Third year Day 123 - Tuesday April 15, 2014

Today we had to run into the post office to get some certified letters mailed.  On the way there, Bridgett asked me a question that she has asked many times in the past......how did Adam and Eve deliver their first baby when there was no one around to help them and they didn't know anything.  We then discussed the fact that birth is a natural thing and that God meant that women didn't need hospital or doctors for birth. Of course, things are different these days and I'm not saying that I think that everyone should have a home birth; I'm just saying that it's a natural process and in a healthy woman there doesn't need to be a lot of interference! So, this question opened up a lot of discussion about related things.  Remember I said that Bridgett has relearned many things and remembered some things.  This is one of those things that she is relearning....anatomy and how the body works.  When she started waking up from her coma, she started having her period regularly right away, although most women do not after a TBI; actually I was told in the hospital that most women go months without a period.  That would have been easier, because then she would have been starting to remember things when it happened.  It was very scary and bewildering for her, because she could not remember anything about periods and did not know what was happening.  Luckily back in those days, I was always with her in the bathroom so I could immediately quiet her fears, although she still didn't really comprehend it. Since that time things have of course gotten much much better and after six months or so she definitely knew what was happening, although she couldn't really remember the mechanics of it.  Each month now, we talk about the female anatomy and go over how things work.  Several months ago, I got an inspiration to have her view the Walt Disney animated film about menstruation.  That way she could visually see the explanation of the anatomy and what exactly happens, and she has been remembering it all much better. Not only had she known all of these things before, she had taken Biology and Anatomy in college and really lost almost all of that knowledge of the body for the time being, although she is relearning things.  We spent several months relearning the major bones in the body, and she remembers all of that now.  She still is inclined to use memory triggers, which I really like to see her do anyway.  For quite a time she couldn't remember if the radius and ulna were in the arm or leg and whether the fibula and tibia were in the arm or leg.  Then one day she said to me, I can now remember every time that the fibula is in the leg because it's by the foot and fibula and foot start with the same letter.  And, do you know what, she's never forgotten that since!

Third year Day 122 - Monday April 14, 2014

Bridgett is remembering more and more, but still is a very bit by bit way.  Today she talked about Vern and Dorothy's machine, called a QXCI.  She remembered the name of it and that the appointments lasted for like an hour and a bit.  She has been talking to me over the past few months and remembering when she was younger and was very sick.  She had lymphoma and doesn't recall the exact circumstances, although she said to me several times, wasn't I really really sick when I was younger and had something really bad like cancer?  Slowly she is remembering that period of time and the many different things we did to get her healthy again, including the QXCI machine.  Also, she does remember drinking tons of noni and wheat grass juice--yum!  She brings that up from time to time, especially noni, since she sees Mark drink it every day. He's the only in the family that still drinks it:)

Third year Day 121 - Sunday April 13, 2014

We got up and started getting ready for church, but by 9:00 Bridgett was back in agony with her kidney pain.  Another week of no church--so frustrating!  She really wants to go to and remembers each week when it is Sunday without my prompting; she wakes up and comes up and tells me she needs to get ready for church!  Today she said, doesn't Lakeside always meet at 10:00? (we used to live in Somers and go to church there) Yes, I think they do still meet at 10:00, although that may be different, now they also have the stake singles ward meet there at like 1:30 I think.  Bridgett did go to the singles ward for a summer when she was home.  Arrianne will be home for the summer and will attend the singles ward.  Perhaps Bridgett will go with her when she feels well enough. 

