JUne 1, 2021    

A new month,  hooray.  AFter a few months of trauma,  I feel like I am on the road back to normal.  But at my age,  what is normal.  

I broke my shoulder in January. By the time I was fully healed in mid April,   I neede a srthroscopy knee surgery, Which I had and fully recovered from. But I feel like I just don't have my energy back.  I wonder if it is too much trauma to this old body and its going to take a lot longer to bounce back than it used to.,  

Whatever.. OLdest son went to drug rehab again,  but is doing well and we are hopeful. It's been a long haul and a very stressful and upsetting one.  Watching someone destroy their life with drugs and alcohol.  Finally in order to keep his job he went to a month long in house re hab.  I am still holding my breath,  because we've been through this before.  But I am feeling hopeful.   

This is a quilt I recently finished piecing and picked up from the LONG ARM quilter last week.  

Its another scrappy /stash quilt made with fabrics I already owned.   But still new backing fabric and batting and the long arm fees,  There is about $200 wrapped up in it.  

People think making a quilt is inexpensive,  But buying new yardage which is usually $10 to $12 per yard,  backing fabric and batting can put a home crafted quilt in the $400 to $500 dollar range.  

This is why mostr of my quilts are now scrappys,  I have a ton of fabrics. So why not use them up.  

'The death of democracy.

 August 26

After watching Melanoma Trump make her long walk down the walkawy in her militarystyle dress to be welcomed by the brainwashed idiots... To give the most boring speech full of mistruths and downright lies. This shitshow of a Republican Convention... Which is put on by RNCCC   Republican National CCC ( crooks conns and cunts)

Everything this family has done since the election is to move this country toward an authoritarian dictatorship with the orange buffoon as the leader.  

The country is fool of idiots who cannot see what is happening right in front of their eyes. Have they no knowledge of history. What happened to the Conservatives who cared about protecting us from Russia,  China,  and other authoritarian leaders?  They are gone into he cult of Trump. 

I fully expect Trump to retain power and I fully expect him to bring out the guns against his detractors.  He will eliminate the media and only allow what he wants out there. We will be living in hell from here on out.  I can only hope that the young people recognize the danger here and come out in droves to protest. 

Putting this in writing today so that I can look back when everything in this country is cesnsored by The Leader.  

Knee surgery

 Yesterday I had an arthroscopy of my right knee.  It has been bothering me for quite a few months, and I had been meaning to make an appointment with the Ortho group here for sometime,  but just put it off.   

Then in January, I fell and broke my right shoulder.  ( everything happens on the right, broken ankle, broken shoulder, now knee with problems).  Thus began my quest to get my knee working properly.  It was not painful when I walked. It was when I got up from a sitting position to standing.  It would get "out of whack"  ( that's a medical term)  And I would have to move it around painfully until I found the right position that I could stand up,This happened yesterday.  After getting my cardio doc to confer with my ortho doc. And his input was that I could not undergo a general anesthetic because of risk of complications.. Like  Death.  

So a spinal block was adminstered, and this was my biggest fear. Having a needle poked into my spine was scary for me. But I barely felt it... and within minutes I was without any feeling from my waist down.  I was awake  through most of the procedure.   But screened off from the surgeion. I presume because he didn't wan to answer questions from the patient or listen to suggestions on how to do his job.  And for me a back seat drive,  that might have been an issue;

All went well. hsd a long recovery room stay.  Took 2 hours to get feeling back into my lowere body.  But then I was able to get up snd walk with qa walker a few steps then into  s wheel chair and released. 

Once home getting up the three steps into the front door was a challenge, But with assistance from my spouse and oldest slaughter I made it into the house.  Had not eaten fro 24 hours so scarfed down an order of vegen skyline chili and went to bed.  Way too early because I woke up around 3 am couldn't get back to sleep so got up qt 4 am.  Knee feeling much better this am.  It maybe because of the high powered pain pill.  which ia did take before bed.  

Today I will rest it most of the dqy,  using ice and walking around the house . frequently. But its nearly 7 am and now im redy to go bqfck to bed.  But Quilting Arts is on TV, I'd like to see it but may have to cqtch the sedond showing later today.  Tomorrow I start some exercises. 

elections have consequences

FEB 18, 2021

TEXAS.  you voted for candidates who don't care two hoots about your well being or the safety of your children.

