I am certain a blog about how to grow hair on a bald head would be a hit, but lol,  J sorry I don’t have one. I can share that Reg and I accidentally found out how to grow something, I would not call it real adult hair though, more baby fine down, fluff, on his totally bald head.

I get emails from people who see my husband’s picture and know he does not have a full head of hair and send information about a hair loss cure and lol, Reg accidentally found one that worked here at home.  As some people are keen to try anything, I share it, do not know how this might affect others, I am making no 'claims', just sharing an accidental discovery we made.

I think the secret of that rosemary oil and emu oil concoction is that rosemary oil is slightly stimulating of blood vessels, you could probably rub the crushed rosemary leaf on the scalp for similar effect and emu oil is a soothing anti-inflammatory and carrier oil, it would assist the rosemary to penetrate the skin. A concoction you could experiment with if interested. lol. No responsibility accepted for what your results are. lol :-) Experiment at your own risk. :-). You could always let me know here, if you want to, what your results are.

 I do not plan to sell the formula, lol J and I do not guarantee it would work for anyone other than my husband Reg.  As you can see from the pictures, he does not use it now, the fine downy hair, or fluff as we called it, actually looked cute, but funnyJ. Formula might be useful before you actually go bald.

 

Rosemary - Stimulant, tonic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, carminative.  Rosemary can help to lower blood pressure and improve circulation.  Rosemary is thought to improve circulation in the brain, therefore improving memory.  Powerful antioxidant, aids digestion, blood cleansing, and helps treat headache.

 

What was I saying about making some one feel that they are doing things well? 

What did I say about building someone’s high self esteem?

It seems I was overheard and brought right back to my task as a carer.  I was shown that I still, have a long way to go before I master, this task and do it well.

Here we are in the beautiful town of Eden NSW.

Well as always the devil (this one is called fronto lobe degeneration dementia), made an appearance (just when I was feeling cocky that i was doing everything so well,)  in Eden today.
 
The devil made an impact on Adam (the one with frontal lobe degeneration) and that made, Eve, (the carer) 's day rather difficult as he, Adam, kept distracting Eve, while she was driving, then he tried to destroy her art work (by accident of cause). Then he got upset because Eve laid down a few rules for safe behavior (so much for the building good self esteem lecture L ), especially the rules about how to behave in a car while the driver is negotiating turns.  Sigh. 

I stopped off at the fruit shop on the way home and bought Adam an apple. A nice, Granny Smith, one. Jollied him back into a good mood, got him back to holding hands,, then a hug and a kiss and now he is relaxing watching TV after a nice dinner together.

"If you know how to manage, dementia moments, better, I would love to read your blog".

I sometimes wonder if I should begin a blog focusing on dementia adventures, but out of respect for my Adam and appreciation of his better moments, I do not want to humiliate him by focusing on the negatives when there is so much positive in his and our lives.

 

Self Worth Is The Key To Positive Mental Health.

How can we Help Others have High Self Esteem?

Here is my husband Reg, who has a frontal lobe degeneration causing a cognitive and executive function disorder, (or in other words, he can not plan or think of two consecutive events, easily), proving to be the most qualified member of the extended family to help a bright achiever high school member of the family with her advanced maths.

Don’t write off those with dementia or years behind them (Reg is 70 this year ) as ‘old fogies’.  Everyone needs to feel good at something and to be valued.

 

Age is not relative to working toward and helping others achieve, a high self esteem.

I believe high self esteem, it is one of the most important reasons, why children from disadvantaged or abusive families, can become successful in life, as adults, even becoming high achievers, rather than perpetuate, the problem lifestyle they grew up with.

 

You can try to reach anyone at any stage of life and help them to feel they are GOOD at something,  This can make a huge, positive, difference to that person’s life.
So don’t hold back when we can make such a difference. Is there someone out there today, who’s life you can touch by sharing a skill with them or praising a skill they already have? 
High self esteem does come from within but the seed needs to be watered and fertilized with training and encouragement from outside. 
I feel strongly about this out of gratitude to those who helped me step up out of the sort of life I knew as a child into a rewarding adult life.  I have had and I am having a WONDERFUL life and have even learned to respect the harshness of the childhood  as I've been able to use so much of what I learned through it to improve my adult life.
 

Can you be the sun and water to others who are able to respond?

Do you have the inner strength and patience to water and warm a sleeping seemingly unresponsive seed?

