suzie-q

Stroke Survivor - female
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Blog Entries posted by suzie-q

  1. suzie-q
    It has been a hectic week around here!
     
    Gatsby is doing very well after his trauma on Tuesday. Thank you all for your kind wishes for him! He is pretty much back to his wild little self! I am relieved!
     
    I also have a request for you. On Tuesday two students at the school where I teach both lost a parent. Please keep their families in your prayers.
     
    Also, please keep my mother in your thoughts. She has had a couple of TIA's in the last several weeks. These are not her first ones. She had a couple when I was in college, and then they never happened again. I am very worried about her. She is going to see a specialist next week so that they can check her carotid arteries. She is playing it very cool, but that is just how she is. I on the other hand, am freaking out. I had one TIA and then four years later had the real deal. I don't want her to go through everything I went through. I also feel like her doctor isn't all that worried about it,and that makes me really angry because it looks to me like if you have a patient who has a daughter who had a stroke at 29, you might be a little more concerned about it. I have tried to tell her that she needs a new doctor, but she won't hear of it.
     
    Okay...enough venting.
  2. suzie-q
    I have a 3.8 pound, six year old, toy poodle named Gatsby. He is very sweet, and I think of him as my child. I know that it isn't the same as having kids, but he is the closest thing I have to one right now so...
     
    Gatsby has been loosing his hair the past couple of months and the vet cannot figure out what is wrong with the little guy. She suggested last week that it was possible that he was experiencing a hormonal condition due to the fact that he has not been "fixed." There really isn't a good reason for this except for that fact that at one point I was going to breed him. I decided not to, but it seemed like his being fixed wasn't a problem since he wasn't around other dogs. The vet decided to take care of things yesterday. While he was under being "fixed" she also cleaned his teeth a thing that the other vet I had always taken him to had never said or done anything about.
     
    When I went to pick up my sweet little angel, being fixed was the least of his woes; they had pulled 12 of his teeth! He was so pitiful once I got him home. He slept most of the afternoon yesterday and all night. When I woke him up this morning, he was less than enthusiastic about waking up. He got up, went outside, ate some yogurt, and then proceeded to go and hide under the bed in my guest room.
     
    I hated to leave him this morning, but I don't have a choice. I had already taken yesterday off to look after him, so I had to come to work.
     
    Hopefully, he will be be better this afternoon!
     
     
  3. suzie-q

    Support

    By suzie-q,

    Just some things I had on my mind about this site and how great it is!
     
     
    I LOVE THE PEOPLE ON THIS WEBSITE! Let me tell you why I am saying this... I was reading the post by CagedBird, and was moved to tears by what she said. I was further moved by howmany of you had written in response to her. I teach high school, and while I love teenagers, they can be cruel because of their own uncertainties and so I know it has to mean a great deal to her how much everyone has reached out to her. You guys are the best. You have saved me from being down in the dumps many times!
     
     
    Asha,
    I am going to miss reading your blogs, but I am thrilled to know that you are not leaving the site altogether!
     
    17 more days until summer vacation!
     
    susan
  4. suzie-q

    18days and counting

    By suzie-q,

    It is offical...we have 18 days until summer vacation! WOOOHOOOO!
     
    I am warning you that this blog may contain may errors...I apologize. I am using a laptop at school today because they have taken my desktop to fix. The screen on this thing is tiny and hard to read. What is worse is that they have disabled the thing that makes is so I can make the display bigger. Ain't that something?
     
    I am very excited today because I am going to Merlefest this evening to perform with some folks in the community theater group I work with. We are performing scenes from three Wilkes County legends. Tom Dooley ( an annual production), Junior Johnson (Nasacar guy), and Chang and Eng (the Siamese Twins). I am playing one of the sisters who marries Chang and Eng. The people on Jerry Springer had nothing on those people.
     
