Grossed out and need to vent—I just caught Mom using my toothbrush to comb her hair!

Mame, You r sooooooooooooooo right. however, he just a regular surgeon dr that my gastro sent me to for the surgery. I heard he is pretty good n he did have good bedside manners n a sense of humor so I feel a little at ease.

Cattail, send all the white light u can for I need it big time. It will be bright n early on 27th of Wed at 5:30 am sharp. However, I was told the surgery probable won't start till after 7am. Glad the collar system seems to be working for elks. I bet your scenery area of living just sound lovely with the elks n bull. We had before all this rain, a whole swarm of red Robins around our neighborhood. Maybe thought it was spring with this weird weather. So sorry about your pain n it is hard for me to grieve about something for I am always trying to be the strong person. I think it does sound like the grieving has hit the surface. Not to mention everyone grieves differently. When u have some time to crack that book open, could you let me know what ya think about it. Sending you a little white light your way n prayers helping you with your losses n that includes r animals too.

deefer, you r absolutely right about the, autoimmune disease just suck n some. However, I am blessed to be giving a kidney, so more dialysis n Lupus sle has been in remission even though the Raynaud part in my fingers n toes can get to ya. I understand n it's pretty bad sometimes when u got to out weight the pros' n con's when it comes to meds. I have been taking for yrs now a Low dose of Prednisone n really has helped me with the lupus part. It had gotten down where it would take me a 30minuetes just to from a lying down position in bed to even sit up n much less turn on side of the bed just to get my feet in the position to lift up off the bed. We all know how bad we have to go do that early am emptying the bladder thing. Walking was a whole deal step-by-step. However, its one of those meds you got to outweigh the pro's n cons. As for the anesthesia, I never had a problem but both the anesthesia n pain meds seem to constipate me n I sure don't won't that after the surgery. So, I will try to suck it up as much as possible. I am a pretty tough cookie. Us autoimmune folks has to be or we been gone a long time ago. ; ) Besides, if the good Lord is willing I have a 48 birthday coming up March 1st.
The digital photograph is an awesome idea for I got mine for Christmas gift n I put a lot of Mother Nature stuff on it. Wow, your dad actually process pictures at his house that is amazing memory. My dad use to mild r cow n then scrape the top of the milk to get the cream. Then we would take a canning jar n shake it till it turned into butter. We also made home-made ice-cream with a churn bucket, you bring back some old memories to cherish.
Cat, grieve at your own pace for their is no right or wrong way n cherish the good ones you had with your parents.
I hope everyone can get a restful night sleep n have a great weekend.

Lildeb, Living with daily pain is something we all deal with from an early age. I used to wonder why my legs and feet hurt so bad that it made me cry, after a day of standing at work when I was a teenager. The answer back then for every kind of pain was it's just "growing pains"! Hate to clue them in, but i stopped growing when I hit 12! Now I grow out instead of up!!
I have been very lucky with my health compared to you. It's different for everyone and I admire you for being so strong after all you have been through. the thing with autoimmune disease is we rarely get colds or flus because the antibodies keep outside diseases at bay. Now if we could just get our own bodies to stop attacking us, we would be doing good! My doctor always tells me I'm the healthiest looking sick person he has in his practice. I always tell him I'm not sure if I should says thanks for the compliment or ask him if he's trying to be funny!
Make sure you rest up as much as you can, but if you are like me, you will bounce back and heal fast!
I remember my grandparents getting milk delivered to the door, in glass bottles with the paper caps, every other day. And right under that cap was an inch or so of cream. meme was use it for tea, or save it to make whipped topping, or let one of us kids drink it. It was so good!
Man, I sure miss all those childhood memories! it was so much simpler back then and so much more fun!
watching Yukon Men and then off to bed. Night everyone!

Lildeb: I have your surgery on my calendar. I'll be sending you white light every single day and 10 times over on surgery day. Thanks for hearing me with your heart. I appreciate it. I'll let you know about the book.

You take good care of yourself. We all love you.