As you suffer in the cold,  hungry and thirsty,  I hope you ponder on how this happened...

     IT HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU ELECECTED RIGHT WING CONSERVATIVES WHO WANTED TO DERGULATE EVERYTHING.   Which allowed the power plant operators to skimp on upgrades, and even to avoid winterizing their equipment.  So

The decision to put Texas into their own privately run power grid and to extricate themsilves from any ties to the Federal grid... was another good move. Had they been connected they could have gotten them through the crises by buying power from other states. But NO they were too short sighted for this.  

There is no climate crises in their world view so something like winterizing the equipment in the state was a waste of moeny.  

And on top of all this TEd Cruz the slimy Republican senator cared so much about the problem he bustled his family off to Cancun until the whole thing was over.  Way to go Teddy.  

So in the enbd it is a sad situation for the citizens of TX. But I have  little sympathy for them. They made their beds at the ballot box when they chose candidates with an "R" beside their name.  

Lyme disease

I have a 17 year old granddaughter in TN who was diagnosed with Lyme disease a couple of years ago.  She actually suffered from it for at least 4 or 5 years, but it took that long to get a diagnosis.
Although her mother and I both suspected she had Lyme disease,  we could not get a doctor to even test for it. They kept saying.  We don't have Lyme disease in TN... Well they do,  one of my best friends who lives in Nashville has it and it took 20 years for her to get a diagnosis.

The reasons that the medical community have "black listed"  Lyme,  I believe are purely political and self serving.  The standard antibiotic therapy for Lyme is a course of treatment with antibiotics that far exceeds the standard of care for antibiotic treatment. But because these little bugs ( and there are more than one bacteria that are now living inside a Lyme disease patient) hide inside your organs it takes a longer treatment with pharmaceuticals to kill them,  and then it is never certain that you killed all of them.

This summer my sweet Madison had her wisdom teeth extracted.  This happened in June and now in August she has not fully recovered.  She has nerve damage on one side of her face and jaw. And she still suffers extreme pain with that.  Whether Lyme had anything to do with this we will never know,  but there are reports online of other Lyme sufferers having issues with dental problems.

Then, just this last week. She started having chest pains, and shortness of breath.  This is a 17 year old athlete, mind you.  Trips to several doctors did not come up with a diagnosis.  I began to suspect endocarditis. A rare but dangerous infection in the lining of the heart.  When the symptoms got worse and little satisfaction this far from her medical providers, my daughter took her to UT medical center on Tuesday evening.  They waited 6 hours in the waiting room, before they were seen.  Tests were run to check her heart and all was normal. But nothing to confirm or rule out endocarditis had been done.  Finally after the change of shift the daytime ER doctor spent more time looking into her situation and did order the cultures for endo.  WE are still awaiting the results on those.

Then yesterday I think my daughter hit on the likely problem.  It is a condition I had never heard of ,  but if you are familiar with Lyme disease, then you may have.  It is called  Herxheimer reaction. And it causes many of the symptoms Madison was experiencing,  which also are common to endocarditis BTW.   It is caused by toxins released into the body by the dead bacteria.  The good thing of course is that her treatment is doing what it should, killing Lyme bacteria,  but the reaction is debilitating and may linger for weeks. But relief knowing there is an answer to her symptoms is immense.  Of course we are still waiting for the culture results, but I am expecting them to be negative now.

I believe we need a full scale education campaign about Lyme disease, how it is contracted,  what kind of treatment is required, and most of all pressure for more funding for research, as well as pressure on Insurance companies to cover treatment for Lyme.  Currently most health insurers do not cover Lyme treatment. A patient with Lyme could easily bankrupt themselves with medical care even if they have insurance.   MY granddaughter's medical record  rivals the NYC phone book, and she is 17 years old.  Not to mention the move by the Republicans to remove the pre existing condition part of the ACA will put her into a state of never being able to have health insurance.