    This has been a weird week for me. I am having some trouble with my arm. I knew I would have some residual weakness and pain, but it is a bit worse this time than normal. Things like that used to frustrate me a great deal in the early part of my recovery, but now, it doesn't. I just see it as something as normal and the fact that my foot is still weird too. I am just soooo very happy with the person I have become as a result of my stroke, that the physical stuff doesn't get me down. I think Tim Robbins's character in the Shawshank Redemption said it best, "You gotta' get busy livin' or get busy dyin'" I like to think that I am very busy living.
  5. suzie-q
    It is that time of year here is good ole' Wilkes County, NC where we prepare for MerleFest. For those of you wondering what MerleFest is, I will enlighten you. MerleFest is the largest Americana music celebration in the United States. For for fun-filled days, 80,000 people travel from all over the world to hang out and listen to dozens of musicians including some very big names (ie Allison Kraus, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson just to name a few). I LOVE IT!
     
    It is really funny. I didn't really appreciate Blue Grass or other types of folk music until I moved here. Then it kinda' grew on me. Everyone here plays an instrument it seems, and music is a part of life. I have always been fairly musically inclined, so I love living in a place where music is a big part of life!
     
    you can check out the website below
     
    www.merlefest.org
  6. suzie-q

    Argghhh...duh!

    By suzie-q,

    Today I am going to vent about stupidity....my own. :im stupid:
     
    :Rant-On:
     
    I was on Spring Break last week, so I took the opportunity to visit my Family Doc. He suggested that i have a cholesterol test done as he didn't have that information from the specialist I saw after my stroke. So I fasted Wednesday night, and arrived bright and early on Thursday morning ready for my test. I was pretty smug about it too because I said to myself, "I don't have a cholesterol problem. I don't know why I am doing this." They took the blood and I thought no more about it until Thursday when I got "the phone call." The nurse told me my numbers were not as they should be and that the doc said I needed to get my act together. Now, how stupid am I? My dad has high cholesterol, and I had a stroke. It seems that those two things would make me think that I should take better care of myself. But no, not me, that would be too easy.
     
    After I quit crying, I put on my walking shoes and got down to business. I cleaned out the bad food in the cabinets, and vowed that I was going to win this battle too. :Rant-Off:
     
    :clap:
  7. suzie-q

    SPRING FEVER!!!!!!

    By suzie-q,

    I love this beautiful Spring weather we are having. I wish it wasn't going to get cold again this weekend. This weather has given me one crazy case of SPRING FEVER. I have had to close the blinds in my classroom so that I don't stare out the window like the kids. That is slightly depressing because then I feel closed away from the world, but I don't think any of us will accomplish anything useful if all we are doing is staring out the window all day!
     
    Things here have gotten interesting. I am in the process of doing something that I have always wanted to do. I am sending in an application to be a teacher in Washington, D.C. One day last week I decided it was now or never. I don't want to look back at my life and have any regrets. It seems that ever since the stroke I have realized how truly precious each day is. I don't want to waste any of them, and I don't want to come to the end of my life and have ANY regrets. Right now this information is a big secret. I telling all of you this, because I figure you won't blab to anyone (teehee)! I guess it is one of those seize the moment things. :big_grin:
  8. suzie-q

    Great Day!

    By suzie-q,

    I had such a wonderful day today! First of all, I got to sleep in on a weekday. I love that! Then I went and had coffee at my favorite coffee place in the world. Then I got a pedicure on my way to Blowing Rock to go shopping! The weather in Blowing Rock was wonderful. It was warm (not hot), with a nice breeze. It was absolutely wonderful. On the way home, I took the Blue Ridge Parkway and took time to marvel at the beauty of the mountains. I highly recommend tha parkway...so peaceful and beautiful. I came home and took a little nap with the dog...
     
    I think now I might be able to make it to spring break!
     
