Rose, you are certainly allowed to have a pity party occasionally.  And it
looks to me as if you deserve it.
Gwen

(((((Rose))))))
You definitely deserve a Party now and again..
Cindy

I am home from work this morning because I had an appointment with the
travelling OTs from the Arthritis Society. I have not seen them in
three years so had several issues to discuss.

I will get some working splints because I have been having wrist
problems. I wore them twenty plus years ago, but not recently.
Although my wrists are basically fused there are times when the
additional support of a splint is needed.

She taped my fourth toes with velcro straps and will send me some that
are made of a new material that has only become available. Although I
can get my toes to lie straighter that way instead of riding up and
over the baby toe, they are now numb and sore, so I do not think I can
leave these things on too long.

She did some shoe stretching of my New Balance walking shoes to
accommodate the bunions and toes that ride over each other. Once again
the shoes felt fine for the first ten minutes or so, but then once
again became unbearable, I think I am better off in sandals than a
closed shoe.

And she measured me for a new silver ring splint, since mine has
broken.

It is a valuable service that the Arth Society provides to those of us
in rural communities. Due to cut backs they have not made the trip in
recent years. That is unfortunate because this is a needed service, so
I hope that the program will be reinstated.

I continue to be hoarse. My voice came back over the summer, and on
the first day of school I was able to sing the national anthem. Boy,
did that feel good! But that is about how long my voice lasted. Now I
have difficulty talking on the phone, teaching, and there is no point
in trying to sing. Yesterday one of my students had his birthday, and
I felt really badly about not being able to lead in "Happy Birthday".
Of course I tried- but the voice goes and no sound is produced.

I have had my larynx scoped several times, and the only thing they say
is inflammation from RA and GERD and overuse. It till doesnt make
sense because my RA is controlled, and so is the GERD. I do need to
use my voice a great deal, but I try not to raise my voice
unnecessarily. It would not matter so much if I were in a different
profession.

So there it is- a bit whiney all the way through I suppose.
Maybe I am in the pity party mood.
    Rose   @}>->--

i didn't know there was such an org.  arth soc. sounds great.   what
worthwhile things they do!  i hope their funding is reinstated, too.

bummer about your voice not lasting after having it back so briefly, hon.
i agree with you.  the dx doesn't make sense, "especially" if they didn't
offer any kind of treatment for it.  did they take any throat cultures?  i'm
no ent, but i'm thinking something is definitely affecting your vocal cords,
possibly cord strain, which commonly happens to vocalists (been there and it
takes a lot of TLC and time to bring it back).  sounds like you need a
throat specialist who cares about restoring a singer's voice, or anybody's
voice who depends on their voice for a living.

and no.  i didn't thinkyou were whining at all.

kate

    Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to
understand it. RB

    Please remove "Ima" to reply.

Rose, you may have felt whiny, but you really didn't sound whiny to me!  That
is a great service your Arthritis Society has, it's a shame we don't ahve
anything like that here in the States.  our Arthritis Foundation has a huge
budget, but they figure most folks are getting all such services from
therapists affiliated with their doctors.  of course, some haven't the
insurance to cover such help, or any way to pay... just another of the cracks
that some folks fall through.

About your voice, just out of curiosity, do you have costochondritis?  Or any
other ribcage trouble?  I ask becuase mine really affects my voice and a lot
of singing and/or talking really affects my costo.  And I never have gotten
back to being able to speak (scream?) as loudly as I could before the costo
started up.  It's a real comedown from one who was in a foursome dubbed the
"leatherlungs" by our high school band director!  LOL  Poor man, he sat in
front of us at a few football games, then chose to sit at the other end of
the band from then on!