Hey Patti, I do understand the weekly call in the beginning, but they do tapper off in a few months. Sometimes the people we know will stop calling and stop coming over to see you too. We lose some friends just because we can't do the things they can do. I had a close friend and my mother each helped me for two weeks in the beginning, but that is all the help they ever did for me. I have another friend that I see each year and every year he will say, " I thought you would be walking by now. " I don't know what to say. Am I to feel like a failure, because I'm NOT walking each year. So enjoy those phone calls & visits while they last. You will find out who are your REAL Friends in the first year. Keep on Keepin' on, Todd in CC, TX
--- On Thu, 11/20/08, Patricia Cooley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: From: Patricia Cooley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: RE: [TMIC] Anybody else been there? To: "'Gillian Clark'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "'TM list'" <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 9:52 AM I am rather new at this, but the thing I HATE the most is when I talk to a friend I just talked to a week or so ago and they want to know how much I have improved. I keep telling them it will be a long process and yes I see an small improvement in strength. They can’t seem to understand that, no, I still need my walker and may always need it. I almost wish they won’t call so often. My husband and daughters understand and I say “Thank God” for them. Patti in Wisconsin From: Gillian Clark [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 6:09 PM To: TM list Subject: Re: [TMIC] Anybody else been there? Ahhh Rob, I hear you, as they say in the classics! I feel it so hard to be empathetic these days when someone (usually Trev) complains of "minor" ailments. I also get people coming to me to explain all their woes and I'm just so over it! I have noticed that those who complain a lot get so much sympathy, while those of us who just go about their life with as little complaint as possible just get no understanding at all. A lot of lip service, but when it gets down to the nitty gritty really people just have no idea and it's really hard when it's those who are closest to us. While knowing how hard it is for our partners, it just doesn't really make it easier does it? Like Jeanne said Rob, all we can do is keep on keeping on. Or, you can always look on it as character building :-))! hugs Gilly ----- Original Message ----- From: Robert Pall To: tmic Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2008 1:29 AM Subject: [TMIC] Anybody else been there? My wife has been sick for around 5 days with a sore throat/cough (she is getting better). Anyway she asks me last night if I ever recall her feeling bad this long……what I should have answered was "no"…which is true….but instead I answered "imagine how it feels to be sick for more than 11 years"…her reply was "why does it always have to be about you?"…I apologized and just answered her question with a resounding NO! The point of this story is to show that even the people closest to us really have no idea how TM effects our daily life. How even the easiest things are now hard…and for the most part I (we) complain rarely and just go about our day dealing with our condition to the best of our ability. When we had the NJ TM support group on 11/2 I requested that the TM'rs bring their spouses or parents..hoping hearing from others would enlighten them in dealing with us. I would never wish TM on anyone (well maybe Bin Laden) but if our friends and loved ones could feel how we feel for just 5 minutes then they would be able to better relate. This will not happen and that is why this list and support groups are so important. We have a forum where we can discuss our TM related problems to people who truly understand! Just my thought for the day! Rob in New Jersey