    :big_grin:
  9. suzie-q
    Tomorrow is the big day...two years. Honestly, I am looking kinda' forward to it this time. I have made an appointment to get a pedicure, and then I am going shopping in one of my favorite places (Blowing Rock NC). Last year I took the day off as well, but I was so anxious about the whole thing, I laid around the house like a vegetable all day. Not tomorrow...tomorrow is I AM HAPY TO BE ALIVE DAY! :Clap-Hands:
  10. suzie-q
    I had to share this cool piece of news. I live in the county where the boyscout went missing ( I actually live about 20 minutes from that particular park. If you hadn't heard...they found him earlier this morning. The cool part is the fact that our cafeteria manager's husband was on the team that found him. He didn't go to work today because he felt led to go look for Michael. And find him he did! They are currently working to get him out of the place where he had fallen! :Clap-Hands: :cheer:
  11. suzie-q

    Whooo....

    By suzie-q,

    What a weekend! It all started with the arrival of my mom on Thursday afternoon. I wasn't all that excited about her coming because I have had a couple of very busy weekends and I just wanted one to myself. She was acting crazy the whole time. I asked her to delay her arrival until Friday...she just kept telling me that she couldn't. When I questioned her strange behavior, she told me to get over it. I was starting to think that she had finally gone nuts. Friday, she kept calling me at work telling me that I needed to stay longer...who wants to stay longer at work on a Friday. When I came home, there was a lady cleaning my house and petting my dog. My mom said, "Surprise!" I got someone to clean your house for you on your birthday. I was really excited! We had been talking at lunch on Friday about having someone clean our houses just once! I left again to meet some friends for coffee. I thought they were acting strange too, but my friends are strange. I got home to find that the rest of my friends and my sister were there having a surprise party for my birthday (which was last Monday). It was so exciting...I felt like a little kid. I had a pretty cake, and food, and presents....wooohoooo!
     
    It was such a good time. Unfortunately, I woke up yesterday with a migraine. Since my stroke I have had very few of those suckers, but the one yesterday made up for all that. I was down for the count. I couldn't get off the couch. Boo Hiss :Tantrum: I hate it when I don't feel good!
  12. suzie-q

    Random funny story...

    By suzie-q,

    About this time last year, we were in a faculty meeting where an insurance rep. from one of those supplemental insurance agencies was presenting about our supplemental options. I was just shy of the one year anniversary of my stroke. One of the plans he was describing was for care if you have a heart attack or stroke. No one was really listening (the kids got nothin' on the teachers) until he decided to share some statistics about strokes with us. It was all quiet until he said, "I bet you didn't know that 22% of people who have strokes each year are under 65." This statement caused a fairly large rumble of laughter and stares in my direction. The poor guy didn't kow that they weren't laughing about him...they were laughing about the fact that they were sitting in the room with a statistic. By the way...I have a pretty good sense of humor about my stroke...have to, I work with teenagers. They think everything is a joke.
     
    I thought of this story today because we will be meeting with that guy again next week. Maybe this time we will try not to offend him.
     
    :big_grin:
  13. suzie-q

    We survived!

    By suzie-q,

    We had a great trip! It is safe to say that a good time was had by all despite the fact that we didn't get a whole lot of sleep on our wild adventure. We didn't loose anyone, and we all made it home safely. I have to brag on the fact that the kids at this school are just really good, nice kids. They didn't misbehave at all. They just did what they were supposed to do. We were some lucky people on this trip.
     
    :big_grin:
  14. suzie-q

    Officially Crazy!

    By suzie-q,

    Well, it is official. I am completely insane, as are the other 5 teachers who are taking 65 sophomores and seniors to Washington, D.C. tomorrow morning. We will leave here at 5:30 am and will be gone until Saturday night. We will have a very good time I am sure, however, I feel a major case of exhaustion coming on. I often wonder what wonder what we are thinking every time we take this trip, then I remember that we have a very large proportion of our students who have never traveled outside the state. This is a major deal for many of them, so it is a very important trip.
     
    Wish me luck!
     

  15. suzie-q

    WooHooHooHoo

    By suzie-q,

    Okay, so I don't really have a good reason for the title of this blog. I didn't have one, so I wrote the first thing that came into my mind. :hahaha:
     
    I had one of those nights that I have sometimes. I went to bed with a headache. I took some medicine, but couldn't sleep. This is really frustrating to me because I wonder how much longer I am going to loose sleep every time I have a headache.
     