Third year Day 120 - Saturday April 12, 2014

I found an awesome pair for shoes for Bridgett and she is in raptures about them. They have memory foam in them and they are just so comfortable!  She just loves them and I'm really glad that I was able to find a pair that would work out so well!  I got them at JC Penney.  I wasn't as successful about getting a new blouse, but oh well!  I will have a little time to look around in Provo when we get there.  We will drive down on Wednesday and Arrianne's recital isn't until Friday afternoon.  A couple of weeks ago I sat down with Bridgett and we picked out some cute checks for her Utah bank account, where her social security funds will be deposited.  She was so excited to think of getting some cute checks and picked out some Charlie Brown checks.  I called to Zions Bank and ordered them and they arrived today.  Unfortunately, they did not list my name on them like I had requested so I called to the company that printed them.  They said the order from the bank was not listed correctly and I am not listed on the account (although I am on the account) and so they are unable to fix them.  They said to go into the bank and the bank will pay to have them reprinted.  Hummmm.... Anyway, we will be in Provo soon, so I guess I will worry about it then.  At least we have her debit card and so she can access the funds that way.

Third year Day 119 - Friday April 11, 2014

So Bridgett likes her new shoes and actually, cool enough, they are great for triathlon (remember that she was in training for a triathlon at the time of the accident).  They say right on the box that you can run, bike and swim with them on.  However, because they are good for swimming, they are also very open weave and thinking it over, they really will not work out.  Bridgett is still cold almost all of the time and has not been able to get her internal thermostat regulated yet.  What with living in the cold regions of Montana, there aren't enough really hot days to make the shoes practical.  So, tomorrow I plan to go to town and look for something else.  Bridgett is not having kidney pain, but she's back in one of those times where she just doesn't feel good and just aches all over like she has the flu.  This has happened a lot over the months, and we really haven't been able to address it well yet.  Faith said it is a brain thing, and as soon as she works on Bridgett she does feel immediately better.  I just don't really know what part of the brain is causing the problem!  So, Mark plans to be home in the morning so that I can run to town and look for more shoes as well as a new top for me to wear to Arrianne' recital on the 25th of April.  She will be having her junior vocal recital in Provo and we are all going down to hear her!  Fun!  Also, hopefully the new earphones will help blunt Arrianne's singing for Bridgett so the volume isn't too loud.  Bridgett wants to hear Arrianne, but she has so much volume as an opera singer that it's too much for her for more than one song (or even a whole song!).

Third year Day 118 - Thursday April 10, 2014

Bridgett got a letter today from Ashley Sayre, her cousin, who is serving a mission in Romania.  Actually, she is on her first assignment and is in Moldova right now.  Bridgett, Arrianne and Stephany have been quite close to Ashley and her sisters, Heather, and Emily over the years.  They are the daughters of my only sister, Susan.  When Bridgett lived in Provo and was lonesome and homesick, she would often drive up to Susan's house and spend the weekend.  This would ease her homesickness and really help her out.  Bridgett was so excited for Ashley to go on a mission and promised to write her, just as Ashley promised to write Bridgett.  After reading the letter, Bridgett immediately started writing a letter to Ashley.  Actually, at this point Bridgett doesn't like her handwriting and says it looks like a child's handwriting.  Really it is pretty legible, but she doesn't like it.  I keep telling her that its fine and as good as many people's handwriting.  Finally she said to me, ok, maybe it's not like a child's, but it's like mine as a child!  Haha!  It is getting better all of the time, and hopefully some day it will be back to normal--or at least good enough that Bridgett is happy with it!

Third year Day 117 - Wednesday April 9, 2014

Today was Bridgett's 24th birthday!  She was very excited as she opened her presents and was able to actually start wearing/using them!  Her Bose Noise Cancelling earphones came as well, so we are excited to try those out.  She was very much wanting to help make her cake, so I let her read and follow the directions and do it herself.  She decided that she wanted cupcakes, which is something we have never done with birthday cake before, except for a birthday party.  I didn't think it through until after they were made and then I realized that it interfered with one of our biggest birthday traditions--oh well, roll with the punches.  What we do EVERY birthday is let the birthday person cut their own piece of cake first.  Over the years we have had some funny first pieces of cake--shaped in the person's initial, shaped in something they like, a huge piece from the middle, and then Scott even cut a piece all around the edges of his cake.  I told her that she could cut a piece of cupcake, but she said, that would be silly!  Oh well!  We put candles in the cupcakes and arranged them on a plate like a cake (sort of) and sang happy birthday.  It all worked out anyway.  Bridgett had calls from her sister and brother that don't live at home.  Scott's call was very fun for her!  He told her that the other day he was in Provo and had to drive on the street where she had her wreck. (he knew exactly where the wreck was as he, Mark, Tyler and Arrianne went there to get pictures) Anyway, he told her he stopped at the place where her wreck was and spit on the street!  That made her super happy and she was sure to tell Jenn about it when she called.  Maybe we all need to go and spit on the road....closure:)