Cat

Deef: My camera isn't so great. My granddaughter, Amanda, says I don't have enough pixels....I would love to take pics here that were good quality. It's on my to do list. Hugs.

Deefer12,

Thanks for sharing! Glad to know my mom isn't the only one that does these things and she says well I am cleaning them out.

Just tonight at dinner, instead of taking them out she sat there with her fingers in her mouth. I looked at her smiled and said take your finger out. She looked at me and said I don't have a toothpick to clean them.

The worst part is I couldn't help but laugh because it was innocent and logical, it just doesn't look good at a dinner table.

These are the stories that I am putting into a book because I believe we have to have a sense of humor or we will go completely nuts otherwise. Although according to a friend of mine, I was nuts to start with. :-)

My mom has taken up sucking on her fingers and licking them. Yuck!!! Forgot to tell you we stopped taking her out to eat 2 years ago after she got her shirt over her head in Taco Bell before we even noticed! When we saw the looks on the faces of the other diners, we quickly hustled ourselves out the door!

Deefer12,

We get close at times, she has begun to mess with her skirt and top in public. My mom is very anal about where the band of her skirt is and so she lifts her shirt and shows her belly. When we tell her to stop, she says no one can see.

We find that most people around us are willing to look the other way and be nice because of her age. But it makes us laugh, I am sure we will get to a point that we do not take her out either. We have told my mom that time will come, but I think in my mom's mind she isn't going to live that long. My mom is feeling her age, but the doctor's say she is tough, so we will see how it goes.

I have lots of thoughts, but I refuse to say them to even my friends. I think some of the things I think are not nice and most of them are when I am frustrated. So now I just try to keep things in perspective if at all possible. You see on top of mom's Alzheimer's, I have my own challenges with the change of life, so I am sure we are two nutty women, which probably explains why my husband drinks his beer. :-)

I hope you and your husband get a break to eat out once in awhile. We don't get much in terms of date time unless we take mom to church to sit with my sister. Otherwise we are trio deal and I am sure interesting for people watchers.

Cat, sorry that I couldn't respond to your apology when you made it. It was terrible timing. Just a few days before your post, there was a bit of excitement here. As I read the words being exchanged, I started to have heart palpitations. I tried to ignore it because I wanted to know what was happening. But it was getting worse, and I knew that with my current exhaustion, black outs, dizziness, etc... that I had to stop reading here. And I did.

When you posted on YOU, I still wasn't ready to come here. Just that day, during lunchtime, I had decided to take a peek into GROSS. Just THINKING of coming here, my heart went really fast. I still wasn't ready to drop by. Then I read your words but...I just couldn't come here.

I have discussed this situation with my sis and my niece - I needed to vent to them what I'm feeling at the moment. Cat, the words that were said may not sound so bad. For me, because you had a piece of my heart - which I guard very closely, the words you said ..devastated me. Yes, I stood here and defended myself. I could have just slinked away but I couldn't. I have grown up in a very dysfunctional family. I could not NOT do that. Despite the hurt you inflicted, I stood up and said my say. That day...the part of my heart that you shared with only very, very few people in my life - got shattered. I did not know how much I was affected by the November Incident until this recent "excitement" on this thread. Yes, I learned something, Cat. I think I was traumatized last year and didn't know it!!

When you apologized in December in my Wall, I accepted your apology. For now, I can only accept your apology. I think we need to give it time. “Time heals all wounds” is so true. Cat, you did your part. You acknowledged that I wasn’t at fault (because I didn’t believe I was.) And I was NOT yelling at you. You guys have read enough of my postings to know that when I CAPITALIZE words - it's for EMPHASIS. For me, this is YELLING!!!... "HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF...!!!!!" ... Now that is yelling..... You apologized sincerely (which I can see loud and clear). Now it’s my burden to try to let go of the hurt and move forward. That’s the best that I can offer. It is now my burden and no one else’s. It’s not so bad. I finally forgave God recently (after 22 years of refusing to pray to Him.) So, we do have hope…. Thank you, Cat. Sincerely (and I do mean Sincerely), Bookworm.

