Just Online

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You can pick up your personal message here:
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Rick I use to be smoker too and quite cold turkey about 35 years ago.I
think a lot of it is how bad you want to and how you value your self or your
health. After working in an x-ray department and seeing the damage
done to the lungs, I wouldn't pick up a cigarette now for nothing.Patti

Hey you birds. I was smoker, a damn heavy one to. In the Navy I use to get cigarettes for twenty five cents a package (packs of twenty five) $2.50 a

carton. I quit, cold turkey, . If I can do it, anyone to do it. Me, the least of all of you

I get addicted to everything from women to odors from an outhouse.

I smoked two packs a day, (50 cigarettes. The normal person could get addicted from the cigareite odour emanating from me.

Come on gang, don't let me prove thatI am not the weakest of the weak.

Rick

ok, my turn to confess. i am a smoker who is the most addicted one here
but Whitegoose is just behind me. i have tried and tried many times to
quit. i have the patch, the gum as well as that thing you draw into
your lungs. i think Rick is correct...we just have to quit. takes a
lot of guts to just do it. please everyone, pray for me cause i sure
need them. candy

Dear Betty,
No problem for now. I still have a few copies left.
Will post it to you when I get to Singapore this
weekend. Post service from Batam, a small island of
Indonesia that is located some 25 km (15 miles) south
of Singapore.
The postal system here often uses the Pony Express, I
think.
From our past experiences, the extend of stroke
disabilities is not tyhe worse that we have handled
and is therefore curable. How quickly and to what
extend of regaining your motor skills will depend very
much on yourself in:
1. pain tolerance - we use high qi energies to release
the frozen muscles. Take heart that the pain, which
can be very intense, is only temporary; it disappear
as soon as the qi energies is halted and there is no
left over pain or bruises.
2. self confidence and determination - only you
yourself can initial the instructions from your brain
cells to move your limbs and in most cases, they are
at best weak. Apart from that, you have to overcome
the normal reflex instructions that originate from
your sub-conscious part of your brain.
Sincerely,
Tan R.

=====
Roosevelt Tan
aka Rudy S., Grandmaster
Indonesia Therapeutic Massage Foundation

This is for fellow "computer nerds".
The thought x's my mind that having a stroke is sort of like having a pc in
the old days. e.g. - I had my stroke when DOS 5.0 was still a popular item.
The stroke seemed to FDISK my brain and created several ill-logical
partitions. Then, a FORMAT was done against every other track. Thus, I
ended up with fragments of memory, from various partitions, that pop up at
the weirdest times. They usually have nothing to do with what's going on in
real-time. Of course, they all happen at slow, random, speed so I suspect
the stroke damaged my scuzzy (sic) bus, too. I/O control took it in the
chops, too. Even my peripherals act in a random fashion. Each arm wants to
go a separate way while each leg goes yet another way. Couple that with an
ever growing waist-line and I look like an inverted octopus. Maybe that's
the problem? An octopus got into my computer? I donno - I need a nap.

Could I get a copy of this too I had my stroke5/94.I can't use left hand? Arm
has movement and I can walk with to help of quad cane but can't walk for long
way. Thank you in advance
Betty Rose
4820 S Arvilla Dr
Toledo,OH,43623

The Japenese have rewritten several of the more cryptic messages that you
*may* receive from Windows. Here's my favorite:
"Having been erased,
The document you're seeking
Must now be retyped."

Hi Ken
I don't "lose" keys, just don't always type the right ones! I commend you both
on
quitting and it is definitely an individual decision. Most of us have bad
habits
-- I drink too much coffee. And you are right, it is cold in the province, even
here in California!
Cheers
Doug

Hello everybody, and happy holidays!
Things are looking up for my husband Gil, who is in a rehab facility. The
doctor thinks he is ready to return to the rehabilitation floor of the
hospital for *intense* rehab. If the hospital concurs, he could be moved as
soon as Friday, or early next week.
I'm so excited. This means Gil could actually come home some time in late
January. Yes, he has a long way to go but I know all of you understand that
far better than I. He's very determined and willing to work very hard to
get back home. If he wasn't, he'd have to deal with me!
But this good news creates a problem. Our house is three floors with the
bedrooms one flight up. The main floor only has a half-bath. I don't know
how it could be worse for someone in a wheelchair or who can't climb stairs.
So here's my question:
Is there *anything* that can get a person up a flight of stairs short of
installing an elevator? Something that doesn't cost thousands of dollars?
On a cheerful farewell note, I took in chocolate for the nursing and rehab
staffs yesterday. I pushed my husband's wheelchair and he carried the candy
on his lap, presenting it with a smile and a very clear "Merry Christmas!"
His Occupational Therapist nearly burst into tears, she was so startled and
happy.
May all your news be equally good.
Betty D., Colorado

Dear Rita,
The VCD that I be sending to you from Singapore this
weekend relates to a 69 years old man. Your address is
incomplete as you've not included the postcode. Please
revert asap - thanks.
Your husband's age (70 years old) is not a problem,
nor is length of time that has elapsed since; as a
matter of fact, one year is a relatively new case.
The oldest stroke survivor that we have successfully
treated is a 89 years old lady who had an embolic
stroke while in India. She is now running all over the
country (Indonesia) viviting her grandchildren.
The first case we took on a No-cure, No-apy Guarantee
happened some 3 years ago. It relates to a 64 years
old Government retiree who had a massive stroke that
disabled his left side 12 years earlier. He could
not walk and was a most frustrated person. It appeared
that he wanted to do the pilrimage to Mecca but was
rejected everytime because of his condition.
He had gone to China for treatment twice, had stayed
and be treated in the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in
Singapore for 6 months and had tried nearly every
option of medical and non-medical treatment in
Indonesia. The strange part was that he was living
some 20 km from us and everytime he made the trip to
Jakarta, he would have to pass by our clinic which has
a 40 meter main road frontage - but he never bothered.
One Saturday 3 years ago, he heard that Gen Try
Sutrisno (who was then the Vice President of
Indonesia) was in his mountain villa with his family.
At about noon, he visited the Vice President whose
first words were: "I've not seen you for 3 years. Why
are you still in this condition?" He explained that he
had tried every form of treatment but all were futile.
The Vice President then said: "Why are you so stupid?
Why didn't you go to Bapak Rudy? (That's my Indonesian
name)
The guy came to our clinic at about 3.00 p.m. that
same day and after a lengthy examination, I told him
that he will need to stay in our clinic for treatment
for 30 to 45 days and the treatment will allow him to
do his pilrimage." Instead of responding: "God Willing
or Hopefully" as most would, he went into a rage and
stated: "You want to cheat me or what? Do you think
you are better than the experts in China?
I allowed him to settle down and told him: "Well, how
about an arrangement that is on a No-Cure, No-Pay
basis? If aftwer our 30 to 45 days treatment and you
still cannot walk properly to qualify you to be
accepted for the pilgrimage to Mecca. you pay nothing.
But if you should be accepted for the pilgrimage, you
pay double." Our fees then was Rp 500,000 per day
(exchange then was US$1.00 = Rp. 2,200) Without any
deliberation, he agreed.
After his 5th day of treatment, he became quite a
likeable person and was able to tell stories and
jokes. He gave us a cheque for Rp 27 million on the
28th day, along with another cheque of Rp 10 million
for my therapists that had attended to him.
Take heart. Youyr husband's condition is not as bad as
you fear. By virtue of the fact that he can get around
with the aid of a quadrapedic walker, he can really
get to walk again on his own and without support.
Sincerely
Tan R.
indomassagefoundation

=====
Roosevelt Tan
aka Rudy S., Grandmaster
Indonesia Therapeutic Massage Foundation

The high temperature in Minneapolis, Minnesota yesterday was 1 degree below zero F.

Joyce

Hi Whitegoose
Do things your way, and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Non-smokers
probably have probably got other equally unsocial habits we never hear about.
I was a non-smoker until I met my partner Jan, when I started puffing to
keep her company. Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I had my
stroke - no folks, not from smoking - and sort of woke up about two weeks
later feeling really lousy apart from a bunged up arm, a leg that only
half-worked when I talked firmly and long to it and a brain that was even
more odd than before. Why I felt really lousy was because my system hadn't
had its fix of nicotine, caffeine and good old Aussie red cabernet/merlot
(good stuff isn't it Noddy!).
I stopped smoking after the stroke, but not the Colombian coffee or the
red, and Jan stopped after lots of nicotine patches, purple swearing and
words I have never, ever heard before, plus gutsy effort. It's really hard
to do Whitegoose, but there you go. If you stop, like us, that would real
good. If you don't, we'll all still love you. I have this smoking ex-nurse
friend (gee that looks strange when written) who had a stroke a few years
ago and dragged herself on her stomach down to where the nurses were
lurking and having a calming smoke. Now that is dedication you have to admire.
I read your bird notes with interest , Whitegoose, being in the game
myself. In the months after my stroke I could remember the scientific Latin
names, but not the common names. It has mostly come back now thank goodness
- the brain obviously stores them in different places. Weird.
I downloaded the Scrabble game you recommended, many thanks. Gwenda said it
was hot in New Zealand while Canada and that province America (grin) was
freezing. It's 35F here in Australia today. Work it out in degrees
C.......my addition is appalling and worse these days. BTW does anyone else
temporarily lose letters on the keyboard, even though you are looking at them?
Love Ken

Thank you for this site Mary G.
http://www.lovethissite.com/reindeer

Rick

That was beautiful and so true!

