Thank you to everyone who’s shared their condolences, prayers and kindness to me and my family about my Uncle’s passing. Your comments, emails and posts in forums mean the world to me.

We’re leaving tomorrow for Atlants for Uncle Jerome’s funeral. We’ll be gone perhaps until Friday. Hubby said we may leave after the funeral mass and luncheon but we’ll see how it goes.

This isn’t going to be easy but no funerals are. I’m going to get a lot of rest on the drive and try to eat as healthy as possible so I can keep my symptoms to a limit. The stress these past few days has been affecting me already so I have to be careful.

If I have access to a computer (nope I don’t have a laptop) I’ll try to post but if not I’ll be back blogging on Friday or Saturday.  See you when I return.

Uncle Jerome passed away Sunday. It’s still a bit of a shock to hear the words less write them. I know that he is no longer suffering and that his earthly body was barely hanging on. He was ready my cousins told me. And so now the grieving begins.

We’ll be traveling soon to attend his memorial service and funeral. So far the dates are set for November 28 - 29. I have to take Peanut out of school again for this. This is a tough year as this is the FCAT test year and attendance is really taken into consideration. But there’s nothing we can do.

This is the second death in less than three months for my family. With God’s help we’ll get through it.

Please pray for my Uncle’s wife, his children and grandchildren as well as the rest of the family.

My family is going through a tough time right now. My Uncle is critically ill and we’re praying for his recovery. He has serious cardiac issues so this stint in ICU is pretty bad.

All of the memories and emotions got me to thinking back on my diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis. There’s shock, fear and denial of course but as it all sinks in you begin to want to know about your condition and get the best medical care available. My biggest concerns were my children especially Peanut who was only 5 at the time. She hadn’t even started Kindergarten.

I remember thinking that I wanted to be her mother and how could I when I had a chronic illness? After finding a specialist in this disease and making some medical decisions about surgery and other types of treatment and after a lot of prayer, I started to settle into the life of a person with a life long disease.

I pursued information, other people, anything I could to help me to live my life the best way possible. One of the books I found that really helped me and that I still read parts of every once in a while is Living Well with Chronic Illness by Marcia Van’t Land.

The author was like me in many ways, very active with her family and church. I did the same but also worked one full time and two part time jobs! I was the “go-to” person, always volunteering for church, school or community projects. I never sat still.

Mrs. Van’t Land is a Pastor’s wife and mother of three. She was the one the church members went to with problems, concerns, complaints and prayer. Suddenly she was unable to walk normally and after going through numerous tests was diagnosed with Acute Intermittent Porphyria.

Her book teaches and guides people with chronic illness how to cope, keep their faith, understand why they are not cured by God, how to deal with their doctors and just day to day advice of living your life as best as possible.

There are many devotions and quotations throughout the book that can help anyone cope with difficulties in their lives, but in particular health issues.

This book is always in my cabinet with my other medical books. It helps me and I’ve recommended it to others with chronic medical conditions.

Alzheimer’s is a medical word that many of us have heard of, can pronounce easily and understand the basic meaning. In the US in the 1960’s and earlier not many people even knew what the word “Alzheimer’s” was. Through the work and dedication of the Alzheimer’s Association the word and the disease became something we could relate to.

AD “…is a progressive and fatal brain disease.More than 5 million Americans now have Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life. Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, and it is fatal. Today it is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.” (from Alzheimer’s Association)

If you’ve been diagnosed with AD it is important to begin to prepare for your future. Early diagnosis is helpful for many reasons so if you have any concerns about your memory please see your doctor right away. There are many programs, research studies and new prescriptions trials you may be eligible for.

Caregivers also can be included in education on AD, learn how to cope with the stress and emotional issues surrounding  this disease and the financial, safety and legal aspects of how AD can affect a family.

Alzheimer’s Disease has no racial or financial barriers.As we age our risk for AD increases. Please visit the Alzheimer’s Association to learn more about this disease, how you can volunteer, donate, take part in fundraising events or become a Corporate sponsor.

COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. COPD encompasses two lung diseases - Emphysema and Chronic Bronchitis. Frequently both of these lung diseases occur together so the term COPD began to be used.

The word “obstructive” describes this disease very well. People with COPD have difficulty breathing and it can feel like something is interfering with their oxygen flow.

Here are some alarming statistics about COPD from the American Lung Association:

COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America, claiming the lives of 122,283 Americans in 2003.

Smoking is the primary risk factor for COPD. Approximately 80 to 90 percent of COPD deaths are caused by smoking.

Female smokers are nearly 13 times as likely to die from COPD as women who have never smoked.

Male smokers are nearly 12 times as likely to die from COPD as men who have never smoked.

Chronic bronchitis is the inflammation and eventual scarring of the lining of the bronchial tubes. When the bronchi are inflamed and/or infected, less air is able to flow to and from the lungs and a heavy mucus or phlegm is coughed up. This inflammation eventually leads to scarring of the lining of the bronchial tubes.

Once the bronchial tubes have been irritated over a long period of time, excessive mucus is produced constantly, the lining of the bronchial tubes becomes thickened, an irritating cough develops, and air flow may be hampered, the lungs become scarred.

Emphysema begins with the destruction of air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs where oxygen from the air is exchanged for carbon dioxide in the blood. Damage to the air sacs is irreversible and results in permanent “holes” in the tissues of the lower lungs.

As air sacs are destroyed, the lungs are able to transfer less and less oxygen to the bloodstream, causing shortness of breath. The lungs also lose their elasticity, which is important to keep airways open. The patient experiences great difficulty exhaling.

Now for some good news from COPD International:

• Although there has not been much progress in a cure for COPD it is possible to control your symptoms and live a longer life.
• Most importantly is that if you smoke, stop!
• Eat a healthy, well balanced diet.
• Stay on your medications and keep your doctor appointments.
• With you doctor’s approval, exercise.
• Learn about your disease so that you know when to seek treatment and how to prevent infections.

COPD International offers a chat room and message boards, a program to help you to stop smoking, a Keep In Touch (KIT) program for people living alone to receive emails every day, a newsletter, a library of information and many more services. I was really impressed with what their unique services.

Thank you to the American Lung Association and COPD International for the information in this post. Please take the time to learn more about how to be diagnosed, the risk factors and how to stay as healthy as possible if you’ve already been diagnosed.

Diabetes Awareness Month 2007 is a very well organized event. I probably should have started with this information on my blog because there were different topics for each week. But I’ll post the info here in the hopes that someone will learn from it even if I’m late in doing so.

The American Diabetes Association has a very thorough website just for this event. They offer materials for free that can be used by individuals or groups to use to share the news about Diabetes. There’s posters, flyers, PSA announcements, and a Media Kit.

Week 1 focused on Caregivers:

- People who have a loved one newly diagnosed with Diabetes face many new issues. They also try to educate themselves in order to help their family member or friend.

- Parents whose child has been newly diagnosed are often overwhelmed.

Week 2 focused on Employees:

- Since people with Diabetes spend most of their time at work (if working full time) it is financially worthwhile for companies to be educated about Diabetes and how to prevent and/or not cause complications.

Week 3 is focusing on Diabetes Around The World:

- “Worldwide over 246 million people have diabetes. By 2020, that number is expected to rise to 380 million” (from American Diabetes Association)

- November 14th is World Diabetes Day.

Week 4 is focusing on At-Risk Populations:

Compared to the general population, African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes. For example, one in four African American women over 55 years of age has diabetes.

Approximately 2.5 million Hispanic/Latino Americans over the age of 20 have diabetes and are at increased risk for serious complications such as kidney disease, blindness, and amputations.

At 17%, American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes among all U.S. racial and ethnic groups.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with diabetes are at high risk for heart disease.

Week 5 will focus on Youth and Type 1 Diabetes:

- Providing information for children, parents, teachers, doctors and the public.

You can donate, volunteer and get more detailed information about Diabetes by visiting the ADA.

The information from this post came from the ADA which is a sponsor of American Diabetes Awareness.