Learning to focus on the present may boost quality of life not only for dementia patients but also those who struggle to care for them
Mindfulness training helps Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers
Month: September 2014
To Sigyn,
Strongest arms who never stop caring
Unfailing will who can never collapse
Even under the rage of your beloved Worldbreaker
Please, lend us resilience and steadiness
Please, allow us to forgive anger and forget pain
Please, let us take care of our loved one as you do
Dear Sigyn, mother of our heart
Please, let us feed the dying seed with soothing water.
HI.
I’m Ender, and this is my tattoo. I’ve had chronic pain since I was around twelve years old. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Three weeks ago, my Mother told me she has the gene for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, that my Grandmother did, and that I likely do as well. She was right. Two weeks ago, I was diagnosed with EDS.
Every step of the way, the chronic pain and invisible illness community has been there for me. It’s remarkable. I’ve never turned towards a group of complete strangers who have responded to me with nothing but love, understanding, and open arms. When I’m having a bad day, literally all it takes is a moment to reach out, to connect, and to feel the support of this community to know I’m going to be okay.
I got this tattoo from Teresa Sharpe on the TV show “Best Ink”. She touched my heart with her own understanding, and the fact that she truly wanted to give me an amazing tattoo for being strong enough to go on the show is plain to see when looking at her work. I’ll never forget the experience.
Keep your spoons close, friends. And know that even when you feel you’re down to your last, you’ve got a spare tucked away in your sleeve somewhere.
Rock on.
Mothering with mental illness
I am a mother with mental illness – one who is raising a beautiful, caring son.
Vali – 2013
Young adult Vali anyway. It’s gonna be ages before we see him alas. And that’s really some artistic license on the hair. shhhhhhhhh.
shhhhhh.
sigh.
little vali next update
“The Specials” reality series coming to the OWN
British series follows five young adults with intellectual disabilities, living in a way that inspires and defies viewers’ expectations
Really not digging the title at all, but otherwise could be interesting, depending on how the rest of it is presented.
A Football Grandma
My life has been filled with it’s ups and downs but overall, it’s a good life. I chose to have my children at a young age so that I would still be able to fulfill some of my life goals as they became independent adults. My plan was NOT what destiny had in store for me.
As I approach my 58th birthday early next year, I find myself raising two of my teenage grandchildren. Kim will soon be 18 and DJ will be 15 in December. They are great kids who were dealt a really bad hand in life. You see, their mother suffers from mental illness. She struggles on a daily basis with her own survival needs. Their father decided he should move on with his life, divorce their mom, and start a new family with another woman. I do believe that they both love their kids, unfortunately neither is capable of supporting them. Not emotionally or financially.
My husband and I have raised Kim since she was 3 months old. Her parents were too busy living their own lives to take care of the needs of an infant. DJ lived with his biological parents until July 2014. For the previous 2 years, he struggled to live with his mom who was fighting her own demons. Never having a stable home, he had attended as many as 5-6 different schools in his young life. He went weeks without electricity and sometimes water because the bills hadn’t been paid. The two meals that he could count on were the free breakfast and lunch he got at school. Weekends he prayed there would be food for at least 2 meals.
In early July, he came to visit us. He was excited to be starting high school in August and he was especially excited about playing football. Practices had been in full swing since early June and he was working really hard to make the team and impress his coaches. Unfortunately, he was also homeless. Sleeping on the floor wherever his mom could talk someone into letting them lay their heads. His few clothes were in trash bags. DJ was embarrassed and totally uncertain about what tomorrow would have in store for him. How could I selfishly sit back and watch a child endure all of that and not take a stand? The answer is that I couldn’t!
DJ is now living with me, my husband, and his sister Kim in our home. He is attending the local high school here and he made the JV football team! Not one week has passed since he began living with us that he doesn’t say “thank you so much grandma and grandpa for letting me come live with you and Kim.” He is thriving emotionally, physically and socially. DJ no longer has to worry about adult problems in life. He knows there will be food when he is hungry. He can take a daily shower without fear that the water will be turned off. The electricity is on so he can do his homework and actually concentrate on his schoolwork. Also, he now has a bed in his own bedroom!
My life is nothing like I envisioned it would be at this point in time but I wouldn’t change a thing. I have found a new purpose in my life. A new reason to get out of bed every morning. I’ve joined the PTA again! My social calendar now includes Thursday night JV football games cheering for my #10 corner back!!! Friday nights are now spent working in the concession booth at the Varsity football games! As a Bengal Booster Club parent, that is now my job. So as I near my 58th birthday early next year, I am traveling the path of parenthood all over again. It’s a path that I wouldn’t trade for any other and that I thank God for giving me the health and means to provide for His two beautiful creations!
Warm Hugs My Friends,
Donna
Sigyn’s flower bowl is getting pretty full. Time to get a bigger bowl…or pick less flowers for her, but honestly, which one do you see happening first? >_>
The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought with care.
Buddha (560 – 480 B.C.E.)
Rollin’ with Kristine: Local disabled woman hopes travel series makes it big, educates, inspires
Kristine Groenenboom-Newbold enjoys traveling, despite the disability that has put in her a wheelchair. But while watching travel TV shows and videos, she often is frustrated by the dearth of information about access for the disabled to those tourist destinations.
“If you call the place,” she said, “and you go, ‘Are you guys wheelchair accessible?’ They’re like, ‘Uh, we’ve got a ramp.’ OK. What does that tell me? Nothing.”
So, about a year ago, Kristine decided to create her own series and started turning her “harebrained idea” into reality.
Kristine and Thompson plan to market their series to travel TV networks and websites. Their first episode was a visit to Callaway Gardens, and their second was kayaking on the Chattahoochee River. Next, they are scheduled to visit the National Infantry Museum and the Columbus State University Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center. They also want to film a horseback riding episode.
She is trying to raise $2,700 for the project, titled “Rollin’ with Kristine,” on GoFundMe.
“The idea is to laugh and have fun but also show the capabilities of a person in a wheelchair,” Kristine posted on the website. “The money is needed to pay for the filming, editing and production costs of 5 adventures. I have the crew and the idea and the abilities, I just need a little financial assistance. I promise this will be FAR BETTER than some of the stuff being aired these days!!”
Rollin’ with Kristine: Local disabled woman hopes travel series makes it big, educates, inspires
Holding the Bowl 