Catholics
Comments
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Janet my thoughts and prayers will be with you tomorrow!!!
God Bless you
Kay how are you feeling today?
THERESA..Hope your breast/arm pain clear up very soon and Skip continues to feel better. I had fine hair before I started the TAMOXIFEN and notice a thin out as well.
God Bless you all
Maria
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Janet
My prayers are with you for a safe surgery, I hope it is smooth with expeditious healing.
God Bless You
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Janet,
You will be in my thoughts and prayers. It sounds like you will be home the same day? How things have changed! Praying for your medical team, and for rapid healing.
Kay,
My name is Traci
Yes, I absolutely believe in the souls of those who have left us too soon by suicide have grace and healing that awaits them. God loves all, and I view mental pain and anguish as a condition that clouds judgement, taking away the ability to see any future. So hard on the families who suffer guilt/anger.I see people who are doing the same but in a passive way (drinking when they already have liver damage, not taking HIV meds when they are free and available.) I just know God see and hears us, in our joys and in our pain. Not that I am chosen to speak for God just a feeling in my heart.Theresa,
I certainly am feeling better at the lower dose. I'm seeing my MD tomorrow "to discuss." You know what's great? (Sheila this ones for you
Just being able to stretch out in my living room. I have tight muscles and decreased range of motion now, so stretching helps me to feel better. all because of the new place. YEAY!alright, gotta hit it early.
Janet, again, many Blessings your way, with visions of brilliant White Light of spirit, and beautiful Gold light that swirls around you, healing you.
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Prayers and thoughts are with you Janet for a successful surgery and speedy recovery.
I am blessed with all the positive attitude of everyone here. It is quite an inspiration. I am keeping a positive attitude. So far, no really bad SEs. The fuzzy feeling in my head is probably the worst. I went to work yesterday at one. By 3 I just couldn't think straight any more. It just took me 4 or 5 times as long as usual to be able to do my normal work after that. I am heading in now and see how it goes today. I may only stay half a day and come home and then try again after a few hours of rest or something. Work told me not to stress and to get help if I need it, so it is a really good situation. I just have to accept the help. Many times the deacon in our charge has said it is just as much of a charity to accept it when it's offered as it is to give it when it's needed, so I am going to try to be easy on myself with this.
Have a good day everyone, prayers for all of you.
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Greetings and prayers for all my Catholic sisters. My son was Confirmed last nite, and I played the music.
Here in Kansas, I've been super busy, practicing practicing practicing.. Confirmation was a huge event with the Bishop, 3 Priests, attendants, lots of altar boys, 100 Confirmandi and my group playing and singing for 2 hours..
The director was awesome. I really have to diligently prepare because so much of my work is on the organ. Every minute is preplanned with registrations premarked.. lots of work, but things went well... the last song and postlude were awesome and I have a funeral to play today.. ( I have a new funeral home contact and that is good good good). My pastor is an awesome organist, so the pressure is on me. There are better organists in our church and he really didn't want me to play such an important Mass... I know he hears EVERY little mistake and it is easy to make them.. but it was an awesome celebration.Special prayers for you Janet, today and prayers for Olga from the Stage IV forum who is in her final days.
the weather is finally glorious but we are expecting a SNOW.
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((((((Janet)))))))))................... also ladies...chemo cream is a chemotherapy that is for some skin cancers. I have squamous cell skin cancer...the chemo cream makes me very fatigued. I am on it two weeks....off two weeks....etc... this is my second go around...and I am 75% LESS fatigued...so that is great!
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GEe, "Laura, I didn't know you had to go through that. . . .good luck and sending love and support!! xo
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Janet,
I am praying for a very successful surgery and a speedy recovery for you! May the Blessed Mother, Our Lord, and all the angels bring you peace and comfort during this difficult time.
May God Bless You
Sandy
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Bless you Laura - I didn't know you were dealing with skin cancer too.
