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Post by elkawho on Dec 7, 2023 18:56:08 GMT
Nice Update Regards mark687 Thank you for posting this! The best news! I'm so very happy for her. Way to go Lisa! Maybe this means we will be getting some Flip stories next year. I really hope so.
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Post by number13 on Dec 7, 2023 20:29:23 GMT
Nice Update Regards mark687 Thank you for posting this! The best news! I'm so very happy for her. Way to go Lisa! Maybe this means we will be getting some Flip stories next year. I really hope so. Seconded! I'd love to hear Sixie, Flip and 'Connie' back together again; what a team, what a great run of stories they had.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 21, 2023 15:02:58 GMT
Glad Lisa on the mend great news.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 21, 2023 15:05:34 GMT
Been told I'm rundown, mentally exhausted which can affect my type 2 diabetes, I battle mental illness 36 yrs but this is the first time in my life were I don't care if I wake up or not & lost the passion for living which makes me a selfish person because there are far more people worse off than me.
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Post by martinw8686 on Dec 23, 2023 3:03:49 GMT
Been told I'm rundown, mentally exhausted which can affect my type 2 diabetes, I battle mental illness 36 yrs but this is the first time in my life were I don't care if I wake up or not & lost the passion for living which makes me a selfish person because there are far more people worse off than me. Sorry to hear you're struggling, I've certainly been there myself over the years. I can second you on the mental exhaustion, 2023 has been the most stressful year of my life but I know all too well depression can strike without needing any specific cause. I don't think your selfish for losing your passion for life, but I do sincerely hope you regain it. Xmas is a tough time for mental health. Please know there are plenty of kind people who care. It may not be relevant but around 10 years ago I had a nervous breakdown and came pretty close to leaving this world. I had to take an extended break from work and started volunteering with my local community centre and for a mental health charity as a support worker, I found myself surrounded by lovely kind people and also had the opportunity to help others. Sometimes just doing something as simple as playing a game of scrabble or sharing a cup of tea with a lonely Widow made the world of difference. Perhaps something similar could be helpful for you in future. Sorry if I've been a bit presumptuous. I hope you get chance to recharge and prioritise some self care to tackle the mental exhaustion. Best wishes to you and take care, my friend.
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Post by Timelord007 on Dec 25, 2023 0:58:11 GMT
Been told I'm rundown, mentally exhausted which can affect my type 2 diabetes, I battle mental illness 36 yrs but this is the first time in my life were I don't care if I wake up or not & lost the passion for living which makes me a selfish person because there are far more people worse off than me. Sorry to hear you're struggling, I've certainly been there myself over the years. I can second you on the mental exhaustion, 2023 has been the most stressful year of my life but I know all too well depression can strike without needing any specific cause. I don't think your selfish for losing your passion for life, but I do sincerely hope you regain it. Xmas is a tough time for mental health. Please know there are plenty of kind people who care. It may not be relevant but around 10 years ago I had a nervous breakdown and came pretty close to leaving this world. I had to take an extended break from work and started volunteering with my local community centre and for a mental health charity as a support worker, I found myself surrounded by lovely kind people and also had the opportunity to help others. Sometimes just doing something as simple as playing a game of scrabble or sharing a cup of tea with a lonely Widow made the world of difference. Perhaps something similar could be helpful for you in future. Sorry if I've been a bit presumptuous. I hope you get chance to recharge and prioritise some self care to tackle the mental exhaustion. Best wishes to you and take care, my friend. Thank you my friend, I haven't got over my dad's passing it made me very vulnerable & angry how he died alone in a covid ward, I do what I always do & block my emotions which I done for couple years until my uncle passed away this year which triggered my pent up grief for my dad. My dogs are only thing keeping me going there loves unconditional & they give me lots cuddles. I used get passionate about movies, TV shows, Doctor Who which any who were on the BF forum will remember but that fire gone now & don't feel it ever coming back. You & I both know how fragile mental health leaves one, I attempted suicide & I had a nervous breakdown in 2010 which has left me with terrible social phobia. I won't go out except my two cousins, I take mom shopping I wait in car & rest I do online this illness has paralysed me socially that I no longer go to the cinema. Let's hope 2024 has better things in store for us my friend.
