Caregiver?

I became a caregiver with a doctors diagnose for my hubby. When he was diagnosed with Alzhemhiers. I spent 6 years as his caregiver and added my daughter and grandaughter with the cancer diagnose 3 1/2 years ago. As fast as I became a caregiver my duties were over first hubby died and then my heath hit rock bottom. First came shingles the biggest warning sign that could have hit me. Next the vertebras in my back began to crumble. Since Thanksgiving three of my vertebras have crumbled and I have had to have surgery. I can no longer take care of someone else and most of the time I can't take care of myself



My oldest son told me that caregivers only last 18months before their health begins to fail. I guess I outlasted that by a few years. The decisons that my health has forced on me have been so painful that I have been trying to avoid them. My oldest son has been forceing them.

I can no longer stay in Texas, I have become a liabilty to my daughter rather than a help. It has been a very unsetting to me to be a liability rather than the caregiver. I am going back to Albuquerque the end of April when my lease is up. I now have the big big task of clearing out my house and moving.

I have spent the last 10 days of getting rid of paper, paper and more paper. I am going to try and sell everything I can so that I don't have to move so much. I have friends trying to find me a place to live in Alb. It will make things so much more settleing to have a place to movein in Alb.

I need a new name for my blog as I can't be a caregiver anymore.

4 visits to hospitals

Starting with last Thanksgiving, all the month of December I was in either Kaufman Pres hospital , Baylor hospital or Baylor Rehab. I had back surgery December 13th kphoplasty for vertebral compression fractures. The first fracture was up high where my bra strap goes across.
Second vertbra was low in my back. Second surgery was January 28. Third vertbra was low on my back about the same place as the second one. I was in pain with the third vertbra a very long time. We couldn't get the third surgery scheduled soon enough. Third surgery was February 14.

I spent another weekend in hospital in Tyler while they checked out my heart and lungs. Heart docs want me not to drink too much as I am water logged. No salt at all. The minute you go into the hospital or parimeds they plugg you into a IV. Three times Baylor has done x-rays, ekg's, lots of blood work and P tests. Never once have I been told to stop drinking water and they have hooked me up to IV's the whole time, it makes sence to restrick salt.

B was down from Okla for the first surgery, but I have had to arrange for rides to and from Dallas. P and David were with me for the second surgery, they were also with me for the weekend Tyler hosptal stay. P from Albuquerque flew into for the couple of days after surgery. P flew back to Albuquerque this morning. I am going to have to beg another ride to Dallas for my next check with back suregon.

My Sunday School class and the mission circles at church has been so terribly teriffic. It takes about 6 hours to drive to Dallas see doctors and drive home. You need to understand this is more than a 15 minute drive across town and an hour in a doctors office. This is a full day committment to take me to the doctor in Dallas.

My primary care doctor has given me some new medicine it is call Foreteo. I give myself a shot in the tummy every night at 10:00. Literature with this new med says " after you have had the first vertebra compression fracture you are 5 times as likely to have a second one, after you have had the second one you are as 12 times as likely to have a third." They didn't go on from there I am afraid to ask about the 4th or 5th. B ask if they could just fill them all up they have to be fractured to fil them up but medicare only lets them do 3 at one time. So far my MRI's only show the one at the time.