Know What To Do

 My daughter was in her weekly chemotherapy session. Suddenly there was a big commotion. She could see very little because she was hooked up to her IV.

Apparently the other patient there had a seizure. My daughter recognized the noises she was making from having seen me having seizures. None of the nurses or technicians knew what to do for her. My daughter could have told them.

Do you know what to do if someone has a seizure? Read further and you will.

When I was 16 I took a summer job babysitting. It was a family of 5 children. They lived in a trailer park on a lake. Their trailer was a very large nice home.

They had four boys and one daughter. I would sleep in the same room as the daughter because I would stay there all week. On weekends I would go home.

Both parents worked so they needed someone who could take care of the children, do light housework, and cook at least two meals each day. No problem. Remember I have six younger brothers and sisters.

The children also had an aunt and uncle only a few trailers away. The aunt was only a few years older than I. I was asked to never leave the children alone with her because she had epilepsy. She had been in a car accident and there was a bruise on her brain that caused seizures.

She was a very nice person and we got along very well. She would come down a couple of times a week just to visit while her husband was at work.

One day she had a seizure. She was just sitting and quietly watching television when she began to act strangely. She yelped a couple of times and slapped her leg repeatedly. It took me a few beats to realize what was happening but I had no idea what to do for her.

I had promised the children I would make Johnny cake for breakfast one day. What I call Johnny cake is just hot cornbread with sugar and milk poured over it. It is delicious if you want to try it. So one Monday morning I got up early to start baking.

I did not know that the parents had broiled steaks the evening before. They decided to leave the oily aluminum foil on the broiler and clean it after work Monday.

I lit the oven and started making cornbread batter. The oldest son of the family came in rubbing his eyes and trying to wake up. As we were talking we saw the flames flare up from the broiler.

I am good in a crisis so I was going to go out and turn off the fuel tank. When I got to the door I suddenly felt myself turning to the left and spinning uncontrollably. ( I was not. It only felt that way.)

Then I was waking up on the couch with the mother of the family hovering over me and the children looking so frightened. She wanted to know if I was okay. I felt fine. Maybe just a little sleepy.

The oldest son had the good sense to run outside and turn off the fuel. Then he ran down and had his aunt come up. She called the mother who came right home. It was about a 45 minute drive.

The mother decided to take some time off work so I could go home. My parents had me rest and stay calm even though I felt fine. After one week I went back to take care of the children again.

I was there for about a week and a half. I was up before the children once again. As I moved through the living room toward their rooms to wake them up I turned and saw myself walking slightly behind and to the left of myself!

Once more I woke up to see the mother there as I was lying on the couch. This time my mother was with her. I was still so scared from what I had seen. The mother of the children of course needed someone who was not passing out all the time. She had made arrangements for a friend of mine to finish out the summer. That was fine with me. I wanted my mommy.

Mom took me home and we were relaxing again. That same day I passed the television as I was walking to a chair. Mom was in her bedroom folding clothes.

There was some sort of art program on television. The program was flashing from one painting to another and the lights changed with each painting.

I felt dizzy and was able to sit down. Then I felt myself reach up and tear the whole left side of my face, jawbone, teeth, and all, completely off. Then I felt that same hand reach down and tear the muscle from the top of my left leg. Of course that did not happen. I passed out.

Mom said she heard a funny noise and came into the living room to see me sitting in a chair with everything on my body trying to fold into itself. I am not a limber person. She said my hands were sort of palm up with my fingers almost touching my wrists.

I went immediately to the doctor. I do not remember much about the doctor visit. He admitted me to the hospital.

I had never been in the hospital before. I thought it was kind of cool to be served my food in bed. I did not like the testing they did as most of it involved drawing blood.

The second or third day I was there (I do not remember how long my stay was) I was lying there and I began to think about epilepsy. I remembered hearing my grandmother talk about two sisters in town who had "fits". That and the aunt of the children I had taken care of was the limit of what I knew on the subject.

My parents came in that morning and stood at the foot of my bed. They told me that the doctor thought I might have epilepsy. I said, "I thought that might be what it was."

When I got the chance I asked the doctor what this would mean for me having children. He said not to worry about it. But I did worry about it. So he assured me that the chances of my children having seizures was not even 1 in a million.

I was put on the medications that they used to treat seizures at that time. Now I am not a medicine taker. Two aspirin will knock me out. The medicine that I was taking made me so sleepy all the time. I do not know how I got through my senior year of high school that year. And with my A average to boot.