 

I came from a shattered, home and  without going into details here, it was my discovery that I loved and found inner peace, around nature, dogs and art early in life and my being able to develop, these interests and feel the praise, of others, that I could do these tasks well, that would have made all the difference to me, becoming an achiever not just a survivor, of the events of my early life.

I see Reg, attaching the caravan, to the car, washing the dishes after our caravan made meals thst he helps prepare and although I supervise the safety aspects, of these jobs and make reminders, the being active and having an important role where others are depending on him is a huge part of what keeps my man well and functioning, despite his dementia. 

We discovered yesterday that he is also a brilliant, maths tutor.  I had not realized this beforeJ.  Well I can see more visits to my daughters’ homes to help the grand children with their high school level maths in the next few years and a growing knowledge of how valuable my man is as a family member and that sort of feeling is better than any drug the doctors could prescribe.
 
This article is copyright to Kathy shell. You may reprint this article with permission from the Author, Kathy shell and a link back to this website.J

 

A facebook friend shared this, I did not write it and as yet I do not know the author, but I wanted to share this information so it helps bring more understanding that chronic pain sufferers and those with depression cannot, 'just snap out of it'.

If you were born with healthy genes, you may know me but you don't understand me. I was not as lucky as you. I inherited the predisposition to chronic pain, fatigue and forgetfulness. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FMS) after months, years or even decades of mysterious physical and emotional problems. If you have the time to read on, I would like to help you understand how different I am from you.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA

1. FMS is not the newest fad disease. In fact, it isn't a disease at all, and it isn't even new. In 1815, a surgeon at the University of Edinburgh, William Balfour, described fibromyalgia. Over the years, it has been known as chronic rheumatism, myalgia and fibrositis. Unlike diseases, syndromes do not have a known cause, but they do have a specific set of signs and symptoms which, unfortunately for the patient, take place together. Rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are also syndromes.

2. The many physical and emotional problems associated with FMS are not psychological in origin. This is not an "all in your head" disorder. In 1987, the American Medical Association recognized FMS as a true physical illness and major cause of disability.

3. Syndromes strike life-long athletes as viciously as they do couch potatoes. They can be disabling and depressing, interfering with even the simplest activities of daily life.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ME

1. My pain - My pain is not your pain. It is not caused by inflammation. Taking your arthritis medication will not help me. I cannot work my pain out or shake it off. It is not even a pain that stays put. Today it is in my shoulder, but tomorrow it may be in my foot or gone. My pain is believed to be caused by improper signals sent to the brain, possibly due to sleep disorders. It is not well understood, but it is real.

2. My fatigue - I am not merely tired. I am often in a severe state of exhaustion. I may want to participate in physical activities, but I can't. Please do not take this personally. If you saw me shopping in the mall yesterday, but I can't help you with yard work today, it isn't because I don't want to. I am, most likely, paying the price for stressing my muscles beyond their capability.

3. My forgetfulness - Those of us who suffer from it call it fibrofog. I may not remember your name, but I do remember you. I may not remember what I promised to do for you, even though you told me just seconds ago. My problem has nothing to do with my age but may be related to sleep deprivation. I do not have a selective memory. On some days, I just don't have any short-term memory at all.


4. My clumsiness - If I step on your toes or run into you five times in a crowd, I am not purposely targeting you. I do not have the muscle control for that. If you are behind me on the stairs, please be patient. These days, I take life and stairwells one step at a time.

5. My sensitivities - I just can't stand it! "It" could be any number of things: bright sunlight, loud or high-pitched noises, odors. FMS has been called the "aggravating everything disorder." So don't make me open the drapes or listen to your child scream. I really can't stand it.

6. My intolerance - I can't stand heat, either. Or humidity. If I am a man, I sweat...profusely. If I am a lady, I perspire. Both are equally embarrassing, so please don't feel compelled to point this shortcoming out to me. I know. And don't be surprised if I shake uncontrollably when it's cold. I don't tolerate cold, either. My internal thermostat is broken, and nobody knows how to fix it.

7. My depression - Yes, there are days when I would rather stay in bed or in the house or die. Severe, unrelenting pain can cause depression. Your sincere concern and understanding can pull me back from the brink. Your snide remarks can tip me over the edge.

8. My stress - My body does not handle stress well. If I have to give up my job, work part time, or handle my responsibilities from home, I'm not lazy. Everyday stresses make my symptoms worse and can incapacitate me completely.

9. My weight - I may be fat or I may be skinny. Either way, it is not by choice. My body is not your body. My appestat is broken, and nobody can tell me how to fix it.