To all on GROSS, I'm sorry to bring this up a day later when Cat posted. I had a bit of a difficulty coming here. I'm going to be a coward and depart here and hide my head under the sand. I hope you all have a good day, like i had today. Too bad I had to come back home....Book

Book: I completely understand and I appreciate your response.

Good Afternoon Crew,

To all who are going through insanity, my heart goes out to you.
lildeb, I can't even imagine how you cope but I do know that you have the soul of a warrior.

Book, I am so glad to see you. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for and no one you need to apologize to. Once again, I am so sorry that you had such a bad experience here. So you know that you weren't alone, I was attacked as well through the back channels and was apologized to and I know that Cat was seriously in a lot of pain just like all of us. This kind of thing has happened a few times, with a few others, some of who have actually come to see me and stayed on my boat. Talk about betrayal. It is very difficult to build trust again but we try and we move forward like you say.

Cat, you and I are good but I am going to write about what happens when someone attacks. From my point of view. Thank you too for liking the post about the Journey. Very kind of you and I have enjoyed your recent posts as well.

Book, I came from a dysfunctional family just like many of us. Different degrees of dysfunction but it all can be devastating as we try and live our lives, especially in the throes of caregiving or in the aftermath of caregiving.

After 3 years of writing on this thread and reading the snippets of everyone's lives, trials and tribulations I still think that overall we do a pretty good job of taking care of each other even though we are all strangers.

But when it goes bad, it is harsh and toxic and people walk away more wounded than when they started and that is not what we are here for. Sometimes the thread gets hijacked and even though I have mostly taken to waiting it out to see if it settles, some just can't leave it alone and they pick at it again and again keeping it alive and festering.

Mame, I loved the story of the two dogs, a big dog and a little yappy dog.
That's what happens on this thread every now and again. A little yappy dog shows up and tries to run the show, not understanding that the show runs by itself pretty well, and most of the big dogs (folks who have posted more than a few times) on the thread usually show restraint until provoked beyond reason.

Beyond reason is when someone jumps in with a condemning remark right off the bat and they get what they get.
We're all in pain so some 'newbie' using their pain to lash out at us just isn't going to fly. I don't control what anyone writes so if someone got their wrist slapped for being a troll right off the bat, suck it up and learn from it.
If I did the slapping and it felt harsh to you, then that's what I felt before I reached out and tapped you. After 3 years and more than a few out of over 550 not 'getting' wtf I meant when I wrote the title of the thread, I am simply over it. That's part of my pain and where I am on my journey.

If someone can't see the humor in that title and the funny crazy of the first few pages they're probably not going to do well here. So What? There's plenty of places on this amazing site for all persuasions to write and seek support and respite.

And incidentally, telling a new to the site Dementia caregiver to read this thread from the beginning is an actual act of kindness. It's all here.
Wish I had something like this to sit and read through when I started caregiving for my mom. I was over 5 years in with no support at all so I didn't even know that I was accomplishing the impossible at the cost of my health and future.

Wish I had known people who had had the fuzz on their peaches to tell me the truth instead of telling me what a good daughter I was and how I was earning my crown in heaven. Puleeze.

With the information that is in this thread alone, I could have made better choices because I would have known the unvarnished truth. Since, at that time, there was no place to find the truth and we were all expected to fall for the 'he/she took care of you..' routine, I made the choices I did and pay every day for those mistakes.

That is why I am still here. We are catching women (because it's mostly women with a respectful nod to the few guys) BEFORE they make the decision to quit their jobs and BEFORE they move in with a parent or move a parent into their families. These new waves of caregivers have a chance to not make my mistakes. They'll make their own mistakes, true, but hopefully they won't quit jobs they love and sacrifice their marriages and families to Dementia.

AgingCare is a huge, well thought out website that has afforded us, as crazy caregivers, the opportunity to just get on and write whatever we are feeling because, And This Is Important: THEY get it.