I have grand mal seizures (now called something else). Those are convulsive seizures. They are extremely painful. Each one a person has is a bit worse than the one before until they can be so bad that a person can die from a seizure. In fact I have almost died three times. I feel very fortunate to be here.

I am also very fortunate that I am very well controlled with medication. It has been so many years since I had a seizure that I cannot remember when the last one was.

I am still taking the original medications that the original doctor prescribed. One of them is a controlled substance. After fifty years I am physically addicted to it. That means without it I will go into withdrawal and the classic symptoms that accompany withdrawal. It does not mean I am constantly craving more. I just need it to live.

A dear friend of mine was on the city council of the big city we lived in. She was on President Carter's epilepsy commission. She asked me to go through the information she had and give her a synopsis. No problem. Until I saw the research. It was five books. Each one was about four inches thick except the last one. It was about three inches.

What I read was a real eye-opener for me. While epilepsy, like many other maladies, is not inherited the predisposition is inherited. That means that my children might have a weakness that they inherited from me that would make them more disposed to having seizures.

Also they used an example of a parent with four children (I have four children). If one child has seizures the likelihood of another having seizures multiplies (not adds up, multiplies). If three children have seizures the fourth will have seizures.

I learned that an uncle of mine had epilepsy. He died before my father was born. He was in a home for juvenile delinquents. My father always thought his brother was "bad" because that was better than being "defective".

My mother suffered terribly from migraine headaches. They are a first cousin to epilepsy. Many of the workings of the brain are the same in both.

Two of my sons had migraines when they were about 8 years old. Testing showed some brain activity but I would not allow them to be put on medication until there could be a definite diagnosis. Neither has had any further problems. My daughter is fine. I recently discovered that my other son has been having petit mal seizures for about three years. He did not want to worry me so he kept it to himself.

Two of my grandchildren have migraine headaches. So does their mother, my daughter-in-law. Two of my grandchildren have had seizures. One was placed on medication for a year. The seizures stopped and the medication was also stopped. He has been fine for several years now.

If any one needs to know anything about seizures feel free to ask. I am almost an expert. And if I am not certain I have the right answer I can probably guide you to the place to find it. In the meantime I am going to tell you what steps to take if you are with someone having a seizure.

1. If they are upright, lower them safely to a prone position. That will help keep them from injuring themselves in a fall.

2. NEVER, EVER, EVER, try to force anything into their mouth. Fingers have been bitten off. Tableware and wooden sticks are either broken or cause damage to teeth.

3. The human tongue is a muscle. It sits in a particular spot in the body. It is physically impossible to swallow your tongue. However the tongue like any muscle can fall to the back of the mouth and block the air passages. Gently position the person on their side. That way the tongue falls to the side instead of the back of the mouth.

4. If the seizure lasts for more than three minutes or if there are repeat seizures call for medical help immediately.

5. When the seizure is over often the person will lose consciousness or maybe just be confused. When they awaken the body and brain are busy trying to re-establish connections. They have no time to answer questions like "Do you know me?" Leave that for professionals. Simply say, "hi, (insert name, it is important). I am (insert name, it is important). You just had a seizure. You are safe and I am right here. Everyone is taken care of. You need to rest so go to sleep. I will be here when you wake up." If an ambulance is on the way or the doctor is on the way let them know that too. That way they can let their body heal itself without wondering what is going on.

In the beginning  I was up and full of energy after a seizure within a couple of hours. As time went on it took me at least two full days to be able to even get out of bed and stand on firm feet. Each person is different.

Epilepsy is nothing to be ashamed of. No more than diabetes, heart disease, or asthma. If you were ever to see the list of famous people and world leaders throughout history who had seizures you would be amazed.

But it must be treated. By a doctor who knows what he is doing. Not many do. Most of the "maladies" are only mentioned in medical school in passing. I hope I have enlightened you a bit. I hope you never need the information. But if you are confronted with a situation you now know what you can do.

Postal Service

 When my children were small there was not often any mail for them. I remembered wishing for mail when I was a child.

As a teenager I wrote letters. I sent them to family members and I had pen pals. Remember pen pals?

Pen pals were people you did not know but had regular correspondence with. Some might be from another country or a different part of your own country.

Letters were regularly sent and received. I loved getting mail from the box and seeing my name on it. I liked feeling important enough to receive mail.