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Post by martinw8686 on Dec 25, 2023 2:03:05 GMT
I empathise with you about your Dad, I don't think I'll ever get over losing mine. I'm working on my anger over the failings in his diagnosis and treatment. I try to focus on the love and guidance he always gave. My Dad was brilliant in helping me with my mental health. I'm doing my best to stay strong and hear his voice whenever I'm challenged.
I also feel your pain with social anxiety, it's been a struggle of mine over the years. It was one of the major catalysts of my breakdown 10 years ago.
I join you in hoping for a better 2024, and wish you a better year. All we can do is live one day at a time, and carry good will and kindness in our hearts. Sensitive souls live a life of vulnerability, never far from heartbreak but there are immense highs to be felt when kindness truly shines through.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friend
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Post by Kestrel on Jan 4, 2024 3:37:04 GMT
Among the many skills that I've failed to pick up is how to respond to kindness. Please forgive me that I cannot say more than this: thank you very much for you kind words, @brians, tuigirl, shutupbanks, Ela. I appreciate it far more than I am capable of articulating. .... For now, things appear to be looking up (finally). After a couple big scares my father was discharged from the hospital the first week of December and sent to a rehab facility. Unfortunately the rehab facility we wanted him to go to was unable to accommodate him (apparently there's a lot of demand for these places) and he had to go elsewhere... to a place that really was not great. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that we're in the United States, and all of the horror stories those of you from elsewhere may have heard about our health care system are... completely accurate. It's godawful. So my father wasn't getting the help he needed, was becoming increasingly frustrated (with everything and everyone) and then we got a phone message saying that the insurance was going to stop covering his stay effective on "the 21st of December." We got that call on the night of the 19th. So, naturally: panic! Then an hour or two later they called back with a correction: we actually had until *January* 21. So, crisis averted, right? Hahahaha... nope, we go in on the 20th and they correct the correction: insurance cuts out tomorrow and he needs out ASAP. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you -- like I said, they were not giving him the care or attention he needed, not by a long shot. Oh, and did I mention that this place was riddled with COVID? Yeah. Then began a mad rush to figure out everything he'd need to have at home (trying to get anyone to *tell* us was like pulling teeth), and then coordinate the various at-home care service, hospital bed / wheelchair delivery, and his transportation out of the rehab facility. We weren't able to get him home until the 27th. And, of course, this is all occurring in that lovely span of time between Christmas Eve and New Years day -- very much the absolute worst time of the year if you're trying to get *anything* done. But now he's home and we had our family Christmas celebrations on New Years, and things are finally looking up. The first at-home physical therapy session happened today, though it was just an assessment, and they plan on (trying to) come see him three times a week. My mother has been an unceasing hurricane of activity since the accident back at the beginning of November and I hope she'll finally find some time to relax. I've been helping out as much as I can and, frankly, it's exhausting. My sister is present as well, but... well, it's probably best I don't get into that particular can of worms (it is a mess beyond your imagination, I'd wager). My father can still be very frustrated and angry and now he has nearer targets to vent that frustration and anger onto -- us. So... things are better, but not yet calm. Fortunately his health is good (he luckily avoided another bout of COVID) and hopefully will recover his mobility quickly -- he has a lot of muscle loss to rebuild. .... So that's where we are now. Am I oversharing here? I dunno. Maybe. Probably. But this thread is here, and as you might guess if you happen to remember some of the more personal information about myself I've volunteered here in the past... I don't exactly have many venues to say these things. It is, as they say, what it is. .... Still haven't watched the 2023 Specials, though I have seen some clips that make me pretty excited to finally get around to them. I remember a while ago there was a thread here discussing the idea of Doctor Who doing a musical episode, and several of us expressed some hesitation with the idea. For my part, I remember being cautiously optimistic that it could work. But, you know, when it comes to singing in Doctor Who, I do tend to think first and foremost of that really-not-all-that-great two-parter from... Series 2, I believe, with the pigmen in Manhattan. Which was, of course, the RTD1-era. But the musical number with the goblins? That was fantastic! I'm really curious to see how it's contextualized within the story.