Cheryl

Dear Roosevelt Tan
aka Rudy S., Grandmaster
Indonesia Therapeutic Massage Foundation
Thank you so much for your message of hope to Betty D. We are glad
to have you in our group. You are very new to our group. We
exchange information through our personal experiences (recognizing
that what is good for one is not necessarily good for all). If you
have a website, I would love to include a link from our own website
at http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com/
to your website.
Few of us expect miracles. In fact, we are very sceptical of them.
Our group is very vulnerable, and this is a place where we can
discuss our problems and fears, get information, and then make our
own decisions.
To save a lot of time and money, perhaps a transcript of your
Foundation's tape could be posted to the group "for information."
If you want to send me (owner of the group) a copy of your tape I
agree to undertake making such transcript available.
I must ask, with the greatest respect for your Foundation, that you
*not* promise cures. Our members, despite the various degrees of
our brain damage from stroke, are intelligent people. Perhaps some
of your clients from the Foundation, would like to join our group.
We are always open to opinions of others. If you want to send me a
copy of your tape my address is:
The Whitegoose
210 - 508 Eighth Street
New Westminster
British Columbia
Canada V3M 3R9
Wishing you well,
whitegoose.
Dear Betty D.,
You've come to the right place, Betty D. My own stroke was in Nov.
97 and I had a TIA early in 1999 (had great problems getting my BP
under control). It takes a long time to adjust and I feel like I
have borrowed time since the stroke. My pre-stroke life and
post-stroke life. I have become used to the slowing down and try
to enjoy my new found interests. Your husband will make gains,
although his life will never be the same as before. However,
adjustments can, and must be made. Always strive to try for the
positive out of all that has happened. He is in the right place -
therapy and rehab are crucial in helping him adjust and recover to
the best he can, so that a reasonabe to good quality of life can be
expected.
Right now, as Roosevelt Tan said, your love and reassurance are his
best motivators. Some brain cells are lost forever, but others can
learn to "take over" with a good therapist, and a positive frame of
mind by the stroker and the caregiver.
Patience is a big factor. Often it is 2 steps forward and 2 step
back, but it does progress, sometimes slowly and sometimes a
breakthrough occurs.
We are all here to cheer you (and husband) onward annd upward.
love,
whitegoose

Connection troubles again.... probabbly because of some heavy storms.. not
much rain really , but lots and LOTS of lightning... big stuff too.
Mid-afternoon before I could get connected again , but at least I've found a
new number to dial which seems reliable despite the weather.
Noddy

TO : ALLAN BARTLET

If we are just happy bting who and what we are when all is said and done we fibd out that w are what and who we are supposed to be,

RICK

Rick that is a good message for all of us. Love, Patti

I have mentioned before that I'm an avowed coward and for that reason I have
not wanted to admit that I'm also a smoker, Whitegoose. But alas, your
feeling so alone and miserable has motivated me to open the closet door and
emerge, wreathed in smoke.
Maybe we should go through withdrawal together? February sounds good: you
know, long enough away. We can both be witches or worse. Or, wait, if
that's the case maybe October is more appropriate with Halloween and all?
Anyway, I do understand how awful an addiction nicotine is and how hard it
is to give up. Love, Mary Claire
P.S. In truth I don't think anyone on the list was critical of you,
Whitegoose, but just very concerned for your health and well being. In
fact, all the letters I recall reading sounded supportive and understanding.
And I must say I found that pretty amazing!

Hi Terry. Congratulations on your site. It's obvious that a lot of loving
work went into it. I wish I could get my Java scripts to behave as well as
you do yours. I can barely manage one and I see that you have more than
several all working at once and they all seem to operate!
I'm sorry you haven't been well and hope you will be feeling much better in
the very near future. Once again, congratulations. Mary Claire

Hi,
I sent the following message, but it never came back on my e-mail so I'm not
sure it got through. I copied it in case it didn't.
Love, Carole
Subj: Re: * hi
Date: 12/9/00
To: strokesurvivors@egroups.com
Hi Allan,
I haven't welcomed you yet, but consider it done. I'm glad you're here with
us. I'm sorry you're having a bad day. We all have them, and it does seem
like things will never be better when we do. Thank goodness time passes and
things improve. I had a stroke in 1992. I am 57 years old and have a
grandson your age. (Somebody said you would have lots of grandparents on
this list) Allan, things for you will improve. It will take time and lots of
hard work. A speech therapist I once had suggested that I read out loud and
also to repeat words into a tape recorder. I combined the two and read into
a tape recorder. It does help. I don't get quite so frustrated over saying
the wrong things. Humor helps too. Reading or watching something funny does
help. Nobody can know how a person feels, but sometimes it helps to talk to
someone we trust, or to do some form of exercise that will benefit us. I
hope that things get better for you. I'm glad you feel free to tell us when
things are going poorly. Please continue to do so. I'm sure someone in this
group of fine people will have words of wisdom. This really is a good group.
It's not good when other's make fun of you. My grandsons say that lots of
people at their schools make fun of others. I think it's because they aren't
very secure. It may be because they are scared of something. It does hurt,
though, when you are the one who is the recipient. I know it doesn't help
much to know that kids made fun of other kids when I was in jr. & sr. high
school. It happened then and will continue in the future. Kids are cruel.
I don't think they consider that words can hurt others.
Hope things improve for you, Allan. Love, (grandma)Carole

I like your ideas but I don't know if we can find stainless steel nails in
California!
Doug

Dear Reinhard,
I am so pleased I was able to help you and your group! My mail address is:
Gwenda Murfitt
1 Tudor St,
Hokitika 7900
Westland
New Zealand
Our weather here has finally become summery - yesterday we had brilliant
sunshine and when we came home from the supermarket about 5.30pm, the
thermometer in the kitchen read 25 degrees Celsius. Today will be much the
same. Am I making anyone envious yet ? :)))
Sunshine,
Gwenda

Dear Cheryl -
I had the same problem with my left hand - and just today I got the trouble
again peeling and cutting onions of a difficult size and slippy texture.
But : To all survivors of stroke willing to cook their own potatoes two hints
:
1 - Have a board for working in the kitchen, prepared by husband/wife/friend,
where long stainless steel nails were hammered from the back. The nails hold
potatoes and other things for one handed work.
2 - To save nutritional value of the whole potatoe and to make peeling
easier I cook them unpeeled. Then, when still warm, peeling is easy. The
potatoes are either cut into cubes and added to nearly finished stews - or
sliced and fried with eggs and bacon - or just served with curd and fresh
herbs.
The Chef wishes Bon Appetit !

Hello Ron -
Ludwigsborg is far away. I live in the northernmost Federal State of Germany.
All the best to you.
Reinhard

When are you going to quit or do you think e will be able to tell from the
smoke in your notes?
I was lucky that I never started. My dad who died from cancer was a big
smoker and it really got to my sinuses. I've had two or three friends that
have quit and it is not easy. Anything to help those blood vessels!
Doug

And love to you, also, whitegoose!! Pat in Maine
Grandma to 7 bio Children; to Kai, 4 yrs, home from Korea Nov. 22,1997
and to Sudhanya, 6 yrs, home from India March 29,1999 Agency AIAA
check out my web page:
http://community.webtv.net/gndma/GRANDMAPATSPLACE

Reinhard:

Are you located anywhere near Ludwigsborg. I was stationed there many years ago. Visited Stuttgart many times.

Ron Schloss

Reinhard (to wife Cristel:
Peeling potatoes is good occupational therapy, if you can hold on to the
potatoe LOL. I try to peel them and have to chase them around the counter.
My left hand is weak and cannot hold on tightly enough.
Thanks for the advise
Cheryl

Whitegoose,

I could spend hours watching things like that. It sounds wonderful. I'll bet you hated to have to leave.