When I had small children of my own I wanted them to feel that way too. By that time junk mail was an everyday thing. I discovered a way for the children to get mail too.

Junk mail was given to whichever child was nearest. If there were enough of the mails each child would have some. They felt special even if they were only being asked to purchase a cemetery plot.

These days most of my correspondence is on the computer. Email is faster than mailing a letter to a loved one. Most of my 'pen pals' are bloggers.

Of course I still receive some bills and notifications in the mail. Most of those are handled online too. 

My son and I share a mail box at the post office. Here in our small town there is no postal delivery. We have to pick it up at the post office.

My son gets most of the mail now. And he gleefully chuckles as he hands me the junk mail from the day.

Kitty Litter Cake

 Halloween is coming soon. It is a favorite time for me.

One year at work we decided to have a special lunch. each person signed to bring a specific dish. I decided to do desert that time.

I had a new recipe I wanted to try. I was for a kitty litter cake. It took a bit of time to prepare but it was so worth it.

Unfortunately it looked so real that no one, not one person, tried it. I took it home and my grandchildren loved it.

Try it.  It is fun. ( The recipe comes from https://copykat.com/kitty-litter-cake/).

Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

• German chocolate cake mix plus ingredients listed on the package
• White cake mix plus ingredients listed on the package
• White Sandwich Cookies
• Instant vanilla pudding mix
• Green food coloring
• Tootsie Rolls
• New kitty litter box
• New kitty litter liner
• New litter scoop

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to Make Kitty Litter Cake

1. Prepare and bake cake mixes according to package directions.
2. Cool cakes to room temperature.
3. Prepare pudding mix and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
4. Crumble white sandwich cookies in a blender or food processor.
5. Place ¼ cup of the crumbled cookies in a bowl, add a few drops of green food coloring, and mix using a fork.
6. Crumble cakes into a large bowl.
7. Add half of the remaining white cookie crumbs to the cake crumbs.
8. Add some of the pudding and gently toss to combine. Add more if needed for the mixture to be moist but not soggy.
9. Line a new, clean kitty litter box.
10. Put the cake mixture into the litter box.
11. Decorate the cake with the green cookie crumbles and Tootsie rolls.

Kitty Litter Cake Decorations

Now you can be creative to make the accouterments for the cake:

• You can color some coconut green to make some green crumbs to represent the deodorizing crystals that are in some kitty litters.
• Use Tootsie rolls to represent what cats often leave behind when they visit the little box.

Again, this recipe is in jest and is not for everyone. It’s a fun cake to bring to a party. A great cake for April Fool’s Day, Halloween, or cat birthday parties.

Music Of My Youth

The music of my youth was rock-a-billy, doo wop, early rock and roll, some crossover country, Motown, skiffle, and the British invasion. I love all sorts of music but those are my music.

Now I am not young. I recently celebrated my 74th birthday. Many of the performers of my music were older than me so it is not surprising that some have died. With the death of Don Everly I began to think about that. It is not surprising since people my age are often confronted with our own mortality.

Elvis... gone. He is THE biggest star of that group. On August 16, 1977, the world was shocked to learn of his death.

Bill Haley ... gone. He died in 1981 at the age of 55.

Ricky Nelson... gone. In 1985 the plane he was on crashed as it attempted to make an emergency landing because of a fire caused by a faulty heater.

Pat Boone... still with us. He is 87 years old and living in Florida.

Buddy Holly... gone. Died in a plane crash. Also on that charter plane were The Big Bopper and Richie Valens who also died. It is referred to as the day the music died.

Eddie Cochrane... gone. He was not driving the car that was going too fast when it crashed. He was expelled from the car and subsequently died of the injuries.

Jimi Hendrix... gone. I was not a huge fan but he could play that guitar. In 1970 he died from asphyxia due to an overdose of barbiturates.

Gene Vincent... gone. He died in 1971 of multiple internal causes in 1971.

Bobby Vee... gone. He died in 2016 of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was both lucky and unlucky to be known as the one who filled in for Buddy Holly after the plane crash.

Billy "Crash" Craddock... still with us. The 82 year old lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Dion DiMucci... still with us. He is 82 and still active in the music business.

Big Mama Thornton... gone. She died in 1984. She was the first to record Hound Dog. She had such a raunchy sexy voice.

