It really can be you!

My speech from Thursday November 28, 2013 at the “Saskatchewan’s Got Talent”. 

I would like to start as a woman I admire ends. “Be kind to one another!”  Ellen DeGeneres makes a habit to help people that need it.  It always warms my heart.

Last night I was lucky enough to be at a football banquet for my son’s team.  He is 17 and this year they won the 9man 3A provincial championship.  At the supper last night, they collected food for the food bank.  As I sat and looked at the team, many were on the honor roll, many play different sports, and they are all just good kids. 

I got an email from a lady that was a board member.  It was regarding an unexpected donation.  An eight year old girl named Ashlynn had decided for her birthday all she wanted from her friends was two toonies.  One she kept and the other she collected and gave to us after overhearing from her mom talk about what we do.  She must have a lot of friends because she donated $118 in a Ziploc bag!

So here is my point.  There are amazing kids in this world because we made them that way in the same way that our parents taught us to be kind to one another.  I really do believe that if we got out of bed every day and decided to be kind to one another, the world would be a better place. 

This year has been amazing for me.  It has also been a tough year for my family and I.  I was able to complete my CAIB designation which was great.  (For all you non insurance people this is a big deal!)  I was also honored to be nominated and then win a Woman of Distinction award for my work with Forever Friends.  Some pretty amazing stuff!  And then everything changed.

Two days before our spring auction, two days before I wrote my final CAIB exam, I had a pain in my right hip.  

That pain progressed to more joints and more pain.  Balance problems, hospital stays and unknown trips to the doctors followed.  They actually still don’t know what I have.  So I am rocking my new accessory, my cane, and having a lot of naps. 

So in one day my world changed.  By the end of August I could no longer work.  I have to take a scooter when I shop because I can no longer walk through the stores.  I was unable to attend my son’s football games.  I missed my first Forever Friends meeting in eleven years. 

Everything changed in one day.  I have said over and over that we are all one diagnosis, one decision away from being in a place in your life from requiring help. 

My husband put my socks on for the month of September because I was  so sick that I couldn’t do it myself.  I went from working all the time, boot camp a couple of nights a week, being the first one in and the last one out in everything I did, to my husband putting my socks and shoes on for me.  It still seems surreal to say it. 

My message is simple.  Do not take your health for granted.  While you are healthy get disability insurance, make a will, have accessible savings.  Know what your insurance covers.  Does your mortgage insurance have a half pay meaning that only half of your mortgage is covered?  What are you waiting periods?  Ask questions.  Talk to an advisor. Make sure you are set up.  Your family counts on you.  Small business, look into benefits for your employees.  Providing for our families-no matter what is the goal. 

Forever Friends helps women financially after a cancer diagnoses.  We step in and fill in the blanks for women who have exhausted their 15 weeks of disability and are left to social services.  Because if you are not terminal, there is no long term disability in this country.  Our government prefers to pay 25 year old people not to work and not to help people that can’t.  But I digress, that is for a different speech.  This year alone we have stopped 2 evictions and paid for dental visits.  Imagine needing 150 dollars to pull a tooth that is causing great pain and having no way to get this money.  We have paid for lymphedema support, ostomy supplies, and food. 

The one that really hits home now is a family with 2 kids, a mother that is terminal, and a father that worked a job for years at $14 dollars an hour and just got laid off.  With not even enough food in the house, there would definitely be no Christmas.  We gave them money for food, and sponsored them for a Salvation Army Adopt a Family.  Santa will still come to their house this year. 

Anyone who has ever heard me speak knows how I feel about this.  I have been saying it for years.  But even I have learned this year that it could happen to me. 

I am not telling you all of this for sympathy.  As I walk off the stage tonight, picture yourself in my shoes.  Imagine your own life.  And remember, there but by the grace of God, go I. 

Thank you all!

Awesomeness!!!

As the time clicks closer to the Big Day, we all start to get a little bit more high strung.  And yes, it is possible. 

