I've been thinking the same thing. I know you have alot going on in your life now, but hope you stay in touch. Your GW friend in CT, Diane

Hear, hear! I think of you every day, Eileen. Please let us know how you are doing. Daniel is doing great, BTW.

Eileen you need to report in and let us know how you are.

....Jane

I was just thinking of you last night when I was here. Hope all is okay and you're settling in and doing okay. Let your friends know!

Thank you all for asking about me.

Ok, I have good news and bad news. Bad news - I could not pay rent. Good news - I did start a new job as a kitchen designer for Direct Buy, that club people join to buy directly from the manufacturer. More bad news - they do not offer health insurance and even when they did they made you wait 6 months for it. So I am going to work there until I find a place with benefits. I am still applying for jobs (not while at work though.) Also since my body is messed up due to missing some inner parts I am attempting to control the situation by not eating at all while at work and eating when I get home. I take my vitamins and my Immodium plus Metamucil type stuff (my surgeon gave me a schedule for this stuff). I did see my doctors this past week. My blood tests showed no signs of cancer, the marker remained low. My blood pressure, temp, etc was great. I have lost more weight so my clothes are fitting better although some clothes are too big now. I will be getting a followup colonoscopy soon - such fun, but necessary. I will also repeat the CT scans and blood tests in 3 weeks before this state health insurance runs out. Next time for tests should be December or January at the latest.
My surgeon did tell me I could get an artificial sphincter implanted once my 5 years of cancer free time have passed so maybe October 2013 I would be eligible. I am worried about this obama care stuff because I may not be able to get the good doctors at Mayo or get the operation at that time.
Thank you for asking. I also look forward to being able to pay my rent and get the internet back at home. Right now I have to go back home and get my other shoes. Some turkey stepped on my sandal heel as we were rushing in the library this morning as it opened so we could get to a computer. The shoe is broke for real now. I had already glued it two weeks ago. Oh well. I am then driving off to the new job. It's going to be rough not eating but I know what the consequences are once I do put food in my mouth. It's an instant reaction.

Take care all. Thank you for your kindness and emotional support.

Eileen, so good to hear from you! Getting concerned.
Glad to see you got a job to tide you over till what suits your needs opens up. (And I have faith it will.)

Were you able to talk to your Landlord? Is he working with you on this? I forget, do you have a month to month lease or longer term?

Congratulations on the job! And I am so happy that the cancer has not returned!! That is wonderful news!

:OD

Sounds like a good job - even without the benefits. You'll get some good sales experience and it takes some of the pressure off of you financially!

So happy to hear you're cancer free. Hopefully as you continue to heal your control will improve. It really hasn't been that long yet - I would think these things take time to heal and regulate.

Keep us posted!
Carole.

Eileen, you are so resourceful! Always willing to take a crumb (of a job) while striving for better. You sound positive as usual. Know you have friends here who are cheering you on and thinking of you every day. This forum isn't the same without you.

It must be terrible to not be able to eat. Be careful so you don't dry up and blow away, OK?

Good luck to you ; seems like this job could be a stepping stone towards your goal.

Boy, was yesterday a very bad day - symptom wise - at work. I have decided to NOT take any more of that Metimucil type of stuff. Sure it is a bulking agent but it is a laxative also. I must have been in the bathroom at least a dozen times. My co-workers must have been wondering about me. It was truly awful.

I hope today is better. It is so hard not to eat. My appetite is alive and well but geez, I won't be able to keep any job if I am living in the bathroom on the toilet.

So I mailed a letter to my landlord and then he called me. I called him back this morning to tell him that I will get paid at the end of next week and so I can pay him August rent then. Then 2 weeks later at the end of August I can pay him for September.

I would like to ask for you all to pray for a friend of mine's parents. His father is just starting chemo for leukemia. I think he has to be hospitalized for a week for that and then 3 weeks off. His mother has a lot of internal organ problems. He is not sure exactly what is wrong with her. Then another friend of mine is dealing with the slow death of his mother. Her kidneys are failing.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for me. I went to my church's office and arranged to have a mass said for the first friend's parents plus their names will be listed in the bulletin each week asking for more prayers.

Love to you all.

Eileen

BTW, I have no tv at all right now - kind of sux.

Eileen, I am sorry that things are so challenging right now. I admire you for keeping your spirits up and forging ahead.

As far as eating goes, can you manage some kind of liquid diet thing, like Ensure or a smoothie of some kind, to be less irritation to your system but also give you calories and ease the hunger? Not eating all day can't be a good way to function, and I would think at some level bad for your system to them overload it at the end of the day trying to get in the necessary calories to keep you healthy.

As always, thinking good thoughts for you.

Liquid foods like a Slimfast or something would run through me and cause diarrhea. I have applied for SS disability and I may end up having to do that if I cannot handle working.

Thanks.

I surely wish you the best of luck. I hope you get the SS disability. What you are having to indure sounds very challenging to say the least.

I am sure glad to know that your landlord is working with you. Very nice Landlord. Maybe you could ask your Landlord if a roommate would be ok, for rent help and overall moral support or friendship. I am glad to know that you didn't have to pack during this difficult time. And that you came back to report how you are doing.

Very Best of Luck to you, I will put in an extra prayer for you.

Eileen, my dad went on disability after shattering his ankle (he still has a limp after about 5 or 6 corrective surgeries and cannot stand for very long - he has always worked a job where he has to) and he used Binder & Binder to file the claim. I believe they work for some percentage of the retroactive benefits you will get when you make a SS disability claim (with a cap).