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Post by Ela on Jan 4, 2024 4:43:29 GMT
Glad things are better, Kestrel . Sounds as though it's still not easy.
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Post by relativetime on Jan 4, 2024 4:48:46 GMT
Among the many skills that I've failed to pick up is how to respond to kindness. Please forgive me that I cannot say more than this: thank you very much for you kind words, @brians , tuigirl , shutupbanks , Ela . I appreciate it far more than I am capable of articulating. .... For now, things appear to be looking up (finally). After a couple big scares my father was discharged from the hospital the first week of December and sent to a rehab facility. Unfortunately the rehab facility we wanted him to go to was unable to accommodate him (apparently there's a lot of demand for these places) and he had to go elsewhere... to a place that really was not great. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that we're in the United States, and all of the horror stories those of you from elsewhere may have heard about our health care system are... completely accurate. It's godawful. So my father wasn't getting the help he needed, was becoming increasingly frustrated (with everything and everyone) and then we got a phone message saying that the insurance was going to stop covering his stay effective on "the 21st of December." We got that call on the night of the 19th. So, naturally: panic! Then an hour or two later they called back with a correction: we actually had until *January* 21. So, crisis averted, right? Hahahaha... nope, we go in on the 20th and they correct the correction: insurance cuts out tomorrow and he needs out ASAP. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you -- like I said, they were not giving him the care or attention he needed, not by a long shot. Oh, and did I mention that this place was riddled with COVID? Yeah. Then began a mad rush to figure out everything he'd need to have at home (trying to get anyone to *tell* us was like pulling teeth), and then coordinate the various at-home care service, hospital bed / wheelchair delivery, and his transportation out of the rehab facility. We weren't able to get him home until the 27th. And, of course, this is all occurring in that lovely span of time between Christmas Eve and New Years day -- very much the absolute worst time of the year if you're trying to get *anything* done. But now he's home and we had our family Christmas celebrations on New Years, and things are finally looking up. The first at-home physical therapy session happened today, though it was just an assessment, and they plan on (trying to) come see him three times a week. My mother has been an unceasing hurricane of activity since the accident back at the beginning of November and I hope she'll finally find some time to relax. I've been helping out as much as I can and, frankly, it's exhausting. My sister is present as well, but... well, it's probably best I don't get into that particular can of worms (it is a mess beyond your imagination, I'd wager). My father can still be very frustrated and angry and now he has nearer targets to vent that frustration and anger onto -- us. So... things are better, but not yet calm. Fortunately his health is good (he luckily avoided another bout of COVID) and hopefully will recover his mobility quickly -- he has a lot of muscle loss to rebuild. .... So that's where we are now. Am I oversharing here? I dunno. Maybe. Probably. But this thread is here, and as you might guess if you happen to remember some of the more personal information about myself I've volunteered here in the past... I don't exactly have many venues to say these things. It is, as they say, what it is. .... Still haven't watched the 2023 Specials, though I have seen some clips that make me pretty excited to finally get around to them. I remember a while ago there was a thread here discussing the idea of Doctor Who doing a musical episode, and several of us expressed some hesitation with the idea. For my part, I remember being cautiously optimistic that it could work. But, you know, when it comes to singing in Doctor Who, I do tend to think first and foremost of that really-not-all-that-great two-parter from... Series 2, I believe, with the pigmen in Manhattan. Which was, of course, the RTD1-era. But the musical number with the goblins? That was fantastic! I'm really curious to see how it's contextualized within the story. I'm so sorry you went through all that with your dad. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and a broken back in early 2023 and we have also had a lot of struggles with the health care system the entire year. He needs at-home care but the insurance company limits the amount of days they'll cover, so after we reached the limit that was that. There was a big scare very early on when they refused to cover the cancer treatment recommended by the doctors and we were forced to accept a treatment that put him at more risk. My dad's a retired federal employee and is supposed to have good insurance, but "good insurance" in the US comes with a lot of asterisks apparently.
