Make Me a Quilt!…and take it to the World Congress

I am in the early stages of Huntington’s Disease, and I have decided to do an annual raffle quilt for HD research.  This was my first raffle quilt, and soon, I will be starting on next year’s quilt. If you would like to know more about HD, please visit http://www.hdac.org

The Rose 2009 first annual raffle quilt, for HD research

Make  Me a Quilt…and make it Big!

Make me a quilt, my friend Eric said to me … but … make me a quilt … but … make me a quilt … It had been a very sad week on the forum, and I was sad. So my friend Eric said to me, make me a quilt … but I was sad … a quilt???  Yes, make me a quilt. Uhmm, you want a quilt? Yes, make me a quilt … how big? … big! … like single size? … bigger … like double size? … no, real big! … like uhmm, queen size??? Yes, make me a quilt and make it big!

So I started making a quilt, and forgot about what I was sad about.  But along the way, I got another idea. I decided I wanted to make a nice quilted wall-hanging, as a gift for my HD clinic, and Eric said,  very good. And then I said, I think I will also make a raffle quilt, and it can be raffled for HD research, and Eric said, very good. And so, did I dare, once again, to ask, how big? I said, how about a wall-hanging raffle quilt, and he said, oh no, make it big! Ok, single size? Oh no, make it big! Double size??? Oh no, make it bigger! uhmm, gulp, queen size??? Yes! That’s it, make it big!!!

And so, a small idea, of making a quilt, turned really big!

And so, my quilt went to: The World Congress!!!

Me and Dan at the World Congress!

 

Carly, from the HD clinic, who helped me so much with my raffle sales, thank you Carly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I made the wall-hanging quilt, and gave it to my HD clinic. And I told them about the raffle quilt. I said, hmmm, the World HD Convention is coming to Vancouver soon, maybe the quilt could be draw there? And they said good idea! And so, I thought my quilt would be at the convention, and the ticket would be drawn, and that would be wonderful. But, I didnt think that I would be there too! And that I would be able to meet my online friends from all over the world! And that I would stand on stage, and that Dr. Hayden and Dr. Leavitt would give me flowers. And that I would be able to speak to the congress, about why I made this quilt. And, that someone very famous would win my quilt.

The Winner is!!! …

The Winner is!!! Drum roll please! NBC news reporter, Charles Sabine!!!!!!!

The conference was awesome! I was so happy to meet Michelle! and Matt! and Jimmy! and Will! and Sherri! she is new to the forum. So wonderful meeting everyone!!!!!!! And i met so many people i didnt know, from all over the world.

Before the conference, my raffle quilt total was at $920.00

And at the end of the conference, the Grand Total was!

Grand Total: $1400.00 

I am so happy and thankful, everyone that contributed to make this nice for me. And during the closing ceremony, I went up front to pick the winning ticket. I spoke for a moment in front of the whole congress, and I told everyone, that the reason I did this, is because I feel so fortunate, to be able to go to one of the best HD clinics in the world, and that because of the good care I am receiving there, that my HD is doing good. And that that was why I wanted to do this, because I’m just thankful that I am able to do this.

And then we picked the winning ticket, and it was for Charles Sabine, the famous NBC news reporter. He had spoken to me just an hour before the draw, came to my table, and admired the quilt, and asked me a little about myself, and why I did this. He bought the very last 4 tickets before the draw. And I am serious, we shook that ticket bag up really really good! That is why, I was kind of blown away, when it was him that won. I would have loved whoever won, but this hit me so strange, that I gasped when his name was called. So he came up and got his quilt, and hugged me, and then Dr Hayden and Dr Leavitt gave me a huge, beautiful bouquet of flowers. I was so blown away, I hugged them both too.

One of the most striking moments for me though, was earlier in the day, when a lady with HD came over to my raffle table, and she was crying, and she hugged me and hugged me and hugged me, and cried and cried. She told me that she read my story, about the quilt, and she said, your story gives me so much hope .. .that is truly what this was meant for, and so that really meant a lot.