 Finally this IMHO only proves the point that Universal Health Care is the only way to go.  Allowing private for profit companies to control my medical treatment is not acceptable.

That is my rant for today.  It has been a very stressful week worrying about Madison and her condition.  She has lost most of her summer now due to health issues related to Lyme.   She will start her senior year in high school in a few weeks.  And she hopes to go on to college with a scholarship for volleyball.

Just an extra note.  Madi had recently started a new medicine for her Lyme  and shortly after beginning it she developed all of these symptoms.  Not a coincidence,  she had been fine playing volleyball without any issues just the week before...

The south is the hell of the country

Sorry to hang that on the southern states,  but Alabama has just done such a horrendous thing that they have soured all my feelings toward anything south of the OHio River. 
The horrendous anti abortion bill just signed  by Gov. Ivy,  who supported Roy Moore, is a disgrace to humanity.  Why can't people mind their own fucking business.  Why do conservatives insist on power over women.  I would no more live in the south than I would choose to eat a cockroach. 

First off this bill is unlawful.  Abortion is a legal procedure in this country.  When the most extreme religious corner of the Christian Faith, wants to control how the rest of us live our lives,  we are moving toward a dictatorship.  A dictatorship run by the love of their lives.  Donald Trump. 

Given Trump's past sexual history,  I cannot help but wonder how many abortions he paid for.  How many children in poverty has he helped to feed?  LOve thy neighbor?  NOT ONE OF TRUMP'S , rules to live by.

Since most farmers I have met are Republican,  let them starve with the imposed tarriffs this president has put in place.   They are using farming practices that are harmful to the planet, so let them all starve, so that more enviornmental and human centered practices can take over.  If, that is, there is enough time left for this planet. Between climate change and Trump's penchant for starting a war,  which will take us out first is the question. 

And for those who would say. "That is not a Christian attitude"  I say,  Christianity,  as well as other relgions have caused more death, hatred and horror, than anything in history.  I choose not to be a part of that. 

So you ignorant fools who continue to support the most immoral, incompetent, mentally deranged, person who has ever served as president,  I say, you are to blame for the hatred, the insanity, the immorality, and the mean spirited policies this man has put in place.  I blame you for being too ignorant to learn about who you cast your vote for.  or if you knew the man has always been a con man, bordering on  unlawfulness and often stepping over the  to unlawmess, and you still voted for him, then you are also insanely incompetent as a citizen of this country. 

IN my first sentence I mentioned the Ohio River,  my state, Ohio ,  has also just put into law a very restrictive law designed to make it harder for women to have a legal procedure.   So I am well aware that for some reason,  extremists are taking over the country.  Ever heard of Nazi Germany people? 

And to you Right to Lifers out there.  You so strongly support protecting a few cells, but when those cells emerge as a human baby,  How many of you are willing to support those cells now?  Not many I suspect.  My spouse  and I chose to adopt one of those babies who should probably been aborted.  Born to a drug abusing mother,  who has had numerous children to increase her welfare checks,  he has had issues his entire life.  It has been a very sad and stressful existence for our family. So take your high and mighty attitude, and ignore the realities of the situation. 

This planet's problems are all the result of  over population,  and when entities like the Catholic Church refuse to acknowledge birth control as a means to limit populations, then they are only concerned with one thing.... POWER.     IN fact religions are all about power,  A means to control the uneducated minds of their followers.  If you cannot think for yourself, then you allow  others to tell you how to live. And those others interests are not in you, but in their own power and wealth. 

IN the end humans are evil,  self serving people. And we are marching toward extinction because of this.  And maybe when we are totally eliminated from the planet a species will rise who deserves to rule ,  it is certainly not humans.  NOt from what I have seen anyway. 

Nine months WFPB

Back in July 2018 I was discharged from the hospital after my third heart attack.  When I got home,  I decided to RE Read,  "Preventing and Reversing Heart Disease"  by Caldwell Esselstyn Jr. MD.  The next few days were the beginning of a new life for me.

