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Chronic Pain members - Welcome, please introduce yourself
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Apr 26 9:22am | Replies (6794)Comment receiving replies
@tazscott....Lived on 2 different farms, 24 years total. Raised goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens, cats and dogs. Every single birthing season was sheer delight for me. Every baby born gave me a thrill. Actually, sheep shearing, fence building, the daily egg search, milking, breeding, producing our own foods, buying and selling fine animals, haying season, picking veggies, canning salsa, well...I LOVED all of it!
After a very large cerebellar stroke, and 2 years later a fast growing aneurysm requiring the removal of 2 ribs and one of my neck muscles in a 71/2 hr. surgery at University of Michigan, I am now unable to work on farm, so sold it to son. Broke my heart, but happy son will carry on and keep it in the fam. Turned out perfectly because it was time to move north to care for 88 year old father. Much change, but worth it to make sure father gets the care he needs. The demands on me I volunteered for so not complaining. The shift in focus was very good for me. Now it's not all about me, my farm, my kids, their kids.....now it's all about my poor dad. He has terrible dementia, rheumatoid, but in good health despite his issues. He has taken a few headers over the last few months, so our major concern is his safety. This focus takes me out of my me zone and into providing loving care for the man who raised me. Nothing like being needed to deflect self focus and babying ones self. This has been a gift of sorts and I'm grateful for it. It's funny, but even if you've had issues with a parent...while caring for them, your love grows beyond measure.
Anyway, lots of words to say we all need a focal point in our lives, otherwise our focus is too often solely on how we feel. It's easy to do. Done it myself, but it doesn't take a genious to see that if we set our sights outside of our personal sufferings, we actually, without realizing it, begin to deal with our issues much better. They become secondary in our lives. I've a feeling you too have discovered that. And many others, here, too. JMJ
Oh! Most important to me is cultivating my Faith, hopefully making a more charitable and generous person out of this broke down old warhorse.
Replies to "@tazscott....Lived on 2 different farms, 24 years total. Raised goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs, ducks, geese, chickens,..."
I have said it before, this site and everyone who contributes to it is in many way a LIFE SAVER! It is a place where we can talk out our issues to people who care! My family is the type that they don't talk about illness. When I have had a Bad day health wise I can come on here and walk away and feel better.
It is also a tremendous self booster! When you've had a day when nothing you seem to do is right, IT IS A JOY TO COME ON AND SOMEONE HAS PRESSED TH "LIKE YOUR POST" BUTTON.
Think what a Booster that can be to someone is misserable and lonely! We don't even know the people or person we've given them a little Boost for a while.
AGAIN I THANK ALL WHO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MAYO CONNECT! YOU BRING JOY TO MANY UNTOLD PEOPLE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN REALIZE!
Have an enoyable Sunday.
Thanks,
Sundance - aka.. RB
🙂
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@jmjlove I'm sorry you had to give up so much, but finding a calling like the care of your dad cannot be a higher honor. How often we see the tables turn, from being cared for as a child, to caring for that same parent later. You're very correct that the outer focus moves the inner focus to the side. My sister has commented how my productivity remains pretty high, in spite of multiple health issues [kidney disease stage 3b, fibromyalgia, lupus, MGUS], but I remind her the importance of distraction while monitoring for optimum return on my time. It's important for me to give back, for all I have been given.
Ginger