Joyce

Yesterday (Dec 11) was Christmas party of the Stroke Self Support Group in
Luebeck at the Baltic Sea. Five years ago I was co-founder of this group.
Thirty survivors and caregivers were present. One caregiver is employed by
Niederegger, the famous producer of marzipan sweets, of which everybody got a
bag of samples. I was asked to make the speech. So I gave Gwenda's
description of Christmas in New Zealand (not my own silly stories) and
Gwenda's funny quotations about the three wise women and Santa Claus. As the
applause did possibly not travel around the globe, the group decided to send
Gwenda a wonderful picture postcard of Luebeck at Christmas.
Please, Gwenda, give me your mail adress.
Reinhard

Hello to group -
reading the letters of the last two days was an enjoyable task.
Here my answers and remarks :
To Onefinger : Phantastic, your political correct "Seasons greetings".
I did a translation into German Officialese. Some people will get the
surprise of the year, that I have turned into a politically correct member of
society.
To Whitegoose : Yes, Frisians are cattle, bred in Frisia by the Frisian human
population. Beans in the bean soup are raisins, bloated up by rum.
Frisians like to cheat, when it comes to alcoholic beverages. The women drink
"Pharisaic coffee". The name stems from an occasion, when the bishop of
Frisia, having raged about drinking habits of his flock (strong tea and rum,
50/50), came to a baptizing and was delighted to see everybody drinking
coffee, topped with whipped cream. What he did not know : Every cup except
the ones served to him, was generously laced with rum. The cream covered the
scent. Finally, when the party got merrier and merrier, the bishop got
suspicious, tried from another cup and shouted :
"Oh you Pharisees !!"
To Whitegoose : In all the Arab countries I visited, I never heard about
camel's eyes served as a special honour to guests. But I was offered other
delicacies, which I better not describe. There is a simple trick to avoid
them : Thank for the great honour extended to you - but eating this is
against your religion.
BTW : You avoided describing the ingredients of Haggis, perhaps to spare
Cheryl another information she can do without.
To Mary Claire and Cheryl, from my wife Christel : Peeling potatoes is
occupational therapy !!
Best regards from an abnormally warm Northern Germany (still 55 degrees F.)
Reinhard

I found this page on a very nice site. Check it out at, http://www.lovethissite.com/reindeer

Great Onefinger!
I have "quit" many times. But mostly my resolve has been broken
when I listen to other people's problems and "have a smoke" to think
things out. This time I am going to be very hard. I'm afraid I become
so cantankerous that I will hurt someone because I become cantankerous
and unfeeling and selfish because of my own stupid sufferings and
cravings for a smoke. Can you understand that?
The cocaine addict (I am told) lives for his/her cravings. Studies
have shown that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine. I have gone over
3 weeks without (the most) and I made more enemies in those 3 weeks
than most people make in a lifetime,
So I am scared. Petrified would be a better word.
But I want to do it. Smokenders is no good (I would have 2 or 3 cigs
beforehand to sustain me through the meetings).
Tomorrow, the dentist, - all the cavities caused vy dry mouth that my
doc can't seem to fix. The dentist does amalgum fillings (a no-no to
me). The high grade plastic is much more expensive but I will manage
that.
I do agre with you. Just quit. I've tried that hundreds of times.
Doesn't work.
Thank you. I feel someone is on my side.
love,
whitegoose
You are to be commended for your resolve. AS I said,been
there, done that.
Sorry that the other crutches didn't work.
It is easy to quit.. I think I did it at least ten times
over a 50 year
period!! Went the pipe route twice, the cigar route....
The biggest thing needed is resolve..and support.
Rerwards can help, self supplied or given by another as
some landmarks are
reached. Someone should know what the self supplied
rewards are to ease the
temptation of cheating..
And I can attest that negative rewards work too!! I do
mean "If you don't I
won't". You hear Ken???
Good Luck!! I think we will all route for you..
Onefinger salutes you and having writ reaches for a
chaw of Red Man..
....pitoooeeeeeee

Dear Carole,
I don't think I got your message. But I have so many messages I
haven't read yet.
Just send your message to strokesurvivors@egroups.com
and it should go to everyone.
The lake is indeed, solitude. I am planning to move our there next
year. The big problem is the Resort is closed for three months of
winter. Where the heck do I go during December, Januaryk February.
Hope all is well with you.
love,
whitegoose

Hi to Group,
It will take me a little time to catch up on all the emails.
I went to the Lake on Friday. As I got there it started to rain -
As I went to sleep the rain thundered down on the aluminum (tin?)
roof of my travel trailer. It lulled me to sleep.
Saturday, I saw what a beautiful job the tree trimmers had done to
my 2 trees. Leaving the integrity of my huge oak intact. And the
tall Norway Oak was trimmed nicely also. They also cut all the
limbs into nice wood-size for my outdoor fire.
A huge raccoon made his way down from another tree just off my
deck, and climbed on my deck and passed right below my nose and
eyes under my window. What a thick and luxurious coat and
markings, beautiful face and tail!!
Saturday was a beautiful day. No leaf burning, and no teenagers
with scooters. Just a wheelbarrow and boxes to clear up the
millions of huge oak leaves. Down to where the caretaker shreds
them and sends them somewhere (???).
The sun came out, and over 30 swans glided by. Then the thrill of
several hundred Canada geese on their way further south. Then a
flock of small American coots in the midle of the lake, and 4
brilliant gorgeous bald american eagles trying to hunt for them.
The eagles were unlucky, the coots were too smart, but the eagles
had a good catch with the fish, as the lake is lower now it's
winter.
My white geese were nowhere to be seen. They have all joined up
with Canada geese families, and stay in local lakes, I will see
them next spring. I put out bacon and fat for the woodpeckers and
was well rewarded. The bluejays loved the sunflower seeds I
scattered.
On Sunday at 5.30a.m. when I awoke, it was too quiet. No wonder,
it was snowing hard, and we had an inch of snow all over. My
inside thermometer registered 52 deg.F. With the propane, I lit the
oven + 4 burners and we were soon up to 72.deg.
I scattered lots of bread (at least 7 loaves of bread and buns) and
a 5 lb. bag of sunflower seeds.
The birds rewarded me. Dozens of them came to feed. The swans
won't come nearer than 50 ft. I can throw the bread, then retreat,
and then they come to get it. No sign of my white geese.
I managed to put a loaf into some shoots of the raccoons tree, and
was rewarded to see this beauty pick it out carefully with his
little paws/claws and carry it up to his nest.
Temperatures are a few degrees below freezing. I worry about the
stupid Mallard ducks, who often wake up frozen in the Lake.
My nephew assures me they have no nerve feelings in their feet, and
they can survive quite well if left alone. I do not believe him.
End of my tale of my weekend at the lake.
love,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

On Mon, 11 Dec 2000 21:54:10 -0600, strokesurvivors@egroups.com wrote:
peppers, and carrots, go into the pot with their skins unmolested by me.
And I generally leave potato skins alone too!
Most of the vitamins reside under the skin in fruits and vegetables and I
use this for my justification.
Agreed!! But a hint for root vegtables and some other stuff. I keep a
"Dobie", one of those plastic pot scubbers,just for scrubbing things like
carrots and Potatos .It is pliable and takes bumps off too. For one handed
work, clamp the "Dobie" and move the veggie!!
FYI... Brillo pads are not recommended.
Onefinger salutes you...

Dear Madam Goose,
You are to be commended for your resolve. AS I said,been there, done that.
Sorry that the other crutches didn't work.
It is easy to quit.. I think I did it at least ten times over a 50 year
period!! Went the pipe route twice, the cigar route....
The biggest thing needed is resolve..and support.
Rerwards can help, self supplied or given by another as some landmarks are
reached. Someone should know what the self supplied rewards are to ease the
temptation of cheating..
And I can attest that negative rewards work too!! I do mean "If you don't I
won't". You hear Ken???
Good Luck!! I think we will all route for you..
Onefinger salutes you and having writ reaches for a chaw of Red Man..
....pitoooeeeeeee

