I was able to make it to church today for the first time in about one and a half months! It felt great. I didn't stay long, just the first hour. I had to get rides each way so I could take pain pills but it felt really good to be there even for a little while and feel the spirit. Another "Divine Signature" I had this past week occurred on Thursday. This past week was the hardest yet with this illness. I didn't know the pain could get so bad. Thursday around 5 or 6 pm the Minneapolis Spanish Sisters called to see how I was doing. I said okay (my typical response so that others don't feel like they have to ask more if I say that I'm in a lot of pain or whatever). I in return asked them how they were and they said fine. They then said they were feeling impressed to call me and asked me again this time how I was really doing. This time I told them and they asked if they could come over and visit me that night. It was a nice example of how Heavenly Father does put people in our paths and inspires them to look after His children. They came over that night for a visit. I don't even remember what we discussed, I know they shared some scriptures with me. I may not remember the exact things we talked about but I remember the spirit I felt and the fact that they felt prompted to call me and come visit me. I hadn't talked to them in a while so they did not know I had had such a painful week. It helped lift my spirits. That's all for today. I'm hoping to work every day this week. Hopefully my body will agree....
Hope everyone is having a great day!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
I made it to work today and "The Miracle of the Tennis Ball"
I was able to go into work today. I was only there for about 2 1/2 hours but it felt good to get out of the house. I brought some work home with me so I hope to do a little more work from home this weekend. Someone at work asked me if I was feeling better today and I said "I was able to get out of bed!" :)
I said earlier I was going to put some of the Miracles or "Divine Signatures" I've experienced throughout this ordeal in my blog. One that stands out in my mind is "The Miracle of the Tennis Ball". I was having a week where it was very painful to use my hands for anything. One day I was having trouble even opening my mail my hands hurt so bad. That Thursday I saw my physical therapist and I explained my problem with my hands to him and asked for suggestions. He recommended that I get a tennis ball and place it on a table, put my hand on it and push down, kind of standing over it so as to use my body weight to push down. This would give my hands a massage as sorts. I tried it there and it felt pretty good. When I got home I was pretty tired so I didn't look in my house to see if I had a tennis ball, it's possible I did somewhere but I don't know where it would be and I was too tired and sore to try and look. I called Donna that night and asked her if she had a tennis ball I could use. She did not. I decided it wasn't an urgent problem by any means and would ask someone if next time they went to the store if they could pick some up for me. I remember also telling my friend Debbie about what my therapist recommended.
I went to bed that night and when I had gotten ready for work and was getting ready to leave for work I walked down my stairs and at the bottom of my stairs was a tennis ball. I stared at it for several seconds, not touching it, and left for work. I called Donna and asked her if she had come over early in the morning and put a tennis ball at the bottom of my steps. Her answer was no. I then sent a text to Debbie and asked her the same question. Her answer was no but she was also wondering what I was on that would make me ask such a weird question - thanks Debbie! :) I thought to myself I must have imagined it and it wouldn't really be there. I came home from work a few hours later and it was there!!! I was able to use it that afternoon. My hands were very painful that afternoon so it came at a much needed time. I do believe it was a miracle. As stated earlier, I may have had one somewhere in my house but the fact that it appeared at the bottom of my steps was nothing short of a miracle!! It helped me to know that Heavenly Father is mindful of me, even in seemingly small and simple matters. It was not life or death that I had a tennis ball then but it was just a simple reminder that He is aware of me and that even in some of our hardest times He is with us and provides for us.
I said earlier I was going to put some of the Miracles or "Divine Signatures" I've experienced throughout this ordeal in my blog. One that stands out in my mind is "The Miracle of the Tennis Ball". I was having a week where it was very painful to use my hands for anything. One day I was having trouble even opening my mail my hands hurt so bad. That Thursday I saw my physical therapist and I explained my problem with my hands to him and asked for suggestions. He recommended that I get a tennis ball and place it on a table, put my hand on it and push down, kind of standing over it so as to use my body weight to push down. This would give my hands a massage as sorts. I tried it there and it felt pretty good. When I got home I was pretty tired so I didn't look in my house to see if I had a tennis ball, it's possible I did somewhere but I don't know where it would be and I was too tired and sore to try and look. I called Donna that night and asked her if she had a tennis ball I could use. She did not. I decided it wasn't an urgent problem by any means and would ask someone if next time they went to the store if they could pick some up for me. I remember also telling my friend Debbie about what my therapist recommended.
I went to bed that night and when I had gotten ready for work and was getting ready to leave for work I walked down my stairs and at the bottom of my stairs was a tennis ball. I stared at it for several seconds, not touching it, and left for work. I called Donna and asked her if she had come over early in the morning and put a tennis ball at the bottom of my steps. Her answer was no. I then sent a text to Debbie and asked her the same question. Her answer was no but she was also wondering what I was on that would make me ask such a weird question - thanks Debbie! :) I thought to myself I must have imagined it and it wouldn't really be there. I came home from work a few hours later and it was there!!! I was able to use it that afternoon. My hands were very painful that afternoon so it came at a much needed time. I do believe it was a miracle. As stated earlier, I may have had one somewhere in my house but the fact that it appeared at the bottom of my steps was nothing short of a miracle!! It helped me to know that Heavenly Father is mindful of me, even in seemingly small and simple matters. It was not life or death that I had a tennis ball then but it was just a simple reminder that He is aware of me and that even in some of our hardest times He is with us and provides for us.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
My first entry
This is a new experience for me. Hopefully you'll find this isn't too boring for you. :)
This year started out a lot different than I had anticipated it to. I was hospitalized the first week in January for a week with a severe asthma attack. I also started being in very intense pain throughout my body and after I was released it became so severe I was having trouble doing much of anything. Walking was difficult. I saw several doctors and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Although I had heard of that disease before all I could tell you about it is from what I had learned on television commercials. In writing this I'm not trying to say that I have such a horrible life and want people to feel sorry for me. I am hoping that it will bring some understanding to this disease and the affects it can have on someone.
