I'm back

 What A Busy Time I Have Had. Slot Has Happened. I Just Realized I Have Not Blogged In Over A Year. I Decided To Start This Back Up Again...And Maybe A YouTube Channel.  Stay Tuned...

And Sorry About The Weird Type. I Am Doing This From My Phone...

Growing

School time is approaching.  My baby boy enters Jr High or Middle School this year.  This is a bitter sweet moment for me because I so miss him being a baby but I am very proud of the young man he is becoming. 

I think about all the firsts I enjoyed with him.  Like the first time I tickled his little baby feet.  The way he curled his toes into a tight tiny ball. The first time I blew into his belly button and he threw out his arms and legs into a star formation.  The way his eyes got big as saucers.  The first time he rolled over, crawled, walked, talked.  His very first day of school.  All of these very special moments that I hope I never ever forget. 



He is now a big 11 year old.  Five feet tall and over 100 pounds.  He is able to do a lot of things on his own and does not need me as much anymore...which is sometimes a great thing.  Other times it is sad to me though.

 He runs track and plays the viola.  When he enters 6th grade he is talking about moving to a brass instrument so he can participate band.  He is thinking of playing the French Horn.  Sadly, there is no orchestra at his new school so he has to change and adjust.



As he grows, I just hope he is able to be a caring young man just as he has always been a caring little boy.  He is my heart and I love him so much.  Some days I just wish I could still cuddle my little baby in my arms but now my baby takes up my entire lap.  He is nearly as big as I am. 



I know all things are meant to grow but he will always be my baby!

Not My Problem

One of the hardest things in life, for me personally, is realizing I have put my faith into the wrong person.  This is going to be one of my more personal blogs.  The kind I typically try not to write but I have to get this off my chest before it turns ugly and ruins this relationship.  This is the easiest and fastest way for me to purge it and avoid hurting the feeling of someone I love.

Long story short, someone I love struggles with weight.  I have been so supportive.  I even sat down and designed a well balanced diet plan featuring calorie burning foods.  And not crappy foods but yummy healthy foods like celery and other fresh fruits and vegetables.  I made all of this person's meals.  Diligently prepared them to be fresh, tasty, and full of variety.  I did this each and every day.  Not only that, but I did it with love and care; getting up at 5am to make the breakfast and lunch fresh.  I did not make it the night before because I did wanted it to be fresh and tasty.  I wanted the veggies to still be crisp. 

Anyway, as time passed I could not figure out why this person was either remaining the same weight or gaining weight.  I was so frustrated but I never let this person know how frustrated I was.  I assumed this person was doing everything they could to ensure the needed weight loss.  I certainly did not want to do anything to discourage this person's efforts.  I would honestly sit alone and cry because I could not figure out what else could be done.

Well today I found out why this person was not losing weight.  As I cleaned out the vehicle of this person, I found enough junk food wrappers that is the products had still been in said wrappers, I could open my own convenience store.  I am, at this moment, so very angry.

All my effort and energy was for naught because the person I love and attempted to help was not being responsible.  This person would rather I feel guilty than do what needed to be done.  I am so over it all.  I will no longer help this person.  It is all the responsibility of said person.  I will no longer accept it as my issue to help correct.  I have done all I can do and I now wash my hands of the entire situation.  I already have a son to tend to; I do not need anyone else I have to reprimand for irresponsible behavior.  

Hair

So Gabby Douglas wins a prestigious Olympic medal, making history.  This should be a proud moment for the black community.  Sadly, I keep hearing and reading black people complaining about the fact this athlete did not have her hair fixed. 

I seriously do not understand what is the big deal about how her hair looked.  Like I stated, she made history.  Also, her hair was fixed just like every other competitor on her team.  Being active in some sports I can attest, coaches like for hair to be uniform.  They say it makes the team look more concise. 

With that being said, I am about to go off on my rant.  I know MANY black females who spend many hours and tons of money on their hair.  These women have gorgeous hair, I must admit.  Beautiful natural curls or expensive weaves.  It makes no difference.  Their hair is really pretty and fashionable.  However, these women do not go to the gym.  They do not work out.  They do not swim.

I once asked one of my black friends why it was this way.  She sincerely replied, "What do you think happens when we sweat and our hair gets damp or wet?  It starts to get kinky.  All the time and money spent on the style is worthless once it gets wet!"  I could certainly understand why these women would avoid situations that would ruin their hair.  It made perfect sense.

However, this stuff about Gabby Douglas annoys me for one reason.  Growing up and living in the South for years, I did see many black women with gorgeous expensive hair but there was also another trend with these women.  Many (not all but most) were somewhat overweight, had high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, etc.  All of these conditions are associated with inactivity.  They may be in poor health but their hair is ON POINT! 

I know we all have different priorities but obviously Gabby Douglas was more concerned with being the best gymnast in the world.  She has certainly proven to be this.  She should not be judged by her hair.  She could be bald and no one should care; especially when you look at her team mates and they all have the same exact hair style.  It is highly possible she had no choice whatsoever in the style her hair would be pinned.  Give the kid a break and just be proud of her accomplishment.  WAY TO GO OUR MILITARY CHILD!  Way to go!!! 
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/08/03/gabby-douglas-proud-father-watches-her-win-gold-from-afghanistan/

I hate being diabetic

So the past few weeks have been hell.  My glucose levels have been killing me.  I cannot figure out why they keep elevating.  There really is no reason for it.  I am counting my carbs, taking my meds, my pump seems to be working properly, I am not sick with the flu or anything like that...it just keeps happening. 

