Gee, up until this point I didn't think anyone was being snotty. :confused: I used to shop at thrift stores a lot, but haven't lately. I'm not a big shopper, though. I try to pick up cloths for DS at garage sales. I watch JCPenney's ads, and on weekends I can usually get clothing at 50-70% off. I donate everything to the Epilepsy Foundation for two reasons: 1) I live in a small town, and they come down from the Twin Cities a few times a year and have curbside pickup. 2) My son has epilepsy, and I cannot think of a better cause for our family. Second on my list is the DAV. Third is Salvation Army. I would have no problem buying at any of these stores, because I know it is the money they earn by selling that is used to support their cause. :001_smile:

I'm sorry for your loss. I had the exact same thing happen. It's just awful. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

I use laundry detergent as well. I then rinse with vinegar water, because vinegar cuts the soap, and if there's soap left in your carpet, it will attract dirt.

I had that happen when I was 35 or 36 from Coca Cola. I went to my doc, had tests done, gave up that pop, and have been fine since. I switched to Diet Rite, no caffeine and no sugar. It's scary, isn't it? I will endulge in a Coca Cola now and then, and it's a very special treat. (I feel compelled to use Coca Cola, when in reality I call it Coke, but I didn't want anyone to think it was the other type of Coke, which I have never done in my life nor will I. lol)

I'm so sorry, the community and your family will absolutely be in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm copying and pasting my answer on the general board here. Just because I need to tell my son's story, because it helps me, too. There are many different types of epilepsy. Some are genetic, some are not. Those that are genetic do not skip generations. The tics you describe later in this thread are indicitive of certain types of epilepsy. Please, take your child in to your doctor to get checked out and possibly referred to a neurologist. And acutally, there are many subspecialties in neurology, and it would be best to see an epilepologist, one who specializes in epilepsy. My son was just diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. It is absolutely genetic, as his father has it, his grandmother had it (after menopause her EEGs were normal) and several cousins in the family have it. The symptoms were myoclonic jerks. My son asked me if my body ever jerked. We talked about it, and his description was like how your body sometimes jolts when you're falling asleep, only he was wide awake. He told me that this had been happening to him. I made a mental note of it when he told me, because at the time my father was in the VA dying and we were hundreds of miles from home. Well, as time wore on, Dad passed and I kind of forgot about it. Then we just so happened to be talking to a neurologist and he asked my DH when his started and how. DH said it was at puberty. The doctor said that's when JME typiclly starts, due to hormones. He then asked my DH if he had the myoclonic jerks. Nope. That's when I halted the conversation and told the good doctor what my son had told me. He said get him in immediately for an EEG ( electroencephalogram ). It's not an EKG, an EKG, electrocardiogram, checks problems with your heart. The EEG itself lasted over an hour, was painless, and DS fell asleep. (Which is a good thing to happen during an EEG.) The doctor then looked at the results, and sure enough, my DS had JME. So he's now on meds. We were lucky that he was diagnosed before ever having a grand mal (now I think the correct technical term is tonic clonic, but I am old fashioned, I guess) seizure. At any rate, one of the questions the doctor asked me was if my son had any tics, as they are indicators. My son did not. He also asked me if my son was diagnosed ADHD. We have never had an official diagnosis, but son definitely has attention issues, although he is not hyperactive. The doctor said that is very common to have ADHD with epilepsy. There are so many different types of epilepsy and different types of seizures. I think that if I were in your shoes, I'd talk to my doctor about it. I am so thankful that we got a diagnosis before my son ever had a grand mal/tonic clonic seizure. There is a really good Yahoo group called parents of kids with epilepsy. You might join and ask there, as there are many knowledgable parents there, and many different types of epilepsy are represented there. Best wishes to you.