I have heard/read everywhere that they decline you at least once if not 2-3 times before finally paying on a disability claim but my dad had a pretty hassle free experience with B&B and they told him that they usually go through on the first try because SS knows that B&B just will NOT go away (Which is why they decline everyone the first time - they hope that they will just go away). This turned out to be true, I was SHOCKED that it came through as quickly as it did. It might be worth a look for you - you've worked hard your whole life, this is what SSD is for.

Eileen, if you are turned down on your first application for SSDI, make sure that you refile as soon as you can, and it would behoove you to hire a disability attorney to represent you for your reapplication. 75% of the people who apply for disability are turned down on their first app, and 50% are tuned down on their reapplication. They do it this way to discourage fraudulent claimants, and it often works because the people get discouraged. DO NOT GIVE UP! It could take a year or more for approval, but the valid claimants who stick it out and have legitimate need for these benefits eventually get them in the end. You've worked all your life for this benefit and paid into the system for it, so pursue this course if this is what you need to live. You can still work while you're on disability, if you're able to, but getting it could solve a lot of your present problems. The most $$ that a disability attorney can receive is $6,000, or 25& of your entitlement, (whichever is less), ONLY if you are awarded benefits. If you aren't given your SSDI benefits, the attorney gets nothing, so it's worth it to hire a professional if you need help. If you have any questions about this, you can always email me. I've been on disability now for 5 years due to a medical condition.

I would like to ask for you all to pray for a friend of mine's parents. His father is just starting chemo for leukemia. I think he has to be hospitalized for a week for that and then 3 weeks off.

Leukemia is something I know a lot about.
If there is something you need to know, email me from my member page.
The best advice I can give you is for them to make sure they go to the best cancer center near them. It makes a HUGE difference.
There has been advances since my dad passed 2/2006.
Age & health have a lot to do with outcome. My dad had diabetes.
He was in the hospital for 4 weeks during chemo. Everything needs to be sterile - no pets near them when they get home.

More bad news - I just got let go from the new job today. The older lady designer does not want to work with anyone else it seems; she does not even to spend time training me what the job entails. Good luck to that direct buy place ever finding someone to work with that person. So it's back to the drawing board. Thanks for the continued prayers.

Eileen, I know you don't want pity, but next time instead of hiding going to the bathroom and making your co-workers wonder what in the heck is going on, why don't you just be open and honest about your condition? If you were, then I wonder if the other designer would have thought twice about having you let go? I know I sure couldn't live with myself if I did that knowing your condition.

I'm really sorry you lost your job, but Direct Buy has a dreadful reputation for high pressure sales, so I can imagine it being less than a collegial atmosphere. I cringed when I read you were working for them. There are better things in store for you. Hang in there.

I'm sorry too Eileen. Once you get hired again, maybe you should be up front with your new boss about your condition.

There is a Direct Buy about 45 minutes from us. Their parking lot appears empty all the time. One day, my sister and I decided to ask for a tour. NO WAY! We had to make an appointment. Seriously, we were the *only* car in their parking lot. We couldn't believe it.

Please hang in there, Eileen. I agree with the above posters: I think your release from Direct Buy may be a blessing in disguise. You're in my prayers.

Well, I think the guy let me go because the other designer felt threatened because she was being asked to train me which she really did not do. She never saw me go into the bathroom since that area was beyond her view.

Today I found out my unemployment ran out so I had to refile. I am using the Mayo Clinic computer to do this since I have no internet (or tv) at home. So now I may have to start packing for sure.

I did drop off my resume at Drexel Heritage / Thomasville because I saw an ad for a designer online although the posting was from a month ago. It was on a site I hardly ever look at. I applied to 6 different places yesterday and 1 today.

I did attend mass this morning, said the rosary with the normal group, and then did confession. Father recommended a book called What God wants: the answer to an age old question (something like that). I found it at the library but it was checked out but I put a hold on it for me. Sometimes when these things happen, it is hard to know what God wants you to do, you know?

Love to you all.

Eileen

ah, Eileen, I do wish your luck would turn; I have a hard time with age old questions like what does god want. I think you've been tested enough.

I do wish you strength to carry on.

I went to the employment office today - boy, is that place busy!! I met with a counselor and asked about training for a medical coding & billing career. I am a displaced worker - you need a layoff letter, which I have. I am meeting with another guy on Sept 2nd to see what other jobs I would like. I guess the place has had several architects and designers come in looking for work.
I brought my resume into a furniture store today, another straight commission job. I don't think I can do that. They sell furniture from custom homes, nice stuff and good prices. They had several customers while I was there but I saw no purchases, just lookers.
I never heard back from my ex-employer when I emailed him asking him for an explanation of why I was no longer there. That lack of response is typical for this guy. I must say that Direct Buy place was very strange. And from what I see they cannot beat every price point, like on some of the cabinets.
I think I am supposed to have my colonoscopy test this coming Monday. I have not received the appt letter yet.
Oh, I did have my interview on the phone with the health care people to continue my coverage last week. Then the gal sent out a letter requesting copies of my bills, etc. I sent those back right away. Then today I get a letter saying everything will be cancelled because I did not show up for an interview. What? The interview was on the phone. So I called and left a message at the DES and also drove over there to ask what that menat. The worker says the computer spits out an auto response but she saw in the system that the interview had taken place. So I was not cancelled. Talk about giving me a scare.
So nowadays I am a radio listener, play solitaire on the computer, read the bible, go to church, and sit at the library computer reading email, applying for jobs or coming here. Once a week or so I work at Dillards.
Well, thanks again. I am going to start searching for another place to live. Cheaper. I may have to store a lot of my furniture.