Another example of 'beyond reason' is the behavior of some who feel the need to demand everyone's time and energy for their issues, because only their issues matter and the rest of us are only here to hug them and tell them that all will be ok and feed their huge egos that they accuse me of having. (Project much?) They are the ones who are pissed when we don't respond right away to their posts and when their names aren't called out on every page.

In the meantime, some of us are bleeding out from the stab wounds in the back but the toxic attention seeker spins our negative reaction to them as us 'turning' on them when all we are actually doing is saying enough is enough and go play your sick game somewhere else.

My theory is that everyone is nuts and all you need to do is find the bowl of nuts you fit into and leave the other bowls of nuts alone.

That's why I rarely read, let alone post on any of the other threads and will only come out from under my bridge when I see something pop up in that right hand column that I honestly think I can constructively help out on. Even then, if I check it out I will see that Deef or Jeanne Gibbs, both of whom I admire greatly or another true voice of reason has already covered what needs to be said and more often than not I learn from them.

Personally, I'm sure all the other little bowls of nuts are doing just fine and certainly don't need my input to get through their day.

Sometimes though, through the back channels, I am directed to read something and at the end of the day, I actually don't need to see that stuff because it's usually something from someone I thought was a friendly nut and I have to learn that it's just another toxic nut trying to make a mess in the bowl. *sigh*
.......................................
Mish, it's good to see you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your post and letting us know your feelings.
I will take this opportunity to explain what Amber Jane means.

I don't even remember when it happened, but there was a post from a 'newbie' with the typical 'you people' routine and I was working on the computer with this browser window open and without a moment's hesitation wrote:

Oh bite me Amber Jane.

That's it. So, every now and again when a 'newbie' (I despise that term, let's think of another, and no, 'fresh meat' isn't acceptable) posts before thinking, and trust me we all have done it, someone on the thread will bring up Amber Jane. For awhile some would just write out: OBMAJ.
Yup, it's an inside joke and we write out the definition of it every once in awhile, or if someone asks.
It might feel petty to a new person but it's actually part of the glue that holds us all together.
Mish! You now have some of that glue on you. It's not a bad thing. This thread might appear tight knit but that knit is loose so more and more people can weave themselves into what has become a beautiful tapestry of caregivers.

Mixed metaphors, mixed nuts, glue and tapestry.... too tired to make it all match. Please forgive sloppy writing.

For those who are 'haters' of the Grossed Out thread I have an easy solution:
Don't read it.

Did anyone ever see the movie, 'Private Parts'?
It's the story of the rise of Howard Stern, shock jock and raving goofball.
Whether you like Howard or don't like Howard is not the point here.
There is a moment in the film when Howard was in Washington DC and his Arbitron ratings were starting to come in and radio management was talking about him.

They discovered that he had pretty good numbers with the segment that really liked the show and that he had even better numbers with the segment that hated the show.
Why? They wanted to find out what he would say next.

For all the Caregivers out there:

Welcome to the Home of Vent and Live.

I wonder what we will say next.

lovbob

Thank you Bobbie! No more words necessary. Love ya! Deef!!

You said it well Captain Bobbie.

