MAKING DECISION REGARDING MY FUTURE

By OLIVENE GODFREY

I keep hoping I will get back to normal but I am still not feeling chipper and I can't do household chores that I've always done.
Son Barry thinks I have improved a lot but it is discouraging for me to be so helpless. Barry and I had a discussion with our family doctor a few days ago. Barry told the doctor that I have become a social recluse and have panic attacks sometimes when I am alone in the house. The doctor told me I need to decide if I want to continue living in my home or would I be more comfortable in an assisted living or rest home environment. My reply was quick, "I love my home and want to stay in it the rest of my life." And then she told us we have to make our home safer for me. She has arranged for me to have occupational therapy here at the house. They will evaluate ways to make the house safer, such as building ramps at the exits of the sunken floor in our den. I still have a couple of weeks of physical therapy and we will work on improving my balance as I nearly fell again last week.

We went to the Dalton mall last Sunday and I got a very short haircut. Since I started taking large dosages of vitamin D and booster shots once a month, my hair and fingernails grow like crazy and my skin and hair are oily again.

Recently, my friend and neighbor, Genevelyn, took me to the dentist to have two teeth filled. I think of her as "Little Miss Sunshine" as she is petite and has a contagious smile that brings smiles wherever she goes. She has helped me so much in the past for which I am very grateful.

See you next time.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE RECORD BREAKING POLLEN COUNT OF 7000?

By Olivene Godfrey

Describing the weather here in North Georgia is difficult. Is it spring or summer? We had days when the temp was near 90 and it seemed like summer. Then, we had a few pleasant days and the record pollen count shot up to 7,000 followed by a down pour of rain which measured two inches in our rain gauge.
The rain lowered the pollen count but it has remained in the thousands. Yellow pollen dust covers everything and people with allergies are suffering.

Some weather experts say the pollen count is so bad because of the cold winter here and the trees are greening and foliage and flowering trees and bushes all burst forth at once. They also say that the pollen count will get worse before it gets better. My allergy has bothered me more today than in a long time. I had not been out of the house but somehow the pollen gets in the house.

Over in England, my friend. Annie, who lived in south Florida for many years and a while back returned to her native country, sent me an e-mail. Annie is an artist who paints, writes and does many things well. She described her country this spring and I want to share a paragraph with you. She writes: Spring has sprung in England. The daffodils are blooming along river banks and along road sides and the grass, now green, is full of wild flowers. I noticed today when I was walking , the Horse Chestnut, Hawthorn and the Weeping Willow are starting to burst forth open casting a faint green color across the country side It is so nice to walk and feel the sun on my face."

It has been four weeks since I had the horrible Vertigo Drop attack and I still suffer at times from the trauma that was so frightening I still have days when I am scared to be alone in the house.

The Home Health Care people are helping me to recover and my vital signs are fine, even my oxygen count is in the 90s and since I have COPD that is amazing. Every morning, I send a report of my vital signs on a machine that monitors it at the Home Health headquarters. I am glad that I appear to be healthy except for my IBS which has been worse than ever lately and nobody in the medical field can help.

See you next time.

RED MALE CARDINAL'S YEAR LONG ATTACK ON GLASS DOORS &
BRIEF MEDICAL REPORT

By OLIVENE GODFREY

During the past two weeks, I've had a bunch of visitors, including the Home Health Care people, who are helping me recover from my recent Vertigo Drop attack. And each of the visitors have been fascinated with the red male Cardinal's dive bombing into the glass doors in our den. Son Barry has done a lot of research on cardinals and has found out that the male bird fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces it frequently will spend hours fighting the imaginary intruder. We found out that birds don't have the ability to reason or comprehend the concept of a rival as a real cardinal would be. We also have a red plant that the cardinal seems to think is another bird.

Reason would suggest that covering the reflection surface wood eliminate this behavior but this is not always the case. While the outside of the glass is covered, the bird may go searching for its imaginary rival at another window. We are at our wit's end and the door is dirty now and the bird has become a nuisance. Any suggestions?

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The physical therapy is helping my legs become stronger but the psychological damage is taking longer which causes me a lot of distress and I pray to God for relief. Then I remember the long line of strong women I come from and use my self-discipline to keep going as I am doing right now.

See you next time.