We have received donations from South Country Haven donated the first and Sirius Taxidermy supplies donated the other.  We are looking forward to both auctions.  Our meeting is on the 17th in order to get everything organized.  We will have more pictures then. 

It always seems to happen.  As we are preparing for an event, we get an applicant.  This always helps us to keep us grounded.  A woman with no income, living with her son.  Not old enough for pension and no social services coverage.  In need of colonoscopy supplies. 

And so it continues.  Call Danah 306-699-7788 for tickets to our Saskatchewan's Got Talent.  Thank you all for helping us, help others!

It's been a while but now the count down is on!

I know that it has been a while since I have been able to write at all.  Being sick is no hell at all.  If anyone reads Ranting and Ravine Saskatchewan Style, you will know what I am talking about.  If not I have something, but no one knows what, so we have been testing for the last 6 months.

As everyone hopefully knows, we are having a big event in November.  Planning has been going very well!

 

 

As you can see we have a lot going on.  Just this morning we found out that The Honorable Speaker of the House, Andrew Scheer has agreed to allow us to auction off a meal with him.  This is very exciting for us!  We are exploring the idea for some other famous folks!  Keep an eye on the Face Book page for updates!

 

Thanks for reading!  We also helped two women this month.  There are a lot of supplies that are not covered by the government that we would usually assume are paid for.  For example colostomy bags.  These can be quite expensive, especially if the patients stomach does not react well to chemo.  The government does have some programs that pay for half but they only reimburse about a month after, not up front.  We have helped in the past by paying for the first month upfront, and the other half in advance.  It is sometimes the hard to talk about effects of cancer that we should be talking about more. 

 

Stay tuned!

We are all one diagnoses away

I have been absent for a while.  I know it but I have really been struggling with this one.  Mostly because I am sharing once again with the world.  I have shared a lot of what FFOH does, a lot of what I do.  Just a lot of my life.  Some of you that follow this blog know that I have had migraine's for years.  I finally after 20 years go them under control.  I was relatively pain free for 6 1/2 months. 

I was in Humbolt for the last of my CAIB courses.  I sat on the bed in a hotel room with my knees up studying for 8 days. On Thursday my hip was stiff and kind of sore, but not that it would slow you down.   I wrote my test on Saturday morning and got home just in time for the auction.  I was dressed in my '80's garb and high heeled boots.  I lasted until about 10 in my heels and my feet hurt so I swapped for my flats.  After the auction I stood bent over a table for about an hour and a half.  And then we went to the bar and stood for another hour.  By the time I got home, my hip ached.  Really hurt.  We cleaned up the next day and I was limping.  Chalked it up to sitting in the room reading for  and then being bent over for so long. 

And then it continued to hurt.  It hurt for 4 weeks so I made a doctors appointment.  They sent me for X-Rays and blood tests.  Then they called me to come back.  That is never a good feeling.  It was a long week to wait. 

Then they told me I have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).  I have marked degeneration in my right hip.  Since then it has also affected both hips, my knees and ankles. 
And a diagnosis changed my life. 

I have worked with women with cancer for 11 years.  I have never had it.  I'm not a survivor. I never really understood the emotional side of a diagnoses.   I don't do well with the emotional side of anything actually.  But I finally understand.  Well a bit anyways.  RA isn't life threatening.  So it still isn't exactly the same.  But it is life changing.  

I have always worked hard.  I try to always be the first one in and the last one out on anything I do.  Being told that you have to slow down was not something I could get my head around.  I have been incredibly tired lately but wrote it off as a side effect of the migraine pills.  But now I had a reason. 

They have prescribed me increasing doses of pain killers.  Anti inflammatory drugs designed to reduce the inflammation in my joints which can also cause stomach ulcers but right now that is the least of my worries.  They initially told me that the wait to see a rheumatologist was 5-6 months. 
However, the physiotherapist and my doctor built a case for me and got me an appointment next week.  For that I am grateful.

