Tag: coping skills

They came, they went, and life goes on

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Here is the reason that living in the moment is so very important:  the good ones soften the others!

I am so grateful for the first meeting of our church home group that met this evening.  Steve and I volunteered to host a group to try to break up the isolation that I have experienced since becoming more homebound these past two years.  Sometime in the early Spring of last year I made the difficult decision to stop attending worship services because the building is water-damaged (WDB).  Every time I was inside the structure for Sunday worship or an event, I paid dearly with violent seizure attacks.  The kind that are triggered by mold ramp up quickly.  Most of the time I was barely able to make it back to our car before the shaking began and it quickly became convulsions one seated inside.  A perfect electrical storm let loose inside my head.  Gratefully they did not last for more than 30 minutes most of the time.  However afterwards I was beat up with a sharp headache, profound fatigue, ringing in my ears, increased upper body pain, and emotional devastation for hours thereafter.  To suffer like that was not what the Lord has called me to do . . .

Thus began my practice of listening to our pastor’s messages at home on the internet.  Thus became me living my Christian fellowship through Steve as he would attend two services per week in addition to the men’s prayer breakfast on Saturday.  He came home each of these days and shared a detailed review of Pastor Paul’s verse-by-verse teaching of the Old and New Testaments in addition to updates on our church family members.  I felt humbled and sad when he would tell me of individuals who had asked about me.  This was a mixed blessing.  I appreciate others asking and praying for me.  Rarely did anyone contact me thereafter.  Such is the nature of things in contemporary America.

One couple couldn’t make the meeting tonight as the wife was having medical tests and likely being admitted to the hospital.  Yipes!  We prayed for Ellen and hope that she recovers soon.  Our group was small yet the fellowship was rich.  I stressed about getting everything ready before 7:00 p.m. as my medical-day ended at 5:20 p.m.  That barely left enough time to shower, clean, and prepare snacks before my husband came home.  Everything came together shortly after our guests arrived; it always does.  Our group conversation was meaningful and even personal for our first time together, discussing John 18 that was preached this past Sunday.  Before we knew it the evening was over.  Before I knew it the evening noxious episode that awaits me around 10:00 p.m. was set to begin, following me late into the night.

And so it goes.  Life goes on.  Now I’m awake at 4:00 a.m. recapping the night:  at least once per month I’ll get to break bread with my brothers and sisters in Christ during our home group.  This is good.  I am glad and it was worth the wait.  :J

The Winter Hiatus Just Might Be Over

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So glad to be able to get creative again after a long spell of, as they say in the cereal commercial, “nuttin’ honey!”  Making wrap bracelets have become my favorite jewelry to make, incorporating macramé, traditional jewelry findings, leather, and just about every technique I’ve learned so far.  Having a creative outlet has been a blessing of late and here’s hoping this lovely piece is the start of more good things to come!

Boho Macramé and Mixed Media Bracelet From Trinity Jewelry by Design
Boho Macramé and Mixed Media Bracelet From Trinity Jewelry by Design

 

 

Click on the link below for more information.

http://www.etsy.com/au/listing/176883249/handmade-boho-macrame-metal-chain-and?ref=shop_home_active_1

A New Project to Keep Me Sane

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An idea for a new project has come to mind so when I’m not here, I’m brain-dumping in Microsoft Word.  The topic:  helping others with chronic illness with the day-to-day practical barriers to living.

My career in occupational therapy included evaluating the daily “occupations” in the lives of my patients and the skills he or she needed to get through the day.  Occupations can include homemaking, pre-driving skills, functioning on the job, and more.  When the person was unable to complete the steps, tasks, and activities needed to perform those daily occupations then O.T. was offered.  Treatment began during an inpatient hospital or rehabilitation facility stay and continued in outpatient or home care therapy sessions.  I have had the privilege of working in all of these settings.  My favorite was always home care.  When you are working with a patient in their own living situation, the evaluation is often more accurate and the remediation more meaningful.   This was my part time work when I became sick on October 11, 2011.  Within a few months I was unable to continue.  Since then the remediation has focused on my own home and health!