Friends Meeting Friends

My friends, Matt from the UK, me, Will from North Carolina, and Michelle from Australia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now, for the more personal side of it. I loved meeting my online friends soooooooooooooo much! That meant the world to me. That was the best part of the conference, meeting friends. It was so wonderful meeting Sherri, she is such a nice person. Michelle is so lovely, we cried and hugged when we met, and her cousin Naomi was there, So nice to meet her too. And Willie our marathon man! lol We hugged and hugged, so nice to meet him, and Matt, our junior marathon man! 

Jimmy and the gang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Got a photo of me and Will and Matt, and Jimmy and Michelle. Yes, Jimmy Pollard was there. Jimmy made things sooooo nice for me. When I was feeling a bit nervous and tired near the end of the first day, he visited me at my table, and introduced so many people walking by to me. Jimmy is so easy-going, real nice person to talk with, and made my day nice. And the next day, my husband and daughter both came, and that was so nice. Dan really enjoyed talking with Jimmy, and Matt came and brought his lunch to our raffle table, and sat and had lunch with us.

I only stepped in and out of a few speeches, for a few mins at a time, I wasn’t really able to focus on that very well, and that’s ok. Charles Sabine, at the end of the day, did an awesome, and oh so funny, wrap up of the days events, and summarized the research speeches into something understandable! That part was sooooo funny, and he had everyone laughing so hard. I was so happy to meet everyone, and to meet new people too.

The Meeting Place

The best part of all was meeting people, my table seemed to be the HDAC meeting place, it was perfect. In between sessions, anyone that wanted to meet anyone from HDAC just seemed to come to my table lol. And Matt came and had lunch at our raffle table one day, that was so nice. And Jimmy came to my table and introduced me to so many people. Next thing you know Matt, Jimmy, Michelle and Will were all at my table at one time, so we got pictures! And i met Robi, and Shana Martin. And Bonos and his wife came by my table.

 

Dr Hayden at my raffle table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh, and one time when Dr Hayden was walking by, I snagged him , and got a picture of him behind my table with me, this was very cool. Oh, and uhmmm, lol, all I can say for my husband is this, he liked the food more than anything!  Oh, and the best part of the conference, was the rock’n roll video of Dr Hayden and Dr Leavitt! Theyre wearing tank tops, and playing guitars, and singing rock and roll!!! LOL LOL Then they were kissing cheek to cheek!!!!!!!!!!! LOL LOL Was sooooooooo funny!!!!!!! Don’t expect that out of staunchy looking researchers!!!! LOL

Make me a Quilt!

And so, those four words, make me a quilt, turned into something really big. My friend Eric is still waiting for his quilt. Eric is once again saying, where is my quilt, make me a quilt! But first, I need to get started on Next Year’s raffle quilt. Do I dare ask Eric, how big????? Nooooooo. This turned out much bigger than I ever could have planned. And my husband now says, I think you better make Eric a quilt!!!

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and support, and for making this such a wonderful experience for me, and thank you so much to Carly, for helping me so much with my raffle, thank you so much!

Reach for the Summit in Vancouver

Reach for the Summit

Reach for the Summit is a cross-Canada one day conference about Huntington’s Disease. Each province has a meeting place, and each place is video linked all across Canada at the same time. I’m in the early stages of HD, and have never been to any kind of a conference, and so i was quite hesitant at first about going, but then decided i really wanted to go, and i’m so glad i did. We live 2 1/2 hours from Vancouver, and getting there could have been difficult for us, but thank you to the Staying Strong Foundation, we did go, and i’m so glad that we went.

Our Hotel Adventure

Ok, soooo, do you guys want alllll the details? lol Ok sure     So we left here just before dinner, and traffic was good. We had phoned ahead and found out the hotel wanted $16.00 for parking, so we’re like no way lol. So we drove to St Pauls Hospital, where the summit was going to be, and we parked there. Their  parking is only $14.00 for 24 hours. So we’re smart, we parked there, grabbed our bags, and walked to hotel, only two blocks. Perfect.