10. My need for therapy - If I get a massage every week, don't envy me. My massage is not your massage. Consider how a massage would feel if that charley horse you had in your leg last week was all over your body. Massaging it out was very painful, but it had to be done. My body is knot-filled. If I can stand the pain, regular massage can help, at least temporarily.

11. My good days - If you see me smiling and functioning normally, don't assume I am well. I suffer from a chronic pain and fatigue illness with no cure. I can have my good days or weeks or even months. In fact, the good days are what keep me going.

12. My uniqueness - Even those who suffer from FMS are not alike. That means I may not have all of the problems mentioned above. I do have pain above and below the waist and on both sides of my body which has lasted for a very long time. I may have migraines or hip pain or shoulder pain or knee pain, but I do not have exactly the same pain as anyone else.

I hope that this helps you understand me, but if you still doubt my pain, your local bookstore, library and the internet have many good books and articles on fibromyalgia.

Author's note: This letter is based on communications with people throughout the world, males and females, who suffer from fibromyalgia. It does not represent any one of the over 10,000,000 people with FMS, but it can help the healthy person understand how devastating this illness can be. Please do not take these people and their pain lightly. You wouldn't want to spend even a day in their shoes... or their bodies.

Have you had a turning point in your life?
I would love to hear of your turning point, in the comments section.

I have had many. The latest one was just over three years ago.  My joyful journey is mostly told in my artslim blog.

This was my turning point and also when I began blogging.



My turning point was being so ill I was going into hospital once or twice a week due to extreme low pulse or low oxygen saturations as my lungs and heart were packing it in.
I was finding it difficult to walk, both my feet had been broken and my right leg crushed in an accident and I needed some   mobility products  to move around, even in, my own home.

I was looking at chairs and scooters in mobility compare , and barely managing with Reg’s help (when he could assist me) and walking sticks.

Reg my husband had then and of course, still has a degenerating disease of the frontal lobe of the brain and I needed to care for him not the other way around.
Doctor told me to 'make our final arrangements this involved arranging for someone to care for my husband after I was gone.  We relocated to live 6 minutes walk from my youngest daughters so she could take over when needed. I had a couple of night time life threatening events and needed to call the ambulance when I only needed help to sit up to breath deeper and some steam, but she was out and my man was confused, so the move was still of no help to me in managing my illness at home.

Similarly, when I needed help to manage my husband when he was having a bad episode of dementia, she could not step out of the daughter role, be strong, and learn how to be the one to manage her dad's behaviour. 

I also realized that the risk of having an adult with dementia under your roof is too great a risk factor to give anyone who also has the responsibility of children under the same roof.

I knew that a dementia hostel, would be the emotional and mental death, for my wonderful husband and if he was to stay well most of the time, if he was to live a good and happy life, then I had to be the one to provide the environment in which it happened.
To do that, I needed to be healthy. 

There was only one part of my health situation, I knew I had the power to fix and that was my weight.
I began my joyful journey to a healthier lifestyle and becoming slim, on 28th January 2007. I have only had one slow pulse visit to hospital since then instead of almost twice a week  prior to my commitment to be 100% healthy lifestyle living, no excuses, not ‘just this once’ overeating and I learned how to be more active.  I had already been eating healthy, just too much quantity. 

Illness and injury had gradually made me sedentary.  

How I became active after some serious illness and injury is another story, but I did it and my health returned, conditions considered incurable ceased to be evident and my current Doctors who do not know my past medical history are very unaware of those conditions I used to suffer from.

Today as I swam in the pool, watching Reg sitting reading under the shade of a tree,  I feel so fit and well, I can hardly believe I am 63. 
This afternoon, Reg and I walked on the beach and with Indigo the dog, I did seven 100 meter plus sprints along the sand.  Lol, this is the same woman was once in need of a heart lung transplant. 

This is the same woman who so easily could have been wheelchair bound with feet and legs too painful to stand up on.  
I know I have worked hard to be this fit, but I also know I have been blessed, with an amazing recovery and I do not take it for granted.

If through writing and telling people that you can recover from the near impossible, I can instil in them the belief that it can happen for them, then J, I’ll waffle on about my own recovery for ever. I am so very grateful that the human body has such incredible ability to heal itself given the right degree of self-nurture and positive belief.  
Remember that every cell within our body is replaced, every seven years. Remove the reasons for illness occurring and degenerative illness can reverse.