Aidpage

Hey everyone it's been a long time since I've been on my Aidpage. I been through a lot since my last posting. Well as everyone knows I have no legs as yet, but come this Wednesday I will have two brand new legs and will take my first steps in three years. I am very anxious and scared at the same time. I was fitted for a prosthetic about 18 months ago. I was for my below the knee amputated leg. I never got a chance to stand up and walk on it which was a very good thing because it was fitted incorrectly. For all those who have prosthetics that you actually are standing on the amputated bone I truly feel sorry for you. There are new state of the art prostetics that are computerized and are made to fit on the bones of your knees, not stand on the broken bone. Which causes a soar and a calous on the amputated leg. Many of these patients are diabetics which causes an infection and more amputation. I am so blessed to have found this new company who truly understands that there is a better way to assist people to walk again. My problem is that the hospital in which I had both of my amputation feel that only one company they know of has the exclusive rights to their patients to be fitted for prosthetics. This company has a very primative way of making these prosthetics and are not up to date with the new technology which would benefit more of their patients. I don't understand how a hospital will not allow other capable and experienced prosthetics technicans to aid their patients. They may have over a 100 years of being in business, but times change and advancements are being made everyday on cutting edge technology. The C-Leg by Otto Bock is high tech state of the art technology that is computerized and so far advanced that it can anticipate your next step before you make it in order to give you complete stability. If anyone is in need of relief from an old prosthetic I strongly recommend Otto Bock technology for them contact me for further information regarding this.

Hello Betty14:

We were told by several other people the same thing, but the truth of the matter was as long as we live under the same address or household no my spouse can not get any assistance for taking care of me.  We already looked into this. Thanks anyway.  If we had different addresses it could work, but we live together.

What's up Lakeisha:

Planning on going to college. That's a great step.  Could be rather costly thought.  Todays news say that college tuition is going up.  You will probably have to obtain a student loan and definitely a grant.  Choose wisely your field.  See how our country is changing and select a field where you might have a good chance on getting a career.  You don't want to take a field that will not help you get a job right away.  You will have to pay back those student loans and trust me they can hinder you in a lot of ways if you do not pay them back. Good Luck and take the step towards bettering your education. It's a must in life today and definitely in the future.

Hello Shyshy47:

I'm no Ann Landers or a guru for advice, but I can tell you one thing.  Your first priority is to the health and safety of your daughter.  Before you subject her to being in a home with a man who is not her biological father take all precautions.  I'm not saying he would harm her, but make sure you have good vibes.  Don't be blinded by your own needs for companionship or to fulfill your own desires.  It takes a long time to really know a person.  Would you not agree.  You already know this from not actually knowing her father.  You are young and it is hard, but try to remain strong and yes a long engagement is a must.  You don't want to make the same mistake twice.  Try and learn from your first one. OK.  Does he work? Where does he work? How long has he been there?  Where does he live now.  If at home with his mother, how long has he been there.  If he is grown and still at home, leave him there.  Nine times out of ten he is not a good provider or a leader of a family.  You already have one responsibility you won't need another one to carry.  Hope you understand that life is a challenge and a struggle but you can do bad by yourself.  Feel me.

Dear Songbird4ever:

I hate to burst your bubble but New York is not the promise land. Trust me, I was born and raised their many moons ago.  The cost of living their is very high and rent is off the charts.  It's not easy making it there.  Especially if you don't know anyone.  Many people go there thinking what they see on TV is the way it really is, but that is just some of the things about the place.  You are dealing with an area with a large population of people of all cultures and races and donimations.  Some can be very heartless and dangerous, and some can kind and assisting.  There is a long line for anything you are going to do. No matter what. If you don't have a lot of patience to deal with the millions, stay down south.  Manhattan which is what they call New York City is a very small piece of land.  So therefore everything is stacked on top each other.  Subways are crowded and dangerous.  To tell you the truth, it's like a zoo of humans. Don't forget I told you so.

Hello Maria23:

Normally you go to the Administration Office and see a Financial Aide Advisor.  They will help you apply for the grants suchas Pell, SBOG, you can also go online and google to see if there are an organizations or corporations that are giving scholarships and grants.  Hope this can steer you in the right direction.

We do have Donated Dental Service in Arkansas. They are a statewide organization dedicated to meeting the oral health needs of disabled, elderly, or medically compromised Arkansans who cannot afford needed treatment. If you know someone appropriate for Donated Dental Services you must first call and request an application.  Call 1-800-932-8247.  When they receive the application your patient must complete it and return it as soon as possible.  They will be expected to provide medical, dental, disability, financial, and other personal information used to determine their eligibility for the DDS program. The patients must be:

1) Disabled, elderly, or medically compromised and unable to afford comprehensive dental care.