Ok, me and Dan just don’t do hotels, we never have, so we got up to the room and i thought it was gorgeous! Bed linen was so beautiful i didnt want to touch it. So then, there’s a little counter, with a little coffee maker and a packet of coffee, enough for us each to have a cup of coffee in the morning, very nice Then we see this bottle of water, lol, and it says, if you drink this you will have to pay! LOL LOL Ok, am i sposed to be talking bout the summit?   Ok, i will get to that, but first fascinated with hotel :)  So theres a really comfy bed, tv, a table, and a nice comfy arm chair. So Dan right away sits down in the arm chair, and i’m looking and thinking, it’s a room for two people, and one arm chair lol. I though i have to sit or lay on bed whole time? No way lol. So i went downstairs and asked for another chair! lol They gave me the strangest look, but said ok, and brought one up :)  

On the second floor was a patio, and it was gorgeous, had a roof on it, and you could sit and watch all the traffic going by. We even saw three skateboarders, skateboarding along with a bottle of beer in their hands! lol lol Tons of limo’s going by, was really awesome. So we went back up to the room and ordered pizza, hadn’t had supper yet. And i had a very comfy sleep, mattress was so comfy. Dan had trouble sleeping. But i didnt know that, i was sleeping LOL Dan has poor circulation in his legs, so the long drive made it so when he tried to sleep, his legs were jerking a lot, and that kept waking him up. So i know if we had driven to the summit in the morning, instead of coming out night before, his legs would have been real sore during the summit, so it was very good that we did it this way, and it was a very nice experience for us too

 So got up in morning, made our nice cup of coffee, and then went down and sat on the patio to have our coffee, very nice. And then we packed up our bags, and checked out, and walked over to the summit, threw our bags in our car, and went upstairs to the meeting.  Oh yeah, am i sposed to be talking bout the summit? Ok, i’ll go get a cup of coffee, then write all about the summit

The Summit

So we got to the summit, just on time, because we had to walk forever through the hospital to try and find it lol   So we got there, and there was Carly and she had a table all set up, selling tickets for the raffle quilt. And when i got there, she was telling everyone, here’s the quilt lady!   So i took the raffle quilt along, and she put it out on the table, she did such a nice job setting up this table, and this is all on her day off, her time. Was so nice of her. I gave Carly her tote bag, and she just loved it. Then we hurried inside the lecture theatre, and sat with my parents, hadn’t seen them in so long, so was so nice. Ok, so summit is about to begin, in about two mins, and what do i do? I spot Dr Michael Hayden talking with Susan Tolley, our HD social worker. So i’m up and climbing out of my seat, Dan’s like, where are you going? So i run over, i’ve never met Michael Hayden, and i wanted to meet him, so i decided this was a good time lol. So Susan when she saw me coming, she introduced me to Dr Hayden, and he shook my hand and smiled, and i told him i’m “the quilt lady” lol. He laughed and said so nice to meet you, and then he went and sat down, and i quickly gave Susan her tote bag too, and she just loved it. Ok ooops, summit is starting, so i rush back to my seat.

The first lady talked for about a half hour, but i don’t remember what she talked about, she just kind of welcomed all of us. And all the summits across Canada were on the video screen up above, and she was saying welcome to each of them too. Most places had theatre seats like we did, and the seats werre very squishy and cramped, but we survived   There was only about 50 people at our location, and i noticed that the other locations were about the same. I thought maybe it’s too bad that there weren’t more people? But maybe people knew it would get long and squishy? I’m not sure.