Herman's Hermits... all alive except Derek Leckenby who died of mom-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1994. Peter Noone, Keith Hopwood, Barry Whiwam, and Karl Green still perform although not necessarily together.

The Everly Brothers... both gone. The Everlys never made a bad song. Phil died in 2014 and Don died in 2021.

Chuck Willis... gone. He first recorded C.C. Ryder. Died in 1958 of peritonitis during surgery.

Della Reese... gone. She died in 2017. So many have forgotten she began as a singer.

The Beatles... mixed. John Lennon was assassinated in front of the building where he lived in 1980. George Harrison died after a long battle with cancer in 2001. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr both still perform.

Conway Twitty... gone. Yes he began as a rock-a-billy singer. In 1993 he died after collapsing onstage. The cause was an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

LaVerne Baker... gone. The second female inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame died of cardiovascular disease in 1997.

The Rolling Stones... mixed. Charlie Watts died in 2021. No cause of death has been issued but he was known to have problems with his heart. Brian Jones drowned in 1969. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Bill Wyman still perform.

Kenny Rogers... gone. He began by singing any kind of music he could perform. He suffered from bladder cancer and died in 2020.

Bobby Rydell... still with us. And still performing.

Fabian... still with us and still performing.

Frankie Avalon... still with us and still performing.

Janice Joplin... gone. She would belt out a song like few others could. She died in 1970 of a heroin overdose.

Jerry Lee Lewis... still with us. He suffered a stroke in 2019  and is not performing.

Sam Cooke... gone. Was there ever a smoother sexier voice? A disputed version of his death is that he was kidnapped and left with no clothes at a motel by a prostitute. As he angrily asked for assistance from the motel manager she says she shot him to death in self defense. It happened in 1964.

Aretha Franklin... gone. She was the first woman inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. She died of a malignant pancreatic tumor in 2018.

Roy Orbison... gone. He survived many tragedies in his life. He died of a heart attack in 1988.

The Bee Gees... mixed. They are mostly known for their disco music but began in rock and roll. The first to die was not actually a member of the BeeGees. Andy Gibb died of an inflammatory heart virus brought on by drug use in 1988. Maurice Gibb died from complications caused by a twisted intestine in 2003. In 2012 his twin brother Robin died of kidney failure after a lengthy bout with cancer. The oldest of the brothers is Barry. He still performs.

Carl Perkins... gone. After suffering a series of minor strokes he died in 1998 of throat cancer. He wrote and was the first to perform Blue Suede Shoes.

I have not mentioned so many. If you have a favorite to add I will be happy.

 

Death Of A Rabbit

This is a re-post. I wrote it a few years ago and it is true... every single word. A post from thecompemplativecat reminded me of it. Her story is just as funny so take a look.

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My daughter and I took her children for a walk. My grandson was 6 or 7 and my granddaughter was 4 or 5. We walked through their neighborhood looking at flowers and watching for animals and birds.

As we usually did, when we returned to their house we made a tour of the back yard. In the spring we watched as the flowers came up through the soil then grew and bloomed. We smelled all smells and tried to identify where they came from.

On this day it was autumn. The leaves were falling from the trees at a record pace. The flower beds and the grass were covered with fallen leaves. Sometimes we would startle a rabbit back there but we did not see any that day.

Until my grandson went, "Oooooh" in a sympathetic tone. My daughter and I realized at the same time that he was starting to reach for an animal. We both yelled at him to stop. He looked at us, startled.

We quickly went over to him. There lying in a flower bed was a dead rabbit.

We explained to him that whether the animal was sick or dead we did not know what was causing the problem. You cannot just touch any animal you do not know because it could cause injury or illness to you. He seemed to undeerstand.

My daughter did not want to leave it lying there. I told her to go get a shovel and we would dispose of it. She was worried about my grandson being upset. I told her that was why we always held a funeral for animals when she was growing up. It is a way to say goodbye and it showed the finality of the animal being gone.

My grandson loved the idea of a funeral. He went and found an old shoebox. When we asked where we should bury the rabbit he chose a spot under the bushes right in front of the house. He wanted to conduct the ceremony so we let him.

We dug a hole and my grandson placed the box containing the rabbit carefully into the hole. We covered the box with dirt and tamped it gently down. Then my grandson started to speak.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to say goodbye to our friend, the rabbit." I stood in total shock. He had never been to a funeral so I could not understand where these words were coming from. My daighter and I looked at each other in amazed amusement.