2) Have severe dental need. Patients are not referred for check ups or teeth cleaning or any other routine care alone.

If accepted the patient will be placed on the waiting list for their area.  They do have a long waiting list at this time so please be patient.  All providers are volunteers and work at their pace.  Once the patients application comes to the top of the waiting list for their area, the Referral Coordinators will attempt to match them with a volunteer dentist.  The dentist will see the prospective patient for a consultation and then decide whether or not to accept the patient for donated treatment.  If the dentist feels that the referral is appropriate for DDS services, a treatment plan is devised and dentist will then begin treating the patient.

When God created man he designed our bodies to need nourishment.  It is our responsibility to monitor what we eat and digest.  Like most people our tongue can cause us more harm than good.  We become slaves to our tongue.  We crave things that can cause our destruction.  Problems with self control eating causes so many health disorders from high blood pressure, over weight issues, heart attacks and even strokes.  Self control is very much needed from the moment the thought of food enters our mind.  Our parents are our first people to introduce us to the different flavors and taste that our tongues will experience.  Without any consideration of the consequences we eat with no regards to the effects it will have on our bodies over the long period of existence.  Knowledge of what is harmful can be a deterent, but the tongue is a hard master to ignore.  It's hard to curb your desire for a certain food, if you delighted in the taste of it.  It's a pleasure almost as enjoyable as sex.  Gluttony is a sin.  People eat for all the wrong reasons.  Some use food as a friend, because they are lonely.  If you can't be a social butterfly than become in other areas.  Read an interesting book.  Take a nice walk.  Become a bird watcher.  Just try and figure out another means of distraction other than destroy your health.  Moderation in anything you do is the key to longevity.  Old habits are very hard to break, but it starts with the first day of change.

Life will never be the same.  I have so many regrets. Things I had'nt yet accomplished, I find myself lying flat on my back looking at the ceiling and wishing I was still on the road again.  Sad to say, but trucking was my life.  I enjoyed being able to roam the country and go everywhere must people only see on TV, movies or in books.  For my first fifthteen years I drove solo.  Then I was blessed to meet this young lady from New York City and fell in love with her.  She turned out to be my soulmate and I taught her everything I knew about trailer trucking.  We drove over the road 48 states.  Side by side we went all over.  In the beginning it was interesting to show her the things I knew she had never seen before.  It did take some getting use to sleeping while she drove.  Women I think make excellent truck drivers, especially if they are trained correctly.  My only complaint with her was at times she like to hammer down.  But I never had a better co-driver.  She nor I have ever laid one down.  Thank the good Lord for that.  Yeah we even started a business as independent owner operators.  We were doing pretty good for new jacks.  My wife Chi Chi is her name could find loads and made sure we got our pay settlements.  She had a way of making whoever we dealt with that we would give a good days service for the price we agreed upon and nothing short of what we contracted did she accept.  I never forget our first job together working for a man I knew for several years.  I drove for him by myself for about 5 years.  I asked him could I bring my wife on board and that she did not have any previous trucking experience.  He agreed to hire her as my co driver, and said he would pay her one penny a mile.  Well we were glad that he allowed her to getting her training and I began teaching all the mechanics of driving a rig.  She has a better education than I so she chose to also do all the paper work and process our bills that turns into our salary.  Well after driving for about six months, she stated to me after looking over all our settlements that our employer was not paying us correctly and that he actually owed us $2,500.  My attitude was well sweetheart sometimes people do things like that and I really don't think there's anything we can do about it.  I guess I lit a bomb under her cause the next thing I knew she said well if that's the way you look at it find, but me personally he's not going to steal the same penny I earned. No sir no shape form or fashion.  It was 2 days before X-Mas and we had to come up to the yard to get our truck service.  I knew hell was going to break out so I kind of got in my boss's pickup truck and went to town to get something to eat.  I left her at the terminal.  She had already told me what her intention were and I didn't want to be around for the showdown.  I told her all she was about to do was get us fired.  She said fine, I got six month experience under my belt and you have 15 years, we'll get another darn job.  I drove off.  Well all I know was when I got back she was standing in the middle of the yard with this weird look on her face.  I said, "what I tell you, we're fired right.  There was one tear streaming down her cheek and she looked up at me and said "Heck no fool, I got paid. She pulled out a check from her back pocket for the amount of $2,000.  Then said he better have $500 tomorrow or I'm making steaks out of his angus bull.  She was one tough cookie to deal with.

