Cold weather is here & we are not ready

Hi Everyone. Hope everyone had a great week. The weather is getting colder. Calling for snow here in Tennessee. We both moved down here to get away from the snow. For the 1s who don't know Jody lived in TN before me. We grew up 3hrs from each other in NY but never knew each other. We met here in Knoxville TN.


We are both so not ready for this cold. 1st it ups Jody's pain level a lot. 2nd out furnace still is not fixed all the way. Will cost to much $ to get it fixed and right now with medical bills & medications cost we don't have it. This is what I learned this year about furnace & heat pumps this year, We don't have heat pumps in NY so this is new to use. It takes Freon to run the heat pump, I didn't know that. So the Freon is out so to run furnace it has to be on emergency heat which it raises our electric bill a lot. Cant afford a high bill this year. 3rd still haven't had the $ to fix the heater core in truck yet. I will have to figure something out before Jodys next drs appointment. She will not be a happy camper with no heat in truck plus her pain level will go up real high.


Jody has been doing the same. Just waiting for the 13th of November to see what the drs have to say. The 1 pill she has been taking I can tell is working some. It doesn't take her depression away but has taken her mood swings away. I know that might have sound bad but it wasn't meant to. I love her no matter what. Just with everything going on with her body I think it messes with her hormones.


She is still having issues with keeping food down. Still no change at all there. Wish she could eat & keep it down. There is times she wont eat at all that day & night. Which makes me feel bad eating in front of her.


I go the 10th to the eye dr to get pressure in my eyes checked. I went without eye drops for my glaucoma for awhile due to not being able to afford them.
We had to go the er a couple weekends ago  due to my left side of my face (just the left side) from the top of my head down to my throat has been numb. Its really weird. Anyhow they did a ct scan due to the brain bleed I had during my car accident a couple years ago they were afraid it had come back. But it showed no bleed only the dead spot that's there now & no stroke. So that's good. They said it sounds like bell's palsy. It should go away after a couple weeks. Well it still hasn't gone away. It doesn't hurt just really bothers me. I don't dare to shave either as I am afraid I might cut myself due to it being numb.


Well I am getting off from here I have to get back to work. I hope everyone has a great Halloween & be safe out there.

Biopsies are back & we have some updates

The results of the biopsies are back & of course does not show anything.  I think Jodys weight gain is from the Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We will find out next month at the drs if they agree with us on the Endometriosis being back. But as far as her not being able to keep food in her I really think its because of the Adhesions disorder. Which as we have learned there is nothing they can do for it.  So that means this will be something she has to deal with the rest of her life. Which sucks.


 A friend suggested we keep a log of what she eats & how it affects her. Its just that  she can eat fish 1 time & it be ok but if she try's to eat it the next day it will come up or go straight through her. That's how it with all the food she eats. We think we find something that's going to stay in her but then it doesn't. So we will try to keep a log as far as what she eats to take to the dr maybe there's something we are missing.


We have been looking into starting a organization for Adhesion's Disorder or as a Chronic Pain to cover Adhesions, RSD & Fibromyalgia. To be able to get it started it will cost$600 for all the paperwork & filing everything. I am looking into how to raise the funds to do this. There is many others that can benefit from this. Even if its help paying for a medication that they need but cant afford, buying a heating blanket or pad to help them stay warm & ease some of the pain that they are having.  Or even sending a card or small gift to them to say hey you are not alone. I will keep everyone updated on what is going on with it as I get more into it.


I also want to share a GREAT Friend of ours who is the owner & also makes all the jewelry herself of Box of Pearls by Amanda has made a necklace for Adhesion Disorder Awareness. You can go here to purchase it Adhesion Disorder Awareness Necklace. It turned out great.  


 

Its cold here

Hi everyone. The weather is getting colder out. Which means mowing season is coming to a end. But I hope to be doing leaf removal and trimming bushes. I am looking for other work also due to pay will be going down. With all the medical bills we have to pay I need to work. We are still waiting for SSI to give us a answer. With just that extra income it would help a lot. So if anyone knows of any kind of work around here please let me know.


