Tikkun Olam

Towards the New Year, Rosh Hashana 5772, I would like to recap my daughter's situation and extent the hope that she will continue to improve in her efforts to combat this terrible disease of RSD/CRPS with the goal of complete ambulation and personal, pain-free independence. Some time ago she took it upon herself to force herself to walk using a special walker, on which she places about 85% of her body weight by leaning her arms on the armrests, similar to this one: She is still unable to place most of her weight on her legs, as she is doing this through her pain.  Finally, however, the doctors listened to her and took her off most of the medications and narcotics she was on previously, which did nothing to help her, but only drugged her up so much that she would almost literally fall asleep into her soup, so to speak--the list was interminable: Elatrol, Clonazepam, Gabapentin, Oxycontin, Cymbalta, and later Lyrica instead of Gabapentin, and Valium and Percosets. They are go...

Blogging daily, or even every two or three days will probably not be a possibility for me.   So far, although it might change,  my day looks like this:  I get up in the morning, sometimes early—around 5:30-6:30 a.m., because my window down in the basement mamad* room doesn’t have a curtain yet (there is one in a plastic bag, but the people whose house guest I am have not put it up yet).  I have two bath towels hanging over the window, which swings in towards the room to open, for a little privacy and sun-blockage.  The morning sun streams into the room at 0500 hours or so, basically forcing me to wake up even if I don’t want to, as I didn’t today.  Last night I stayed up till 1:00 a.m. Skyping with my D. H. and some friends, one of whom I thought was in Israel, but was in the States.  Suffice it to say, I shouldn’t have. Stayed up, that is.  I wanted to sleep this morning, so when Mr. Shemesh* woke me up at the unearthly hour of 5:30, I stag...

I saw this video posted on my daughter's Facebook page, and went to the link.  It explains a little about what chronic pain is and does to a person.  You should also read her latest post.  Her blog, My Personal Battle with RSD ,  is linked in my sidebar, but this latest post of hers is so important, I am linking it again right here: What It's Like to Live With RSD.