Tara, my recent exhaustive research would corroborate what you state. Sleep is a huge issue with epilepsy. And the anti-seizure medcations really muddle the mind. My DH was in college when he had a seizure. He hadn't had one in years, nor had he been to see his neurologist in years. The doc just kept refilling his prescription. We learned that my 30-year-old DH was on the medication that would benefit a 12-year-old child. He was lucky. They switched him from phenobarb to Depakote. That was the semester from hell for him. He couldn't think. He was weaing from phenobarb and starting Depakote at the same time and it was just awful. He still gets sad and frustrated looking back on that. He has also stated that he has never been quite the same since being on Depakote. He is "a little foggy" still, after being on it since 1991. DH is profoundly gifted, so he still functions very well, but when the doctor wanted to put my DS on Depakote, my DH said no. (We had researched meds before the appointment, and Lamictal looked like a better choice in that regard.) So DS is on Lamictal, and the only side effect DS is experiencing is insomnia. Back to the sleep, the technician who was administering the EEG said it would be good if we could get DS to sleep during a portion of the test. He did, and his brain wave activity was crazy. The doctor said he has lots of issues going on. My DS has always needed a lot more sleep than most of his friends, and if he has trouble falling asleep, I tend to let him sleep in a bit in the mornings. So we may start school a little bit later, but the sleep, I feel, is important. We have also started giving him a multi-vitamin (which we were hit and miss before) and DHA, as recommended by our doctor. And lots of exercise.

There are many different types of epilepsy. Some are genetic, some are not. Those that are genetic do not skip generations. The tics you describe later in this thread are indicitive of certain types of epilepsy. Please, take your child in to your doctor to get checked out and possibly referred to a neurologist. And acutally, there are many subspecialties in neurology, and it would be best to see an epilepologist, one who specializes in epilepsy. My son was just diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy. It is absolutely genetic, as his father has it, his grandmother had it (after menopause her EEGs were normal) and several cousins in the family have it. The symptoms were myoclonic jerks. My son asked me if my body ever jerked. We talked about it, and his description was like how your body sometimes jolts when you're falling asleep, only he was wide awake. He told me that this had been happening to him. I made a mental note of it when he told me, because at the time my father was in the VA dying and we were hundreds of miles from home. Well, as time wore on, Dad passed and I kind of forgot about it. Then we just so happened to be talking to a neurologist and he asked my DH when his started and how. DH said it was at puberty. The doctor said that's when JME typiclly starts, due to hormones. He then asked my DH if he had the myoclonic jerks. Nope. That's when I halted the conversation and told the good doctor what my son had told me. He said get him in immediately for an EEG ( electroencephalogram ). It's not an EKG, an EKG, electrocardiogram, checks problems with your heart. The EEG itself lasted over an hour, was painless, and DS fell asleep. (Which is a good thing to happen during an EEG.) The doctor then looked at the results, and sure enough, my DS had JME. So he's now on meds. We were lucky that he was diagnosed before ever having a grand mal (now I think the correct technical term is tonic clonic, but I am old fashioned, I guess) seizure. At any rate, one of the questions the doctor asked me was if my son had any tics, as they are indicators. My son did not. He also asked me if my son was diagnosed ADHD. We have never had an official diagnosis, but son definitely has attention issues, although he is not hyperactive. The doctor said that is very common to have ADHD with epilepsy. There are so many different types of epilepsy and different types of seizures. I think that if I were in your shoes, I'd talk to my doctor about it. I am so thankful that we got a diagnosis before my son ever had a grand mal/tonic clonic seizure. There is a really good Yahoo group called parents of kids with epilepsy. You might join and ask there, as there are many knowledgable parents there, and many different types of epilepsy are represented there. Best wishes to you.

I feel for you. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

I love the BeeGees, but I can't listen to them with DH in the house as he detests them. I can sing along with most of their songs. (And that's scary, to hear me sing, because I can't.):tongue_smilie:

I reported one ages ago, from the old boards. Remember that gal, what was her name, JGM or JMG or something like that who fed us a line of lies... I didn't report her. Members of the board posted her real name. When people started posting her home address, I did report that. Her name was one thing, but I felt it was wrong to post her home address in case she (or he) or whomever it was actually had children.

I can't pick a favorite human, as I like a lot of the old timers very well. I'm going to pick Mr. Bill. I loved Mr. Bill. I just bought myself a Mr. Bill doll at the Cracker Barrel.

:iagree: I support Obama, but my husband supports McCain. I don't call him, nor anyone else who supports McCain a racist. Unless, of course, they actually are racists making racist remarks. Then I would, but that's entirely different. And I probably wouldn't call them a racist to their face, because those kind of people scare me.

When I lived in South Dakota, everyone called the U-P-S truck (or delivery person) the ups truck or the ups man. It drove me crazy! Silly little thing. I always say U-P-S. In Minnesota, people call it U-P-S. Just wondering if that was a regional thing, or if others call it the ups truck.