Third year Day 116 - Tuesday April 8, 2014

We ran to Harvest Foods in Bigfork to get some last minute things for Bridgett's birthday dinner and a gluten free cake mix.  I could make one by scratch, but don't want to waste energy on that right now.  Bridgett wants her favorite...Fettuccine Alfredo, with chicken.  We make it gluten and dairy free and I luckily have a great tasting and easy recipe for the Alfredo.  Luckily Bridgett likes most of the gluten free, dairy free items we buy and there are no complaints.  However, I did have Bridgett and Stephany have an allergy blood test and we are awaiting the results.  Bridgett seems to always have a stomach ache after eating and we need to figure out what else is bothering her besides gluten and dairy.  Actually, Stephany's came back yesterday and so that was important for her.  She has been eating eggs and beef and is allergic to both, in addition to the other things we already knew about.  Also, this time she is allergic to yogurt and she has been having yogurt and kefir daily.  So, hopefully a change in diet will help her feel better.  I also hope that Bridgett's test results come back soon!  I sent an email to Jen Hawes to check on it .  The lab said "Bridgett’s testing is being repeated for confirmation of accuracy," whatever that means!

Third year Day 115 - Monday April 7, 2014

This morning Bridgett was feeling better, so we jumped in the car and hurried off to Kalispell to do some birthday shopping for her.  I just haven't been able to go shopping before today, although I would have rathered not shopping at the last minute!  At least there are two days left and not one til her birthday!  We only went two places, but by the second place, the kidney pain was returning and we made it short and hurried back home.  First we went to Target, and amazingly found her a swimsuit right off the bat!  It's always hard to find modest swimsuits here, but we found a very cute one piece and then a corresponding swim skirt to go over it.  Bridgett always did wear a pair of shorts over her swimsuit.  We also got a much needed pair of pajamas, along with a cute beach towel.  She picked out a fun bracelet and of all things a little purse for a debit card, reminding me that she used to carry one and wanted to get her own debit card again!  Next we headed to Famous Footwear and looked for new walking shoes, which she desperately needs.  It's hard to find a size 11, let me tell you.  In all of the styles that she really loved, there wasn't a size big enough.  Finally we found two pairs that she could try on.  The first was not comfortable, but the second one was great. Actually, it was a triathlon shoe!  It said right on the box: run, bike and swim in these shoes!  We left Kalispell happy with our purchases and headed home to the heating pad. 

Third year Day 114 - Sunday April 6, 2014

Another day of conference.  Another day of kidney pain for Bridgett.  Of course, we know nothing is wrong in the kidneys.  Faith says that it's the respiratory diaphragm, so between the kidneys and the respiratory diaphragm.  I do know that Bridgett's lungs had a great assault at the time of the accident.  Of course, remember that she was anoxic for like 20 minutes or so.  And then, she might have hit the truck with her chest and had that blow as well.  She did have two pools of blood in the lungs that they were watching closely and there was a point that they were worried about collapse of the lungs.  However, they said that her lungs were so healthy they were able to heal themselves fairly quickly.  Anyway, this pain is very frequent, painful and hard to deal with.  There were so many great address today at the general conference.  This mornings session was very close to my heart.  At all times, we gather strength, knowing that God loves us and will watch over us and nurture us as we turn to Him. Keeping perspective is key to many of lives problems.