Hi Reinhardt.
Your stroke cookies:
Well, the method is great. What about some of us who don't know
what ingredients to use for the dough? 2 cups flour, 3 Tbs butter,
1/2 cup milk, a tsp. of baking powder, 2 Tbs sugar, should do it.
Add water as necessary to get a good pliable consistency. Oh, I
think I would use blueberry jam, or marmalade instead of
raspberries.
Your bean soup?
Where's the beans??? I thought Fresians (Frisians) were cattle?
Excuse my ignorance. I don't like raisins and have no taste for
Rum so have to pass on this one, unless I substitute dates or figs.
and use Port Wine instead of Rum! MMmm - this could be a good one
after all!
Your Christmas Porridge.
Give me plain old Scottish oats and salt and milk, best shaken up
in a sporran (the Scotsman's pouch that keeps his kilt down in the
front), on a highland pony riding over the Scottish Highlands. A
day long ride is the right consistency. All those French sounding
wine names are anathema to a Scot. If the mix gets too hard, pour
some Scots water (i.e. John Barleycorn whisky) over it.
In good fun Reinhard - thank you for your wonderful recipes. Too
many raisins and fancy fine wines for my taste. Gosh if I had you
for a few weeks I would soon "straighten out" your taste buds <very
big grins
I hope you realize this is all in jest!
:)
Hi Allan Jr.,
Tell your mom to get you some Nivea creme, and rub your left hand
with your right hand, puttiing the cream in the middle of the front
(palm) of your left hand. This is called massage. Rub all the
joints, in each finger, and inbetween the fingers, and then
inbetween where the fingers join onto the hand. Then on the back
of the hand inbetween the thumb and first finger (the webby part).
Then rub the back of the hand. Finish up by rubbing all around the
wrist. Tell the left hand how much you love it, and you will do
your best to help it "recover." Do this for several nights and
let me know if it helps. On those days when it doesn't want to
work - leave it alone for a while then try again. Then it's OK if
it really insists it doesn't want to work.
with love and a big hug,
whitegoose
Dear Allan Jr.
First my dear. you don't have to cry in this group - it's okay if
you can't help it - but we want you to smile. When you are sad, we
are sad too. When you cry, just think that angels are washing away
your sadness so you can smile.
I am hoping that you have a better day tomorrow. You have found a
lot of older people who are very fond of you, and will listen to
your fears and worries (just like angels) and who will pray for you
and love you.
I bet none of your classmates has a Whitegoose to love them.
:)
Dear Kate
You told us that Brittany (who had her stroke at age 6) said
<<... that she could get things almost right using only one half of
her brain that they had to use an entire brain to get right. Kate
That's beautiful, and smart, Kate. Did you ever take Psychology?
The young brain (i.e. under age 21) has the best chance of all of
becoming normal.
:)
Dear Lloyd and Peggy,
So great to hearing from you. I hope you both are well. Yes, I
had a great time. Will tell all about it when I catch up with all
the wonderful emails of this fantastic group.
:)
love to all,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Subject: Too many emails
Last thing I did before leaving for the lake was to switch Helene
to Digest. I then tried to post to the group and lost my internet
connection. I was running late to had to leave without letting you
know. Sorry about this. Helene confirmed today she is now getting
the Digest instead of all the individual emails.
If anyone else would like to switch to Digest, please drop me a
line - whitegoose8@...
Digest means you get usually 1 long message per day containing all
the previous day's messages, instead of all the individual emails.
:)
Dear Mary-Justine (FrozenRose), (and Allan Jr. to show your
parents)
What a wonderful idea that Allan Jr. could let his mom and dad know
about - A project about Stroke for his classmates (school?).
Science Fair is a great idea. But it could be almost any kind of
"Open House" activity that the school puts on. Success would hinge
on co-operation from the teacher, the principal, perhaps a school
counsellor. Allan would need help to get his message across.
Perhaps if one of his parents approached the nearest local office
of the American Heart Association (Stroke is one of it's
"divisions").
Or The Brain Injury (TBI association). Even if Allan feels he is
not up to this right now, it could be a plan or goal for next year.
To those who have ever experienced "bullying or teasing" at school.
I am 5'8" tall. Problem is, I shot up to this height in high
school
in a country (Scotland) where the average adult woman is 5'3".
My last name is Leitch. I had more "ribbing" from the girls who
called me "long-tall leitchy-peachy" than the boys - who just
called me "peachy-leitchy" (still cringed and spent hours crying
over this). Boy, I hated my name! However, after I left school I
could not help but notice I had many boyfriends (who eventually
grew to my height or taller) as opposed to some of those girls who
used to cruelly tease me and couldn't get anybody. When I
emigrated to Canada, I discovered I was "tall" but not
unnecessarily so. After 2 failed marriages I reverted back to my
birth-name (leitch). My dad was so happy about that.
Teasing and bullying is a major problem in our schools (north and
south of the 49th parallel). Heaven help anyone I catch doing it!
Kids need to report it. Parents need to do everything within their
power to protect the innocent children subjected to it.
OK, I'm on a soapbox. Enough!
:)
Dear Kate,
We are indebted to your knowledge (and Zooky's). I have read a lot
of good things about grapeseed extract. It is important to get
individual assessment and evaluation. My energy booster seems to
be the doc's prescription of over-the-counter B12, B6, Folic Acid,
and potassium (individually tailored to my needs according to blood
tests), plus occasional iron tablets, a 1/2 Tums tablet a day (for
calcium). I convinced myself Hawthorn extract would be good for
me.
It increased my awareness of heart palpitations (I do have a murmur
- but hawthorne, which the doc said would not hurt me, but it did
make me aware of the palpitations so we cut it out). COQ10 is just
too expensive for me (if I stick to the brand recommended by the
ND).
:)
Dear Gwenda,
Your quotes of the day always seem to be "right on target."
I thought the Christman one of the Three Wise "Women" just
wonderful.
Thank you also for giving us a truer picture (than Reinhard) of
your Christmas - (I must admit Reinhard's story was rather cute
though)!
Our family's traditional Christmas morning breakfast was small
sausage rolls (in ruff-puff pastry). Huge mounds of them - not a
table meal either. The presents were always opened while we just
helped ourselves to sausage rolls. After coming to Canada I
continued our sausage rolls tradition but started a new one - I
always attended the Christmas Mass (in a catholic church).
These days, I just have the memories, but try to get to English Bay
in Vancouver for the Polar Bear swim on New Year's Day (as a
spectator of course). New Year's Day is a big holiday in Scotland.
I liked what you said about being near water. I never need an
excuse to be near the water. I cannot help it either, I indulge
in a small Christmas Pudding with custard sauce. A spoonful of
brandy to "flame" the pudding is a most wonderful sight and smell.
I hope you get a well-earned rest from school over the holidays.
Rats on the school board for not paying you during this time!!
I enjoyed reading about our "Pohutukawa" tree. Must save and look
up the link you provided - http://projectcrimson.org.nz.
On the Carol Ship Cruise (going with my sister on Dec.14th)
carollers go from table to table (dressed in old-fashioned
Christmas costumes - bonnets, red dresses trimmed with fur) singing
Carols.
We are experiencing an unusual cold arctic snap over the Province
of BC. Full moon last night - very cold. Hope this keeps up so we
will have a beautiful night out on the 3 hr. cruise. I picked the
biggest ship in the fleet. Your Carols by Candlelight in the
various towns sounds wonderful. We, too, have community Christmas
parades (usually well attended).
I hope your Christmas is peaceful, and joyfully content.
:)
Dear Gwenda,
Re: Haggis.
Thanks so much for those links Gwenda
<< here's an original recipe for Haggis.
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html
and
http://www.electricscotland.com/haggis/
:)
Hi Gwenda,
Thanks for the recipe MAGIC REINDEER FOOD.
I hope this is not going to delay Santa and the reindeer. It
sounds so good!
:)
love to all,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Welcome Tan R and Carol L
My name is Cheryl. I had a stroke 14 months ago.
Mine was right sided so I am left side effected. But am doing great. My
arm is pretty good and I wear a brace on my left leg to hold my foot up.
Most of my problems are cognitive, but they are improving. This is a great
group. Are you a stroker or a caregiver?
This group has many of both so you can hear from all perspecitives. This
group is full of information and support. Feel free to write us anytime
with any problem. Even if you just need someone to listen.
Welcome
Cheryl

Mary Claire
Hope you are feeling better by now. I heard that Chicago is being hit hard
with cold weather and blizzard conditions. Stay warm. Stew sounds
wonderful. I like stew and soups, especially when it is cold. I don't like
to peel vegetables either. Don't blame you a bit.
Love,
Cheryl

Al
Real Cute !!
Cheryl

Hi Ken
Not knowing dates are an everyday occurance with me. I wake up every
morning and don't know what day it is for a while. It takes me about 10
minutes to figure it out. Then in school, I never know what subject it is
when the class starts. I had it all down really good and then they changed
it about a month or so ago and I haven't gotten it staight ever since. So
you are not alone. I ask several times what day this is. Can't keep the
days of the week straight, let alone the dates. I am a real mess sometimes.
I just sort of laugh at myself now. But I am finding out that is pretty
common with brain injuries. That is what a stroke is, is a brain injury,
just as if you had had an accident. It seems all he residual problems are
very much related.
Cheryl