I know the sound, I know the schedule and it's always spot on. My dogs know the sound, my son knows the sound. I also know the sound of FedEx, and the schedule. (A neighbor gets FedEx deliveries daily, and we do on occasion.) I also know the sound of the mail carrier, and his schedule, which again is always spot on. So do the dogs. lol I always feel like I'm a regular Gladys Kravitz just by the mere fact we school at our kitchen table which overlooks the street, so I know everything going on in the neighborhood by default. My next house (if there ever is one) the kitchen will be in the back. :tongue_smilie:

I quit watching ER last season, but for some reason decided to watch it tonight. I thought it was a great send off. I think I'll watch it until the end now.

ewww! That made me think of something. The other night I watched the King of the Hill episode where poor Peggy got duped into making a foot fetish film. lol

Would it be possible for you to copy and paste your blog post here rather than directing us off site? I think if we're going to be a part of this community, we shouldn't direct readers to our blogs for the full scoop. Thanks, Frankie

Here's some food for thought. Did the woman who delivered him his dinner call it dinner? I ask because many people call dinner lunch. My husband's family eats dinner at noon and supper for their evening meal. We have had many mishaps over the years because I call supper dinner. I'm sorry for his loss.

This is the BIG question, isn't it? That's why I have so much paper. I ask my accountant every single year what I can get rid of and he tells me it's a good idea to keep stuff. :eek: I think that is why I have paper problems. Anything else I can organize and organize very well. Not paper. Right now I have a huge stack of my Dad's estate paper that needs organizing to boot.

http://www.justorganizeyourstuff.com/ I know a few people that have purchased this system and LOVE it. I have looked at it, but I can't bring myself to pay price. Yet, I have piles of papers everywhere. The cost of that paper clutter weighs heavily on my mind, so perhaps that system might be worth the price. Frankie p.s. I own the book File, Don't Pile...obviously it wasn't a religious experience for me! Perhaps I'll pull it off the shelf and re-read it. It's been a few years.

I needed a viewing of my Dad. He had had a heart attack in early March of this year and passed away mid-March. He never went home. I needed to see him outside of a hospital or facility. I needed to see him at peace. He passed away about 20 minutes after my sister, BIL, my son and I left him for the evening. The nurse called us back. I did see him after he passed at the VA. While I needed to see him then, to grasp the finality of it, I needed to see him again in his clothes out of those types of places. I did not want my then 12-year-old son to see him at the VA. It was difficult for me. Even though we had spent the last week of his life visiting him every day in that room, after he died it was cold and stark and scary. My son wanted to say good-bye, which was another reason to have a viewing. I am so thankful we did have a viewing. Just because I remember how he looked at the funeral home does not mean I don't remember him in real life. Dad was cremated after our viewing, and buried a month later when all the children could get together. When I think of him, I don't think of him at the funeral home unless a discussion like this comes up. I think of Dad, full of life and vibrant. (Well, to be honest, I've kind of been obsessing about witnessing him have his heart attack in front of DS and I -- a vision that is hard to get out of my head. I think the reason I focus on that was simply due to the traumatic nature of it, and the fear it produced in me.) But when I remember Dad stories, I see Dad as I knew him. My sister didn't want to go to the viewing. She ended up going and was thankful she did. I think that everyone is different in their needs, and if just one family membern needs a viewing, then there should be one. If others are uncomfortable, they don't have to go. I really was comforted seeing Dad out of a facility, in his clothes, and at peace. The funeral home did a very good job, and he looked wonderful.

:iagree: I don't mind short hair on women as long as it's not manly. A good style is key. I do think longer hair on a woman looks better, though.

Doesn't sound morbid at all. My Dad died in May and we had him cremated. For us, it was the perfect solution because we waited to have him buried until the next month when all four kids were present. Plus, Dad didn't die in his own town, but hours away. I requested a small bag of his ashes. (They aren't white, btw, they're gray.) I plan to travel to the town where he was born and raised one day and spread half the ashes. A pinch here, a pinch there, at his favorite places. The other half I plan to keep. I would have purchased one of those urn necklaces, but for the fact that I do not wear jewelry. So I need to find something more appropriate than a baggie. :tongue_smilie: My DH wants to be cremated. I told him I would haunt him if he cremated me. I want buried, and I have given him a few choices of cemeteries. I want a tall stone, not a flat mow-over stone. I do genealogy, and I love cemeteries with tall stones. DH and I will both be organ donors. FWIW, even though it was convenient for my Dad, I detest cremeation. It just gives me the creeps. But I follow wishes regardless of my own feelings. Dad wanted to be cremated. DH does, so if he passes first, I will follow his wishes.

:iagree: