! I assume it is like restless leg syndrome, & usually is just extremely annoying, but even if it hurts, it worth taking the meds! Yes, PBA is THAT BAD! Lol

My anxiety seems to make it get worse if I focus on trying to make them stop. The doctors also tried to make me stop, by giving me muscle relaxers at night, but that affected me the next day (I was too tired & didn’t have the strength to lift my arm, feed myself, sign, or speak vocally). It was HORRIBLE! So, we just deal with it!