Dear Mary Claire,
I hope you are continuing to gain back your health and strength.
Before, I said Bill was lucky to have someone like you as his
caregiver. It's great to hear that looking after you seems to be
doing wonders for him also.
:)
Dear Allan Jr. (and Cheryl)
I hope you were able to visit
http://www.differentstrokes.co.uk/
Cheryl - you have to copy and paste the entire URL in the previous
line into your browser's location line and hit enter if you don't
get to it just by clicking on it. Or even type it in. Sometimes I
found I had typed a comma instead of a period. If it is not exact
it won't work. Of course, it could be that the service provider
may have a "block" on european and other sites.
:)
Dear Pat (in Maine)
Boy, were you ever misdiagnosed. What a worrysome time for you.
Glad to hear the lesions have shrunk (this is typical of the brain
trying to self-heal itself). Sometimes therapy can "open up" new
neural pathways and some limited function or relief from some
deficits can occur, but this gets rarer (though not always
impossible) with time.
:)
Dear Friend Mary G,
Thanks for submitting the Poem for Computer Users Over 50. I loved
it. Our TV news tonight says the most intensive web-user today are
the 55+ age-group.
My how language and technology evolves. It's just about a century
ago that women decreed they would not be "dictated to" anymore, and
promptly became secretaries!! My greatest achievement on leaving
high school was to be proficient in Pittman's shorthand (at 180
w.p.m.). Of course the early office female workers carried a lot
of weight in the offices (those darned big ledgers were 30 lbs.
each).
:)
Dear Ann,
If the story about the woman at the airport with a colostomy is
true (and I have nothing to doubt it or otherwise), I hope she is
successful in her lawsuit.
You also wrote:
<<
<<...Sometimes government employees aren't a total waste ...
(former VA employee)
I have to agree with that. I was in government for years. Always
tried to remember that "Joe Taxpayer paid my salary." I always
tried to be compassionate, courteous and helpful, and I think I
succeeded (said very modestly of course)! VA? I'm not too
familiar with American (US) abbreviations. I think that is
Veterans Affairs - a good place to be of service!
:)
Dear Ann
[Fwd: Fw: [MainsandTales] Mistle toe picture]
I got Digest while I was away. Missed seeing this one. If not too
much hassle, if you still have the link, please send it to me at
whitegoose8@...
:)
Dear Kate,
Hope your connection is restored soon. Your neighbour is lucky he
was not electrocuted!!
:)
I have clipped a few of the messages to reply to in separate
messages.
love to all,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Except for the very hardiest, most of us in Chicago are staying indoors this
evening because of snow. The weather has turned my thoughts to a big pot of
stew cooking on the stove. Which brings me to carrots. Zooky was
complaining about having to peel them a while back.
From time to time my father liked to cook. Not clean up mind you -- just
cook. He fastidiously peeled and seeded every tomato before he used it, and
peppers too. We had a very stormy relationship and I never learned to take
the pleasure in cooking he did so I tend to take shortcuts. All tomatoes,
peppers, and carrots, go into the pot with their skins unmolested by me.
And I generally leave potato skins alone too!
Most of the vitamins reside under the skin in fruits and vegetables and I
use this for my justification. ("Lazy" doesn't sound as high minded.) I do
scrub and remove blemishes, cores, and emerging roots, however.
I only wish Bill shared my passion for stew. He doesn't much care for it,
but I shall make some anyway if the grocery delivery driver can make it
through the show. Mary Claire

Dear Reinhard and Zooky,
I suppose Asians would also be horrified at some of the things we
eat. I also learned from some of my Asian friends that great
reverence is given for anything that has to be killed for food.
Mealtime is conducted like a celebration. Chopsticks in Japan, for
example - in their culture they would never dream of having sharp
implements at the table to eat with. Asians (as a whole) are
generally not the throwaway and/or waste societies like our north
american continent.
Reinhard (a middle east visitor) I have a question for you. Is it
true that in Arab countries, to be offered the camel's eye on your
plate is a great honour, and to refuse it is tantamount to a great
insult.
:)
Dear Janice,
I'm real proud of you. You did great!! 368 days since you quite
"the vile habit". I can't believe you "are* counting.
You're husband is a bit of "rat" - still smoking while you go
through the suffering of quitting. If he reads your emails - I'm
just kidding!!
My dad died at age 81 of lung cancer. He had quit 25 years before,
and loved to be in the company of people who smoked just to get a
"whiff". His sister (my aunt) had her stroke when she was at the
age I had mine (and never smoked in her life - she is now 85 and
just recently moved into a nursing home (under protest) because she
really wasn't able to look after herself (according to my cousins
in N. Ireland).
When I broke 2 ribs last year in a fall, the doc had X-rays taken
to see if broken ribs had punctured anything major (like my lungs,
pancreas or liver - no they hadn't), and the female doc almost
hissed at me "your lungs are disgustingly clear."
Still, I'm ashamed I have not been able to quit, so am gearing up
for it (each time my resolve gets stronger).
:)
Hi Reinhard,
I just loved your version of Christmas in New Zealand. I'm sure
your story for your group is spellbinding.
:)
Hi Cheryl, and Zooky,
Re: your message to Betty D.
Very wise words Cheryl. If patience cannot be learned, then we
have to endure the frustrations. I echo Zooky's words also
regarding the caregivers "... We may not be able to show it at
times, but we truly appreciate their being there for us."
Sometimes an isolated and frustrated Stroker, will unintentionally
lash out at those near and dear to them, and the caregivers get the
worst of that.
:)
Zooky,
I'm glad to hear you ran CoQ10 by your "doctor" list group and got
an OK. Rita, I often blame this or that medication for the wrong
symptoms. Easy to do when you take lots of different meds and
vitamins. I hope you find a suitable diet that you can comfortably
live with. It's real hard, I know.
:)
Robert Burns is Scotland's famous Poet. He was initially a poor
farmer's son and haggis was normal cheap fare in the 1700's.
It is now honoured in a yearly celebration of "The Bard's Life"
It is usually served as an aside (like stuffing) to the main "Roast
Beef" and mashed turnips (rutabagas). Burns wrote poetry addressed
to the simple things in life (To a Mouse (upon turning up her nest
during harvesttime): To a Louse (on seeing it crawl over a posh
lady's hat in church; A man's a man for all that). He was a great
"ladies man" and wrote dozens of beautiful poems for her numerous
girlfriends (e.g. My love is like a red red rose). He died in
poverty of TB when he was 37.
:)
Dear Terry R.
I am sorry you have been having such a bad time with your head
problems. My prayers and wishes that your tests will turn up
something so that the proper treatment for relief happens real
soon.
As usual, you have done a magnificent job with your website.
Just beautiful.
:)
More to follow later.
love,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Dear Ken,
Keep your "talkative" driver rather than a maniac! At least, all
you have to do is grunt a few times to acknowledge her
conversations. There is an increase of "road-rage" incidents
reported on our TV news every week. Some guys (no I'm not
prejudiced - it always seems to be guys). The "real men" are much
smarter.
Getting your stroke date wrong is not stupid at all. Some dates
are best forgotten anyway. Since I stopped working this year, I
wouldn't know what day it is if I didn't keep putting my cursor
over the time in the bottom right corner of my screen, then it
tells me the day and date.
:)
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2000 07:20:37 EST
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Hi,
Glad you got back from the lake safely. You were missed. I do envy the
quiet, solitude you must have had. Hope you got all the things accomplished
that you wanted to.
I sent a reply to a letter but it never was delivered. My sent list on my
ISP says it was sent and it is listed on the egroups strokesurvivors message
list. Thought maybe you could shed some light on this, or offer some sage
advice. You're lots more knowledgeable about computers than I. Should I
just send my message again and hope for the best?
Love,
Carole

I live in a community that demands among other things, political
correctness at all times. With that in mind:
"Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible,
low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral, winter solstice holiday,
practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of
your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who
choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to
practice a religion at all. May you enjoy a fiscally successful, personally
fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted
calendar year of 2001, but not without due respect for the calendars of
choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society
great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious or sexual
preferences of the wishes."
DISCLAIMER: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It
implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for
her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintened emotional
stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday
spirit.
Onefinger salutes you...and having writ is going to spread joy

