5:30 am tomorrow

I sold another patient on the brain job and must be in the hospital at 5:30
tomorrow morning to see her off.

I hope and pray she gets a very good result.

She should be encouraged to see me walking about 1 1/2 hours before begnning my daily meds.

I am glad this surgery is 5 years behind me.

Being there will mean a lot to her. Are you going to wait until she returns?

Carol

You are a great support, Alice!

Carol Troestler wrote:

Being there will mean a lot to her. Are you going to wait until she returns?

Carol

No!

You are a good soldier, Alice. We'll hope the best for her, and she is sure to appreciate your good example.

Why am I not surprised? Alice being Alice again.

Ann

Dear Alice,
I come to this message board, a person who never sees anyone other than my David, an occasional neighbor, my children every little once in a while, and people in shops and stores when I go.

I feel that I would know your spirit if it floated by me one day. You have an astounding spirit that is not quiet.

God bless Alice.

Love,
Betty

I spoke to her by phone and she is surprisinlgy composed.

She sounds a whole lot better than I felt less than 12 hours before my brain job.

You didn't have you by your side.

Alice wrote:

I sold another patient on the brain job and must be in the hospital at 5:30
tomorrow morning to see her off.

I hope and pray she gets a very good result.

She should be encouraged to see me walking about 1 1/2 hours before begnning my daily meds.

I am glad this surgery is 5 years behind me.

Alice, when I read that first line, (I sold another patient on the brain job), it struck me as funny - Selling brain jobs.

Now I understand better the good work you are doing in helping others.

Abe,

You are right--I never aspired to be a salesperson. Selling Brain jobs is not my idea either. It is one of those jobs I fell into. I find myself looking for possible candidates.

The doctor told me people come to him and on the line, Referred by, he sees --Dr. Alice Crooker.

One person even said to him, "Have you ever heard of Alice Crooker?"


After today I am probably fired.

I discovered the reason for the apparent calmness.

This lady did not seem to realize that brain surgery is not a tea party on the ceiling.

When she was asked to remove her clothing and don hospital garb she began bitterly complaining.

She proclaimed that doctors knew nothing about anything.

Her caretaker said the surgeon was warching her and listening
and laughing behind the curtain.

But, did she have the surgery?

Just curious.

Carol

She had the surgery and had a very good outcome.

She probably has a better attitude by now also.

I remember I was quite miserable too heading for that surgery.

With no medications all I could say was Murder, Murder, Murder!
When I got to the hosputal I qut saying it and beleive it or not they hooked me up to such a pleasant IV that I thought, 'What is all the fuss about? I wonder why I am having this operation anyway? PD is not a problem.'

I am sure glad that surgery is behind her. It is a real relief.

Thanks for thinking of her.

She had a spectacular outcome. She called me from the hospital at 7:00 this morning to tell me how good it all was.

Her life will start over. I am so happy for her.

I remember the surgeon asked me to see a man I was in his office I saw the man and told him hwo wonderful the surgery was.

The man looked at me like I was telling a fable. He did not believe a word I said.

I knwo one thing it will not work if one does not try it

Alice,

You do good my friend. You are a living example of how these surgeries work, and when people see you I am sure they think, "Maybe I can be like Alice."

(I'm joking a bit here, but having met you and imagining what it would be like if I were a PD patient, that is what I would think!)

And, you know, those who have been there are the best supports to people who are there, whether one has been poor, abused, had cancer, a heart condition or PD. Others can understand, but those who have been there are the best supports of all. It is the same with cancer. I know people who care, and then I know the people who know. And sometimes that knowing can spill over from other illnesses, like the connection you and I have.

Carol

Yes, Carol,

Like attracts like. Someone messed up by PD as badly as she was is not going to have many friends .

Her cousin was there remarking on why the daugters did not come around more.

I said, "They can't stand to see their mother so miserable."

If you had refused treatment for your cancer you wouldn't be here.

I am so glad you tried.

You are very wise, Alice.

Carol

You are the wise one, Carol.

I had a roommate in the hospital dying because she refused treatment for breast cancer.

It was a very sad situation. Her doctor was at his wits end--lecturing, snapping, exhorting. Her daughter was upset.

You cannot help people if they will not allow it.

I've heard of people who wouldn't have chemo because they had heard it was so bad and perhaps wouldn't help anyway. I had aggressive chemo. It wasn't fun but not that bad either, and it saved my life. People need to think these things through. We don't live on islands all alone. Most have others in our lives. Last year when I found out I had advanced cancer and a pulmonary embolism and was being rushed to ER, the thought crossed my mind, "Let it go. Just let me die from the embolism and then my family won't have to go through my dying of cancer. Much easier." But by the time they got me to ICU my family had arrived, and were joking and cheering me up, and "I thought, okay, once more, because I really love these people. And then I found out death was not imminent, that I could have a few years of life, and somehow I took that ambulance ride, and the two-hour MRI, and six day hospital stay.

And here I am. I still could do without the asthma/bronchial condition. I've been reading up on this. I bought all new pillows, and then read where I should put my teddy bears in the freezer because they often have dust mites in them. I'm still imagining opening the freezer to those stuffed bears peering back at me with their sad eyes. I am trying the ginger lemon tea instead.

Carol

Carol, I still have flare-ups of bronchitis, even though it's been ten years since I smoked. It isn't easy to find medications that will help. The generally used prescription drugs always made me feel worse, and once, probably contributed to a case of pneumonia.

I still prefer old, simple remedies like inhaling steam from eucalyptus steeped in hot water, and eating lots of dark green, red, and purple vegetables - the more colors the better - and cook them with garlic. Garlic is a big help. If you cook it slowly until it is soft, it has a very mild flavor and little odor. And I hate to say so, but putting the stuffed pups in the freezer is probably a good idea.

Ann

Ann,

I have never found any good prescription remedies. One over-the-counter remedy that worked on sinuses and thus eliminated the bronchitis was Tylenol allergy sinus. Then they took it off the market because people were making meth out of it, and substituted something that is not nearly as good.

The garlic and dark green leafy veggies sound good. JoElle had some good remedies as well. It is nice when the remedies have the side effects of good taste.

Carol