I attach one address for you to read, Grateful in Any Circumstances by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/2014/04/grateful-in-any-circumstances?lang=eng

I want to quote from his address...

Being Grateful for Things

But some might say, “What do I have to be grateful for when my world is falling apart?”

Perhaps focusing on what we are grateful for is the wrong approach. It is difficult to develop a spirit of gratitude if our thankfulness is only proportional to the number of blessings we can count. True, it is important to frequently “count our blessings”—and anyone who has tried this knows there are many—but I don’t believe the Lord expects us to be less thankful in times of trial than in times of abundance and ease. In fact, most of the scriptural references do not speak of gratitude for things but rather suggest an overall spirit or attitude of gratitude.

It is easy to be grateful for things when life seems to be going our way. But what then of those times when what we wish for seems to be far out of reach?

Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.

There is an old story of a waiter who asked a customer whether he had enjoyed the meal. The guest replied that everything was fine, but it would have been better if they had served more bread. The next day, when the man returned, the waiter doubled the amount of bread, giving him four slices instead of two, but still the man was not happy. The next day, the waiter doubled the bread again, without success.

On the fourth day, the waiter was really determined to make the man happy. And so he took a nine-foot-long (3-m) loaf of bread, cut it in half, and with a smile, served that to the customer. The waiter could scarcely wait for the man’s reaction.

After the meal, the man looked up and said, “Good as always. But I see you’re back to giving only two slices of bread.”

Third year Day 113 - Saturday April 5, 2014

Today was the first day of conference and boy was it a good conference!  It was just wonderful to be able to sit at home and hear the wonderful addresses, since we are so often unable to attend.  And even when we can go, after about 20-30 minutes, I end up in the hall walking with Bridgett, because she is in pain and unable to stay sitting down.  Over the next few months, this is something that I am hoping we can address with someone, helping get her to the point that she can sit for like at least an hour (or 70 minutes!).  I do know people who go through years of pain, and that of course was Mark's concern as she was waking up from a coma.  Will she go through years of pain?  We hope that somehow this will not be the case and that she can have some years without pain. 

Third year Day 112 - Friday April 4, 2014

Bridgett is just over 2-1/2 years older than Arrianne, so over the years has watched out for Arrianne quite a bit.  When Arrianne went to college the first semester, before Bridgett's wreck, they were roommates.  Bridgett helped Arrianne learned where things were and how to survive.  They went everywhere together!  Bridgett watched out and made sure no one hurt or bothered Arrianne.  So, it was kind of cute the other day when this happened.....Arrianne called and was crying, telling us about one of her "friends" that has been mean to her lately.  Mean in the way of saying things like I hate you because you are so cute, or so skinny or whatever and saying them like she's teasing but really meaning it.  Bridgett said to her, tell them you r big sister said they'd better be nice.  Then she said I hope they are because I don't want to have to beat them up!  Haha!  Anyway, it was cute to see Bridgett being protective again of Arrianne.  BTW, that girl kept it up and caused Arrianne to cry, so finally came and apologized and said that she'd been having self esteem problems and was sorry to be so mean. 

Third year Day 111 - Thursday April 3, 2014

Today we were playing a game with Tyler, and I don't even remember what they were talking about.  However, all of the sudden Bridgett said to Tyler, keep that on the down low!  I love it when she remembers little phrases like that! Today Bridgett is feeling pretty good and I hope that situation keeps up! 

Third year Day 110 - Wednesday April 2, 2014

Bridgett still remembers things from the past in funny bits and pieces!  Today she said to me, the Kalispell ward meet at 9:00, 11:00, and 1:00, right?  Of course, right!  For most things, once she remembers them, she keeps on remembering them.  Only, it's a slow process, getting her long term memory back in bits and pieces at a time!   Think of how many bits and pieces there are!  Actually, I try not to think about it too much....