I had read Dr. E;'s book several years ago after learning of it from an old friend who had tried the plan and found his health greatly improved. But at that time I was not ready, and felt I could not do it.  So for me,  now well into chronic heart disease,  it was do it or die.  Actually it was not dying I was afraid of, it was feeling badly on my journey to that final breath   So that day in early July,  I went "cold turkey"  I completely eliminated animal products from my diet. And now 9 months later I am still eating WFPB.

Since making this change in my diet and lifestyle,  I have seen nothing but positive results.  Within just a few weeks,  my cholesterol had dropped 100 points.  MY next A1C was to be drawn several months post WFPB and it was down to 6.  I had never been below a 7.5 since being diagnosed with Type II diabetes.  As of this writing I  have lost 20 lbs and am within 10 lbs of my goal weight.

But the biggest change is in my energy level,  and my mental state.  I am a new person and friends and family have commented on the positive changes they are seeing in me.   2 of my children are now following this .  and I am working on the other  2.  

A year ago, when my spouse and I were taking a short weekend get away in our 5th wheel RV  I had no energy ,  could barely walk from the truck to the edge of the lake, and I began to think this RVing is over  for me.  My spouse and I discussed  selling the rig and accepting that our traveling life was over.  Then  at the end of June my life changed for the better.

I am now enjoying the new adventures in cooking this way. and we are planning an extensive trip in our RV for this fall and winter. As I think about this I think about meal planning.  Restaurants are almost impossible to frequent.  FAST FOOD.. Never again unless it is to grab a McDouble for our dog Sadie.   For us... WE have not eaten fast food for almost 10 months.  And do not plan to go back to it.  So lunches will be a quick stop in a rest area where we will eat raw veggies and fruit and if I have planned ahead from the previous night a thermos of soup that I cooked all night in the slow cooker will also be on the menu.  

I am now able to be more active throughout my days.  I am able to clean up my kitchen after our supper, something I was always too tired to do before starting this plan.  I  sleep better than I used to.  I feel much better than I have ever felt.  And I am enjoying  my life again.   NOt just waiting to die.

I only wish I had discovered Dr,. Esselstyn several years ago. But better late than never. And while I am on this subject I want to say a few words about Dr. E.   After I reread his book in July 2018,  I began to have some questions about how this eating plan would affect my diabetes.   I was eating more carbs, ALTHOUGH  whole carbs,  than I ever had.   So I was concerned about my blood sugar reading going off the chart.  I sent a message to Dr. E's website with that question.  I received an auto response saying that they were out of the office and would get back to me when they returned.  

I kind of forgot about this for a few days, until on July 4th my cell phone rang and I noticed it was= call from Cleveland OH.  I would normally decline , since I do not know anyone in Cleveland,  but I answered and I heard.  "Sherri,  This is Dr. Esselstyn".  WE talked for a few minutes and he asked me to take my phone into the room with my husband and put him on speaker.   Dr. E.  talked to us for about 30 min.  That 30 min reinforced my resolved,   A few months later we attended his seminar at the WEllness Center at Cleveland Clinic and I have never looked back.  

Oh sure there are a few things I still miss. But not enough to stop eating WFPB.  I used to love a good hamburger and mac n cheese was my go to comfort food... But those are things I will never put into my body again.  I have now learned to like oatmeal ( something I never liked)  and am eating foods I have not eaten before.  I like taking a recipe from some of my old repertoire and modifying it to fit WFPB.   The biggest thing that I cannot imitate is making a cream or butter sauce. But it is worth that loss to feel the way I do.

I have done a lot of reading and research on this way of eating, and I feel that the research is there. As well as the results.   Type II diabetics have reversed their disease. Cardiac patients have never had another cardiac event if they stick to the plan.  I am proof that it works.


If anyone out there reads this I would also recommend watching the documentary "What the Health"  which is available on NETFLIX.  This film will wake you up to how the food industry, particularly the animal industry has lied to us, and how they have infiltrated our government to influence us to think that we must eat animals and drink dairy to be healthy. Both of these are outright deceptions.,  

HAPY VEGAN...  ACTUALLY   WFPB is even more strict than VEGAN.  Processed foods, and oils are also eliminated on this plan. But it is doable,  If I can do it.  ( the woman who ate a grilled cheese sandwich, every morning for breakfast)  Then anyone can do  it.