Mary - the confirmation sounds GREAT! I bet you were so proud to see your son confirmed. They're calling for snow here too. Mama ain't happy! I want warm spring.
Kay - it sounds like you have an understanding employer. I had the same situation, but since then my company changed their policies on sick leave and if I had cancer now, I'd have to go on disability. Take it easy and listen to your body. It sounds like you're doing the right thing! And a positive attitude is half the battle! :-)
Maria - thank you for the well wishes! I'm still trying to figure out a backpack/briefcase combination that will not be such a heavy burden. Haven't figured it out yet. I took another roller case today and had to go from the client's site to our company site, which is a Metro stop away and lots of walking. It was not good. My legs are screaming at me tonight but I did my best to only use my left hand for lifting over curbs and into the employee shuttle. Something's gotta give!
Traci - I feel like you were describing! Fatigued, sore and plain pooped! I think I'll hit the hay early tonight... except storms are on the way.
Sandy - you sound like you're feeling great! Bless your husband for helping out. Mine did too and I love him for it. Skip had to help me change my yucky SAVI bandages every day.
Janet -- still praying for you.
Here is a quote from St. Augustine that I thought was excellent:
Two criminals were crucified with Christ. One was saved; do not despair. One was
not; do not presume.0 -
Theresa,
great quote! I'm sorry your dogs are barking (feet hurt,) and that you are sore and poopled. I will wish you wonderful restorative rest. Hum, I guess we are having some colder weather again. Batten down the hatches! Take care of yourself, K?
Laura,
So glad that you are doing better this time around. Was this contributing to your having a hard time lately (no need to answer, just wondering aloud.)
Kay,
So glad you do have the support at work. Chemo has a predictable cycle as far as your blood counts. I am 99% sure you had the neulasta, which can give bone pain (increases your WBC's which are made in the bone marrow,) just means it's doing it's job. I had to take pain meds, but also was helped by a heating pad. It's reasonable to take time off after you chemo (at least a few days.) Then again, so many courageous women have worked through chemo, being sole providers for themselves and children. I would not have been able to be one of those strong ladies, and will cheer you on any decision you make. Just looking out for you over the internet....
So I need some spiritual advice, and I think I am in the right place (I know I am
My boss (who is a Nun,) and who has my deep admiration, was sent such a rude email by one of the MD's, basically implying (cannot remember the words,) that her position is of little importance, and it should be eliminated. Because she spoke up for her employees. How, Why? I am sickened by these words and their meaning, as she is such a wonderful wonderful person, teacher and example. I then have another side that is horrified as she is a Nun, and she is a great representative of God's love and wishes for humanity.Maybe because she is like a mother to me too...I'm pretty upset.so my question, I believe that I hold people who represent God's word and take vows to a higher standard. I cannot imagine talking to a Nun, Priest, Minister, (of all Religions,) that way. I guess I am not putting this very well, but I am having a lot of emotion about this, including shock and disillusionment. Plus she has a disability. He broke all my rules of living (and this is not the first time by any means that he has disrespected her.)
oh, the question...Is it a greater sin, or for lack of a better word, "worse" to act out/speak ill to someone who has taken vows/has entered into a lifetime of Spiritual service?
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Theresa, I still wish that Skip had a carotid US, Heart echo, and ekg. With Mri a MRA can be done --it is an MRI with a contrast injection that maps the blood vessels.