Third year Day 109 - Tuesday April 1, 2014

No, we didn't have any cute April Fools Day jokes today!  We googled some jokes and decided that most of them are kind of mean!  Actually, I used to do things like color the mashed potatoes, or serve green eggs and ham (BTW, nobody like eating green eggs!).  Today I had a Skype consultation with my old macrobiotic coach, Warren Kramer, from Massachusetts.  I used to fly out to Atlanta or Austin, Texas to meet with him; actually I regularly flew out every three months for quite a while.  He is great and I am so glad that he started doing Skype appointments, because I can't figure out how to go for a consult these days.  I really need to get back to some structured eating, for my own health.  I started eating macrobiotic because of MS, and I was able to get all of my symptoms in remission.  I continued eating macrobiotic because of breast cancer and was able to resolve that situation.  Although I've continued eating vegan, and very broad macrobiotic, it's time for me to get back to some structure.  This fatigue is part of the whole MS picture and as well I've been having some other minor symptoms.  Warren said that because I'm under so much pressure, he wants to me concentrate on eating somewhat broad with some added suggestions to handle stress.  And, absolutely no chocolate!  He said it's terrible for MS and I've been having dairy free organic chocolate when I am stressed.  No more!  (drat!)  But I am excited for the changes that I will be making!  He predicts that I will have more energy in roughly ten days, and I'm excited for that!  I order a lot of my specialty food online from back east, and luckily Warren told me about ordering something special today.  The company I bought from ships items frozen at a cost of $45.00 for my order, but after today and through the summer and into the fall, the shipping jumps to $250.00!  That's for overnight and it's heavy.  So, I felt very lucky!  If it had been later on, I couldn't justify that kind of shipping!

Third year Day 108 - Monday March 31, 2014

I keep forgetting to tell you something funny that Bridgett said.  That day that we were at Walmart, buying yarn, she saw one of their signs that said, Save Money, Live Better.  She read it and then I said yes, that's their motto.  She said, immediately, without missing a beat, what's the motto with you??  Haha!  I love it when she is so quick and witty and has a come back.  It shows me that her brain is working better all of the time! 

Third year Day 107 - Sunday March 30, 2014

Today Bridgett's pain was back with a vengence.  I just hate to see her in so much pain!  She has good days and bad days, although she has more good than bad for sure.  She has not had too many excruitiatingly painful days, so that's good.  There have been some really bad days, when the pain was so bad that she could hardly stand it (and that's with taking Lortab!).  Three times Bridgett has said something that just cut us to the quick and made us realize how terrible the pain was.  Three times she said.....I wish I was in a coma again, so I didn't have to feel this terrible pain!  Each time, I was so very sad at these words, but of course, quick to remind her how fortunate she has been, how blessed she has been.  And then she has of course agreed, and not repeated it again.  But, oh, it's hard when the pain is so terrible!!  I know that there are many people who live with constant pain.  And, Bridgett can understand them so well.  Many times when I ask her if she has pain, she will tell me, no, not really, but you know what it would feel like if someone was poking you every ten seconds all day long and never stopped?  That is what she usually feels like; annoying, dull, never ending pain.  We try not to focus on pain......
Yet, Bridgett is very sensitive to others pain and sickness.  When she prays she always is so sure to bless anyone else in pain and she many times asks for a double blessing for me for helping her so much.  She is so sweet about that!  If I am sick, she will say to me, I wish I could take away your pain for you.  I'd take it myself if I could.  Of course, that is the way we feel about her pain too. 

Third year Day 105 - Friday March 28, 2014

Today I was asking Bridgett questions, trying to see what things she could remember from living in Provo.  We talked about her last job, at the Golden Spoon.  She said she remembered Kira and Dusty, so that was an improvement.  She remembered Dusty's car and motorcycle; why am I not surprised about that!  This evening was the Young Women's General Conference. Stephany and I watched all but the final address, which we will watch tomorrow.  What a great meeting, full of so many different and wonderful things!  Bridgett watched part of it, but wanted to walk around to be more comfortable.  She still can't still for very long at one time, usually.  Hopefully that will get better as well.   Life is limited if you can't be comfortable sitting!