Hi Allan,
I have found a chat group that I think you will like. Although it
is called "kids1" - there are quite a few teenagers on it. You
should be able to click on it to get to it.
http://tbihome.org/cgi-tbihome/kids1.pl
love,
Granma Whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Hi and Welcome to Tan R. indomassagefoundation@...
And to Carol L. Catkins550@... , both receiving individual
emails.
You have just joined a wonderfully supportive online stroke support
group for Strokers, their caregivers, family members and friends.
We help and support each other by sharing our experiences, asking
questions, exchanging information, telling stroke and other
stories, in fact, anything that we want to talk about or discuss.
Most members reside in the U.S., but we have a few in Canada,
Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the U.K. One
e-mail to strokesurvivors@egroups.com will go to everyone on the
list. You are also free to respond (or not) to any e-mail you
receive, and you may also directly e-mail any group member.
Although we have 95 members (3 are "bouncing" - i.e. their email
boxes are full), many are "lurkers" - and that is okay too. Some
people get a lot of enjoyment and comfort reading the various
e-mails. Many of us don't have a lot of time to participate too
much online. If you have any questions, and/or need advice, we try
to find answers or at least give you information. We seek to
self-educate ourselves about stroke and its effects, to take an
active rather than passive role with our medical professionals. We
sometimes share humour, jokes, and Internet links, joys and
sorrows, and try to be truly supportive of each other.
We are not doctors, and we do have differing opinions at times, but
that's okay too. We are not clones. We try to give/get as much
information as we can to help us make up our minds. Sharing ideas
and opinions is a great way to learn also. I sometimes see our
role
as interactive "group" computer therapy. I've seen some members in
the early stages of "poststroke" who could barely type a sentence
getting "better and better" (we don't care how you spell or what
the
grammar is like as long as we can figure out the message).
We hope you will visit the e-groups Community Page/s at
http://www.egroups.com/community/strokesurvivors
As a member, you can access all the groups messages in our file
archives. There is also an area to upload and download files for
sharing. You can change your e-mail options at the Community Page
also, or e-mail me and I'll do it for you. If you are receiving
individual emails it is a good idea to change to Daily Digest or
WebOnly/NoEmails until your return. Just send an email to any of
the moderators and we'll do it for you.
Please visit our very own Strokesurvivors International website at
http://www.strokesurvivors.homepage.com/index.htm
There are links to some useful sites where you can learn all about
strokes, Our Health Pages include a searchable Drug Database. We
have a great bookstore containing a selection of discounted books
useful or of interest to Strokers. Feel free to recommend a book
to add. Also there are links to a few websites of our members, some
with wonderful stories and gifts/goods to sell. We like to support
"our own". You will enjoy a fascinating and interesting Internet
journey if you spend time at our website and follow the links that
interest you.
Check out the Member's Page at our website (this unfortunately is a
little out of date, but will be updated soon) and visit the
Member's Gallery to see pictures of some of us - some family
members and pets too!
The list is quiet at times, and busy at other times. Feel free to
"jump in" at any time you feel ready to, and let us know a little
about yourself, or if you have any questions on your mind, we will
try to help.
In time, I would like to put your vital statistics on our website
Member's Page. It would only be your first name, and the Stroker's
name (if you are a caregiver, relative or friend). Also, where you
are from - the town, state, province or region, and country, as
well as the age when you (or your Stroker) had the stroke. Oh, yes
and your birthday/s. We like to remember those. (month and day
only).
We love reading other Stroker/Caregiver stories. We are all unique
and very special people. Attachments are quite welcome with your
e-mails to us.
We hope your association with our group, is a pleasant and
informative one.
Very Best Wishes, and we hope your experience with our group is a
positive one.
Whitegoose (Moderator)
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada
Whitegoose8@...
Peter Allen (Co-Moderator)
Brighton,
England, U.K.
pallen@...
Kate Lautzenhiser (Co-Moderator)
Wisconsin,
U.S.A.
katelau@...
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Peggy, your husband's stroke sounds so much like my husband's. I expect you
know how much it means to me to hear how far Lloyd has come. Just knowing
what others have accomplished is such a morale booster.
Thanks so very much.
Betty D. in Colorado
PS--My e-mail address is ruth.jean.dale@... but that's a pseudonym.
He is
a Minister and also a computer consultant. His stroke left him with
swallowing
problems, unable to speak, to walk, or do anything to care for himself.
Lloyd
came home from the hospital in September of 1999 requiring total care.
It has not been easy but today he walks unassisted, his speech is not yet
perfect but he is talking even preaching a little again. Recently he
received
his first pay check in a year and a half for rebuilding a computer.
Someone told me shortly after we began this journey that the family of a
stroke
patient experiences first hand what it must be like in hell. I am here to
let
you know that you can and you will find your way back to life. It may not
be
the same life but still a very good one for the two of you.<

Thank you for your thoughts. Had one more cramp after stopping Q10, and then
stopped multiminerals and extra magnesium. (I am my own guinea pig!) So far
feeling quite normal. May have maligned Q10. Now just doing multi vitamins
and garlic. Rita

Dear Betty,
Your husband's stroke is considered serious and while
it will be difficult to get him to regain his motor
and speech skills again, please take heart that
miracles do happen, especially with a little help.
The stroke attack has damaged his brain cells; please
take note that I've mentioned that they are damaged
and NOT dead! His damaged brain cells have mostly lost
their ability to give out instructions and in cases
when instructions can still be given, they are most
too weak to be effective because most of the muscles
are frozen.
The paralysis on his left side is due to the shock
being tranferred from the brain to his muscles to
cause them to be frozen. The quickest option to get
him to regain his motor skills again is to "unfreeze"
the muscles - thereafter, how fast and how much he
will regain his motor skills will depend largely on
his determination, self confidence, love, etc.
The greatest obstacle to his getting better is
frustration and lack of confidence.
We have a 20 minute VCD that featured a 69-years old
stroke survivor who was totally immobilsed on his
right by a massive embolic stroke attack on October 5,
2000. We started treating him on October 10 and 2
weeks later, he was shown to be practicing to walk
with support. If you will email me your address, we
will send you a copy along with testimonials of stroke
survivors that we have treated and cured.
Sincerely
Roosevelt Tan
=====
Roosevelt Tan
aka Rudy S., Grandmaster
Indonesia Therapeutic Massage Foundation

[INLINE]

Whitegoose,

Here is my banner for the website... If this list can not receive HTML email, then I attatched anothe copy of

my banner. Please link this to my main page. http://www.caranois.com/

Sorry it took so long to make.

I would love it if you could replace this with

the other graphics you have on your site.

I will add more graphics as necessary.

Thanks and BTW for ALL members...

I am running a new High Tech HTML newsletter which you receive in your

inbox. It is the coolest thing I have seen so far.

If you would like to preview it please click here.... http://www.caranois.com/newsaa/news.html

In the right hand column you will see a text link for the past two months newsletters.

Hope you like and would love any feedback from you guys..

As I am always learning and trying to be my best.

Vik

Now for the important part...

Mom is living part time with me, and the other time with my sis.

We alternate weekends, and so far so good..

She walked about 150 feet by herself in therapy ... wow that made her day.

Hi Mary Claire
Your note to Allen rang true. You should have been around when we were all
young.
Ken

Hi Allen, My name is "Mary Claire". (Yes, I use both names -- although when
I was a child I hated the name "Claire".) Anyway, when I was your age I
went to school with a boy whose name was "Allen", just like yours. He had
had polio and it left him with disabilities that some of the kids made fun
of. Or they called him names, or they hit and hurt him.
Sometimes Allen had to cry because he was hurt so badly. Mostly, though, he
smiled if he could. This smile confused his tormentors and won the rest of
our hearts. Allen saw that not everyone made fun of him and he made friends
with the ones who didn't.
Today Allen has a beautiful family of his own and a successful career. I
don't know if he ever thinks about his school days now, but I remember him
and I think of what it must have cost him to smile instead of showing his
anger and his hurt. He was one of my heroes and I was very fond of him. I
think that you're a hero too, Allen, to some of your classmates and that you
don't even know it!
With a great big hug, Mary Claire

Thanks Gwenda I was trying to think of someway for my grandson to leave
a treat that he wouldn't decide to eat before the reindeer could get to
it. LOL Kate

Dear Whitegoose,
Have a great time. "See you" in a few days.
Lloyd

TAKE MY NAME OFF THE E-MAIL LISTINGS.......