Story time --forgive me if I've told this one before. Patient with hx of TIA' for 8-9 months. Nothing test wise could be proven. She was in the hospital again for observation after a fall thought to be caused by a TIA. I had this patient on a commode, she went limp on rt or lt side(forgert), no speech then slurred speech, decreased level of concsiousness---got her back to bed --flat, with the help of several. She looked for all intents as a stroke victim. WE did the typical VS's blood sugar, pulse ox, doc notification. She recovered pretty rapidly. I said to the charge nurse that I hated being blind. She said why--I'd like to know what her heart was doing. It wasn't a telemetry unit. We had just gotten a new portable unit that had the ability to hook up and give a tracing, but not a paper print out. We did and while we were talking over her .---right in front of us she drops to a heartrate of 23 with stimulation her heart rate came back up.. We quickly switched her to the crash cart unit that had the ability of pacing. The doc gets there and is questioning , but we didn't have a paper tracing as proof, and then she drops again in front of his eyes and I punched the button for paper tracing. Next day she got a pacemaker. The point being is she had been treated for months for what appeared to be TIA's, when it was heart related. Her problem just had never been caught on paper. Even though 2 nurses saw it, that is NOT enough. Three seconds without blood flow to the brain will cause unconsciousness. A decreased blood flow will cause changes as seen in this patient. Getting her flat in bed causes all kinds of autonomic nervous system responses that kick starts the heart which reverses all the symptoms we saw very rapidly.
Because her symptoms for 8-9 months manifested- (which in this case means looks like)--- as TIA/stroke she was worked up for that. Heart wasn't considered. Well, God put me there in that time to say and do what I did. I was His tool. Often patients have been put on a 24 hour holter monitor and have normal tracings. Newer technology allows a patient to be put on monitoring for a month at a time. This is important because until a patient has an EVENT, they may have a completely normal progress. But Then one day they have an Event. In many cases the dx is delayed. In this case, you do not have to have permanent EKG changes, they just have to be caught at the right time.
With carotid US there can be a narrowing and effectively poc marks identified. Small clots can form and be thrown up into the brain causing a TIA. There is a long explanation , but i won't subject you to it. Having the test will tell the story.
With heart echo-----if there is an irregularity in the heart ---it is a set up for clots to be sent into the system---first turn is up through the carotid. The irregularity in the heart can be a myriad of things, each with there own problems and can be sustained(ongoing) or intermittent(like our lady above). It's the intermittent things that can be really troublesome, because again unless you catch the event---it looks normal. So, the starburst maybe a reasonable return of an old problem. But the old problem was never really dx'd. I just don't want the one tree that needs help obsured by the forrest.
In regard to your arm, ever since I caught Greg falling out of bed the night he died. I have had problems. Each month I can say there has been improvement--7 months. I would suggest stop lifting the bag, but now that it has caused a problem don't be surpised that it's months of recovery. Not meant to discourage you, but time will help it heal. LOve sheila --
Still contemplating response to suicide and cremation again thanks so much for the facts. So many here have I think a more benevolent approach to this situation than many. Squid your medical summation is so on mark at least for me.
In regard to that doc and the email----second last place I worked finally put a stop to nurse/staff abuse by the doc's. Several doc's lost priveleges (means they couldn't work at that hospital), others were forced to take anger management classes or loose priveleges. The climate really changed when this took place. The doc's manners got much better. Squid that doc should be fired for abuse and the evidence is in writing no less. As to whether people of the cloth should have any different treatment, not really. It's more that, that doc or any other human doesn't have the right to abuse because they preceive themselves as above others.The old days with doc abuse were awful. The changes started in the seventies, but still are not completely right. But everyone has had an impact on abusive docs or other workplace abusers because of the law. I'm rambling now.
I posted to pagowens and think I forgot to hit submit.Yup lost it-----Helloooooo Pat so happy your happy.!!!!!!! sheila
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Hi All,
I've been MIA - lots of busy stuff at work and a bit of drama in my family life. But here I am back to you guys - reading your posts and remembering....oh yea, I've had BC. I actually forgot about it for several weeks and almost felt like it was just a bad dream.
How humbling to have forgotten. I've actually been enjoying the escape back to my old life and that makes me feel guilty. How's that for crazy!
Hugs to everyone. It was very comforting to see you all still here. You are still as warm and loving as ever. Thanks for that.