    A simple headache was the beginning of a nightmare. Everytime I have one, it makes me onder if it is happening again. The logical part of me knows that I am being unreasonable, but the "freaks out easily over nothing" side of me, can't help but get a little panicky. :uhm:
  16. suzie-q
    So last night's blog made me really consider the people around me. My family is great, and I don't want to diminish their value in my world, but they live pretty far away so I have managed to make other people part of my extended family. It makes me feel really lucky.
     
    Every Friday afternoon during the school year I have coffee with these two teenage girls from my church. WE have been meeting this way to have a short Bible study and such for almost five years now. I really feel like they are my sisters and I have watched them grow up. As I have no children of my own, it is nice to be a part of the lives of these girls.
     
    I also count them as people whom I could not live without, because they are two of the happiest teenagers I know. They bring such joy into my life, and I am so thankful for them everyday.
     
    I guess sometimes it is so easy to focus on the negative things in the world around me that I forget that there is SO MUCH good. It reminds me how lucky I am to be alive and kicking to enjoy it.
     
    I AM BLESSED BECAUSE I FOUGHT THE STROKE DEMON AND WON!
  17. suzie-q
    Sometimes I forget how lucky I really am. I have some of the best friends in the world, and sometimes I realize how empty my life would be without them. One in particular has been on my mind lately. She woke up one morning and thought that she was having a stroke because her speech was slurred and one side of her face was drooping. She raced to the doctor to find that she had Bell's Palsey. It happened during a very stressful time because she was in the process of taking a play she had written to NYC. Not only did she write it, but she was one of the stars. She didn't think she was going to be able to do it. With some encouragement from her husband and the rest of us who love her, she did a most courageous thing...she kept right on going, and did an amazing job.
     
    She was there for me when I was going through the intial trauma of my stroke and crazy recovery, and I am truly thankful for her.
     
    I think she is amazing, and when I am having one of those days where I am tired beyond reason, I think of my amazing friend, and how I cannot live with out her and her support.
     
     
  18. suzie-q
    I was doing some research online today for the novel Night by Elie Wiesel. I am finishing up a unit on it with my students and was looking for some information to answer some questions from a couple of my students. I was shocked, angry, hurt, and any other adjective that means really *beep* off about what I read. A man ASSAULTED Elie Wiesel in a hotel during a PEACE CONFERENCE! :Tantrum: Then to make me even madder :ranting: I accidentally found the website with an article that is supposedly written by the guy who did it. AHHHHHHHH! :Tantrum: I can't understand why some people are so stupid. I am all for the first ammendment; however, I do not think that the first ammendment includes attacking frail old men who have done nothing but try to bring peace to the world! You don't have to agree with everyone, but you should respect them. AHHHHHHHH! :furious:
     
    I MEAN REALLY...WHAT KIND OF PSYCHO DOES THAT?
     
  19. suzie-q

    Chat Room

    By suzie-q,

    Okay...so I went to the chat room for the first time tonight. I really enjoyed it. I also felt like I should update my blog since Asha made mention of the fact that she remembered some of the things I had written. I must say...I thought that was really cool of her to remember that. Thanks a lot...that made my day.
     
    :Clap-Hands:
  20. suzie-q

    Brrrrrr

    By suzie-q,

    I live in the northwest corner of North Carolina in place where we typically get some cold weather in the winter. That is of course until this year. It simply has not been all that cold, until yesterday. I am a teacher, and doesn't it just figure that on the coldest day of the year so far some little darlin' decided we should have a bomb threat. This of course resulted in our entire student body standing outside in the freezing temps for about 45 minutes.Some of our students had just dressed out for PE and were in shorts and t-shirts for this time period. We were then moved into the two gyms after those buildings were deemed safe. It is a good thing I love these little boogers!
  21. suzie-q

    So happy!