Then Michael Hayden got up to speak. He was older than i thought he would be Am i allowed to say that? lol The first half hour he was talking a lot about Arlo Guthrie, and i didnt know who he was, so most of it sounded a little strange to me, but that was ok, i knew there were others that would understand. So he’s been speaking for a half hour, and im just ready to peak i need to get out of my seat so bad, so i just decided, why not? So i just got out of my seat, and stood against the side wall, for about 5 minutes, and then i felt so much better, and then i sat down again. The next half hour, he began talking about research, and this is where my interest is peaked. I know that lately we have been discussing cure versus good treatment here a lot lately, and how at the US HD conventions, there is such hype on cure cure rah rah rah, that people walk away disappointed. I was soooooo impressed by what Dr Hayden said, and i know you guys will like this. He said he doesnt think it’s good, when people put on a cure cure rah rah emphasis. He said this just causes a roller coaster of emotions for people. He said he believes firmly that what we want is very very good treatments, that can prevent symptoms from getting worse, and with good treatments, get to people with these treatments as early as possible.

Then he started answering questions from all across Canada. There was a question about which is the best drug trial to go in right now. He said he didnt want to answer that, because he is a scientist, and he likes to see the facts, and he said if he gives a personal opinion, that could add bias. But, he said, do you all realize how far we have come? He said, five years ago, there were No drug trials yet for hd. He said, the fact that here today, someone is not asking if there is a drug trial, but what’s the best one. He said do you all see and realize what progress that is, and that this is very exciting to be able to have a question like that asked.

At this point, i am so cramped in my seat, that i took another standing break, which was just fine, then sat down again. He began talking about trials and research. He is quite excited about capase 6? i think it’s called. But he said, what he feels is the most promising way of finding good treatments is this. He said, it is better for us to do trials involving meds that are already being used for other diseases, because he said then if they work, they are already an approved drug, as compared to doing trials with drugs that are not approved yet. He said he strongly supports trials using already approved drugs, because he wants to get good treatment out there as fast as possible.

Then he went to all the trouble, to announce to all of Canada, that there was a little 10 year old girl in our audience today, that is doing an essay for school on HD. He said her question is, how does HD make bones weaker. And everyone chuckled, including him. He said HD doesnt weaken the bones. He stopped and paused, and then he said, but you’re right, it does  He then explained when someone is far along, and sedentary, any sedentary lifestyle does weaken the bones, so that was very cool

So at this point i am thinking, what am i learning today? Am i really hearing anything i didn’t already know? Did i hear any breaking research news? Is this long? And then i suddenly realized what my benefit was. I realized i wasnt really hearing anything new, but then i began to realize that that didnt have to be what i got out of it. I began looking at Michael Hayden, Susan our HD social worker, Carly our receptionist, the people from the HSC that came to speak, and i realized all these people here are here on their own time, for us. I realized i had over-come my fears. I was in a roomful of people, and i was not panicking. I was not learning new facts. I was learning new life skills, and seeing also how much these people are dedicated, that they take their day off to be there for all of us. Now i was starting to feel impressed, and thought this was quite awesome.

Michael Hayden finished his speach, and then he made a quick exit. He must have had a plane to catch or something. And so then i realized, i was so glad i got to meet him before his speach   Then Susan Tolley spoke, and Jim Goodey, and then the lady that hosted the event spoke, and then it was lunch time.

I thought the lunch was put on by the hospital, but no, here is another example that really warmed my heart. It was one family that put on all the food, they put on a really nice buffet, and put a lot of work into it.

I was so surprised, there were so many people that wanted to meet me. I didnt have a chance to be scared. I have felt lately that i need to connect more, because i have felt disconnected. I met the Abbotsford social worker, and he says are you Bob’s daughter? And i’m like yeah, you know my Dad? He says, yeah, i was just at camp with your Dad last week! So i made a wonderful connection. He runs the Abbotsford support group, about a half hour from us, and i said i might be kind of interested in going to the support group, but im panicky about going. So he said he will phone us one day, and we can go and have coffee with him, and get to know each other a bit, and talk about the support group. Another lady is friends with my sister, and she came running up to me and said she was so happy to meet me!