Pat
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Theresa dear teacher. The interpretation of "do not presume" in the Augustine quote. Augustine is saying--- Do not presume he was not saved? Sheila
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I'm very much not sleeping tonite --forgive all the posts. I ran off the "2 "pages from that site on wound care. Turns out it was 22 printed pages. So figuire ten pages for each page, ours would be 1,970 printed pages. Trivial pursuit.
Squid you had the same treatment as Kay --am I right? I had c/t and neulasta. Are there different recommendations about immunity percautions with Herceptin? Why? sas
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well it's 5:37 am. another sleepless night.
JV-hope all has gone right. Hail Mary full of grace, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb-Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God bless us now and at the hour of our death. ----May your recovery be swift and without problems. Namaste!
Random searching ---there is a thread on financial assistance on the "Questions and Surveys" forum. It had some good info-----i'll recheck and edit if I'm wrong
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God Bless you and hold you in His tender arms Janet until you're all healed and better. Going to mass this morning and will remember you there, and everyone else here as well. Gonna be chilly out there, bundle up. Have a great day. Namaste!
I think my treatment is a little different than Squid's. I'm getting dose dense AC for 4, (you're correct with Neulasta, my head hurts in the bones, could that be from the Nuelasta, or just a headache?) Then Taxol for 4 with Herceptin for a year.
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morning Kay---I had only one round of cytoxan and taxotere and neulasta-----found out months later that i had a drug interaction with norvasc. They couldn't identify it at the time. I didn't continue. Don't know about the headache with neulasta but it's a possibility.They likely gave you a side effect list in your packet. Did they give you a neutropenic percautions list. I posted one in the kitchen and both bathrooms. Herceptin is such a wonder drug. Each of us manages the drugs differently. Keep warm. namaste sheila
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alrighty! Off for another day.
Janet,
Prayers for your safe surgery and quick healing.
Kay...you are right, I had th eT/C for four rounds. I never had herceptin (triple neg.)
and Sheila,
yes, you bring up the culture behind the scenes. So I will pull on my Kevlar vest (wink:) and will do my job and let the others do what they will.
and I am going to try something different. I am going to keep an open channel with God in my work. I will be guided. and then I have my own little tactic as well....I smile much more than the average person, and I was like that since I was a baby..mom and dad would come in to find me smiling, laughing, giggling on my own...just smiling away...
after all, a smile is more disarming than a frown
Have a great day ALL!
(Theresa, hope you feel stronger today)
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Squid - I think I know what you're asking... or maybe there are a few questions in your post. Back in the day, we and our parents were raised to have the greatest respect for men and women of the Lord. In our secular, anti-religious world, that doesn't happen anymore. You're at a Catholic University and that MD was out of line, in my opinion.
Spiritually - I did a stations of the cross lesson with Christian last night and we did the first station - Jesus being judged by Pilot... sorry if this is too elementary...
First Station: Look at Jesus
Jesus is standing before angry people who are yelling and saying mean, hurtful things to him. They scream at him. Some of them tell lies about him, saying that he did bad things.But Jesus stays quiet, even though he knows that he will be hurt. He knows that God is with him. He even asks God to help him forgive the people who are yelling and telling lies about him.
Look at Your Heart
Has anyone ever said mean or hurtful things about you, or has anyone ever told a lie about you? If someone did that to you, look at your heart and see how you felt. Maybe you were scared, or hurt, or maybe you felt very angry.When you see how you felt, show your heart to Jesus. See Jesus loving you when you show him what happens in your heart. Then, when you are ready, you can ask Jesus to help him make your heart more like his. Maybe you want to ask Jesus to help you to remember that God is always with you.
We talked about how people can be rude to us and we should meditate on Christ's suffering before Pilot. Maybe your Nun supervisor is following Christ's footsteps and allowing Him to lead her to her next assignment.