I like the sound of Jeff Smith's reciepe!! Sounds good!! Pat in Maine
Grandma to 7 bio Children; to Kai, 4 yrs, home from Korea Nov. 22,1997
and to Sudhanya, 6 yrs, home from India March 29,1999 Agency AIAA
check out my web page:
http://community.webtv.net/gndma/GRANDMAPATSPLACE

To all of you who hate diet and scorn health food - here are three recipes :
STROKE COOKIES -
Dough for white cookies is to be rolled flat evenly with a rolling pin (good
occupational therapy, use both hands !). Cut out circles of appr. four inches
diameter with a beer glass. A tablespoon heaped with your favourite jam or
preserve (should be a thick one) is put on the affected half of the circle
(as my left side is affected by stroke, I place raspberry jam on the left
side of each circle). The other half is then folded over the affected half
and the brims pressed lightly together.
To prevent bursting in the oven, mix a raw egg with the same volume of powder
sugar, brush the mix on the cookies. Baking time is a little longer than with
flat cookies.
FRISIAN BEAN SOUP -
Some of my ancestors were fisherman or sailors and loved this simple but
nourishing soup for dessert :
Soak raisins overnight in Rum (Royal Demerara or Captain Morgan's Black).
Brew a strong sweet black tea. Spoon an appropriate amount of soaked raisins
into a large teapot, fill up with hot tea.
CHRISTMAS PORRIDGE -
Again raisins are to be soaked overnight, for this recipe in mulled (spiced)
red wine. (The choice of wine should not be Noddy's pricy "Cabernet Sauvignon
Chateau de Wollongong", but a simple "Vin de pay de Nouvelle-Sud-Valais" or
Californian Red.)
Empty a bottle of wine into a cooking pot. Add eight ounces of sugar and
spices. (In Germany we have spice mixes in teabags - if you cannot buy those
locally, use cinnamon and cloves.) Heat slowly, do not cook, and stir now and
then. Add the raisins and stop heating.
Next day separate raisins from wine and put the raisins into a bowl. Prepare
Porridge as usual, fill into the bowl and stir.
Keep the remaining mulled wine for chilly evenings.
Reinhard

Those of you who will be seeing your grandkids for Christmas might be interested in helping them to make some Magic Reindeer food:

MAGIC REINDEER FOOD
MATERIALS for each bag:
1 baggie (treat bags with Xmas designs or clear sandwich size bags and
stickers)
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 and 1/2 Tbsp mixed glitter (red, green, gold)
red and green ribbon (the kind that twists with the scissors)
1 bell
a copy of the instructions

PROCEDURE:
Place the oatmeal and the glitter in the bag. Tie with the red and green
ribbon with the following little verse and the little bell, curl the ribbon.
In order for the tag to stay on the reindeer food, put a reinforcement
around the hole or cover with clear contact paper.
Attach following instructions:
Magic Reindeer Food on Christmas Eve,

sprinkle this Magic Reindeer Food on your lawn.
The magic glitter sparkling in the moonlight

and the smell of oats will guide Rudolph to your home.

Sunshine,

Gwenda

Here it is, for those of you who want to know!
One of our NZ cities - Dunedin - was settled almost exclusively last century
by the Scots, and every year on Burns Night, they hold the Haggis ceremony.
So it's not just a Scottish "thing". I believe the makers have improved the
ingredients to make it more palatable to the modern tongue. But here's an
original recipe for Haggis.
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/scottish/haggis.html
And if you need/want a bit of a laugh, here's some more mis-information
about haggis :) http://www.electricscotland.com/haggis/

Someone else is also thinking about the same thing! This just in from my Guiding list:

_The 3 stages of man:_
He believes in Santa Claus.
He doesn't believe in Santa Claus.
He is Santa Claus.

<<<Dear Allan- I'm about 40+ years older than you but from what I know
and remember kids in school have been making fun of anyone who is
different, in some odd way, it must make them feel better about
themselves.
Hi Allan -- I agree with Kate here. I'm almost 32 now, but I remember
just about all of what it was like growing up and going to school as a
child with disabilities due to birth defects. I think my mom was in
school at least once a month, firing off yet another tirade at a teacher
or principal who chose to overlook these childrens' actions.
Here's an idea -- do you have anything like a science fair at your
school, or something for which you need to do a science project? If you
do, why not do a project about stroke? It would be a good way to help
the other students understand what you have gone/are going through. Of
course, if you're too sensitive about the subject and would rather not,
that's fine too... but looking back, I wish someone had suggested
something like that to me when I was in school. I just might have done
it myself.
I still have people, young and old, staring at me today because of the
way I walk -- but you get stronger and come to understand that people on
the outside just don't understand how their actons make you feel. Hang
in there... try to find a counselor or a teacher at school you can talk
to as well, and let them know what's going on -- someone who'll stand up
for you if need be. It's important to not feel alone -- when I was in
school, there was not the support for disabled kids that there is now.
Find those sources of support and use them. And be strong.
Love, Mary-Justine

Hello Reinhard,
Do you know - I've searched my files, and could find only 2 "quotes" which
might be suitable.

Rita. I just tried to switch Helene but don'tseem to be able to
locate
her on the membership list, I'll keep trying until I can get it
right.
Sorry, Kate

Dear all- one of my neighbors was in a big hurry to get his new fence
put up and forgot to call "digger's hotline before embarking on his
project, as a result, he cut through the cable for my internet
connection and I have been off-line since yesterday. The cable company
At Home is estimating Monday before noon as the completion date of
repairs, so I'll be off line until at least then, missing all of you.
Alan, I hope you see this and know I'm not ignoring you and I hope
things have been going ok for you. Take care all, Kate

golemon@... (golemon) Helene has written and asked me to get her
switched from emails to digest Thanks Rita

Hi,
I'm Rudy, Grandmaster of Indonesia Thwerapeutic
Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded in
Jakarta, Indonesia in 1993.
We operated a public clinic that accepted sufferers of
"incurable" disorders for treatment. Most were
sufferers of stress-induced symptoms, e.g. headaches,
backaches, breathing problems, depressions, insomnia,
etc. - until 1998, we have successfully cured near to
600 sufferers, most of whom have gone through years of
medications without getting a true cure, only
temporary relief. In addition, we have accepted more
than 60 stroke survivors for treatment, each with
various degree of disabilities including a fair number
that were totally immobilized.
We have quite a few testimonials from these cured
patients. We now have a 20 minute VCD that show how a
69-years old stroke survivor who was totally
immoblised by an embolic stroke on October 5, 2000
undergoing through our treatment and was able to
practice walking again with support after 2 weeks of
treatment.
We have produced 30 copies and still have 10 left. We
will send you a copy upon getting your request and
full mailing address.
Sincerely
Roosevelt
=====
Roosevelt Tan
aka Rudy S., Grandmaster
Indonesia Therapeutic Massage Foundation

Pat,

Thank you for the beautiful card.

Joyce

Confidential! For DearFriends only!
Grandma Pat has created a special posty, just for you,
DearFriends and has sent it to you on 12/08/2000 15:45 PM.
The posty will be stored for you for 14 days.
Be sure to pick it during these 14 days before it expires.
There are several ways to pick your card up.
You may pick your card up by clicking on the link below:
http://www.angeleyes2.com/platinum/magiccard.cgi?1208154545281301
Or copy and paste the entire line into your browser's window
***********
If you are using AOL mail: <a
href="http://www.angeleyes2.com/platinum/magiccard.cgi?1208154545281301"
click here</a
***********
If you can't retrieve your card by clicking, go to
http://www.angeleyes2.com/platinum/pickup.shtml
and enter your ticket number in the window.
Your ticket number is: 1208154545281301
Remember Your card must be picked up within 14 days.<br
Thank you for using AngelEyes....
AngelEyes Card Shoppe
Free Postcard Service
http://www.angeleyes2.com

For all the cat people I know...

Mary Claire's surgery reminded me in a roundabout wayof a story I heard
2 days ago from someone who heard it from the person it happened to
(purportedly) on one of their mailing lists . A woman was going through
airport security on an in-country flight in the states. She set off the
metal detector, and divested herself of bags etc. that might me setting
it off. The security person then did the standard wand thing and came
up with a beep around her midsection. He put his hand on his holster
and demanded to know what she had under her dress. Flustered, she
replied "Nothing, it's just me and my underwear. Not believing her, he
again demanded to know what she had underneath. When she repeated her
reply he grabbed her and slammed her against the wall and held his
firearm in a threatening manner, demanding to know what she had. She
continued to deny having anything dangerous. A female security guard
approached, put her hand inside the woman's dress which buttoned up the
front, found something suspicious feeling, and pulled out....a full
colostomy bag. (I guess they must have a metal ring to stablize the
opening). The incision was 5 days old, and the contents regurgitated
upon the wearer and the remover. Needless to say, she was NOT happy.
She was even less happy to realize that a. her luggage was already on
its way so she had nothing to change into, and b. she was now going to
miss her plane. Just then a total stranger showed up with a badge and
saved the day. Turned out that he was a U.S. marshal, and certainly
outranked the security geek and, as it happened the police officers that
the incompetents had called to arrest the woman for bogus charges to
cover their embarassment. I guess he was so disgusted by their behavior
that he is helping her press charges, and helped her by finding a
military transport at that airport that was headed where she needed to
go. Sometimes government employees aren't a total waste of skin after
all.
Ann (former VA employee)

A POEM FOR COMPUTER USERS OVER 50
A computer was something on TV
From a science fiction show of note
A window was something you hated to clean
And ram was the father of a goat.
Meg was the name of my girlfriend
And gig was a job for the nights
Now they all mean different things
And that really mega bytes.