I was just so happy that i wasnt scared and panicky, and that i really liked meeting people, and that people liked meeting me too. I just thought there was NO WAY that i would like meeting anyone. So i am very glad i went, i did not learn facts, i learned life experience, and saw the dedication of everyone there, people that were there on their own time, just for us, that was very very awesome My husband did good, and he really enjoyed meeting people too. He found it very exhausting, and the drive home was hard on him, but, we both had a really nice time, and im so glad we went

Ooooh, did i take any pictures? Nooooo, i forgot! lol

Thank you very much, to the Staying Strong Foundation, you gave us a very thoughtful and kind gift, that we would not have done without you.

And coming up next, soon we will be going to the World Congress

The Rose

I’ve made a special wallhanging quilt, that I gave to my HD clinic, as a gift, and here is a special poem that I wrote to go with it. I’ve also made a raffle quilt for Huntington’s Disease research, and it will be an annual raffle quilt. To see my raffle quilts, you can click on the raffle tab at the top of this page

THE ROSE

I am a rose, that has no stem, but I am not alone.

Many leaves surround, and care for me, and help me through life’s storms.

I am a rose, and I have Huntington’s Disease,

And someday soon, yes very soon, all roses will have stems.

Oct 31/07 Feeling content

I am thinking of ending my blog for now, and this is why. Yahoo is shutting down their blogs in 08, and i dont think i want to wait for them to shut me down, i will shut them down first lol. They say they will try and transfer everyone’s blogs, but they have no idea where that unknown cyberspace will be lol, so i don’t think i will leave it up to them. I have some other reasons also.

My 360 friends are wonderful, and i will still check in on you guys, i am just having a little trouble keeping up with reading everyone’s blogs the last few months, and so i just wanted to let you all know, i love you and care about you, will stop in and visit too, but will not be blogging any more myself on 360, for now, anyways, i think lol. But you never know.

A good friend asked me a question a few weeks ago, i was asked if i am happy with where my hd journey is right now. I thought about it, and know that my hd symptoms, my distress, and my unhappiness over my hd, were much worse a couple of years ago, and i was asked, with the improvement that i have had with my symptoms, even though, i am still not “normal”, would i be happy if a cure came along today, that could not reverse me to before hd, but could keep me at the same spot i am in today with my hd, could i live with that, and would i be happy. I thought about it, and i thought, if i had been asked this two years ago, the answer would have been no. But i said, yes, with all my heart, i am happy now, for two reasons. First, my symptoms have improved drastically with the memantine, and second, i am no longer in distress, but content.

And so, i have been wondering why i have not had any more blogs to write for almost 2 months now, and now i realize why. I have just run out of things to say, you see, because for me, my writing has been about my life, my hd journey, my family, and i think my writing has been about working out my journey, and somehow, i feel happy with the things i have written, i feel happy with my life, and i feel content. And so, i just don’t feel a need to write any more right now, but i may have more to write again.

My blog and the things i’ve written mean a lot to me, and so i am probably going to copy it onto another server for now, maybe blogger.com or something, just so i dont have to trust yahoo to save what ive written. And so maybe, on another server, i will write more again, we will see…smile.

But for now, i am happy, and i’m happy that i\’m doing some things i’ve been wanting to finish too. And so, i just feel very content, and that is a very good feeling.

Love you all, will see you!

 

 

Aug 07/07 Flower girl

Well, Elisa was a flower girl last weekend. She was quite excited about the whole ordeal, and did really well.

Several days before the wedding, she asked me, Grandma, why is everyone sooooo excited about this wedding? And I said well, because weddings are special honey. That’s when two people that love each other are getting married, and it is a very very special day for them…..and, because you have been picked to be a flower girl for them, that means you get to help make this day very special for them. Ohhhhh Grandma, wow.

She was very good, and stood really quiet during the ceremony, and took it all in. Several days later when i asked her about the wedding, I said, well tell me now, what is special about getting married? Do you know why now? Oh yes Grandma! They promised to love each other forever and ever and ever! That’s why it’s special Grandma!