Ethics - in the workplace, as a former supervisor, I know there are guidelines that employees and employers MUST follow or there could be a law suit. There could be discrimination allegations. And I am responsible, as someone who witnesses bullying or harassment, to bring it up the line until it's addressed - human resources. Would you feel comfortable bringing your concerns to human resources? Unfortunately, from what I've learned about MDs, they tend to be arrogant especially toward nurses. No excuse for them, sometimes power goes to their heads, just as it does to CEOs and such.
Advice - document it, bring it to human resources, let it go... give it to Christ.
Sheila - presumption can take many forms. The one thief was mocking Jesus. Was he presuming that Christ was not our Saviour, presuming there is no heaven, no judgment? The Pharisees were good at presumption too ... that they were so good that they would be heaven-bound. The criminals teach us that no matter how bad our lives were, we can be saved, and the one that we might presume to not be saved, may well have been. I think St. Augustine is indeed teaching us that we can't presume such things ever... about our own salvation or other's salvation. God is the Judge.
Kay - I had Neulasta also after each round. The first time I had the shot, I had a severe reaction with bone pain and migraine. They cut it back for me the next 3 times... still had bone pain but not as severe. Some, I heard, received the shot in their belly instead of arm and said the side effects were less. I never tried that.
Pat - no guilt! You're enjoying life and not dwelling on the BC! Life is GOOD! But I'm glad you popped in. I'll be in NJ in April on business.
Soooooo - I get a call at 8pm last night from a recruiter where I had sent my resume over a month ago. It's for a job close to our CB condo - a 15 minute commute vs our current 1.5+ hour commute. He seemed to like the answers I gave and told me he would be forwarding his recommendation to the next recruiter (who works directly for the hiring manager). I'm not going to get all excited over this, but it *is* hopeful! Maybe God is having mercy on my stress level! :-) St. Jude, thank you for your assistance! Sisters, thank you for your prayers! Traci, there *is* hope! :-)
Prayers and blessings to you all!
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Traci - thanks! I do feel better today.
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Teresa, that was wonderful (stations). Can you give us more? I like the simplicity.
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Hello sisters. THANK YOU everyone so much for the prayers. I'm home now & fine - well, maybe not fine, but really OK. Have only had to take regular tylenol and haven't needed one since this morning. So glad to be away from all the "beep beeps" of those bedside machines up & down the hall. Couldn't sleep last night. Somehow I bit my tongue/lip and that's bothering me - must have happened as I was intubated or something. Nurses are angels on earth. Will check in later. God bless.
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So glad you are home Janet! Nothing like your own bed! God bless all my beautiful sisters. I am saddened by the loss of some of our sisters on the other threads. So angry. Why do these beautiful women have to die and leave their children motherless? Trying to give it up to our Lord! xo
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Glad you're home Janet! Rest up and heal. Continued prayers for you. So sorry to hear about sisters on other threads. It is hard to understand, that is for sure. I sure wish it were different. Sorry for your losses. God Bless.
Sandy, how are you doing?
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Janet so glad you are home and resting I pray you continue to heal quickly.
It is so sad to loose one of our sisters. I think offering it up is a nice idea. I believe this is where faith comes in and we accept Gods will even when we dont understand it. I know so many times I dont and that is very scary... we continue to pray for their souls now and the healing of our sisters that are still here.
God bless you all sisters
Maria
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HI ALL, it is the first time that I am on this thread. I have been going to church again but I have always prayed to God. Such comfort. I bought two books yesterday...one by Deepak Choprah called 'The Third Jesus...The Christ We Can't Ignore' and one by the Dalai Lama called 'How To Practice...The Way to a Meaningful Life'. Even though I was raised a Catholic, I think we can learn from other religions and I respect the Dalai Lama. Has anyone else read anything by him? God Bless!
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Cat123, Welcome I never read anything by Dalai Lama but I like him as well. I have read some of Deepak Choprah very inspirational.
Janet I am glad your home and very thing went well, now rest.
Prayers for all, I will not be here tomarrow for pray bc I have to work a double.