Third year Day 105 - Friday March 28, 2014

The results from the social security screening for Bridgett had been sent to her neurologist here in Kalispell (by our request) and Mark was able to stop by and get a copy.  Luckily, Penny (Courtney's mom) had emailed me and told me about her experiences with Courtney's testing, so I was better prepared for what I was going to read.  I had been dreading reading it, but at the same time I could hardly wait to read what it said.  Luckily, because I was so ready I guess, I actually had a good laugh over the whole thing!  The psychologist quoted word for word many different things that Bridgett said, and they were just so funny, just so Bridgett, that I laughed and laughed.  I tried to read parts of it to Mark and I was just laughing so hard he couldn't even tell what I was trying to say!!  It did take the bite out of the whole situation!  If you remember, she was in great pain during the examination, and so was more distractable than she can be.  I expected that the testing would not go as well as it could have gone, because, face it, when any of us is in great pain, we are not at our best mentally!  In any case, I am able to be at peace with their findings, and not let it get me down.  We will just keep working on things, and she will keep improving!  Oh, so about our appointment with Josh....I think it went really well.  During and afterwards Bridgett felt amazing and her kidneys stopped hurting.  I got an emailed copy of the results of the appointment and I felt that it was beneficial.  I sent the results to Faith, and she said that he worked on the same areas of the brain where she has been working and that his results were spot on.  So, that was nice!

Third year Day 104 - Thursday Mach 27, 2014

Bridgett had two appointments again with Faith.  She is feeling really great at this point.  Faith and I discussed today the fact that Bridgett has many trapped emotions but particulary in her kidneys. This is a phenomen we have discussed before, but not centered in the kidneys particularly. Faith does agree at this point that a large part of Bridgett's kidney pain could be related to trapped emotions, at least when other things are balanced.  Accordingly,  I have scheduled Bridgett to have an appointment tomorrow with Josh by proxy over the phone, to do the Emotion Code healing.  I sent him a picture of Bridgett, as well as a description of her accident and injuries.  We will see how that goes.  From their website I quote..."when you release trapped emotions from someone at a distance, it is literally a form of remote or distance healing. Although remote healing has not been incorporated into Western Medicine, it has been practiced both anciently and in modern times by those who practice The Silva Method, Qigong, GungFu, Reiki and other respected techniques."

Third year Day 103 - Wednesday March 26, 2014

Today we had two appointments again with Faith.  This afternoon Bridgett said, I just can't keep a frown on my face....life's just to amazing!  I do love her great attitude about things!  I did remember to call Michelle's office to leave a message that Bridgett is doing great and is out of pain and off Lortab.  I did not explain why.  In a message it would be very difficult.  In person, well, I probably wouldn't want to explain why completely!  I think most doctors would have a great big laugh at the whole idea.  However, you just have to be around Bridgett to see her actual pain and then watch how quickly it dissipates after just a few minutes of a craniosacral appointment.  And, it is very evident that the Skype appointments work just as well.  Weird!  Of course, there is deep brain work that might not work.  Otherwise, I might ask Faith about this....what is the point of ever traveling if the Skype appointments work so well?  I do think that some hands on appointments are necessary though.

Third year Day 102 - Tuesday March 25, 2014

We had two appointments with Faith today.  We are trying to set up the same schedule that we normally have with her, which is twice a day while we are there.  Each time Faith works on Bridgett, her pain is immediately resolved and then she can work on Bridgett's brain in the afternoon.  Both appointment went great today.  It's strange indeed that it works, but it does work so I'm not complaining!