(See part 2 below)

Aug 07/07 And she boogied all night! lol

Well, Cathy had been quite worried how tired and cranky Elisa might get at the wedding reception…..not a problem! lol As you can see, when the music started up, Elisa boogied! And could they get her to stop? Oh nooooo lol. She danced and danced and danced lol. She had a really great time, and I think they finally had to drag her out of there, and take her home to bed. To be young and have such energy! Wait til she’s 16…..oh no lol

June 17/07 Being a Grandma

We had a wonderful day today…….I just love being a Grandma, and I love my Grandaughter so very very much. She brings me so much joy and love, and I love being able to give her all the love I can. I just feel it is such a priviledge to be a part of her life. But more than that, she feels I am special. She loves to have special conversations with me. She will say, Grandma, let’s have a conversation, and then she always talks to me about things that are on her mind. Asks about God. Asks about me and Grandpa, and why we got married. I say cus we love each other. She will smirk in disbelief, and say, you and grandpa love each other??? lol lol And I will say of course, and we are best friends too. Wow, she says…..lol And she tells me she has a pretty rock collection. And that she has a great big family that loves her soooo much, because she is special. And I say, yes, you are very special honey. She says, of course, cus when i was born, everyone was happy! lol And I say yes, honey. And she says, Grandma, I am so special, you made me a pretty dress Grandma. I love my new dress Grandma, and I say I’m glad honey. Grandma? Yes honey. I am growing up Grandma. Yes honey you are. I love you Grandma…….I love you too sweetheart.

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I never knew either of my Grandma’s very well, and I remember them not being the affectionate type, but I always loved visiting with them when we did visit. But I guess I always wanted more from a Grandma. When I became an adult, I made a conscious choice to get to know both of my Grandma\’s better. It was very difficult as an adult to try and start a relationship that was never really there to begin with, but I did, and I am very glad I did. I discovered the reason they were not affectionate women, was because life had handed them both very difficulty and trying lives to have to live. Their lives were about survival, and they were both full of tons of wisdom. And, I think they both loved me.

When my grandaughter was a baby and young toddler, my hd sympotoms were much worse, and i could not be the person I wanted to be for her, and so I am just glad my hd has improved so much that i am able to be the grandma I always wanted to be. So for now, I am very thankful for this time of wellbeing i am having with my hd, no matter how long or short it lasts, it gives me time to create good memories with Elisa.

But for me, I guess I always wanted to be the type of Grandma that I had wished I had had, and so, for me, I feel so very very fortunate, and so very priviledged, to be able to be that special person for my Grandaughter. It is a dream come true for me, because I have been able to become for my Grandaughter, what I wished for myself…….I think that is very special.

Photo: Elisa wearing a sundress made by Grandma Barb

June 04/07 I am so happy

Look what I did! 

I am soooo happy…..and Elisa loves her new little dress and hat…..and she was so happy that I could make her a dress. I am really glad that I was able to do this…..so glad, and I am happy that right now, I can do some things I want to do. I am really glad that I have had huge improvement in my hd journey. Hd is not supposed to get better, it is supposed to get worse, right now, mine is getting better, much better…..and so, I am happy.

June 1/07 I Feel Normal!