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Theresa,
Wonderful insight as always, and beautiful lesson. I did call my boss yesterday, and she seems fine. She is a tough resiliant one! And she did say to me cheekily the night before when I found out...This is happening because I am speaking up for myself and the team, and he doesn't like it. We both laughed. So she is looking after herself very well, but I would be so sad to see her retire early. That's my selfish wants. I did ask her if she spoke to her bosses about this, and the email was sent to her and above. I guess the MD is willing to put it all out there, in my opinion, he doesn't come off very well. Your words of wisdom are excellent!
I wish you the very best, and may the right thing happen for you and your stress!
Janet,
So glad you are home, and only on Tylenol? God Bless! We all have such different pain tolerance...be good to yourself in all ways.
and Cat, I incorporate many Religions/philosphy into my spirituality. Have you ever read Thich Nhat Hanh's Living Budda Living Christ? or Peace is in Every Step? I am also a fan of earth based spirituality..
well gotta roll, see you all tonight
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Good Morning Sweet Sisters,
Janet, so happy you are home from hospital and everything went so well! Praise to you Lord! I have been away for a few days for I have had a few problems with pain control. I still hurt a great deal but feel better today.
I am concerned about the right breast. My surgery was last Friday, My left breast looks OK and is beginning to take a proper shape of sorts. My right one is not at all... It is FAR more flat and just looks very strange. It's not red, warm, nor has signs of infection. It's just flatter and isn't taking shape.
I had one step with Alloderm and silicone implants. Thoughts? I already know I have your prayers and let me tell you, that is a good feeling!
Hugs and May God Bless All of You!
Sandy
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Ellie - I can post more Stations of the Cross lessons... it's from a nice family website so that parents can discuss the meanings with their children. I like the simplicity too, and even Christian could understand and we were able to talk about it. When I tried to explain the stations to him on my own, I failed miserably!! How do you explain the Passion of Christ to a 7 year old -- it's hard enough for an adult? I thought that website did an admirable job. :-)
CAT123 - Welcome and God bless you too! I haven't read Dalai Lama, but I may have read Deepak back in the 80s? I am 51 years old and was poorly cathecized as a youngun, so I'm making up for it now by reading all the Catholic teachings that I can, so I can eventually have a thoughtful conversation with those of other religious persuasions. I know Thomas Merton was greatly interested in Eastern philosophy/religion and how we are all so very much alike. I'm taking great delight in reading the homilies, letters and other writings of our Church fathers. Skip, my husband, and I were just talking about that this morning, as he is the passenger now while I drive to work and has been reading Morning Prayer aloud. Part of morning prayer is Office of Readings and they come from those Church fathers and other saintly men and women of the church. I especially like it when the day falls on a feast day of a female saint and they have her writings.
So, I'll have to share a humbling PRESUMPTION experience (so much for *my* wisdom! LOL). Christian has a history of not flushing grandma's toilet, so I went in my bathroom and was not a happy grandma. "Christian Dammit Thomas!!!" (He inherited the name from his mother, whom I used to call Rebecca Dammit when I was upset with her.) I heard my daughter say, "Ohhhhh, Christian, you're in trouble with Grandma!" Christian comes up the stairs, "Yes, Grandma!" I told him that he didn't flush the toilet again. "Oh, but I've been always flushing it, I just don't understand...." Then I hear a little voice coming up the stairs, it was 4 year old Liam. "Grandma, it wasn't Christian who didn't flush the toilet, it was me." OH the humble pie!
I told Liam that he was a big boy for admitting that and that I was proud of him. He came up and flushed. Papa (Skip) told Liam that he was very proud of him for doing that. I gave Christian a big apology for presuming it was him.Janet and Sandy - bless you in your healing. Any questions please call your doctor! That's why we pay them the big bucks! ;-) Let us know how things go... I'm sure the nurses will weigh in!
Traci - so glad you were able to resolve things. Your supervisor sounds like a nice lady. It really makes a difference.
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