May God have Mercy on you and your loved ones.  Mervet your aunt can survive with dialysis.  I lost my kidneys in 1999.  No one in my family wanted to get tested to see if they could donate a kidney to me.  My wife could have been a canidate but her kidneys produce kidney stones. Anyway what I'm trying to say I know things look very bleak for her, but if she takes her treatment two or three times a week, and follow the directions of her nephrologist she can still sustain life.  It has been 10 years for me.  I still take my treatment every week.  She must take her binders and watch her fluid intake.  She must also eat the proper diet in order for her chemical balance will help with the dialysis treatment.  If her doctor feels she is a canidate for a transplant, pray they find a match for her quickly.  Have you been tested to see if you could donate a kidney to her?  I pray she gets help soon. 

What does affordable health care mean?  I can't support my family with less than poverty means.  We live under the poverty guidelines.  A household of two living off twelve thousand dollars annually is like living on a dollar a day to stay alive.  When we buy food, and pay our bills we are broke the rest of the month. With no extra savings anywhere.  Everything we own is old, broken and out of date.  The only thing that scares me more is leaving here with no burial insurance and my wife having to figure out how to bury me.  I feel like my health is destroying both of our lives.  I can't see where we will be able to buy health insurance at any price.  I know I'm not the only one in this same situtation, but that doesn't bring any relief to the problem.

I don't know how we are suppose to take care of ourselves when our social security will not increase for the next three years.  Times are very hard economically.  There should be a freeze across the board.  No increase in taxes, cost of food, utility bills, gas, medicine, etc.  How do they expect the elderly or the disabled to maintain a healthy lifestyle when so many necessities will be compromised because our budget doesn't allow us to get all the things we really need.  People are already going with out medicine in order to eat.  I'm not trying to start a panic, but the reality of the whole scope is quite scary.  People like Mr. Madoff should really be ashamed how they have cause so many people discomforted and stress due to their greed and lack of humanity. 

Good Evening Starshine:

It's always a pleasure to hear from you.  How are things with you? Any new developments on your end.  Have you found employment yet?  I did apply for Modest Needs.  I only got 50 points, and need an additional 1302.  I get kind of depressed every morning when I read my emails and found no new changes.  I was so hoping they could help us.  Well I guess God gives us what we need when he feels we need it.  Just have to keep praying something will change for us financially.  My wife is ready to go back to work, but there are so many people in her situation the competition is fierce. 

It's been almost two years since I've stood up. I lost my first leg the left one, it was amputated below the knee in October of 2007.  About 45 days later my right leg was amputated thigh high. Chopped up to my pockets.  Well I've been on a roller coaster of one health problem after another.  My last surgery was this year in August when my parathyroids were removed due to them excreting too many hormones that were depleting my calcium level severely.  Since the surgery my recovery has been better.  I am on a mass intake of calcium 2000 iu daily to keep my bones strong.  I have finally been able to gain some weight.  That's a big challenge especially with dialysis always draining me of all my fluid.  The calcium keep me hungry and I'm eating more and more.  I also had my pain medicine changed from Oxyicodine to Dilaudids.  I'm on 2mg. they do not make me nauscious so I can retain my food.  The great news is my wife took me to see Snell Prosthetics.  They examined me and have measured me for a prosthetic.  I go next Tuesday for my first fitting.  It a test model made of acrylic.  I am very anxious and nervious at the same time.  I have not stood up in two years.  I long to be able to look someone directly into their eyes when we speak, instead of them looking down on me.  I know it will be a slow and probably painful recovery, but I'm ready for the challenge. God is good.  I feel I can focus on something other than my anger for this horrible way to live.  My wife has been my arms, legs, back and sometimes my heart. I had lost my will to keep going for what?  I lost my legs, my trucking business, my kidneys and  my love life.  My mental state of mind is up and down.  Depression is a disease that can rob you of any joy in life.  I'm really trying to stay up beat and take things as God hands them to me. I pray for you all.

Regarding can't pay for medicine.  Sometimes you can write directly to the pharmacutical company who makes the medicine you need and apply as a hardship case.  They can give it to you for free as a tax write off for charity.  Astra Zenica and Pfizer have these types of programs. Can't hurt to try and contact them for some assistance.  You might also try applying for a grant for medical assistance.