Very gray day today. Snow has just started and it's above freezing temp wise, but feel colder.
Mom was pretty bad last night, but woke up rested and none the less for wear this morning. She ate a good breakfast and has been pretty with it all day. Erin was here this morning and Merry will be here until 7, so that means I get a break from putting her to bed. It's so hard for one person to get her washed and into bed as she is pretty uncooperative by the end of the day. Last night I was getting her up from her wheelchair to walk the 5 feet to the bathroom, when she started to slide down to the kitchen floor. I had to let her lay there for a minute while I worked up the strength to lift her. She was tired and very stiff from the PD, so it wasn't easy. She had her head thrown back and wouldn't bend at the waist and knees, so it was kind of like picking up a heavy board. Then I had to push on her and make her bend to get her to sit on the toilet. Getting her into a diaper and bed was no picnic either! Wonder why I have to sit and catch my breath after all that! Hope it's just her usual reaction around full moon time!
Does anyone else have these kinds of problems? I know I'm luckier than most of you with her sleeping all night and not being able to get out of bed on her own anymore, but I sure wish she wasn't so busy during the daytime hours!
Mame, You still have that floor duster staying with you? Guess we are only going to get a couple inches of snow, but looks like you could get more. Snowing there yet?
Shirley, Are you working on your adobe house today? I'm going to look up adobe house form that time period you mentioned and try to get an idea of what you are up against. Is it close to your property or do you have a drive to get to it?
LilDeb, how are you feeling today? Hope Mil cuts you some slack so you get some rest before surgery and I hope your husband will help you out too.
Book, nice post! Hope you have another good day tomorrow.
Kuli, how's it going?
Stormy, Any news on your dad yet? hope everything is okay and they keep him in the hospital for a few days so you can rest.
Sharyn, Any results of your mom's MRI yet, or is that next week?
Diane, everything okay in Georgia? I know you have been busy at work and with your mom so let us know how you are when you have a chance.
Austin???? Where are you? I remember reading something about moving so that's probably why we haven't heard from you.
Barb, Been thinking of you in Ohio and wondering how you and mom are doing.
Jen, Got your beautiful card today! Thank you so much, it's just what I needed!
Cat, Any good wildlife show up today? Birds are feeding like crazy here before the storm. Even the squirrels are hanging off the feeders!
Mishka, and anyone else I may have missed, let me know how you are doing when you have time. It always seems so quiet on the weekends as we all try to catch up on things
I managed to vacuum and clean under the stove this morning and I just cleaned out the unrecognizable s from the fridge and may wash down the shelves tonight.
Then I'm going to sit in front of the TV for a change!

There's Maxine!!! Didn't see your post!!! How thw heck are ya?

Wow! I'm without internet for a week an all hell breaks loose. Finally got my internet bill paid so they connected the service again today. Mom is still fighting this cold and has a bad cough. She is also on antibiotics again for a UTI. At least that will help control the cold from becoming pneumonia. At this moment mom is getting very upset because she is having frightening hallucinations and won't believe she is safe no matter what I say or do. I try to be patient, but after reassuring her the 15th time in 30 minutes that she is safe gets trying.
I've been making some pillowcases for the Conkerr Cancer charity that gives them to children in hospitals.
Sounds like everyone has their hands full as usual with caregiving and family issues. I've been told many times that I may not understand God's will, but to trust He will see us through all our trials. It's still hard to understand why young vital people with so much life to live must pass on.
Mom is demanding my attention so I must go. Have as good a night as possible and stay safe and warm with the weather moving across the country.

Love ya,
Diane xoxox

Well, I took the day off, and took the horses to an all women's roping competition. Not that I was entered in any events. But, my 2 young horses need exposure to crowds and noise, and a lady I work with was entered. There were entries from as far away as Florida. The lady I work with got a 1st place in one event. and a 2nd place in another. Not bad.
Will go work on the adobe house tomorrow. Unfortunately, it has been remodeled several times. Hoping to save the hardwood floors in the front part of the house.
Bobbie loved your post, especially the part about nuts. I can relate.
Love reading everyone's posts. Bookworm, hope you come back again. Welcome to all the new people. Shirley

Owned it bobmiester...God how many ways do you need to say it, why can't we have an addendum to the title of the blog so new people can see that this is an ongoing thriving thread? And, you are right, the original post set paragraph says it and if you ( new person) feel you do not like something in that, then maybe you should just move along to another post. It isn't a bad thing, not everyone is going to connect but we can chose to move on and find a better fit, many have...whats the big deal? bobbie I am very sorry all this comes down on you. It was your post from so way back but it seems this subject will just keep being new and good and bad all over again every time this comes up. (The were we attacked? I felt attacked, did you feel attacked, should we get the napalm out?) I think probably your thought out, longer post, that explains both the situation IN the title and how the thread goes is best, but sometimes, when some really self righteous person drops by and drops a bomb, "Piss Off" is still appropriate.