Third year Day 101 - Monday March 24, 2014

We drove into town and to the hospital for the CT this morning.  Bridgett is still feeling better after having Faith's appointment.  It's still very cold here and we were wearing our warm coats.  Just before the guy called us to come in for the scan, Bridgett handed me her coat and I draped it over my arm.  I brought in her ipad, in case we had to wait for a long time.  With my purse in hand too, I decided to stick the ipad in my purse.  It's heavy enough that I didn't want the weight to bother the straps of my purse, so I was holding my purse in my arms.  When the technician came to take us back to the CT room, I had Bridgett's coat draped over my purse and I was holding everything kind of with two hands.  He talked to us for a couple of minutes and then asked me to wait in a room next to the CT room. I told him that Bridgett had a TBI and I usually stayed with her during the scans.  He said he thought it best that I remain in the other room.  At this moment, I had shifted things in my hands, and suddenly he saw my purse.  He laughed and said that he thought I was holding a baby in my arms and that is why he didn't want me to come in the room!  Hah!  Any way, he was very nice and allowed me to stay in the room until Bridgett was all situated on the bed and ready for the scan.  BTW this is the same guy that did Stephany's scan when she had the ovarian cyst last February (2013).  On the way home Bridgett said, isn't that Pappy Gargamel that is on the Smurfs?  Stuff like this just comes to her mind out of the blue!  Michelle Helwig called later to report that Bridgett's kidneys look beautiful.  Everything is just great and there are no more kidney stones.  At this point, she expressed her concern about Bridgett's pain level right now.  She said that it's been long enough that the kidney infection is not an issue at this point.  There are no more stones.  So, what is causing this pain?  She said it may well be that once Bridgett's brain gets going on a pain issue that is legitimate, then it can't shut down and pain moves around the body and remains unmanageable.  She said it's something to consider.  If that is the case, she would recommend something like Lyrica to block the pain.  It brought me back to talking to Dr. Speed while we were still in Utah in the early months after the wreck.  Remember that Bridgett was so sensitive to touch back then.  If you barely touched her, she felt as if you were hitting her hard.  We had to be extremely careful around her, so we didn't bump her accidentally.  Anyway, it is all very confusing.  The brain is such a complex thing.  I know that when Faith works on Bridgett, she has been working on the pain centers in the brain to get things working better.  Lots to think about....

Third year Day 100 - Sunday March 23, 2014

Just so you know, we sometimes do things that people would wonder about and call strange.  But, if you were in the same or similar situation, would might do these things as well.  Months ago Faith told me that she and a colleague of hers often work on each other by Skype.  She said, I know it sounds weird and she even thought to herself--how can this work.  But, she said it does work and she told me that if we had to she could work on Bridgett by Skype.  I texted her yesterday and told her about Bridgett's pain and so today she called and said that she could Skype work on Bridgett.  It was definitely strange so have Bridgett lay down and prepare for a session and then Skype in Faith.  Bridgett herself said, mom, how can this work?  I said, we don't know, but since you have so much pain we might as well try!  And, unbelievably, it worked!  Just minutes after Faith started "working" on her, Bridgett had relief from the pain!  Crazy!  She had me position the ipad in different areas, so that she could see the places she was concentrating on.  Bridgett always gets pretty immediate relief when Faith works on her, and it was the same today!  We schedule to Skype again on Tuesday, and update her on the pain.  I plan to have Bridgett go ahead and have the CT tomorrow, just to see for sure what is happening; Faith agrees about this.  It was good to break the pain killer cycle for the rest of the day today.  Bridgett did not have to have any Lortab today at all after Faith worked on her.

Third year Day 99 - Saturday March 22, 2014

So when we talked to the dermatologist about getting that "cystoma" or whatever removed, I asked her, how does someone get one of these things?  Her response....bad luck!  Really, she said it's just bad luck.  Then when they found out it was scar tissue, I said, how does someone get scar tissue like that on the back, and she said....bad luck!  So, today when Mark and I were talking to Bridgett about different things, she said, you know what dad?  That lady Brooke said that my "cystoma" was caused by bad luck.  Did you ever notice...I have a lot of bad luck!  We all laughed, even Bridgett, but Mark and I exchanged looks and thought to ourselves, indeed!  It's good that Bridgett can still laugh about it and is not all despondent about it. I do know she wonders about that sometimes, and expresses that question to me even sometimes...why does she have to have so much pain in life?  These are questions that it's hard to answer, for sure. 