I've had to learn to modify my life and right now at least, there are many things I could do before that I can no longer do. I don't know if the severe pain I'm having now will always be with me or if it will diminish, I've heard stories of both. Even if it does get better (I hope and pray daily for this), I'm sure there will still be things I will not be able to realistically do anymore. Trying to keep myself "up" mentally has proved to be just as challenging as physically. One area I have truly been blessed in though is that I know that Heavenly Father's hand is in this and that there is a reason for this trial in my life. I do not know what that is yet, and may not know in this lifetime but I have had many "Divine Signatures", or miracles, that show me that He is mindful of me. I will share some of these, as seem appropriate, as time goes.
This week has been my worst pain week yet. Saturday night I was not able to sleep at all because of the pain. It wasn't until a little after 5am Sunday morning that I fell asleep for the first time. I was awake by 8am that same morning. I did not make it to work on Monday. I was able to work 3 hours on Tuesday but was in extreme pain the entire time. I haven't worked since then. Tomorrow is Friday and I really hope to be able to make it to work even for a couple of hours. I did go back to the doctor on Monday but there's not really anything more they can do for me at this point. I have pain killers, am on 2 medications that sometimes offer help to people with fibromyalgia, so far they haven't seemed to do much for me. My doctor did give me a muscle relaxant to try as I've been having very severe and painful muscle spasms lately. She also started me on some calcium and magnesium supplements. I'm hoping they will provide some help. There's just not a lot of research or proven therapies to help this condition. The other hard part is that what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for another. I believe it is a very misunderstood disease. I've already come across people, including some doctors, that don't really believe this is a real condition. I wish there was a way that I could transfer the extreme amount of pain I'm in to them so they could feel it if just for a minute. I've never been a "wimp" when it comes to pain. So when I say this is extremely painful, I do mean it's extremely painful!
I have been blessed to have some really good friends that have helped me out a lot during this time. There are some very basic things I have taken for granted in the past. The ability to put sheets on my bed, to exercise, to work 8 hours a day, to cook, to clean my house, to use a can opener, and so many other simple things. I can't wait until the day I can do these things again. I'm grateful to those who have helped me do some of these things in the meantime.
This year started out a lot different than I had anticipated it to. I was hospitalized the first week in January for a week with a severe asthma attack. I also started being in very intense pain throughout my body and after I was released it became so severe I was having trouble doing much of anything. Walking was difficult. I saw several doctors and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Although I had heard of that disease before all I could tell you about it is from what I had learned on television commercials. In writing this I'm not trying to say that I have such a horrible life and want people to feel sorry for me. I am hoping that it will bring some understanding to this disease and the affects it can have on someone.
I've had to learn to modify my life and right now at least, there are many things I could do before that I can no longer do. I don't know if the severe pain I'm having now will always be with me or if it will diminish, I've heard stories of both. Even if it does get better (I hope and pray daily for this), I'm sure there will still be things I will not be able to realistically do anymore. Trying to keep myself "up" mentally has proved to be just as challenging as physically. One area I have truly been blessed in though is that I know that Heavenly Father's hand is in this and that there is a reason for this trial in my life. I do not know what that is yet, and may not know in this lifetime but I have had many "Divine Signatures", or miracles, that show me that He is mindful of me. I will share some of these, as seem appropriate, as time goes.
This week has been my worst pain week yet. Saturday night I was not able to sleep at all because of the pain. It wasn't until a little after 5am Sunday morning that I fell asleep for the first time. I was awake by 8am that same morning. I did not make it to work on Monday. I was able to work 3 hours on Tuesday but was in extreme pain the entire time. I haven't worked since then. Tomorrow is Friday and I really hope to be able to make it to work even for a couple of hours. I did go back to the doctor on Monday but there's not really anything more they can do for me at this point. I have pain killers, am on 2 medications that sometimes offer help to people with fibromyalgia, so far they haven't seemed to do much for me. My doctor did give me a muscle relaxant to try as I've been having very severe and painful muscle spasms lately. She also started me on some calcium and magnesium supplements. I'm hoping they will provide some help. There's just not a lot of research or proven therapies to help this condition. The other hard part is that what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for another. I believe it is a very misunderstood disease. I've already come across people, including some doctors, that don't really believe this is a real condition. I wish there was a way that I could transfer the extreme amount of pain I'm in to them so they could feel it if just for a minute. I've never been a "wimp" when it comes to pain. So when I say this is extremely painful, I do mean it's extremely painful!
I have been blessed to have some really good friends that have helped me out a lot during this time. There are some very basic things I have taken for granted in the past. The ability to put sheets on my bed, to exercise, to work 8 hours a day, to cook, to clean my house, to use a can opener, and so many other simple things. I can't wait until the day I can do these things again. I'm grateful to those who have helped me do some of these things in the meantime.
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