Welcome back, David. Your mom has quite a myriad of health issues to deal with. I can't even imagine how miserable she must be. My brother had stress fractures in his spine from medications he was taking. They did heal eventually, but he was in bed for a long time... And I sympathize with your headaches. I've dealt with sinus pressure headaches off and on my whole life and although they aren't pleasant, I can deal with them. BUT, last spring, I had a 6 week period when I was struck with a blinding, stabbing, wanna-put-a-bullet-in-my-head headache every single night. I absolutely dreaded going to bed. When I finally went to the doc, she said it was probably "just" allergies and I may have a sinus infection brewing. She gave me some prednisone and they did go away, though after I was done with the prednisone, I would have one now and then. But oh how those headaches made me realize that the "pressure" headaches were pretty mild by comparison. Anyway, I'm glad to hear they cleared up for you. Hang in there! Denise in Omaha

Ilene, It is so nice to see you back posting and I am relieved that your DD is now feeling a little better. I hope that she heals well from the surgery and is able to lose the weight she needs to lose for the sake of her health. It certainly sounds like the surgery was very complicated for the medical staff and very hard on her, and I am shocked that the hospital didn't have a pain medicine pump that allowed her to push the button to give herself more pain medication as needed. That's what I had when I had my cancer surgery in 1999. It was a morphine drip, and I could push the button every so often to get more as needed. There was some sort of regulator on it so you couldn't push too often and cause yourself to overdose. I wish your daughter had been given that option because I liked being able to have "more" pain medication as needed, or "none" if I was feeling OK without it. To me, it seems like the nursing staff was very cold and callous and not very understanding, and I would have reported their lack of compassion to the hospital management. Perhaps your DD was a difficult patient, but they still ought to be able to deal with a difficult patient in a caring and concerned manner. I've always had great nurses--for myself and for family memners and I am sorry she did not experience that same kind of nursing care. As for the pharmacy, well....God bless the person behind the counter who cared enough to make a difference for you. I imagine your daughter was exhausted by the time y'all got home. I felt pretty exhausted on her behalf just reading your account of what y'all went through to get her there. I understand that bariatric surgery certainly is not an "easy way out" because the people I know who've had it have had to deal with many issues, including digestion problems, getting sick if they eat more than an ounce or two at a time, etc. Sometimes it is hard to get enough vitamins and minerals too because your food intake is so limited. My sister considered bariatric bypass but ultimately chose lap-band surgery because the lap-band could be adjusted as needed. Did it work for her? Oh, yes, she lost a lot of weight--111 lbs. I think--and she looked terrific (healthy, but not a starved, skinny "stick"). Her main side effect was that her formerly lush, thick hair started falling out due to lowered protein intake. After she had lost the weight she wanted, her hair gradually did regrow to its former lush, thick state. I'd like to tell you that my sis maintained the weight loss, but she didn't. She worked for the physician who did the lap-band surgery, so as long as she worked for him, she maintained her lap band (it has to be refilled with saline periodically and adjusted as needed) and kept her weight stable. Once she had a major disagreement with him and stopped working for him, though, she wouldn't go back to him for lap band maintenance and now she's gained back quite a lot (but not all) of the weight she lost. So, in one sense, I think bariatric surgery is "better" than lap band because you can't "undo" it and revert back to your bad habits. I truly hope your DD loses the weight and improves her health because, as you point out, the consequences for her are serious and life-threatening if she does not. As for your weight loss plan, I am so happy you are going to lose the weight and improve your health. I wish you well in your efforts. I am always trying to lose 10-20 lbs. myself and, sometimes, I have great success with losing the weight, but keeping it off is harder. : ) So, I certainly sympathize with you and DD. I think we all could eat healthier and exercise more than we do. And, Ilene, just think of how much fun you'll have buying new clothes as you lose the weight! How's that for motivation? Hang in there and keep us updated on how it all goes. We're all gardeners here, but we're people too and we all know that life is (shock! gasp!) about much more than gardening. Dawn

Yes, Marlene. I remember each of us made a special ornament and sent to Sylvia when she had cancer surgery. (and thankfully she is healthy and doing great). I made a purple moon ornament ;o), and did the words "I see the Moon and the Moon sees me, God bless the Moon and God Bless Me" along the moon in small print. Sylvia loved her little tree and had it in her kitchen area I think after she got home. Neat you remembered that! And neat idea if we could come up something special for Lynne from us!! any ideas, anyone? I just can't believe all the complications she's had from the surgery and all these months in the hospital. She got such a short time back at home, then everything just went bad. Her husband is a rock, and a blessing to her. I know its has been so hard on him too. I keep sending prayers daily for both of them. hugs, Karen

Luvs...just read your post..and Thank you for your caring words. I'm feeling much better, and I'm looking foward to being out and about again real soon. I see the Dr on Wed - to get an 'all clear' and can hopefully move on. Funny, the Witch has been sitting in the shed for a couple of weeks now..DH got her done real fast along with the cats. I was going to put her up this past weekend, but..you know why that didn't happen...lol Hopefully in a few days..as I promised the kids. As far as my Fall decos...I've got most done too. I think that's where I pushed too hard when I was feeling awful. Right now, I'm in bed, downloading pics to Photobucket and will be posting. TG for this laptop! jane