It’s been 10 months since my last entry

Well I haven’t been keeping up with my Blog. It’s been 10 months since my last entry.

My sister has really been through a lot last year. Her oldest son died in April of 2019 and then her husband passed away from pancreatic cancer on May 29, 2019. After all that she moved away to Florida and bought a house. She and her youngest son share the home together. I don’t think I will be seeing my sister anymore since I don’t have the money to go anywhere. I’ll be 75 this year on August 5 and my only income is my Social Security check.

 Most of the year of 2019 sucked. I got sick with some kind of virus in January and then it came back in February. Then in March I got Bell’s palsy. So I couldn’t go anywhere because my right eye wouldn’t close. I had to keep my eye taped shut all though the summer. I couldn’t let it dry out besides the sun and the wind made it hurt. I never saw so many doctors in my life and then came the doctor bills.

 But I managed to drive 5 hours to Iowa to see my granddaughter graduate from high school. As her grandfather, I couldn’t let that pass me by. I am so proud of her now that she is going to college. She is studying to go into the medical field.

  

                           My granddaughter and grandson

  By November of 2019 all of my symptoms from my Bell’s palsy have gone away. Oh there are still some things that I can notice that didn’t get back to normal like my right eyebrow doesn’t go all the way up like my left one does and my nose doesn’t flare out like it should but it’s nothing that anyone else would notice but I can see it. I saw the doctor yesterday and he said that it would probably be permanent. 

 When January 0f 2020 came around I came down with the same virus that affects my sinuses. It went away until February and then it came back for a while. I don’t know which is worse having the virus or getting all those doctor bills, Holy Crap.

 March seems like it will be a good month, I hope. I don’t see any doctor bills coming any time soon and it's starting to get warmer outside. It really gets cold living in Illinois. 

 The only major problem I see coming in June is that I have to return my car. You see I have been leasing it and in June my 3 year lease will be up. I don’t have the money for a down payment for another car and the thought of not having a car to get around in is really stressing me out. I don’t know what I am going to do. Like I said I am going to be 75 this year. I plan on living to be a 100 and there are so many things I want to do. I want to have as much fun as I can for as long as I can but I have to have a car to get around in. "May the Car gods deposit one in my parking lot"  

 

Rest in Peace Tom

 TR: Kristen Kaufman, Bob and Tom Miller

BR: Melissa and Katie Miller, Shawn Kaufman

This photo was taken in 1983 of my two children and my sister's 4 children. It's so hard to believe that my sister's oldest son Tom has passed away. All of these kids grew up to become beautiful, wonderful and successful kids. Your children aren't suppose to go before the parents. That's what makes it so hard. 

 
"If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on, is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die but real love is forever." Rest in Peace Tom

Bell's Palsy.

 Bell's Palsy.


If it's not one thing it's another. Getting old really sucks. 

  Last Saturday the right side of my face stopped working. I can't blink or close my right eye. I have it taped shut right now so it won't dry out.. It's funny looking when I looked at my forehead. The right side doesn't have wrinkles and the left side does. Then there is my face which droops on the right side. The right side of my mouth doesn't work either so I have a hard time talking.and eating. 

All of this started yesterday while I was having lunch at the Grand Victoria Casino. I thought I was having a stroke or something. I waited until I was ready for bed that night but my right eye didn't close. I got worried so I got in the car and went to the emergency room. They told me I have Bell's Palsy. The doctor said that it is a virus. She gave me some steroids to take for 5 days. "You should not have waited so long when you first got the symptoms. It could have been a stroke," the doctor told me. She said that it should go back to normal in 2 weeks. I sure as hell hope so.

  It's the right side of my face that does not work. I was trying to Smile. Went to the Doctor today and more pills.😔 The doctor said that I should be able to close my eyelid in about 2 weeks. I have it taped shut right now so it won't dry out.

 

Day 5 - No Change at all. Shit !!!