He continued with his little tribute about how we did not know the bunny but we felt bad that he was dead. Then he knelt to say a prayer. I started to choke a bit with laughter. He looked like such a little angel with his hands pressed together looking toward the sky imploring that this little bunny rabbit be taken to a better place. Finally there was an "Amen".

My daughter and I started to go inside. I was actually halfway up the steps. Then my grandson stood at attention and put his hand to his forehead in a salute. His other hand formed into a loose fist and was placed at his mouth. Through that hand we heard, "Phtt, phtt, Phhhhhttt...". He was playing Taps!

I was choking trying to keep from opening my mouth and laughing out loud. Tears were running down my face. I did not dare look at my daughter because I knew I would not be able to contain myself. So I stood there not able to breathe with tears all over my face, turning red.

At the end of Taps, my grandson sweetly said a soft goodbye. "Goodbye, little bunny rabbit." It was over.

I jerked myself into the house so I could breathe and laugh without hurting his feelings. When my daughter came in shortly after she was laughing almost as hard as I was while berating me for leaving her out there all alone.

Bugs Bunny was the culprit. My grandson had seen a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which a funeral was held. He had practically memorized the whole thing. Thanks a lot, Bugs!

WHAT A WEEK!

 My daughter called me Monday. She finally decided to tell me she had found a lump in her breast. 

A biopsy was done and she was going to the doctor for the results. It is cancer.

She has been in for tests most of the week. First was an MRI. They found more cancerous tissue. So far it is all in one breast.

Then they did a bone scan to make sure it had not spread to any bones in her chest. There have been other tests but I cannot remember what they are.

The doctors are going to consult and then let her know what they believe to be the best course of treatment. Naturally she is scared.

As soon as something is decided I am going up to the big city. I will not be able to stay forever but I am hoping a couple of weeks will help.

As we are dealing with this my brother-in-law is in the hospital. He is her favorite uncle. So far we have not told her about him because she has enough on her plate. 

He is suffering some sort of dementia episode. They do not know if it is permanent or not. So far they do not know the cause.

My father-in-law (his father ) had Alzheimer's disease. Or there may be another cause.

So I will be renting a car and driving there. I considered other forms of travel and decided this is the safest. The airlines have people on so many flights who cause problems. The nearest train station is about 100 miles from here. Too far. I have traveled this route on the bus before. There is a layover in Chicago and a change of buses. A 2 hour layover is not my idea of fun.

Either way I will be packed in with a bunch of people who may or may not be vaccinated.  I will drive.

I will probably take my laptop with me. It depends. I my write a post or not. It depends.

Better? I Think Not

 I have no problem with anyone who thinks they are better than me. No they are not. They can be as good but they are not better. 

I remember a few. Examples are in order.

One town I lived in was also home to the chiropractor and his wife. They were better of financially than most members of the community. The wife wore expensive clothes and often wore a fur stole just to show off. 

She may have been a nice person. I did not know her. She was a short round woman who wore too much make-up. She had perfectly round very red rouge on her cheeks. Her eyebrows had been shaved or plucked completely off. It looked as if she painted eyebrows in their place.

She bowled in the women's bowling league. I usually was the pinsetter those nights. She would waddle up to the foul line and set her ball down. The slight slope of the lane would allow her ball to roll slowly toward the pins. It seemed like it took forever.

More than once the pins would stop the ball. Then I would have to carefully crawl out of the pits by way of the gutter,retrieve the ball, slide back through the gutter with the ball, and send the ball back to her.

As I said she may have been a nice person. She thought because her money could allow her to have nice things she was better than most folks in town. She was not better.

In another town lived a large woman. By large I mean tall and heavy...not fat just big. She fancied herself to be the social matron of the town. My sweet mother who rarely said an unkind word about anyone called her 'an old battle-ax'.

This woman reminded me of those society matrons in the old Three Stooges movies. She believed she was above everyone else and felt she should be the center of attention at all times.

Once at some social function she sauntered up to the buffet table. Of all the goodies at the table her eyes landed on the pickled crab apples. She picked one up by its stem and held it high in the air loudly (so everyone could hear) "Ah. Pickled crab apples!" 

She threw back her head to receive the delectable treat. The apple fell off the stem into her more than ample cleavage. Everyone noticed.

As you can see she was not better. Perhaps as good. I do not know.

My point is that everyone has good points and bad points. We are human. No better, no worse than the next guy.