Third year Day 98 - Friday March 21, 2014

Another day of pain.  We went to Michelle Helwig's this morning for a third and final Tordol shot.  Bridgett's pain is definitely not getting any better, and sometimes it seems worse again.  Michelle said today that she thought we should at this point schedule a CT scan of the kidneys.  I'm glad that is her opinion, because it is also my opinion.  I think that its time to see exactly what is happening with the kidneys. Aside from this bout of pain and this stone, Bridgett has regular pain in the kidneys.  It has been probably close to 18 months since she last had a CT of the kidneys.  Michelle was able to schedule the scan for Monday morning at 8:45.  She said that if, over the weekend, things improve enough that we don't think its necessary, we can call to cancel the appointment early Monday morning.  I feel a little better about having a plan anyway.  Also, Michelle did another urine test and said that the infection is indeed clearing up and things should be fine that way.

Third year Day 97 - Thursday March 20, 2014

I can't remember if I posted this already or not.....back when we were in town on of the last times, I was trying to fix the time on the dashboard of the car to update for daylight savings time; I was doing this while waiting at red lights.  However, I just couldn't find a red light that stayed red long enough!  I said that out loud to Bridgett and she said yeah!  It's not like that long light at 4th St and 7th!  Actually there is a long light (crazy long with no traffic!) at 4th St and 1st.  She remembered that, although she was a little off with the Avenue.  That's great!  It's been years since she lived around here and drove those streets, but she has a memory way back there in her brain that's coming back!  Another day of pain for Bridgett, although things are getting better slowly.  We just can't really figure out what is causing all of the pain.  Also, Bridgett aches all over and I think this is a symptom of the kidney infection itself.  This morning I had an appointment set up (weeks ago) for Bridgett to see Dr. Jen Hawes to discuss Paleo diet and questions.  She still felt too bad to go into town, so I took Stephany and Mark stayed home with Bridgett.  We had a good meeting with her, and discussed hormone problems for all of the girls.

Third year Day 96 - Wednesday March 19, 2014

Another day of pain.  Pain interferes with everything!  It limits her sleeping, she can't do any reading, everything is messed up!  Today Bridgett said to Mark and I......I've been through a lot in my life, do you realize that!  I don't think other people can understand. 

Third year Day 95 - Tuesday March 18, 2014

This morning we were back at Michelle's for another Tordol shot, just to help out with the pain.  Now she is having neck pain in addition to the kidney pain.  Poor thing!  She just needs some pain free days!  It's so hard to deal with all of this pain, I know.  There isn't any blood in the urine now, so that's good. I know that often Bridgett is sore after passing the stone, for a few days anyway.  Hopefully she will feel better soon.  This has been pretty miserable for her!  It's been days since things were "normal" around here.....I've been sleeping in Bridgett's room, in order to help her up so she can go to the bathroom in the night.  We wake up about every two hours for pain pills.  We are rotating doses. 

Third year Day 94 - Monday March 17, 2014

St. Patricks Day!  Also, head to the doctor day!  Bridgett accidentally wore green, but I didn't even think about it.  And to think that over the years this has been a very big holiday for us....especially when the girls did Irish Dancing for all of those years!  Most St. Patricks Days back then involved dancing at a number of different places as well as the Kalispell parade.  Fun!  So, today, not fun!  Bridgett has blood in the urine and still has severe pain.  They said she has a kidney stone and a kidney infection.  Michelle said if she gave Bridgett a tordol shot--it would help with the pain and it would bring down the inflammation so the stone can pass more easily.  Bridgett said, YES!  We also got Bridgett started on ten days of antibiotics.  Late this evening, Bridgett came from the bathroom and said she was pretty sure she passed the stone.  She said it felt like it but that she didn't hear a bing in the toilet!  Hah!  We'll see what tomorrow brings.