I am grateful for my 30 years in occupational therapy practice.  The Lord led me to a profession as a high school graduate that would provide a fulfilling career my entire adult life.  I enjoyed serving others in both psychiatric and physical rehabilitation settings, with adolescents to older adults alike.  I have been with a patient just moments before she passed away and another when he realized that his disabilities would be permanent.  To look into the eyes of someone about to lose their independence because of his medical condition and another who needs a little nudge to realize she is ready to return to work are equally humbling experiences.  And these days when I look into the mirror, I have some of those same discussions in mind as I consider the challenges of my own life these days.  Gratefully, I have a rich variety of experiences and resources upon which to draw.  In many ways I have not had to struggle as much as my patients because of my training as an OT.

For example, I intuitively know the importance of planning ahead in the evening for the next morning.  If I wake up with seizure attacks and my husband is alone, I generally have a plan in place to meet my basic needs in case I would be unable to leave the bedroom.  The night before, I usually pack a breakfast with my a.m. medications, enough water and food (following my special diet) to make it through the first part of the day.  Low blood sugar can exacerbate my symptoms so this strategy has become one of numerous methods employed to cope with my limitations of late.  I am grateful to the Lord for the skills He has giving me, His help in my time of need, and His leading me to a profession that has allowed me to cope through many trials in my life.

So why don’t I see what I can do to help others with this knowledge?  When I did a preliminary search on coping strategies, I found a great deal of resources on the topics of emotional, psychological, and social skills for persons with chronic illness.  This was a great discovery and I benefitted from reviewing these blogs, articles, book reviews, and so on.  But where were the day-to-day strategies for example, in preventing falls when dizzy because of a medication side effect?  In my role as an OT, I could point to many disease-specific organizations that might have such resources, for example the Alzheimer’s Association or Multiple Sclerosis Society.  This information is also easy to find within the disability community.  But what about a person with Lyme disease?  Sick building syndrome?  A temporary illness?  Persons with a serious, multi-diagnosis, ongoing illness numbers in the hundreds of thousands or more.  I see them on Facebook forums, WebMD, and the like.  I would like them to know that there are simple strategies to reduce their daily struggles, improve their ability to function, and in doing so also keep myself sane while on the path to healing.

We have a saying within the therapy profession that goes like this, “therapist, heal thyself.”  While this is not entirely true, certainly a therapist can do pretty well at rallying some resources to get the healing process going.  My hope is that by sharing some practical information with others I will not only keep myself sane as I write but also gear myself up for returning to a productive life someday soon.  The complications of my own illness make it difficult to concentrate, use various thinking skills after several episodes per day.  The challenge of writing, editing, researching, and publishing my first eBook did help fire some neurons in a meaningful sequence here and there!  I’m thinking I’ll try it again.

If this resonates with you, please let me know what you would like to see in such a handbook.  The current outline begins with the morning of a typical day and continues through all of the activities of daily living until bedtime.  I will include information on fall and injury prevention with references for sample adaptive equipment, such as a sliding tub transfer bench or automatic night lights.  Many of us will be familiar with parts of the information.  My hope is that by systematically reviewing a person’s typical home environment that there will be new insights:  a little something for everyone and his or her caregivers.  I have seen the power of a simple strategy in making the day a little brighter in the life of a person battling a serious illness.  Maybe this will even lead to a forum where there will be an exchange of information as well.  I am looking forward to the possibilities . . .

Laughing while it’s starting to snow

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I couldn’t decide which of these was the best so here is all of them.  Now take your dose of laughter, the best medicine!