I have been dealing with this kind of stuff for 20 years and I can tell you, it never gets easier.  I am not sure I will ever get accustomed to these "sick days".  I also hate that it takes a few days to recover from this.  I will be tired and lethargic for days.  Ketosis takes a toll on the body and today I can certainly tell it has attacked me.  Not to mention it was so bad, I lost 4.5 lbs over night, literally. 

This morning it is 91 and normal finally.  I just feel so cranky and ugh.  Going to the doctor at 9am.  Maybe we can figure something out.  Regardless I have to be at work at 5pm so I do not have time to be sick. 

I hope my glucose levels stay normal and I really wish they could cure this disease.  I am so over it.

Affection for Gretchen Continued

If you look back at my previous posts you will see one titled "Affection for Gretchen".  In that short post I shared a link for a fund raising page.  The money raised will help Gretchen pay for treatment and daily needs while she battles this disease. 

Since my first post Gretchen has been awarded with the recognition of "Hometown Hero" by WTOC News.  This is an award that has been given out for at least two decades.  She is the latest recipient and was deemed so because of her caring nature.  As she battles cancer she is giving to others who are battling the illness as well.  Below is the link to the news broadcast.

http://www.wtoc.com/category/153752/wtoc-video-center?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=7497562#.T_-G5bky0wY.facebook

Not all of these sacrifices were easy though.  Gretchen was always the girl with the beautiful hair.  You know the one.  The girl with the thick shiny hair.  The hair every girl wants.  Well, it seems others will get to have this hair now.  You see, when she found out she had cancer, Gretchen donated her gorgeous hair to Locks of Love.  This is an organization that takes donations of hair (10 inches or longer, I believe) and makes wigs.  The wigs are then given to people battling cancer.  This was a very emotional sacrifice for Gretchen as she had never had short hair. 



The long beautiful locks

Gretchen getting ready for the cut

This battle has been emotionally difficult at times but Gretchen appears to have a positive attitude about everything.  I am not sure how she does that.  She continues to think about others instead of just being consumed with self pity.  The costs of her treatment have been hard so a fund has been set up to raise money for Gretchen.  Please follow the link below and make a donation if you are able to do so.  Anything will be appreciated.   

http://www.giveforward.com/affectionforgretchen


Gretchen is a real person battling cancer at this moment. This is not a scam.  Let us all ban together to help this wonerful person.  Please share this blog so we can spread the word about "Affection for Gretchen". 

The Dreaded Ankle Surgery

So we are a month past the day of the ankle surgery.  Things went well.  A minor problem occurred but it was only minor.  Now that things are getting somewhat back to normal, I may be able to start writing my blog again.  If not on a daily basis, then at least a few times a week. 

Anyway, back to the ankle...

Several years ago my husband hurt his ankle while at his "place of duty".  He was not in combat when it happened.  He was actually on American soil when he was injured.  It appears now the bone in his ankle was probably fractured but when the x-ray was done no break could be seen.  The ankle continued to bother him through out the next two years.  It was a nuisance the entire time he was deployed in Iraq, it interfered with his "run time", it was just a bad deal.  It caused him a good bit of pain. 

  During this time he had more x-rays done.  Nothing was found.  He was put through physical therapy.  It did not help.  Eventually the PA wrote him a "walking profile" to ease the pain of his ankle when he ran.  Unfortunately, since nothing could be seen on x-ray and physical therapy had been a failure to fix the issue, my husband's commander ripped up the PA ordered profile, instructed my husband to stop being a shit bag and faking an injury thus the problem progressively got worse. 

When they returned from Iraq, he continued to deal with the pain for a few months as well as the shame of being labeled a shit bag.  Finally, when a new commander was installed into the Company an MRI was ordered on said ankle.  Low and behold there was a REAL issue.  For some reason (believed to be a bad heal resulting from a prior untreated fracture) there was a hole in my husbands talus bone.  You may not know this but the talus is somewhat behind the tibia.  This is the reason nothing could be seen on x-ray.  The problem was hiding behind the other bone. 

So finally on June 5th 2012, we had his surgery.  It was an all day event and a very crazy day.  During this wait I had to leave him to go to our son;s first track meet (he did great btw) and then our son and I returned to the hospital and were able to see my husband before he went back.  He was a little nervous as this was his first surgery EVER.  The procedure was supposed to take about 2 hours.  It was actually about four.  Needless to say, I was a little concerned. 

Finally, the doctor came out to let us know what was happening.  The surgery went well.  they were able to fix the problem.  They had to fillet the tibia, go through that bone to reach the hole in the talus, fill the hole with cadaver bone and the screw the tibia back together.  During the process of screwing the bone back together the screw started to back out.  They stated it was because the bone was so "strong".  They had to cut the screw flush with the bone and go in at a different point with a new screw.  This was the problem and the hold-up with the procedure.  Other than that, everything went well. 

We were instructed the foot had to be non-weight bearing for a minimum of 12 weeks and he had 30 days of convalescent leave.  The first week he sat around with the foot elevated and taking his pain medication.  Week two he was stopping the pain meds but still elevating.  By the end of week two, he was off all meds and ready to get out of the house.  The bruising was awful but he has been so positive about it all. I am really proud of him.   

He has progressed well with his recovery.  He is still using the "'roll-about" to get around but he went back to work yesterday July 6th.  His day was pretty boring because there is not a lot he can do but at least he was able to go back. 

It has been a long few years since this injury occurred but I hope this surgery will fix the issue and he will be much better.  He has certainly endured a lot to get to the point of not being able to walk or drive his truck.  He is unable to work the clutch in his stick shift truck.  Eight more weeks and we can try to get him walking and driving again.  I know he can do it because his perseverance thus far has been inspiring and amazing.