I don’t know how to explain this, and i don’t want to brag when others are having a hard time, but i just cant help it, i feel so thankful. I don\’t know what’s going on, but all i know is i feel NORMAL. To someone that doesn’t have hd, you may or may not know what i mean. But, i have had hd for 5 years now, and i have had good days and bad days, but never ever ever has there been a day where i could just say i actually feel completly NORMAL. Yesterday and today are the first two days in five years that i can say that. I don’t know the reason, and i don\’t care why. Yesterday and today i just did completely NORMAL things, nothing spectacular, but just normal things around my house that i just don’t do any more. Like i did dishes, cleaned the cat littler, cleaned the bathroom, hung a picture on the wall, made some hard boiled eggs because I, not someone else, but i decided to make potato salad, i got all the groceries to do it all too, and i cleaned up my balcony a bit, and dan took me to wallyworld cus i wanted to buy some plants to make a nice herb garden on our balcony, and i did some sewing, and watched tv, and just did some very very NORMAL things, that we all take for granted, until normal just isnt normal any more, and i am just in tears cus you have no idea what it feels like to feel normal, when you have forgotten what normal feels like. I don’t know how long this will last, but it doesnt matter. I am going to be 50 in a few weeks, and i have decided i want to do something really big, something really memorable, not on my birthday, but sometime during my 50th year, i am going to do something that will mean a lot to me, i have an idea what it is i’m planning, and i think it will be really nice. For now, my short term goal is to eat healthy and exercise a bit more too, so maybe i can look good for 50 too, and i will be happy.

May 09/07 I Propositioned my Neuro today…..he he he

I propositioned my neuro today, yup, and he went for it, had him right where i wanted him, he he he he he, should i tell the rest? he he he

Ok, i have to tell, so funny. I had a 3 pm appt with my hd psychiatrist today. Their clinic closes at 3, but this was an added on appt cus i havent been able to get in to see the shrink (dr g) in so long…he keeps ending up in the bahamas on my appt days lol. So anyways, i also am 6 months behind in having my yearly appt with the neuro too, because, guess what, dr g was in the bahamas and could not get back to do his assment with my neuro, dr blair.

Sooooo, anyways, today i had an appt with dr g, and guess who else happened to be there, saying goodbye to the staff for the day, he was going home now, dr blair! lol Well, my mind got to thinking, we drove 2 hours to get in here, and all i get to see is dr g, but i dont get to see dr blair, will have to try and schedule, once again, a yearly appt., where both dr’s will hopefully show up at same time. So dr blair is done, and saying night everyone. And my mind got thinking, dr blair always treats me like a lab rat, so i am going to tempt him with his lab rat mentality!!! And it worked!!! LOL LOL LOL!

I say, dr blair, i bet you dont know my name. He stands there looking puzzled, and says, it’s Barb isn’t it. Dr g starts laughing his head off, and says hey man, your good, and we were all laughing. He says how r u, and i say, well…..i want to proposition you lol lol lol. The look of shock on both dr’s faces was hilarious to say the least. He says, hmmm, in what way? And i say, well, i havent been able to get in to see you for a yearly, but, i am going to appeal to the lab rat in you, and i just know you will want to stay late just to see me. He says how come. I say, well, because 6 months ago, dr g here started me on memantine, and i am doing excellent, and i just know your going to want to check this out, mr lab rat lol. He looked at me, says, your on memantine??? Yes, go have your visit with dr g, i want to see you for sure!!! lol lol lol Dr g killed himself laughing. And the secretary told me nobody has every just sat there and wangled an appt. They have tried, many have tried, but never has it been accomplished before! lol lol lol

So dr g was real pleased that im doing really good on my meds, and then i was off to dr blair. Dr blair could not believe it, and neither could i. Tests that i have struggled through before, i was able to do just like that, bingo bango! He was impressed. He says, wow, this is exciting, this was worth staying for! I said, i knew i could appeal to the lab rat in you, and it worked huh? and he laughed and laughed, and said im doing really really good compared to a year ago! And so i am very very happy!!!

And i managed to kill two birds with one stone. I really wanted to know from the neuro evaluation aspect, how i was doing with the memantine, so it was just perfect. But even better, once again, i had my dr’s in the palm of my hands lol, and i just love being in control when it comes to dr’s and meds and stuff, cus i know some day i wont be able to, so for me, this was just icing on the cake, had me laughing and had them laughing too. So i am happy, and so happy too to see how much ive improved by the neuro exam, this makes me very happy. Instead of having more decline, i’ve had improvement, i couldnt ask for better.

The photo is of Elisa, looking just as mischevious as Grandma…..he he he