Good morning all. Been AWOL ...lol Hubby had to come to Baltimore for a 2 day seminar...totally paid for with a queen size bed. So I got invited. He and I have not been away for a weekend without. at least one of our 5 kids since 1996... last century...lol He has been away a couple of times alone and me ...1 night for a work conference 4 years ago. This is well overdue! So we were invited to extend our 3 day to a 6 day if we ride to DC to stay with my hubby’s cousin who is really my best friend.  The kids are fine and told us to go they‘re fine!  I have been in pain and had to sleep for a few hours today but hubby was ay his seminar so it was fine. I feel so bad...when we were younger and before all this happened to me we walked all over the cities we were in and sightseeing was our thing. Even riding around aimless in our car but that even hurts. We had a 90 min drive here with 2 stops so I could stretch. I brought 2pillows one for back and 1 for butt for shock absorption.  It worked pretty good. Now we have 90 mins to DC tomorrow ..I should be five but our cuzw purchased tickets for a twilight cruise on the Potomac. Saturday evening. She has all the same ailments as I do and said its a nice boat, very smooth buy I’m worried.  Have any of you done anything like this? Did it effect you? I’m worried because the next afternoon ill have the 3hr ride home. I can’t live in a box though...right? If I have to stay in bed foe a day when I get home I guess it’ll be worth it! I just pray there’s not a fibromyalgia flare up coming. I get this AWFUL,sickening  fatigue feeling right in my gut before I get them . The feeling usually presents a day or two before I get one. But sometimes it just goes away. So praying I get through today-Sunday without ruining everyone else’s plans.  I hate when I do that.I hope all you good people are well and hope you enjoy your weekend.  Ill be around! :)

Hello everyone! How are you all? I have finally been improving and able to cut down on my pain meds a bit. My blood pressure is finally normal for the first time in years. The surgeon was right on the money. It took 6 months almost to the day to start feeling improvement and that was after it got so much worse i really thought they did something wrong,but he kept sitting on the stool, right in front of me, face to face with a sincere look in his eye and tone in his voice, while I was sobbing  in tears, scared and hurting, with his hand on my knee, telling me to trust him. So I did and now I am starting to heal. Praise God!

    I still have a very long road, as a matter of fact, I may not completely heal, I had reconstructive surgery  in my neck above the sight of the double discectomy,and the shaving down of  2 additional discs, where they had to turn my curve back the right way and then with 6 titanium screws and 2 titanium plates wired the entire thing all together. The movement in my neck is very limited and some of the nerve damage done is irreversible but we will not know the severity or longevity of the nerve damage until the surgical area is completely healed. I have a 3 - 4” scar on my throat and i can feel the screws sometimes but all in all that part seems much better. I am still on total restrictions and have recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and degenerative arthritis and still getting tests done for rheumatoid. I have been putting off the tests that my new rheumatologist has been asking for. I am just so tired of doctors  and xrays and mris and medications.I go several times a month to a few different docs and need to see a couple more. I am still steadily losing weight. And other than butt crunches and core crunches ( not on the floor lifting myself, just tightening ones) I am down just about 70 pounds and my butt, which has been HUGE my entire life....is SMALL! I have a small butt...My husband is so happy...lol He cant leave it or me alone...lol. Unfortunately, under docs orders, anything is “that” de[artment is still off limits. It actually says and I quote...” No sexual activity at all until cleared by your physician” The better I get and the more weight I lose, the harder it is to follow that order...lol But im not doing anything to jeopardize how far I’ve come especially since its not that far !!!

So the rheumatologist says there are surgeries in my future. Im pretty sure it is going to be my left knee first, i cannot go up or down the steps very well as it is and now i have to always lead with my right. The left just gives out on me constantly. Ok lets see what else can i complain about...lol

Good things are....Football season starting. Ryan is a senior and will be starting varsity this year. There is an annual weight lifting competition this week where collectively between bench pressing, squatting and dead lifting the try to lift 1000 lbs or more. My 2 older sons have their names on the wall in the jigh school weight room for accomplishing this feat. I really want to have all 3 of them up there. Ryan has been working out 4 - 6 days a week since January to prepare for this...he is faster than anyone else on the team and for 5‘3” and 160 lbs he is stronger than heck! I cannot wait to see how all his hard work pays off.

Oh a really good thing. I’m going to Baltimore with my husband August 7 and 8...he has a teachers seminar so I contacted our own beautiful Michele Bodycombe to see if we can meet and have lunch while hubby is in his all day seminar and we are going to figure out where to meet. Then my cousins live there as well and I figure when hubbys done we will have dinner with them and then my other cousins from DC are coming down to meet me the 2nd day to have lunch with me and walk around the inner harbor. Im still using a walker but i actually like it now..i walk so much better with it. Vanity is not as important as safety ive discovered the hard way...lol

Another BIG thing...My 22 year old daughter kelly moved out Thursday and went to Ireland. she got a beautiful apartment right on the Irish sea on the Causeway coast....simply gorgeous. I’ve spole to may world travellers who have said that is one of the most beautiful places they have ever seen and my daughter lives there now and it is where my grandmother lived and left Ireland from in 1912 so our family has come full circle! I think that is incredible!She starts University Septembert 19, so she still has a lot of time to set up her place, look for a job and do more sightseeing and make more friends and strengthen bonds with those we already have there.