I got lost in all the;...what was it. Oh "You blame her for judging you but You judged her first... when all she did was..." All she ( The latest she) did was open with "You People suck..." Um, that is not Reeeealy a vague interpretable opener...I agree it would be best if we could all pull back and think "In with anger out with Love" but so many of us are fried and so damn worn out where we are, when we come here for support and laughs and get a face slap instead the easiest ad quickest response is Oh Bite Me!!!
I think I AM one of the selfish single minded people here actually, and I am sorry for that. I read others posts and sometimes comment, but I feel all the useful stuff I had to say was long ago and now all I am is a whiner... With mom here now, I don't have the full on responsibilities I once complained about with old pervert pants, I just feel grossed out of dysfunction and daily irritation now, I am not the one running him to appointments, giving out pills etc. I still clean a lot and take care of my moms stuff to give her more of a break to deal with him, but it is not the same...
I feel stupid posting to others when I can hardly follow their lives so well anymore. But I am not a lurker..I feel the need to say something now and then...I think my situation is beyond the pale. I feel I have found a good fit "bowl of nuts wise" and I do not want to lose that. Good God aren't we all looking for that in some way or another?...A place where we don't have to lie about our lives? A place we can share and feel valued? Any wonder a person from outside coming in with what feels to many of us like Gross Judgement is so handily swatted back?
I don't know, best to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but an attack is still an attack even if you call it something else. You need to try like deef does and imagine where it is coming from..You may make a friend we may get a new poster or just a drive by. but the core of Grossed remains and thanks to bobbie both for having the guts to tell the truth about her situation and the love for us to continue to invest her time and care in us. I think it is worth the occasional hassle. She could have abandoned ship long ago...but she didn't she stuck with both her original even if not longer accurate post and with the new and long term Grossed Denizens and I personally am richer, saner happier and Grateful for it!Love Jen

Deefer, as long as u r growing n it don't bother you then the heck with it. Go with the flow. so sorry you have dealt with pain at a very young age too. I think the sense of humor helps a lot too in a person n sometimes when we r in so much pain n so long that it becomes numb n I am sure you know what I mean with the Autoimmune disease. Omg, you mom n the Taco Bell story, lol. Sorry u cannot get out to eat because of that matter. Thanks for sharing about your grandparents n the bottle glass milk. Makes me think the Andy Griffin Show. I am jealous, y'all got to make whip-cream, yummy. Finger licking slapping good. mmm. Enjoy your show.

Thanks Cat n I only need one little spark of light. That is if I don't wring my hubby neck first with his ignorance. All the pictures that I have put up on fb is from my 4G phone. It has a pretty good camera. Mine won't be able to do the fancy professional styles but it serves it purpose. Does your cellphone have a camera that is any good?
dkjellander, luv the toothpick-finger story n You gotta keep that humor going to keep from going crazy sometimes. ; )
Book, I use capitalize too for certain words to stand out but not necessarily yelling too. I do believe if i is the whole sentence either the person accidentally hit the cap key or that person is yelling. Especially, when it involves a lot of exclamation marks. !!!. Book no need in hiding your head n being a coward for you are a caregiver n you know u that care-givers r not allow to do such a thing n they r defiantly not a coward! Now, maybe if you want to hide your head in a book, bookwork. Just make sure it is a good one n it's worth your time. : )

Getting tired so I am going to sound off n hope everyone has a nice Sunday.