As far as update on Jody goes, nothing new to report. The cold weather is affecting her a lot, causing more pain. She spends a lot of time in bed due to the pain. The heating blanket I got for $50 off from craigslist was a great buy. She uses it a lot. I am not for sure who likes it more though her or the dogs lol.


We heard back about genetic testing. There is a 6 month wait plus before we can do it we would have to get copies of her 1/2 brothers results. So we will wait & see what happens.


Not for sure what to do. Jody eats & I know they say its supposed to take so much time to get to your stomach and intestines but as soon as Jody swallows its either the pain starts & it comes back up or she is running to the bathroom due to it coming out the other way. Food just doesn't want to stay in her. We have tried many different things & nothing seems to be working.


We have came to the conclusion also  that the endometriosis is back. Which is not a good thing. We have talked about having everything removed but due to more adhesions really don't want another surgery. We are both torn on what to do there right now.


Well I better get back to work so I can pay these bills. Hope everyone has a good week. If anyone has any ideals of stuff I could do from home or after my 1st job please let me know. Thanks

Not a good day

I know the rain & cold has some to do with Jodys pain but her stomach is also hurting.  I hope we get some answers tomorrow from the biopsies.
I know shes going to kill me but had to add pic from when she went in for the scope

Where do we go from here?

Hi everyone, Sorry for late update. Its been a rainy weekend here which means no work for me and it also means more pain for Jody.
The scope Jody had done on Thursday showed nothing. We are waiting on 2 biopsy's  which will be back on Thursday this week. But Jody has been depressed more since. She just knew that's what they were going to say. We keep going in for answers but come out with nothing.
Jody does have 1/2 sisters &  1/2 brothers who have been having medical issues also. She is the only child from her parents 1st marriage so it does make it hard to figure out medical. She has 3 sisters from her fathers 2nd marriage & has 2 sisters & 3 brothers from her mothers 2nd marriage & a sister from her mothers live in boyfriend. So as you can see it makes it hard to figure out medical history. It does seem like she follows her father side more.


We have been in contact with UT Medical Genetic testing center. Jody's mother  suggested she contact Boston Medical where her 1/2 brother has had genetic testing done & has showed something but don't know what but its a rare thing. Sorry wish I knew more. But it is impossible for her to travel that far. So our hope is here with UT medical. Its where all of her drs are anyhow.


We have changed some things which seems to be working for now. I have tried in the past to get her to drink  ensure when she couldn't keep anything down but she didn't like the taste of them & wouldn't drink them. Lol it was like getting a child to try something new. I love her to death don't get me wrong but sometimes she is a handful lol.
I decided to buy her the special K drinks. Lots of different flavors & I hope they were better tasting then the Ensures.
It seems they are she does like them & they stay down better then food does. Which is great. But for how long will this work for? It seems when we find something that works it works for awhile then stops.
Jody has never been a big eater. From what I have heard when growing up she would rather eat vegetables then meat. When she was a baby she was allergic to milk which she still doesn't like to this day. She would also rather eat salads or vegetables today then meat.
We have gone gluten free a couple years ago. And yes I do sneak my doughnuts in when I am at work lol so she doesn't see. But we don't drink sodas, we don't fry anything, we hardly ever eat out & we don't buy junk food. We eat healthy.  I wanted to throw that in there due to some have said it could be the way we eat.
Well I hope the rain stays away this week. I need to work to be able to pay bills. This rain is making it hard to work and pay bills plus with all of Jodys medical appointments it is making it hard to work.
Just another thing I want to throw out there for the ones who doesn't live in TN. Here in TN there is no help for people that have no kids living in the household or if you don't have a certain kind of cancer. It sucks. When you help others but when you need the help the 1st thing people will ask do you have children in the home? No we don't but why should we be punished for not having children in the home?
Heres another thing we have found here in TN. Please don't get me wrong we love TN but it seems if you don't fall in certain categories you don't get help. Do you do drugs or drink? No we don't drink & we don't do drugs. So if we had kids living in the household, & did drugs the help would be pouring out of the woodworks.
Do you go to church? Yes we belong to a great church but due to the fact I have to work side jobs or make up hours I miss for appointments we just cant make it. Plus its that time of year where everyone is getting sick & with Jodys immune system down we cant take the risk of her catching something. We do miss going though.
Are you homeless? No we have a house now. But for a long time we had lived in a motel due to a accident I was in. We made it home yes but it was hard. Again when we needed help there we heard the same thing. Do you have kids living with you, do you do drugs or do you drink? Oh you don't have any the above sorry we cant help you.
And no it wasn't just social services that said this. It was churches, charities & others. 


