I read something once that brought tears to my eyes and helped me…
keep your chin up – it’s easier to see heaven that way:)

I know after being diagnosed, I made a list about 6 months into treatment listing all the postive aspects of CIDP

Besides learning patience (something I always had struggled with), I learned not to judge by outward appearance (see above post!) and that perhaps some things really do happen for a reason.
Had I not gotten CIDP, I may have finished up my teaching degree and began at a school. Or continued in engineering and worked endless hours being too exhausted at night to be with my family.
Now because of my condition, I don’t drive much so I am truly a stay at home mom. I also homeschool which has given me an oppurtunity to be with my children that I don’t know if I would have persued prior to CIDP.

See if you can take on the Pollyanna attitude and make a list of things to be glad about. It may seem short at first but I’m willing to bet you can add as you go!
Peace,
Mary

Not knowing where are limbs are is not uncommon. If I don’t look down when I walk, I will definetly fall.
And as far as looking okay…I hear that a lot. When I couldn’t walk after the CIDP set in after the birth of my youngest daughter, all I heard from people was how great I looked following a pregnancy. Never mind that I couldn’t walk, hold my daughter, etc. It was all in appearance with people. I wanted to scream, “Do you want to see my nerves as proof???!!!???”.
I also noticed when I wear my AFOs, people are much more considerate in not running me over in the parking lot, opening doors, etc. However, if I am out without them, I have been almost run over twice at Sam’s Club for not crossing the lot fast enough and have had countless doors slammed in my face.

It has all taught me to be patient with all of humanity. Just because we don’t wear a sign around our necks stating our disabilty does not mean that we don’t have one. I get the ‘look’ if I park in a handy spot at Sam’s but being closer to the cart returns, I park there now anyway for safety sakes.

I hope your relapes are few and far between and that your burden lessens. caring for a loved one on top of CIDP must be hard. Take care and keep your chin up!
Peace,
Mary

LOL, Allaug! State of the art medicine at such a high price!

Norb,
the joy your granddaughter must bring to you is therapy enough! Give her time to start helping with the big stuff…just think…your time spent vacumming up lint and other small items of interest has been cut in half! LOL!

Have you tried the, “how fast can you pick up that such-and-such”. My youngest thrived on being timed and would often beg us to time her cleaning up her toys at night.

I’m glad that you have the time to be around her. My grandparents make up a lot of my childhood memories and I miss them all so much now! I am lucky that I had them around growing up and I appreciate the time they dedicated to us when they could have been off doing so many other things.

Oh, Lee, this is not a fair trial!!
We had a Klan problem a few years back…seemed they wanted to march in Cicero which is prodominately a minority town. Since they could not legally be told not to, they were given the okay. A few days before the march was supposed to happen, rival gangs made it clear to the town that they would be present at the march. Needless to say, the Klan decided against it.

I would like to submit the case of Mrs. Merv Grazinski of Oklahoma City. She purchased a new Winnebago and took it to a football game. After leaving the game, she merged onto the freeway, set her cruise control at 70 mph and went to the back and made herself a sandwich. She soon crashed and overturned the RV and promptly filed a lawsuit stating that the owner’s manual did not explain that cruise control is not the same as an automatic pilot. The jury awarded her 1.75 million dollars and a new motor home.
I would like to submit not only Mrs. Grazinski but the jury who awarded her this type of settlement as proof of stupidity among the human race.

[QUOTE]”The problem with America is stupidity. I’m not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don’t we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?” [/QUOTE]

Jerimy, I love your quote…if only we could…:D

I originally had no reflexes in my elbows, wrists, knees, and ankles. After a few years, my neuro found small reflexes had returned in my elbows and knees. He told me not to get to excited as most adults begin losing their reflexes by 40 anyway:rolleyes:
Next time, use a rubber mallot!
I still laugh when I see the modern ‘tools’ that neurologists use…safety pins and rubber hammers. 😀