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 4, 2024 8:10:35 GMT
Among the many skills that I've failed to pick up is how to respond to kindness. Please forgive me that I cannot say more than this: thank you very much for you kind words, @brians , tuigirl , shutupbanks , Ela . I appreciate it far more than I am capable of articulating. .... For now, things appear to be looking up (finally). After a couple big scares my father was discharged from the hospital the first week of December and sent to a rehab facility. Unfortunately the rehab facility we wanted him to go to was unable to accommodate him (apparently there's a lot of demand for these places) and he had to go elsewhere... to a place that really was not great. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that we're in the United States, and all of the horror stories those of you from elsewhere may have heard about our health care system are... completely accurate. It's godawful. So my father wasn't getting the help he needed, was becoming increasingly frustrated (with everything and everyone) and then we got a phone message saying that the insurance was going to stop covering his stay effective on "the 21st of December." We got that call on the night of the 19th. So, naturally: panic! Then an hour or two later they called back with a correction: we actually had until *January* 21. So, crisis averted, right? Hahahaha... nope, we go in on the 20th and they correct the correction: insurance cuts out tomorrow and he needs out ASAP. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you -- like I said, they were not giving him the care or attention he needed, not by a long shot. Oh, and did I mention that this place was riddled with COVID? Yeah. Then began a mad rush to figure out everything he'd need to have at home (trying to get anyone to *tell* us was like pulling teeth), and then coordinate the various at-home care service, hospital bed / wheelchair delivery, and his transportation out of the rehab facility. We weren't able to get him home until the 27th. And, of course, this is all occurring in that lovely span of time between Christmas Eve and New Years day -- very much the absolute worst time of the year if you're trying to get *anything* done. But now he's home and we had our family Christmas celebrations on New Years, and things are finally looking up. The first at-home physical therapy session happened today, though it was just an assessment, and they plan on (trying to) come see him three times a week. My mother has been an unceasing hurricane of activity since the accident back at the beginning of November and I hope she'll finally find some time to relax. I've been helping out as much as I can and, frankly, it's exhausting. My sister is present as well, but... well, it's probably best I don't get into that particular can of worms (it is a mess beyond your imagination, I'd wager). My father can still be very frustrated and angry and now he has nearer targets to vent that frustration and anger onto -- us. So... things are better, but not yet calm. Fortunately his health is good (he luckily avoided another bout of COVID) and hopefully will recover his mobility quickly -- he has a lot of muscle loss to rebuild. .... So that's where we are now. Am I oversharing here? I dunno. Maybe. Probably. But this thread is here, and as you might guess if you happen to remember some of the more personal information about myself I've volunteered here in the past... I don't exactly have many venues to say these things. It is, as they say, what it is. .... Still haven't watched the 2023 Specials, though I have seen some clips that make me pretty excited to finally get around to them. I remember a while ago there was a thread here discussing the idea of Doctor Who doing a musical episode, and several of us expressed some hesitation with the idea. For my part, I remember being cautiously optimistic that it could work. But, you know, when it comes to singing in Doctor Who, I do tend to think first and foremost of that really-not-all-that-great two-parter from... Series 2, I believe, with the pigmen in Manhattan. Which was, of course, the RTD1-era. But the musical number with the goblins? That was fantastic! I'm really curious to see how it's contextualized within the story. I am again wishing you all the best and lots of strength. The more I hear about the US, the less thrilled I am.
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shutupbanks
Castellan
There’s a horror movie called Alien? That’s really offensive. No wonder everyone keeps invading you.