RA is an auto immune systematic disease.  It is not "my knees get a little stiff in the morning" kind of arthritis.  This is how it works.  My body has decided that my joints need protection from an imaginary threat.  My body is trying to immobilize my joints in order to stabilize them.  Then it sends inflammatory cells to my joints.  The more I do, the more my body send these cells.  These cells if you are hurt help heal you.  When you are not hurt, they act like acid on your bones.  My body is fighting itself.  In order to try to minimize the swelling in my joints, I am to do pretty much as little as possible because I am in what they call a flare up.  A three month long no end in sight flare up. 

I sit on a lot of ice in the evenings.  I am pretty good in the morning but at night it's not good.  I have found that I need a ton of sleep.  And if I nap in the afternoon, I can work a bit later.  And it hurts, all the time.  Even with the pain killers, it still hurts.  Sometimes I can barely walk.  Sometimes not to bad but there is no rhyme or reason to it. 

After the doctor told me what it was, I will admit, I was terrified.  Your mobility is something that we all take for granted.  Like any bit of our good health I suppose.  It took me a couple of weeks to get my head around it.  I shed some tears, freaked out a little and then came back to reality. 

I am grateful for it where it is.  It is not in my hands.  I can still write. I can still work although I am slower but I am still able to work.  And I have decided that it just hurts.  I am still going to be able to do all of the things I want to, just maybe in a scooter. 

I am not asking for sympathy.  no one needs to send notes of encouragement.  I don't write to make people to feel sorry for me.  I am just letting everyone know at once.  It is easier this way. 

I am writing to remind everyone that we are one diagnoses away from a huge change in your life, your beliefs, and your priorities. 

One diagnosis. 

Fundraising can be kind of difficult at times.  Sometimes I feel like the person everyone wants to hide from.  Like people cross the street to avoid me, to avoid buying another ticket, being asked to volunteer or attend an event. 

I hosted a Lia Sofia fundraiser on Friday.  It was super fun.  We raised over 560 dollars for FFOH and we got over a thousand dollars worth of free jewelry that we are going to use for our different events.  It was probably the easiest fundraiser I have ever done.  

We have had a group of women raise money for us with a purse swap.  We have had people donate money from a golf tournament.  We have had people organize steak nights.  Believe me, every bit of the money people donate to us is a huge help.  Every dollar someone else raises is a dollar we don't have to raise but desperately need. 

We appreciate what others have done for us.  Because it sometimes takes so little to really help someone every little bit helps. 

The moral of the story is, if anyone out in cyber space would be interested on hosting a fundraiser for us we would be very grateful. 

Thanks for the reads everyone!  We appreciate it! 

Time passing

Some days I miss my friend more than others.  Friday I missed her a lot.  I wished she was here to share this with me.  I know that she is the reason that I have these opportunities.  I also know that my eyes would not have been opened to the need of Forever Friends unless we lost her. 

Our latest applicant was in dire circumstances.  Although not in the same way as some of our applicants. The chemo had done damage to her teeth and gums.  She needed a tooth pulled desperately.  The social workers called and told me she was in a lot of pain.  We were able to get her approved in one hour from receiving the application.  She was to the dentist the next day.  The work ended up being half of what the estimate was.  Her family called me back to thank me for what we did for her.

Here is the amazing part.  She is palliative.  For 149 dollars we were able to stop her pain.  What if FFOH wasn't here?  Then what?   Would she have just suffered until she died?  Is this okay in our world today?  In Canada?  I want to believe there would have been somewhere she could have turned too.  I just don't know that there is.  This is what makes me so proud of what we do. 

Now for an update on some of the other things going on with FFOH.  I was invited to Saskatoon to the Hope Cancer Clinic to talk about some of the things that works for FFOH.  They asked for some input into their program.  It was very flattering to be invited.  And when people let me talk about FFOH for as long as I want without them getting bored, I get very happy.  Really its a win-win situation. 