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Parking Lot Poem #1

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Sure was a tough time in my life when transitioning from married life to single life.  The refining fire was intense, laden with more trauma than I ever thought I would endure in such a short period of time.  Separation, divorce, 5 moves, 4 jobs, 2 injuries, a condo fire, death of 3 family members, and my mother’s cancer story contributed to over-the-top stress.  I have so much to be grateful for these days, that’s for sure!

So how did I cope?  First my faith in the Lord grew stronger.  Second, I needed counsel and found it through a few remaining close friends and a professional or two.  Three different support groups related to grief and divorce convinced me that it was not me who was going crazy:  my life circumstances were crazy!  I began journaling more regularly too.  Perhaps if blogging was in vogue in 2004 I would have started mine back then as well.  But one of the most useful tools was the smallest:  a little spiral notebook in the console of my car . . .

I’m not quite sure where the idea came from to journal in my car.  I found a small pocket-sized steno book called the “fat lil’ notebook” and kept it with me for making notes to myself.  One day it hit me when I felt completely lost that maybe I needed to write a little something more to clear my head, right there in the parking lot on June 10, 2004.  The first entry that I can find went like this:

It’s another parking lot poem this noon

Alas a month later in the rainy part of June.

My new job must end to save my integrity

And the work ethic I’ve carried with me for decades.

So now which way to turn, oh Lord

The great authority and provider of my life?

This makes no sense and yet it does:

To trust you no matter the chaos my days do bring.

For in the end or looking back when down the road,

I’ll see this day as one leaned on faith

And be glad I knew you when and where

I napped in the parking lot before a great swim once again.

 Years later it all made sense to me why the parking lot poems were so meaningful to me.  When we take a drive somewhere, we park our cars and go into a business or residence of some sort and leave our vehicle for a time.  We return later, put our belongings somewhere near us, turn the key in the ignition, and take off for our next destination.  The time in the parking lot or driveway is a point of transition from one destination to another.  We have completed one activity, gathered our things, and prepared to make our way to the next location.  During the short time when we are sitting and stationary, we might have a quick thought about what has transpired (did we accomplish something or did we encounter difficulties?) and think about where we are headed next (how do I get there and who will I see/what will I do there?).  The brief moment allows us to re-group, re-gather, re-launch until it’s time to go back home again.  This time goes quickly for most folks, I reckon.

That time did not go quickly for me at all.  I often got stuck in the parking lot when I was trying to move from one activity to the next.  I cannot explain it exactly.  I just know that the overwhelming burden of my life at that time made it nearly impossible at times to make transitions, change activities, or gear up for the next item on my “to do” list.  Have you ever experienced this Gentle Reader?  I just could not move on.  I couldn’t even tolerate music or news on my radio as it became like noise in a crowded bus terminal laden with diesel fumes.  I would often sit there in my little black race car (aka Honda Civic) in silence for what felt like a long time before I organized my thoughts and initiated the steps to get going again.  This is where the Parking Lot Poems changed everything.

Poetry is a looser form of communication than prose.  There aren’t as many rules in free form poetry, you can stop and start at any point, and emotions can blurt themselves onto the page in incomplete sentences.  It gets the words out quicker, eh?  Do you want to hear something else crazy?  After that 3-year period of time when writing poetry was such an instrumental tool in coping and healing, I stopped writing poetry.  I guess I didn’t need it anymore.  Oh I tried a few times but the words simply did not flow freely.  No more parking lot poems for me!  My favorite poem that was initially written in a parking lot became part of a 9-foot mural on a wall in my home, the one with the custom window treatments I wrote about earlier this past week.  I’ll save the story about “The Wall” for another time.

For this early morning writing, I’m just using my newer friend of blogging instead.  I am having trouble sleeping this day due to some noxious events.  Sure got some good thinking done tonight though and for that I am grateful.  Better go park myself back in bed before the sun comes up and try to make a go of sleeping again.

Thank you Lord for your gift of words.  Your Word is how we know you and fall in love with you.  Hmmmm.  Reminds me of a song.  May I sing it in my heart to you Lord?

Words