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Post by shutupbanks on Jan 4, 2024 9:41:51 GMT
Among the many skills that I've failed to pick up is how to respond to kindness. Please forgive me that I cannot say more than this: thank you very much for you kind words, @brians , tuigirl , shutupbanks , Ela . I appreciate it far more than I am capable of articulating. .... For now, things appear to be looking up (finally). After a couple big scares my father was discharged from the hospital the first week of December and sent to a rehab facility. Unfortunately the rehab facility we wanted him to go to was unable to accommodate him (apparently there's a lot of demand for these places) and he had to go elsewhere... to a place that really was not great. I won't go into the details, but suffice it to say that we're in the United States, and all of the horror stories those of you from elsewhere may have heard about our health care system are... completely accurate. It's godawful. So my father wasn't getting the help he needed, was becoming increasingly frustrated (with everything and everyone) and then we got a phone message saying that the insurance was going to stop covering his stay effective on "the 21st of December." We got that call on the night of the 19th. So, naturally: panic! Then an hour or two later they called back with a correction: we actually had until *January* 21. So, crisis averted, right? Hahahaha... nope, we go in on the 20th and they correct the correction: insurance cuts out tomorrow and he needs out ASAP. Which isn't a bad thing, mind you -- like I said, they were not giving him the care or attention he needed, not by a long shot. Oh, and did I mention that this place was riddled with COVID? Yeah. Then began a mad rush to figure out everything he'd need to have at home (trying to get anyone to *tell* us was like pulling teeth), and then coordinate the various at-home care service, hospital bed / wheelchair delivery, and his transportation out of the rehab facility. We weren't able to get him home until the 27th. And, of course, this is all occurring in that lovely span of time between Christmas Eve and New Years day -- very much the absolute worst time of the year if you're trying to get *anything* done. But now he's home and we had our family Christmas celebrations on New Years, and things are finally looking up. The first at-home physical therapy session happened today, though it was just an assessment, and they plan on (trying to) come see him three times a week. My mother has been an unceasing hurricane of activity since the accident back at the beginning of November and I hope she'll finally find some time to relax. I've been helping out as much as I can and, frankly, it's exhausting. My sister is present as well, but... well, it's probably best I don't get into that particular can of worms (it is a mess beyond your imagination, I'd wager). My father can still be very frustrated and angry and now he has nearer targets to vent that frustration and anger onto -- us. So... things are better, but not yet calm. Fortunately his health is good (he luckily avoided another bout of COVID) and hopefully will recover his mobility quickly -- he has a lot of muscle loss to rebuild. .... So that's where we are now. Am I oversharing here? I dunno. Maybe. Probably. But this thread is here, and as you might guess if you happen to remember some of the more personal information about myself I've volunteered here in the past... I don't exactly have many venues to say these things. It is, as they say, what it is. .... Still haven't watched the 2023 Specials, though I have seen some clips that make me pretty excited to finally get around to them. I remember a while ago there was a thread here discussing the idea of Doctor Who doing a musical episode, and several of us expressed some hesitation with the idea. For my part, I remember being cautiously optimistic that it could work. But, you know, when it comes to singing in Doctor Who, I do tend to think first and foremost of that really-not-all-that-great two-parter from... Series 2, I believe, with the pigmen in Manhattan. Which was, of course, the RTD1-era. But the musical number with the goblins? That was fantastic! I'm really curious to see how it's contextualized within the story. Glad there’s some positive change, Kestrel. I hope everything else gets sorted out as well.
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Post by Kestrel on Jan 5, 2024 2:27:02 GMT
A bit more good news today: he's getting 5 physical therapy sessions per week, not three! At least for now.... And the people who've come (so far) are pretty enthusiastic about getting him up and out, which is great. I'm so sorry you went through all that with your dad. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and a broken back in early 2023 and we have also had a lot of struggles with the health care system the entire year. He needs at-home care but the insurance company limits the amount of days they'll cover, so after we reached the limit that was that. There was a big scare very early on when they refused to cover the cancer treatment recommended by the doctors and we were forced to accept a treatment that put him at more risk. My dad's a retired federal employee and is supposed to have good insurance, but "good insurance" in the US comes with a lot of asterisks apparently. One thing that's kept circling around in my head this past month or so is that, a couple of weeks before the accident, I was talking to my parents about health care -- as one does here -- and copays for all the medication I'm on, as well as what they end up paying... and my Mom said something to the effect of, "We're really lucky to have such good insurance." And, well, they do -- my Dad's one of those people who wouldn't have lived into the double-digits had he been born a century earlier. He's needed a lot of health supplies all his life, and the insurance he has now covers almost all of that extremely well. But me being me I just had to comment, "Yes, but it's only good insurance until you really need it."
