Happy ... Sad ... Mad? What am I?

I had a good visit with my counselor today. During part of the session, we talked about being happy. Since then, I've been thinking about happiness and other emotions. In my book, I write about a nurse (who should not have been diagnosing me) who said I was depressed. She actually tried to talk me into depression. What a crock!

Sure, there are times I feel sad. But mostly I'm happy. I never took the broken back too seriously. Although it does impact my life (a lot!) and it's even my main focus at times, the pain doesn't make me sad. If anything, it makes me mad (angry) at times. I'm mad I hurt. I'm not sad I hurt.

I'm just a happy person -- one who has to think about stuff to get angry. Stupid people can anger me. Healthcare reform can anger me because I think the current push is reforming the wrong stuff (or actually stuff in the wrong order). But, healthcare is another story. Red tomatoes with no bugs in my garden makes me happy. Moonglow flowers (that bloom at night) make me happy. Thinking about being a grandmother (due mid-December) makes me happy. Making bread mades me happy. Lots of little things.

I'm happy a lot more than I am sad or mad and that makes me happy! Have a happy day!

Wachovia Sending My Money to the Wrong Place

Stress is not good for pain. I spent a good chunk of time this morning on the phone with Wachovia Bank. Somehow (they could not explain) they sent my Verizon payment to GM Auto Financing. I used on-line bill pay through Wachovia to pay my Verizon bill; I have NO account with GM Auto. I have no idea how or why Wachovia sent my money to GM. The only way I found out about the bank’s mistake was GM Auto wrote me a letter asking what account I wanted to put that money toward?

Of course, the people at Wachovia didn’t want to take responsibility for their mistake. They blamed it on the outside company that administers their bill pay. Now, I do believe that Wachovia should be all over this outside company, but that outside company means nothing to me. I go to the Wachovia site to pay bills and it comes out of my Wachovia bank account. To me, the problem is Wachovia.

After endless time on the phone, Wachovia said they would take care of it and get my money back from GM Auto; pay Verizon (including all late fees at their expense), write me an apology, etc. IF (big IF) they do that to my satisfaction within three days, they might continue to be my bank. BUT (big BUT), how can you trust a bank that sends money to the wrong place and doesn’t even know they did wrong and refuses to accept responsibility? Step up Wachovia and stop causing stress in my life. It hurts my back to be on the phone so long AND be stressed.

Sitting around on a gray day

It’s another gray day. We’ve had pop-up thunderstorms or just regular rain every day for about the last week. Gray days are no fun for me. Gray days mean more pain. Some people say it’s the humidity or the precipitation. I say it’s the change in the barometric pressure. Oh, well. Whatever. So, even though I’m feeling and acting gray, there is a beautiful hummingbird outside my door on the back deck. She flutters between the red hummingbird feeder full of sweet nectar and a couple plants with red flowers. They are so small and graceful. I think I’ll just sit and watch the hummingbird enjoy the gray day. Life isn’t so bad, is it?

I like pine cones

I like to do crafts and currently I’m doing crafts with pine cones. This year is an especially good year for pine cones – there are new ones dropping every day. I’m making pine cone trees, candle holder centerpieces and decorated Christmas trees from a single pine cone. I also make fire starters, coating the pine cones with melted wax. They are great for starting fires. On line I read about making pine cones that burnt in different colors which involves soaking the pine cones in different chemicals. I tried a few different versions and they did burn differently – kind of. But, it wasn’t worth the effort and the mess, so that idea is done.

The problem is my heart and head want to make pine cone crafts all the time. My body doesn’t allow it. The crafts involve lots of arm and back muscles and sends the pain level up dramatically within minutes. So, I tend to visit my basement craft area a couple times a day – but only for up to ½ hour at a time. Fun comes at a price.

Friends and family – expect pine cone Christmas decorations this year. I’m even looking at selling them on etsy.com. Time will tell.

Owie! A new pain scale - I like this idea

Anything with “Owie, it hurts” in the title catches my attention like a recent posting on MSNBC. The article, written by Linda Carroll, discusses a new tool that helps doctors understand the pain you are in. As I have complained about before, those 10-point pain scales really don’t make sense to me. It is way too subjective and confusing.

Now there is a standardized, computerized scoring system called Patient Reported Outcome Measurement Information system (PROMIS), which includes 120 questions specific to pain, as well as hundreds more dealing with anxiety, depression and fatigue.

This article agreed with me saying “Everybody experiences and copes with pain differently. One person may feel only a little discomfort, but resists performing daily chores such as unloading groceries for fear of making it worse. Another may report significant joint pain, but still go full speed on the treadmill.” That’s me exactly.

I look forward to when this pain scale is used to provide more realistic, and accurate pain measurement. To read the entire article, click here.

A litle background on T5

Since very few have read my story yet, I guess I should give some background. On August 9, 2003, I broke my back in a freak tree-cutting accident. It was diagnosed as a T5 compression fracture; it really was a life-changing event. I went from a fun, spontaneous, and ‘let’s do it’ kind of woman to a low-energy, chronic pain sufferer who doesn’t do a whole lot.

Over the past six years, I’ve spent a lot of time and effort trying to fix the back injury. I’ve seen the good and the really bad sides of our healthcare system. I’ve looked into all kinds of alternative therapies. And now, I’m working on me. I’ve found it’s all related.

This blog, while addressing some of the past issues, carries the book into today, tomorrow and beyond. I invite you to join me on the journey – the continuing saga of T5.

Welcome to my re-focused blog

The book - The Continuing Saga of T5 - is written. That doesn’t mean the work is done … just that I’ve gotten my words down on paper. Now it’s time for outsiders to read and edit. Then, I’ll decide if I should search for a traditional agent and publisher … go the self-publishing route … simply print it myself … or just put the manuscript away. The therapy of writing has already occurred. What’s next will happen as it happens.

I used to focus this blog on customer service experiences in my life. Now, I find it is time to re-focus on the T5 saga. Of course, customer service in the healthcare field will be part of that, as will everyday activities; however, here is where I plan to continue talking T5. Welcome to my re-focused blog.