An application was for employment
A program was a TV show
A cursor used profanity
A keyboard was a piano.
Memory was something that you lost with age
A CD was a bank account
And if you had a 3-in. floppy
You hoped nobody found out.
Compress was something you did to the garbage
Not something you did to a file
And if you unzipped anything in public
You'd be in jail for a while.
Log on was adding wood to the fire
Hard drive was a long trip on the road
A mouse pad was where a mouse lived
And a backup happened to your commode.
Cut you did with a pocket knife
Paste you did with glue
A web was a spider's home
And a virus was the flu.
I guess I'll stick to my pad and paper
And the memory in my head
I hear nobody's been killed in a computer crash
But when it happens they wish they were dead.
~Author unknown

Hi Allen
Hope you are doing Ok. When do you get out of school for Christmas
Vacation? My last day is the 14th then I will work full time for those two
weeks.
Did you look at the sites that Whitgoose sent to you.
I don't know about you but I was unable to pull up those stories she told
you to refer to. I am not very computer oriented so I probably did
something wrong. I hope your days are going alittle better. I think of you
often. Let us hear from you.
Love,
Gramma Cheryl

Hi Whitegoose

Have a great time at the lake. No scooters !! Shouldn't the tree trimmers have cleaned up their mess? Just be careful burning the leaves. I hope you get some rest and quiet while you are there. Since it is getting colder their, should not be too many tourests there this time of year. Enjoy your geese and other animals. stay warm. Will miss you.

Love,

Cheryl

Dear Whiregoose, Hope you find peace in the solitude of your lake and
the beauty of your white geese. It sounds heavenly!! We will miss you
and your love and compassion. Have a wonderful couple of days to
yourself. Love Pat in Maine
Grandma to 7 bio Children; to Kai, 4 yrs, home from Korea Nov. 22,1997
and to Sudhanya, 6 yrs, home from India March 29,1999 Agency AIAA
check out my web page:
http://community.webtv.net/gndma/GRANDMAPATSPLACE

Hi Helene
My name is Cheryl. Welcome to our group. This is a great group. Everyone
is very supportive and are very good listeners. I had a stroke about a year
or so ago. Mine was on the right so I am left sided effected. But I am
doing pretty well. I wear a brace on my left leg and my arm is pretty good
A little weak, but functional. My fine motor skills are not really good in
that hand. Most of my problems are cognitive. I go to school 16 hrs a week
for cognitive retraining. It is a great program and am benefiting from it
alot. You can write to us anytime with any problem and we will always
listen and respond. We have strokers as well as caregivers in this group so
you can get both sides perspectives. Again, I would like to welcome you.
Cheryl

Hi Whitegoose and all others,
I haven't gone any where I am still here but haven't been doing to well
so I stopped my mail from all the groups. My head problems have been to
great on me to use my putter much at all. They are still doing more test on
me to find what the problem may be but to no avail yet. To all of those out
there who are new to the group I hope that you will visit my home page and
read a little about me and my family. And to those of you who already know
me, I have made a Christmas page on my web site for the holidays and added
a few new pictures. I hope that you will also visit my web site. My Stroke
story is in it also.
My web site address is: http://www.geocities.com/tiax3
Be patient for it takes a little time to load due to so much on some of the
pages.
I wish each of you.......A Very Merry Christmas Happy Holiday and a very
Happy New Year!!!!!!
Happy Trail......................Terry Reed

I can understand eating it only once a year - it probably takes a year for
the body to recover from it, hehe. However, using it to celebrate a poet
leaves me scritching my head. :)

Hello Gwenda -
may I ask a favor ?
The three Stroke Clubs I attend want for their Christmas meetings (Dec 11, 13
and 14) a Christmas story read by me. This I have already chosen - but like
to give our co-survivors and co-caregivers one of your "Thoughts for the day"
- with regard to Christmas. Can you take the time to select one for us
antipodes in the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein, where the first
Anglons and Saxons got fed up with the weather, crawled out of their mud
huts, and went overseas ?
If I am asked to describe Christmas in New Zealand, I will have to admit,
that I never visited this beautiful country, very popular with German
tourists who can afford it.
But I am always good to cook up some impressions, like :
On the North Island at Christmas it is so hot, that the candles have to be
kept in the fridge. At Christmas Eve everybody hurries, to put them on the
Norfolk pine used as Christmas tree. After the first carol is sung, the
candles have melted down by themselves.
As New Zealanders live upside down, there is a problem after Christmas. The
people living there have adjusted and do not find it difficult to lead a
normal life - but there is a problem with the candles. Those do not drip into
their holders or to the ground as on our part of the globe. The drippings go
to the ceiling, giving NZ housewives always a bad time after Christmas, to
clean up the mess.
Hoping this is a true and authoritative description,
I remain yours sincerely -
Reinhard

Whitgoose,
I smoked for 25 years and was up to two packs a day. I tried numerous times
to quit. The day of my stroke was the day I stopped smoking. I am pleased to
say I have been smoke free for 368 days (but who's counting!)
It was very hard for me but I knew I had to do it cold turkey. I highly
recommend it for everyone. I feel much better and SMELL better. Now if I can
only get my husband to quit!
Love,
Janice

To let you choke and splutter a little better : I travel a lot, before and
after stroke. So this is not from a horror fairy tale -
Regarding monkeys : In Central Africa they are hunted down and sold (skinned)
in the local markets. Very chewy, but so you really are busy with the
delightful feeling of meat between your teeth.
Regarding dogs : In parts of South China and the Philippines dogs are raised
(or stolen) for food. To make them less chewy, they are beaten with a rubber
hose, while still alive, until they are swollen up like a nauseating looking
balloon, forget thinking about the noise.
Reinhard

I have to go on Digest my friends.
Back in a few days.
Please love and support one another.
Back with you soon.
Love,
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Good on you Whitegoose
Since my stroke two years ago, I haven't driven. My partner Jan is working
down south so I have to find another driver rather than her who knows me
(it takes 10 minutes for me to settle down - it's a silly stroke thing).
I've got another friend who'll drive me. She talks a lot, but that's better
than an accident! I already nearly died once, and that's enough. I told her
what I'm like so your advice to Janice is timely.
On my first stroke anniversary, I had the day wrong. It's no fun being stupid.
Love Ken

Dear Ken,
I never knew you were a wildlife consultant. My nephew is an
ornithologist (bird daft) living on a tiny island on the west coast
of Scotland (the darned island is only 30 ft. above sealevel at
high tide (Tiree) - counting birds and doing all kinds of studies
(his specialty is raptors) - that's eagles - folks!
I gave him the time of his life when he visited me last year with
his new bride (& pregnant). They couldn't get enough whale
watching trips off the coast of Vancouver island, and left me
penniless in the process!! But what wonderful memories. That's
what counts!
Allan (our new youngest member) has some wonderful (if rather silly
animal-bird people) to help him with his homework. Zooky blew my
mind with catbirds.
I have had hummingbirds all around me and to this day trying to
identify them boggles my mind.
I am also a water person. A man I met recently and helped a bit
gave me his book on the fishing industry on our west coast (I know
the diff. between trolling and trawling, seiner and gillnets.)
I am wary and suspicious of fish farms. I love sailing and took a
course in Celestial navigation (a piece of cake with all the
tables) but I have yet to set foot in a sailboat. I am definitely a
WATER person (along with my friends the geese and the Swans)
I have not water-skied (so ridiculoous), but suffered an awful knee
scraping fall trying out a "razer-scooter" - hanging out with
teenagers at "the Lake".
Going to bed soon (playing a Jimmy Buffet song). Keep smiling.
:)
whitegoose
=====
Visit http://strokesurvivors.homepage.com and check out the Bookstore!

Dear Friends,
I have to go to the Lake tomorrow. Already temps are dropping
below zero where my Travel Trailer is located, and I have to close
off the waterline, shut off the propane tank, and set the electric
heaters. Also, after several months, the tree people have finally
pruned my two trees, so I expect one almighty mess to clean up. As
well as haing to burn huge bonfires of leaves. Also my beloved
geese need some friendly interraction and feeding for the winter.
I will be away for a couple of days.
Take care and support one another.
(Secret message to Onefinger - did you get my instructions on how
to find the place - rats to fickle Ken, and the "Salmon Arm" salute
to Rick for exposing the whole thing). What is a "poor maiden" to
do.
Love you all, take care.
Will be back with you all on Sunday night or Monday. Remember you
are you're No. 1 priority.
whitegoose
=====