Diane, glad you got the internet back and you are right about the antibiotics helping mom's cold. I really think when Mom has a UTI for a long time before I realize it, she ends up with cold symptoms from it. That has happened to her before, so I think it's not a cold, but a side affect of the UTI. Hope you can get some rest!
LilDeb, My cellphone has a great camera. I even have pictures of baby spiders that hatched on the house siding last summer! With the phone I can zoom way in on the picture and see every detail, including colors on the baby spiders that were no bigger than a pinhead. GROSS but really cool at the same time. I read on You that your husband is not taking the day off for your surgery. He really should be available to pick you up at least!!! When I had my appendix out years ago, I made my husband go to work because it was December and whatever sick days he didn't use, he got paid for as a bonus! So my sil took me to the hospital and when my husband came after work, it was just in time to see me be sick from the pain killers. I sent him off to play cards with his friends, as it was card night. All I wanted to do was sleep!
Shirley, That roping competition sounds like too much fun! Have seen it on TV and my daughter and her husband went to San Antonio last September, on a trip she won from work. They went to a rodeo and cattleman's cookout and had the time of their life! Hated the heat, but loved the site seeing and the food!
Jen, well said! You are awesome and whenever you write, everyone takes notice! I'm as guilty as the next person ,of forgetting to throw someone's name out there. Comes from the caregiver's disease called fried brains! There isn't one of us on this entire site that can't lay claim to that affliction.
I agree that Bobbie has been attacked, stepped on, made to look like a villain, one time too many! She has apologized, groveled and bet hurt badly many times just for being here to help, encourage and guide anyone when they need it. If she doesn't have an answer to help, she defers to someone who does or points the person in the right direction to get the answers they need.
The fact that she is plain spoken bothers some, I for one find it refreshing and not just a bunch of empty words that sound good.
Bobbie is working her butt off to get the boat ship shape and make it a safe haven for caregivers to get respite. I for one, am planning to spend some time with Bobbie on her boat when she is ready. I can't wait to meet someone who has been such a help to so many even after the many attacks she has endured over the last three years. I have been here for all of it and I can tell you that Bobbie has wanted to disappear many times, and has taken time away to assess the damage done to her heart by people she trusted. But the need to help even one person get through this mess of caregiving always brings her back. I admire her for that. And that is the main reason so many come here for comfort and guidance and thank goodness, are able to see through those who want to destroy that.
Thank all of the GO followers and contributors for being here when we all need support, comfort friendship, and yes, a place to vent and talk about GROSS things!!!

Dang Kathy, you got boat time again!....lol

Hey ya'll I haven't read the posts yet, but I wanted to let ya'll know that dad is still in the hospital and they still don't know where he is losing the blood from. They have checked the upper and lower gi and still don't know. Tomorrow they are doing a colonoscopy (sp?) and if they don't find anything there they are going to see if maybe he has a bad heart valve that is destroying his red blood cells. If that does show anything the dr said that may have to look into blood disorders. They have given dad 3 pts of blood. When he went in his hemoglobin was 7.5 and now it is at a 10. I don't know if they are going to give him anymore blood transfusions yet. He says that his stomach is still tender. But really thats all I know right now.
Oh someone said something about us checking on his MCV level. And sis said she was looking over the nurse shoulder and his lymphocytes were low but thats all she could see. I will keep ya'll posted. Love and hugs stormy

Stormy, looks like you have a real mystery there! Hope it's an easy fix. In the meantime, take advantage of him being in the hospital and get some rest and mom and Conner time if you can. Let us know when you find out anything!
Diane, When I do get to the boat, I'll be pretty close to Georgia, so maybe....

Stormy,
Sorry that your dad and you guys are going through all of that. Hope all gets back in balance soon.
Give Connor a squeeze from everyone here.

Crew,
Found some random notes written by random writers to random recipients:

Dear Noah,
We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
Sincerely,
Unicorns

Dear Twilight fans,
Please realize that because vampires are dead and have no blood pumping through them, they can never get it up. Enjoy dreaming about that.
Sincerely,
Logic

Dear Icebergs,
Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a bitch.
Sincerely,
The Titanic

Dear iPhone,
Please stop spell checking all of my rude words into nice words.
You piece of shut.
Sincerely,
Every iPhone User

Dear Trash,
At least you get picked up...
Sincerely,
The Girls of Jersey Shore

Dear America ,
You produced Miley Cyrus. Bieber is your punishment.
Sincerely,
Canada

Dear Yahoo,
I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..."
Just saying...
Sincerely,
Google

Dear Man,
It's cute, but can you pick up peanuts with it?
Sincerely,
Elephant

lovbob

Deef!
When you get to the boat you'll be IN Georgia....
haha
lovbob

I am glad to see that Cat and Bookworm are trying to mend the fences.
Bookworm- I hope you will come back and post more often on GO, but I know you have to do this in your own pace. Love and miss you!
Cat- I wanted to say that I think it takes alot of heart and guts to apologize. I will try to post more later but I have to go to the hospital soon. Love you too Cat!