And one more thing.  As I have mentioned in the past, some of the partners that FFOH has worked with, Lisa B Originals to be exact, nominated me as a YWCA Woman of Distinction.  As amazing as it is, I was actually given the award in the Community Leadership and Enhancement category on Thursday night. 

http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Ladies+commitment+community+recognized/8331118/story.html

I want to thank everyone who took the time to write a letter of support.  I want to thank Garry and Pam Frigon for taking the time to start the nomination process.  I doubt that in my whole life I will top that feeling.  It is easily one of the best moments of my life.  Garry, Shirley, Geri, Mom, Virginia, and Derek-Thank You for being there to share that moment with me.  It really has been a very amazing week. 

Thank you all for the reads and shares.  We have had over 5300 readers.  Amazing!

Responsible Consumerism

I have decided to write a post about something that is becoming more and more important to me as I get older and more appreciative of life. 

I asked my girl what the words "responsible consumerism" meant to her.  She said "I don't know what that means."  So I told her.  At least I told her what it means to me. 

To me this means we are responsible for what we consume.  I have touched on my beliefs before with responsible donating, and this is one step further. 

I saw a post on Facebook and I have no idea if it was true or not but it is what got me thinking about this.  The post was a picture of a rancher carrying a calf through a snow storm.  The caption was something about PETA, that when the snow storm hit North Dakota the ranchers put out a plea to PETA to ask for help saving their cattle from the storm and no one from PETA showed up. 
Again I will emphasize that I have no idea if this is true but it got me thinking. 

I wonder if the girls who stand naked on the street corners promoting PETA, trying to guilt people into not eating meat or any animal product, would come out to a ranch and chase cattle. 

I eat beef.  I eat pork.  Actually judging from the size of my butt, there isn't much food I don't like. 
I grew up on a ranch.  I understand how the process works.  I don't believe that my parents are not ethical people because they raise beef.  I was raised to be honest, faithful and hard working.  I was raised around animals.  My family farmed pigs at first.  When I was a little (and I mean little) girl, my dad would go out to the barn first.  He would clean the first piglet pen.  My mom and I would go out a few minutes after.  They would put me in the clean pen with the piglets and mom and dad would do chores.  There are pictures of me curled up with a piglet sleeping in the clean straw.

We processed our own pork in those days.  My dad ground the pork by hand.  We kids would feed the grinder and wrap the meat.  We ate well.  We worked as a family. 

My mom and dad decided to go into cattle in the '80's.  I grew up feeding, treating and chasing cattle.  We helped with every step of the process. That's where developed my crush on CKRM that I still haven't grown out of.  I learned that Mother Nature has an amazing ability to feed, clothe and nurture us all. 

So here is my point.  Eating farm raised meat from a responsible farmer is not a bad thing. 

If you as a consumer, are responsible for your choices, choose wisely.  You vote with your dollars.  If you want your beef to be raised by a good farmer, buy it from a good farmer.  If you want organic eggs, look for a person that sells organic farm eggs.  Buy local.  If you research your product and choose to be a consumer of a product that you support, that is responsible consumerism. 

Buying local and supporting local are different things.  If you want your local grocery store to be there on a Sunday when you need milk, don't complain about the price of milk.  They charge what they have to to make money.  They aren't Costco with a thousand people walking through the door everyday.  They also aren't a charity.  They go to work everyday to make a living.  I have lived in a small town all my life.  I have owned a business in a small town.  I scraped out a living for my family.  I didn't get rich.  I went to work everyday and appreciated the local support I got from my community everyday. 

Ethical people grow food to feed the world.  It is a noble profession that I am honored to say I was part of once.  I choose to eat locally grown beef and eggs.  I am grateful for the milk I can by in the town where I live, even if it is a dollar more a carton.  I shop in local stores when I can and support the people I know whenever I can.  I try to practice what I preach.  I stand for responsible consumerism today. 

"You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything."  Aaron Tippen. 

Have a great week everyone!  Thanks for the reads!