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Post by relativetime on Jan 5, 2024 4:20:17 GMT
A bit more good news today: he's getting 5 physical therapy sessions per week, not three! At least for now.... And the people who've come (so far) are pretty enthusiastic about getting him up and out, which is great. I'm so sorry you went through all that with your dad. My dad was diagnosed with cancer and a broken back in early 2023 and we have also had a lot of struggles with the health care system the entire year. He needs at-home care but the insurance company limits the amount of days they'll cover, so after we reached the limit that was that. There was a big scare very early on when they refused to cover the cancer treatment recommended by the doctors and we were forced to accept a treatment that put him at more risk. My dad's a retired federal employee and is supposed to have good insurance, but "good insurance" in the US comes with a lot of asterisks apparently. One thing that's kept circling around in my head this past month or so is that, a couple of weeks before the accident, I was talking to my parents about health care -- as one does here -- and copays for all the medication I'm on, as well as what they end up paying... and my Mom said something to the effect of, "We're really lucky to have such good insurance." And, well, they do -- my Dad's one of those people who wouldn't have lived into the double-digits had he been born a century earlier. He's needed a lot of health supplies all his life, and the insurance he has now covers almost all of that extremely well. But me being me I just had to comment, "Yes, but it's only good insurance until you really need it." Exactly. My dad needs a lot of expensive medications and equipment which he hasn't had to pay for thanks to his insurance, which is not something that a lot of other people can say they have. There aren't words to describe how messed up it is though how cruel they can be seemingly at the drop of a hat.
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Post by Kestrel on Jan 9, 2024 22:44:03 GMT
William Faulkner's novel, 'As I Lay Dying,' opens with the scene of the family, in their home at the top of a steep hill, at night, preparing for the funeral (or some other such rite) of the recently-deceased mother. To accomplish this, naturally, they need a priest present -- and so they must use a contraption of ropes to haul an overweight (iirc) man of the cloth up the hill. Slowly and laboriously.
It's a scene -- one of several from that book -- that's stuck with me, and the older it gets the more I find I can relate to it. Such a perfect encapsulation of the very-literally-exhausting absurdities of life that would make us all deem reality a fiction, were we not so bone-dead tired dealing with it.
Apropos of nothing, my father had a doctor's appointment yesterday.
He's still not walking (hopefully he'll get there after a few more weeks of rehab) so this involved hiring a transportation service to get from home to the Doctor, and back again.
Something else happened yesterday, too. A blizzard.
And, as it so happens, my parents happen to live at the top of a relatively steep hill.
Perhaps you can imagine where this is going?
So they manage to get my father in to see the Doctor. Great! Snow's falling, but it's not sticking, so the roads are clear. Only, unfortunately, for whatever reason, the driver who was supposed to bring my father back home panicked. She evidently called her boss, based several hundred miles/kilometers away, and claimed she could not make it to the pick up because the roads were closed (they were not). Naturally, no one thought to inform my parents of this, so they were stuck waiting for a ride that would never arrive.
Waiting until it got dark. And colder. And the snow began to stick to the roads and turn into a thick slurry of ice and slush.
Many hours after they were supposed to depart for home -- and after even more phone calls trying to arrange transportation -- they managed to finagle a ride home! All's well that ends well, right?
Though maybe... not quite just yet.
You see, the van my father was in simply... was not geared for icy roads. And could not make it up that long hill. So, in the dark and cold abyss of night, we found ourselves desperately trying to drag my father up that steep incline, and my mind just kept turning back to Faulkner.
My friends, we had to call the Fire Department for aid.