So what am I getting at you might ask. Just because people don't do drugs, drink or have no kids in their household doesn't mean they don't need help.
I am a hard worker and try my best to pay our bills and do the right thing. But there are times where we sit here and think if we did do drugs we would get the help.
If you know of couples having a rough time help them. Even if its taking dinner by, a box of food or even buying a gift card to either a store, electric companies even have gift cards now.
We might be having a rough time but we still help people. We always have. We might have a $1 left but someone we know hasn't eaten we give them that $1.
We know many who have kids living in household, who does drugs & drink & live better then we do. There are also a lot that know how to lie to get what they want. That's not us. Just think people about the ones who are living the right way & trying to do all the right thing do need help also once in awhile.

What to do?

Jody had the scope done today. Her throat is a little sore but she is doing ok. She is depressed but who wouldn't be.
The dr didn't see anything said everything looked good but did take a couple of biopsies which will be back in 7 days. Jody said shes not holding her breath.
Where do we go from here? Anyone with any advice? She cant keep eating then be in pain after or throwing up everytime she eats. Something is causing it. But what?
Who do we go to? What do we do?

Rain rain go away

Rain has been here the last couple days. Even had hail yesterday at our house. For the ones who have RSD you know how bad the pain is when it rains & starts getting cold out. Jody has been in alot of pain the last couple of days. She is still not sleeping all through the night. Her stomach hurts. She told me if the dr comes out Thursday & says he didn't find anything to tell him to go back in. I wish I could do something for her.
There's not alot of help with people with adhesions so I am thinking about starting a nonprofit organizations to help people with this issue.  Any thoughts?

Update

Just wanted to take a second to update the page. Jody hasnt had many good nights. She isnt sleeping well at all. The pain is waking her up. I wish I could take her pain away.
Got a almost $200 electric blanket off from Craigslist for her for $50. Now have to get her a couple electric throws for around the house. But thats going to have to wait. I still have to replace the heater core in our truck. Just haven't had the $ its over $100 for it so I have to do something due to its getting colder outside & I need the truck to be heated for her.
I didn't realize how everything adds up so quick.  Plus we have the holidays coming up & her birthday.  I just dont know what I am going to do.
Well I have meatloaf cooking so need to go check on it. Will try to update more later this week. Jody goes in Thursday for scope

Ssi

Well wad going to wait to write this but it kinda makes me mad. They have already made a decision on jodys application for ssi. Due to how fast it was we dibt really need to wait for the letter, we know she got denied.  We have appointment in the morning with a lawyer.
Here's why I am mad. If Jody was a drinker or did drugs they would of approved it right away but cause she has a real medical problem they denied her.
Sometimes I feel if we lied, cheated, did drugs or steal we would be in a better place.  But thats not who we are. So we get screwed once again.
We have helped alot of people out over the years but where are them people now when we need help? We can't eben get help from the state due to its not cancer & we have no kids. What bull.
I guess I am done ranting for tonight hopefully tomorrow is better.

New medicine

Well Jody started new medicine.  I guess its doing what its supposed to cause she has been tired more and cant keep anything down.she is eating ice pops so liquids are going down her. I will update a couple times a week.
Well got to get back to work $ doesnt grow on trees. And hey if you are in the knox county tn area & need some landscaping let me know. Always looking for new customers