    By suzie-q,

    Last weekend in NYC was GREAT! :Clap-Hands: I had such a good time, I was not ready to come home in the least. It was a really unique experience to see my friends on a New York stage. I was so excited, I just about drove the friend I was staying with crazy on the way there. Being in NY this time of year also gets you into the spirit of the season. The decorations, and lights, and windows of the stores. It was amazing! I have been there several times, but never at Christmas time! Did I mention it was really great? :big_grin:
     
    It was also really fun to spend time with one of my best friends in the whole world. I had not seen him in a few years. I knew that I missed him, but didn't realize how much until I saw him over the weekend. We realized that we had now known each other for half of our lives. We are both 30 and have known each other since we were 15. I was really crazy to know that we had known and loved each other that long.
     
    Maybe it is my wacky emotions, or maybe it is the holidays, but it makes me really emotional to think about how much friends have meant to me over the years, especially this one.
  22. suzie-q

    The Big Day!

    By suzie-q,

    :Clap-Hands: Today is the big day! I leave for a big weekend in NYC. I am so excited, I am driving myself crazy. I am leaving work around 11:15. This is one of those days where it seems time is dragging on at a snail's pace.
     
    I love winter, and snow, and coats, winter clothes; I am so glad it is going to be cold while I am in NY. The clothes thing might be a teacher thing. My students often are scantily clad in the summer time despite our best efforts as a school to cover them up. But I love to snuggle up in a coat and glvoes and enjoy the snow and cold of winter. I know, it is weird, but really, NYC in the winter is great! I can't wait to get there! :Clap-Hands:
  23. suzie-q

    Not feeling so hot...

    By suzie-q,

    I really hate days like today. I went to bed last night with a terrible headache and an upset stomach. I am sure it is some random bug I have caught from the kids at school, but it still makes me nervous. I didn't sleep well because the last time I felt similar to this I ended up with no movement on my right side. I keep hoping that eventually I won't feel like this any more. That every time I get sick, I won't automatically think the worst. Of course the rational part of me knows that even high school students carry around a ton of germs and that sometimes, I am going to be sick thanks to them. I mean let's face it, everyone gets sick sometimes, and that "everyone" includes me.
     
    Thankfully, I am mostly distracted by the fact that one week from today I will be leaving to visit friends in NYC, and as nervous as I am, I am about 50 times more excited about getting out of town for a couple of days.
     
    On another exciting note, one of my former students who I now work with (how weird is that...makes me feel old) is going to be in NY the same time I am, and is going to propose to his girlfriend (I taught her too!). He is going to call me so I can maybe come sneak a peek of the big question. :cheer:
     
     
  24. suzie-q

    Scarlett O'Hara

    By suzie-q,

    I wrote yesterday about going to NY to see my friend's play called the Scarlett O'Hara Complex. Since a couple people commented that they would like to know what it is about I thought that I would do that today and put in a plug for my friend.
     
    The play is about how women in the South, especially upper class women, are trained to be like Scarlett. To smile when we don't really want to, and to do all those traditional things that us Southern types are infamous for. The group of women in the play live in the perfect neighborhood, and have the "perfect" husband. They are friends with a woman who has caught her scum- bag husband cheating again, and they think she has gone crazy and is thinking about pulling a Clara Harris/Blance Taylor Moore on him. They end of calling the man's mother who drinks lots of Margaritas. That is when things really get funny. It is a comedy set in the town I live in, and it is really funny.
     
    It will be performed at Theater Row (theaterrow.org) on 42nd street in NY for the next couple of weeks. I am so excited to get to go to see it! :Clap-Hands:
     
     
  25. suzie-q

    A long time...

    By suzie-q,

    It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. I haven't had much to say lately.
     
    I am looking forward to a trip to NYC to visit friends in a couple of weeks. I love that city. I wouldn't want to live there on a permanent basis, as I am a country girl from way back, but it is the most fun place to visit.
     
    My friends who are there are doing a play called The Scarlett O'Hara Complex. It is a play written by one of my best friends (another North Carolina girl like me) and stars people from my hometown. I have worked on it for several years, and was not able to take the time off work to go with them the whole time they are there, but I will get to go see it. I am so excited! :Clap-Hands: