Gwennaford's Journal

[LINDA RN]

Just posting to boost your stats, but wondering about your wheelchair. Are you able to get out and walk at all? And if so, with all the pounds you have discarded so far, just wondering when you think you will be able to discard the scooter for some joggin shoes, LOL. It would be so inspiring to hear you gave it away, or gave the chair a funeral! 

[wendysgoodnews]

My best friend who i grew up with from early grade school has crippling arthritis.  She had many surgeries in our earlier years and is very deformed in her legs, feet and hands.  But she is an inspiration to me through her Godly strength and tenacity to keep going.  When we go to big stores she rides a cart other wise she still walks. We all are so proud of her and we walk slow so she does not fall behind. 

She is just now getting weaned off of years of prednesone so she can try some newer medication that is supposed to help.  She did gold treatments for years and when that quit working she went to low doses of chemo.  Now she is just starting another treatment that she said immediately helped her so she has high hopes for pain relief and less stiffness. 

How many years have you suffered with the arthritis?  I pray you are not always in alot of pain.

[Gwennaford]

Did the prednisone, did the chemo, did all the narcotic pain relievers.  The only thing that worked was Let's Do Lunch!

If you look in the gallery at one of my earlier pictures I have a gigantic moon face from steroids.  I look like Jabba the Hutt!

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis in 2001.  I had been losing weight and was very fit.  I worked out at with weights and water aerobics every day.  Then I just woke up with it one day, out of the blue.  Went from cane to walker to manual wheelchair within 4 months.  Then when I was no longer able to use my hands, insurance bought me a power chair, which I still use.  I was in hideous torment for several years and nothing would touch the pain.  I eventually gave up on life and began to eat myself into a stupor.  I gained up to 410 pounds, which was where I was when Let's Do Lunch found me in January 2008.  Made my first batch of Pizza Soup, and immediately I started losing weight, feeling better, reducing meds and eventually pain abated to the point that I missed doses of the narcotic without noticing!  The rheumatoid is now totally in remission, the nodules on my fingers have disappeared and I have full use of hands & wrists again, totally without pain.  The degenerative osteo in my knees is more problematic, because the joints are gone and the bones are fused into a sitting position.  I was fast-tracking my knee replacement when Neil started getting really bad and my recovery had to go on the back burner in favor of keeping him alive.

Now I'm getting back up to speed.  Every day I practice walking with the rolling walker, trying to rebuild all those atrophied muscles in my legs so I will be strong for recovery from getting new knees. 

Please please introduce your friend to Let's Do Lunch for its therapeutic benefits and relief from arthritis pain. 

[LINDA RN]

Thank you for sharing your story, Gwen. I have a coworker that became so crippled with rheumatoid arthritis, had to have surgery in her hands to keep working. She told me she had gone on a whole foods diet and all the pain and degeneration stopped. Now that you have mentioned it, I ought to go back and ask for specifics on how she found her plan. She did mention that the Lord was the one who led her to it. She did not really need to loose alot of weight except the weight from the steroids which she has lost. I think I will share your post with her.

[wendysgoodnews]

Thank you so much for the information on your pain & LDL.  With her being thin it never dawned on me to tell her about LDL to help in her pain management.  I will email right now and try to get her interested in reading the boards. 

I am just 3 months past my knee replacement surgery and I am so happy I had it done.  I pray you can get yours done soon, it has made such a difference in my whole outlook on recovery of health.

[Gwennaford]

OOOHH!  Tell me all about it.  I want all the details.

And please let me know how your friend does with her pain mgt.

[Gwennaford]

OK - so right after I finished making my 6 quarts of veggie cabbage soup and 10 quarts of red & white beans, I noticed a small river of water on the floor coming from the refrigerator....  yep, it's dead..  *scyth*

That's okay... it matches the small river of water coming from the washing machine.  The plumber said, the good news is it may not be the washing machine.  Bad news, it may be from corroded pipes under the slab.  He said, "Don't worry, I have a jackhammer in my truck."

So then I took all the defrosted slushy fruit from the freezer to make myself a big breakfast smoothie with a few ice cubes I fished out the water in the ice maker.  Got the container all loaded up and started whizzing away ... stripped the gears in the immersion blender ...    :bomb:

Well, cry me a river LOL.  (pun intended)  


Veggie bean soup, anybody?  Slushy fruit & ice soup for dessert.   Any takers?  If I had lemons I would make lemonade!


This looks like a good day for a soup & fruit flush.

[crickadoodle]

Oh, Gwen, when it rains it pours -- but surely there is so much good coming your way.  I love your attitude in the midst of it all.  I'm praying for God's abundant blessings to flow and push that river back to where it came from!

Your story is so inspiring and I know you help so many people by sharing.  I like hearing you are preparing for knee surgery.  Mom had both knees done when she was in her 70s and she spent time preparing beforehand.  She did lots of swimming to have her muscles ready for the surgery.  She recovered very well and did better than lots of the younger people having it done.  She has regular arthritis.  She actually had both knees done at the same time, although many doctors don't want to do that on someone with diabetes.  She did great, though. 

[CodingQueen]

Gwen, don't forget about the rebate they're offering for appliances.

Also, don't let me forget to give you my husband's number the next time you need a plumber. He won't charge you an arm and leg. I'll see to that.

CQ

[Gwennaford]

I'm pre-shopping for both a fridge & washer in preparation for April 16 & I have the website bookmarked.  I'm going to be ready to hit "enter" at 11 a.m. & 10 seconds to reserve my rebate!

Neil was in the building industry so I have able-bodied helpers lined up down the driveway.  Thanks for the offer of a good-lookin' plumber, though!

[wendysgoodnews]

Oh Gwen
What a day, glad you can have a good attitude about it all.  Only God's strength could be keeping you this happy.
Yes as codingqueen said there are rebates out there to help with new appliances that are more efficient.

[CodingQueen]

That's good!

I know he's in St. Pete today so it wouldn't have been that far for him to drive and check it out for you.

CQ

[Gwennaford]

OH -- forgot to say it IS the washer, not the pipes.   I got the washer just after Michelle was born in 1988, so I knew its days were numbered.  And the fridge has cost me as much in repairs as I paid for it originally.  Been wanting an excuse to get new ones.  

I am very grateful they both waited to go out until all the excitement was over and company gone home.  WHEW!!!

For the above and all of your MANY blessings, I THANK YOU GOD ! ! !

[CodingQueen]

Gwen,

All you have to do is believe in Him and he'll take care of you. That's why they lasted until after your company were gone.

I kept telling that to one of my coworkers that was always having something go wrong in her life. We were headed to work one morning down I-75 and it was pouring down so hard you could barely see the road. I had forgotten my umbrella (I usually keep it the car) and all she kept saying was, "we're going to get soaked." I just said, "no we're not....God will stop it when we get there because he knows I forgot my umbrella and if I get wet I'll get bronchitis on top of my asthma." It did as soon as we pulled into the parking lot long enough for us to get inside the hospital. Then it pour like crazy again. That changed her tune real quick.

CQ

[cameron]

HI Gwennaford- how are you doing today? You are an amazing woman, so strong

[Ginny M.]

Gwen, I was so sorry to hear of Neil's passing.  I did not realize that he was so sick.  Mary mentioned it at Julie's house that you were burying Neil that day.  I had not really been on the boards except to check out the info for San Antonio so I did not get the news of his passing.  I have just been reading your posts and it reconfirms my thoughts that "YOU ARE AMAZING"  in so many ways.  I know God has you  and Neil  in his hands.

I will be back this way (Clermont-Orlando & Wauchula) in late October/early November.  I would so love to take you to lunch for all the help and encouragement you have been to me when I started LDL  .


Ginny

[Gwennaford]

Thanks to everyone for supporting me.  Most days I'm fine. Today I'm feeling very sad.  

Last night I finally got a chance to open a picture disk that the kids made in memory of Neil.  I hadn't seen any pics of him prior to meeting him in 1986, so it was interesting, but as I went through them I became so very sad that we hadn't had an opportunity to share all those pictures memories of his pre-Gwennaford life.  He had told me about all the events depicted, but I'm angry that those photos were kept from him all these years.  He would SO have enjoyed having the pics to back him up. There are so many things I want to ask him and tell him about those pictures now.  

There is one in particular from around 1969 that is haunting me (left, below). It was in my dreams all night and I woke up with it on my mind this morning.  When I look at it I wonder what secret wisdom he is revealing to his baby boy.  I want to ask him what his hopes and dreams were when he was 20 years old.  I want to know what he was thinking about that put that expression on his face.  I want to tell him that I can see our future babies in his eyes.  I'm jealous of the years that passed before he was mine and I'm angry that he's gone.  Twenty-three years was not long enough to complete what we wanted to do with our life together.

 

I said I'm haunted by this picture and it's true.  I keep seeing this face at unexpected moments.  Today I went downtown to his office building to deliver his death certificate to human resources.  THAT is not what tore me apart.  What actually did me in was catching a glimpse of a young man with this face coming out of the building next door. I'm not constantly searching for MY Neil, on the right, but I keep finding myself glancing at strangers, catching glimpses of the fantasy Neil that I never knew.  What's up with that?  

I found a poem I wrote to him for Valentine's day a few years ago.  It's too personal to post here, but I want to share it eventually.  I have started creating blog on blogspot.com so I can move these things over there.  For my peace of mind and faster LDL recovery, I think Let's Do Lunch needs to become a Neil-free zone.

[Bethann]

Thinking of you in this great loss of your Neil!

He looks like a man that would be wonderful to know!

We love you and are praying for you!
 

[Gwennaford]

[img]http://[/img]Well today is a new day. Yesterday I weighed in at 315 - 16 pounds more than I was in June 2009 when I arrived in Twoterville.  Today is my first full day preparing to turn LOOSE THE CABOOSE!  I remembered a quote that sums it all up:

"Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around."  – Penelope Cruz in Vanilla Sky

For accountability, I'm going to resume posting my meals on Gwennaford's Food Diary.  I ask that all comments & conversation regarding the food diary to be posted HERE in Gwennaford's Journal.  I enjoy chatting and sharing experiences & motivation with everyone.  But talking about what I SHOULD be doing easily distracts me from what I AM doing.  I don't want the food diary to become a chat room that distracts from the purpose of the diary -- KEEPING ME ON TRACK.

It is going to take a lot of dedication and hard work, discipline and accountability to get myself in shape for those new knees before I meet ya'll on the ferry to KEY WEST!  I want to come aboard on my own two feet, not on six wheels and a walker!  I am SOOOO LOOKING FORWARD to scuba diving, sailing, exploring those Tuscan hills and hiking up to the ancient villages, and strolling the streets of Paris!  

Anyone care to join me?


                 
               

----------- OOPS -- FORGOT ONE ! ! !  ------------------

[Joyful Friend]

My Gwen, I think I would like those places.  Thanks for the invite,  Joyful Friend