Lets see...Seans, my 26 year old FINALLY has a wonderful, beautiful, motivated, educated, lovely girlfriend...lol, can you tell i like her? She got him to clean his room!! I think he’s in love...lol. She is a double major at Rutgers University, working as a make up artist for Lancome for 6 years now and is president of the honor society at her college and her sorority. Very nice young woman! Answered prayers!!!

Kate is till struggling terrible and giving me more gray hairs than Id like to talk about...I am at my wits end with her but just cant put her out like i should. Im not strong. She’ll do great for weeks then be wasted for an entire weeek and not remember anything she did wrong or understand why everyones mad at her...its like living on a yo yo. But she does go to all her meetings and she really has been a big help since Ive been sick when she is straight

And then theres Danny..hes great...he works, he has picked up a lot of slack as far as housewrok, shopping and cooking since Ive been sick and he is an amazing cook! He thinks that is what he wants to do now....so there are always silver linings!

My Irish children went back last week. We had an 11 year old Conor who we all fell in love with and Good Lord willing he will return next year!

Hubbys in  a lot of pain...he needs to lose weight. he can arelay walk sometime because his legs swell up. He is trying to be better. He needs surgery on his lower back because of ruptured discs and he cant get it in the shape he is in now....so if you think of it please keep our family in your prayers! As you can see..I have so very muc to be thankful for but we could use a wee bit of help in the prayer department! I hope you are all well...going to go catch up on the dashboard now! Have a great night ladies!

Hello ladies,
How are you all? Thank you for the birthday wishes ladies. As of yesterday I was 3 months out from my surgery. Just 2 weeks into physical therapy...had to hold off due to swelling in my neck but its moving right along now. I am also down 62 pounds..still have not gone off my new healthy eating lifestyle since January 6th. I’ve never lasted more than 2 months on a “diet” before. But it is so true when i tell you..I got sick and tired of being sick and tired. Now i am feeling wonderful internally, my blood pressure is normal for the first time in years. I threw out all my old clothes over the weekend now my bureau is empty and i will gradually build a wardrobe cant do it all at once because I’m still losing weight, haven’t hit a plateau yet. Now if the structural part would catch up i’d be great. I am still using a walker and in severe pain a lot of the time but the docs say it is all normal as my spinal cord and nerves were compressed so long that it may take up to a year for all the severe pain and spasms to stop. They keep upping my pain med dose and even changed me to a stronger more concentrated version of it. they say if the pain and spasms are there, it will pull my neck the opposite way than they want it to fuse. they did reconstructive surgery, removed 2 discs, shaved 2 down, set my neck back to its normal shape and put in 2 plates and 6 screws and synthetic bone along with metal coated wire to help it fuse. It hurts. they went in through my throat and that still gives me problems swallowing, i can actually feel the screws in my throat. Both of my main surgeons told me I should apply for permanent disability so my husband is taking me Friday to apply. I cant turn my neck to drive and i may be on pain meds the rest of my life. I know there are alternatives and i will seek them out when some of the pain starts to die down but for now if i don’t stay ahead of the pain it is so hard to get it under control. So here is my prognosis.... the damage done is done, it may not get any better but it wont get any worse. If it does get better it wont be complete as there is arthritis in my neck. I also have rheumatoid arthritis in its beginning stages but it is so painful..my hands wake me up every single night...it feels like a toothache in my hands, wrists , shoulder and hip...all on my right side so far. So, I need to find alternative ways of dealing with this stuff...I know that and i will when i can. So how are you all? I am hoping this finds you all well. I am going to be back more often now again that i cn type and look down without too much pain.
have a great night.
Friends,
Ree

Times a wastin...the benefit is still on. APRIL 21 MY KIDS AND HUBBY ARE TAKING OVER FOR ME. i WILL BE THERE IN A BORROWED WHEEL CHAIR. I still need some donations for the benefit if any of you can afford to do it again, Butterfly sent the most beautiful cards. Last year Irina sent the most wonderful bracelet...whatever you can send i would appreciate.
Project Children
c/o Marie Hempsey

 1353 Crown Point Rd.

 West Deptford NJ 08093.

 Maybe it would help to let you know I have been named one of New jerseys 50 most influential Irish Americans because of my work with the kids and that since 2004 I have brought 150 children to our area 25 of them to our home n 13 years. I could not have done any of it without the help of my family and friends that help donate , support and attend our benefits and HOST our children. So Thank you! Please be in touch if you can help...i appreciate it very much!
As for my health..i still cannot walk but am doing great with pt..my right arm , neck and shoulder are still just as bad as the day i had the surgery but doc says we have to take that very slow...i have 6 screws, 2 plates and several metal coated plastic wires in my neck now.Its amazing what they can do now.! Anyway...I continue to hope you are all well and hope you can help out our benefit...i have a whole bus full of kids to bring over and need the $$$ to do it! Your help is greatly appreciated! Thanks Ree

Just checking in. Will post a picture later. Had a doctors visit today and yesterday, nurses and pts come every other day. Making some progress. Still using a walker and in a surgical neck collar. Not sure when they will be discontinued. In the mean time im here but it hurts to type for long periods or look down so i havent been on much. I hope you are all well. I hope to be able to catch up soon! Have a great day!
~ Ree

St. Patrick's Day Blessings _ english

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig! - Gaelic

Ban-ick-tee na fay-lah pwad-rig - pronunciation