Day 7 – My right side of my face is still paralyzed. It sags. I can’t move my forehead, or lift my eyebrow. The worst part is that my right eye doesn’t blink. So I have to keep putting eye drops in it and tape it shut so it won’t dry out or I will lose my eye. I tried wiggling my nose back and forth. It will move to the left but not to the right. The right side of my mouth wouldn’t move so it is hard to talk and to keep food in it when I eat. I have a pain in the back of my right ear where the facial nerves come through. I just finished taking 5 days of Prednisone 40 mg per day. I am still taking my anti-viral pills. 

When this suddenly came on last Saturday I also came down with a sinus infection which left my nose running and sneezing. They gave me antibiotics for that. Thankfully that has gone away. 

 The emergency room doctor said that I should be able to start blinking again in 2weeks. I sure hope she is right. It is awful with only one eye. I am going to keep this post up to date as things progress so others who come down with it will know what to expect. 

Day 8 -  I went to the VA Hospital today (Saturday) and had an MRI of my Cervical Spine and the nerve that runs from my neck to the back of my ear that is paralyzing the right side of my face. I will have to wait a couple of days for the results.

Lost my sense of taste. 

 Day 12 - I talked with my VA doctor this evening and she is going to send me to a neurologist, an Eye Doctor and a speech Pathologist. I don’t have the dates yet. They will call me and let me know when. 

Day 17 – No Change Yet. Except I got my sense of taste back

  I already had my VA appointment with the Eye doctor yesterday and my speech pathologist is next Monday but my VA Neurologist appointment isn’t for another 3 months from now. WTF. I thought President Trump got the VA to speed things up with seeing doctor appointments? The Neurologist is the one Doctor I really want to see.

Day 33 – No change. My right side of my face is still paralyzed. The VA eye doctor is treating me with eye drops and eye paste so my eye won’t dry out. I went to the VA today to get it checked up. They told me I have to keep it taped closed. I still can’t blink.
Last week I got an MRI of my brain to rule out anything else that might be happening.
I am seeing a VA Eye doctor (2x’s), my general practitioner on the outside and at the VA, a Speech Pathologist at the VA (2x’s), had an MRI of the brain on the outside and have been referred to an outside Neurologist. No one can tell me how long this will last. Usually 3 to 6 months is all they can say.
I just want this to go away.

  Day 40: An update on how things are going with my Bell's Palsy

 Day 80: An update on how things are going with my Bell's Palsy

 

May The Dice Be With You

St Patrick Day Dice by 5BillDice on Sketchfab

May The Dice Be With You 

Hallmark Christmas Movies

During the Christmas Holidays I think I watched every Hallmark Christmas movie they had. Those movies grew on me. I spent the Christmas Holidays all by myself, so watching the Hallmark movies gave me something to do and they made me feel good. I think every one of them got me emotional. I thought of the early days when I had my parents and all my relatives were around.

  
 I did set up my train set and decorated it with lights and garland all around it. It was fun playing with it on Christmas morning. I think I’ll leave it up for a while. 

My Christmas Card from President Trump

 My Christmas Card from President Trump

Schaumburg Township Christmas Party

 

Schaumburg Township had their annual Christmas party for the Disabled and Senior Citizens this past Thursday Dec 6^th at Chandlers Chophouse. The doors opened at 10:30am.

  I have been going to the disabled support group once a week since 1987 but a couple of years ago they broke up. People moved away and one died recently. We always used to go to the Christmas party and have fun and talk.

 

This time it was just me. I didn’t know anyone else but started talking to the people at my table. 

 

It was around 12noon when they served the food. While we waited,  this one girl went around to all the tables with her violin and played Christmas music.

 

 

Just before they started serving the food Megan Conway the new Director of Disability and Senior Services got up to the podium and said a few words. 

 

 

 Then Township Supervisor Mary Wroblewski got up and wished everybody a Merry Christmas. 

 

  After we ate Maureen Christine sang Christmas songs. I missed my old friends from the Disabled support group. I didn’t stay very long after that. I had some things I wanted to do that afternoon so I left.

 

   Thank you Schaumburg Township for putting on the Christmas party.