Gotta love the Firefolk, eh? They made short work of that hill -- a whole team of them, effectively carrying my father -- in the wheelchair -- up frozen, mud-slick hill in the dead of night. Incredible.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2024 6:02:18 GMT
William Faulkner's novel, ' As I Lay Dying,' opens with the scene of the family, in their home at the top of a steep hill, at night, preparing for the funeral (or some other such rite) of the recently-deceased mother. To accomplish this, naturally, they need a priest present -- and so they must use a contraption of ropes to haul an overweight (iirc) man of the cloth up the hill. Slowly and laboriously. It's a scene -- one of several from that book -- that's stuck with me, and the older it gets the more I find I can relate to it. Such a perfect encapsulation of the very-literally-exhausting absurdities of life that would make us all deem reality a fiction, were we not so bone-dead tired dealing with it. Apropos of nothing, my father had a doctor's appointment yesterday. He's still not walking (hopefully he'll get there after a few more weeks of rehab) so this involved hiring a transportation service to get from home to the Doctor, and back again. Something else happened yesterday, too. A blizzard. And, as it so happens, my parents happen to live at the top of a relatively steep hill. Perhaps you can imagine where this is going? So they manage to get my father in to see the Doctor. Great! Snow's falling, but it's not sticking, so the roads are clear. Only, unfortunately, for whatever reason, the driver who was supposed to bring my father back home panicked. She evidently called her boss, based several hundred miles/kilometers away, and claimed she could not make it to the pick up because the roads were closed (they were not). Naturally, no one thought to inform my parents of this, so they were stuck waiting for a ride that would never arrive. Waiting until it got dark. And colder. And the snow began to stick to the roads and turn into a thick slurry of ice and slush. Many hours after they were supposed to depart for home -- and after even more phone calls trying to arrange transportation -- they managed to finagle a ride home! All's well that ends well, right? Though maybe... not quite just yet. You see, the van my father was in simply... was not geared for icy roads. And could not make it up that long hill. So, in the dark and cold abyss of night, we found ourselves desperately trying to drag my father up that steep incline, and my mind just kept turning back to Faulkner. My friends, we had to call the Fire Department for aid. Gotta love the Firefolk, eh? They made short work of that hill -- a whole team of them, effectively carrying my father -- in the wheelchair -- up frozen, mud-slick hill in the dead of night. Incredible. Oh Lord. I wish I could tell you things will get better, but I've just spent three years watching my mother and father-in-law gradually decline; fighting to get them the help they need and just generally keeping on keeping on until it was over. All I can say is, hang in. Keep living life, one day at a time. And treasure every moment, even, perhaps especially, the awful ones. Cher didn't get her wish. We can't turn back time. But the good Doctor teaches us that every moment in time is always still there. The only TARDIS we have is our memory, so make those memories as good as you can.
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Post by tuigirl on Jan 10, 2024 8:12:30 GMT
William Faulkner's novel, ' As I Lay Dying,' opens with the scene of the family, in their home at the top of a steep hill, at night, preparing for the funeral (or some other such rite) of the recently-deceased mother. To accomplish this, naturally, they need a priest present -- and so they must use a contraption of ropes to haul an overweight (iirc) man of the cloth up the hill. Slowly and laboriously. It's a scene -- one of several from that book -- that's stuck with me, and the older it gets the more I find I can relate to it. Such a perfect encapsulation of the very-literally-exhausting absurdities of life that would make us all deem reality a fiction, were we not so bone-dead tired dealing with it. Apropos of nothing, my father had a doctor's appointment yesterday. He's still not walking (hopefully he'll get there after a few more weeks of rehab) so this involved hiring a transportation service to get from home to the Doctor, and back again. Something else happened yesterday, too. A blizzard. And, as it so happens, my parents happen to live at the top of a relatively steep hill. Perhaps you can imagine where this is going? So they manage to get my father in to see the Doctor. Great! Snow's falling, but it's not sticking, so the roads are clear. Only, unfortunately, for whatever reason, the driver who was supposed to bring my father back home panicked. She evidently called her boss, based several hundred miles/kilometers away, and claimed she could not make it to the pick up because the roads were closed (they were not). Naturally, no one thought to inform my parents of this, so they were stuck waiting for a ride that would never arrive. Waiting until it got dark. And colder. And the snow began to stick to the roads and turn into a thick slurry of ice and slush. Many hours after they were supposed to depart for home -- and after even more phone calls trying to arrange transportation -- they managed to finagle a ride home! All's well that ends well, right? Though maybe... not quite just yet. You see, the van my father was in simply... was not geared for icy roads. And could not make it up that long hill. So, in the dark and cold abyss of night, we found ourselves desperately trying to drag my father up that steep incline, and my mind just kept turning back to Faulkner. My friends, we had to call the Fire Department for aid. Gotta love the Firefolk, eh? They made short work of that hill -- a whole team of them, effectively carrying my father -- in the wheelchair -- up frozen, mud-slick hill in the dead of night. Incredible. I just wish you and your family a lot of strength.
This is insane what you are going through. All the best.
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