A magician worked on a cruise ship. The audience was different each week, so the magician did the same tricks over and over again.

There was one problem. The captain's parrot saw the shows each week and began to understand how the magician did every trick.

Once he understood, he started shouting in the middle of the show, "Look, it's not the same hat!" or, "Look, he's hiding the flowers under the table," or "Hey, why are all the cards the ace of spades?"

The magician was furious, but couldn't do anything. It was, after all, the captain's parrot. Then the ship sank. The magician found himself on a piece of wood in the middle of the sea with, as fate would have it, the parrot.

They stared at each other with hatred, but did not utter a word. This went on for a day and then another and then another.

Finally on the fourth day, the parrot could not hold back and said, "OK, I give up. Where's the ship?"

lovbob

After a tiring day, a commuter settled down in her seat and closed her eyes. As the train rolled out of the station, the guy sitting next to her pulled out his cell phone and started talking in a loud voice:
"Hi sweetheart, its Eric. I am on the train."
"Yes, I know it's the six thirty and not the four thirty, but I had a long meeting."
"No, honey, not with that blonde from the accounts office. It was with the boss."
"No sweetheart, you're the only one in my life."
"Yes, I'm sure, cross my heart."
Fifteen minutes later, he was still talking loudly. When the young woman sitting next to him had had enough, she leaned over and said into the phone, "Eric, hang up the phone and come back to bed."
Eric doesn't use his cell phone in public any longer.

lovbob

I put this one up a long time ago...

The following is supposedly a documented conversation between the USS Lincoln and a Canadian "vessel"....

Canadian: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert your course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert your course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north, I say again, that's one five degrees north, or counter-measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

lovbob

A young fellow from Oklahoma moves to California and goes to a big 'everything under one roof' department store looking for a job.

The manager says, "Do you have any sales experience?"
The kid says, "Yeah, I was a salesman back home in Oklahoma."
Well, the boss liked the kid so he gave him the job.
"You start tomorrow. I'll come down after we close and see how you did "

His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the boss came down...

"How many sales did you make today?"
The kid says, "One."
The boss says, "Just one? Our sales people average 20 or 30 sales a day. You're going to have to improve considerably or look for another job! How much was the sale for?"
The kid says, "$112,237.64."

The boss says, "$112,237.64 !! What the hell did you sell ?"

Kid says, "First I sold him a small fish hook. Then I sold him a medium fish hook. Then I sold him a larger fish hook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod.

Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down at the lake, so I told him he was gonna need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him a new bass boat.

Then he said he didn't think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him that new Ford pick-up. I asked him how long he was going to be out at the lake and after he said 5 or 6 days I took him down to the RV department and sold him a slide-in camper for the truck."

The boss said, "A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat, a truck and a camper?"

Kid says, "No, he came in here to buy a box of tampons for his wife and I said, 'Well, your weekend's shot, you might as well go fishing."

lovbob

He is going to take the day but I told him I only need him for half day. He thought he could take me at 5:30am n stay n bring me home before work. However, I told him that the nurse mention they usually don't start till 7am. He went all ballistic over that one. As long as he is their when I am coming out from recovery so, if the dr needs to talk to a family member their will be someone. I just didn't think I needed me to explain all of this to him. Not like I didn't do it for him when he got his colon test done n they remove a few polyps. He's taking a half-a-day off n it's not we r hurting for money right now so he can afford to take a day or so off if he needs to do it. Oh, I cannot stand those legged spiders. I cannot even stand to even type it out. Terrified of them.