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  2. Debbie

    Separation

    by
    6
    | Debbie's Blog
    November 21, 2011
    I have been unhappy for a long time. I have been pushed away, put down, ignored, turned down, disrespected, and giving all I have, but given nothing back. No appreciation and so much more. I have cared for my husband since 2005, been married since 2001. I gave my all,...
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  3. Debbie

    Daddy Update/Please No ALZ’s

    by
    1
    | Debbie's Blog
    November 11, 2011
    Tuesday night when I called my mom, my Dad was in ICU on a strong dose of the nitro patch. He was doing better—BP had come down and his pain was subsiding, heart attack was stopped. They were going to do a stress test Wednesday to see if he can...
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  4. Debbie

    Daddy Had a Heart Attack/And More

    by
    6
    | Debbie's Blog
    November 9, 2011
    My Mom called me yesterday about 3:15 my time/central time. She and my dad live in Toas, New Mexico, up in the mountains, so they are an hour behind me. She took my dad to the Toas local hospital and he had a full blown heart attack. They life flighted...
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  5. Debbie

    It’s Officially on Paper

    by
    4
    | Debbie's Blog
    August 30, 2011
    My husband’s appeals court disability judge decision came on paper, the medical records and exams, CT Scans and MRI’s, show more than I ever knew or the disability evaluation doctors never shared for me to know. Claimant has the following disabilities/diseases: Thoracic Spina Bifida-post repair, hydrcepholus – status post –...
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  6. Debbie

    Can’t Get Better

    by
    6
    | Debbie's Blog
    August 20, 2011
    I really need to bounce back and get my energy back, and my body needs to stop betraying me, I don’t have time to be ill and not have my organs functioning properly. I am so exhausted and feel like I have no energy. Got out of the hospital Aug...
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  7. Debbie

    Ill Spouse was Approved

    by
    10
    | Debbie's Blog
    August 8, 2011
    Chuck and I have been fighting since 2007 for SSD, and I got the call from the lawyer on Aug 2nd that my husband was approved. We had been denied 3 times, we were waiting to go to an appeals judge, and that was the last step in the road....
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  8. Debbie

    In Hospital

    by
    9
    | Debbie's Blog
    August 5, 2011
    I was at the ER on Wed evening and was admitted about 2:15 a.m. on Thursday; I have bleeding in my small intestines/ lower GI. Colonoscopy today, I have Hydronephrosis of my right kidney, and a spot on my liver that showed up on the CT Scan. My liver enzymes...
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  9. Debbie

    Prayers for Us

    by
    8
    | Debbie's Blog
    July 14, 2011
    Please say some prayers that our family can get through this next month, meaning the rest of July and into the middle of August. My last paycheck for my current job is tomorrow, and my salary is considerably deducted because of HR not asking if I wanted insurance premiums taken...
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  10. Debbie

    Job Offer

    by
    7
    | Debbie's Blog
    July 11, 2011
    I have been working at my current company for 4 and a half years. I work in Oil and Gas as a senior cartographer/drafter for offshore Oil Drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Africa, and other over seas work. I interviewed with Shell Oil Company on June 28th...
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  11. Debbie

    Thank You

    by
    4
    | Debbie's Blog
    June 29, 2011
    Thank you all for being such wonderful and caring friends. I haven’t been able to get on here much, or even catch up on all the blogs posted, but I hope things calm down soon, and I can come in to say hello. Just so you know, I am thinking...
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  13. Debbie

    When Did I Become the Child?

    by
    10
    | Debbie's Blog
    June 10, 2011
    So…….ya ready for this? I am sure it will seem like I am just over reacting, but this is how I feel, or how this situation makes me feel. Apparently – I am incapable of “relaxing” or “chilling out” according to Ill Husband. I try to work on it, but...
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  14. Debbie

    7-Year-Old Princess

    by
    5
    | Debbie's Blog
    June 7, 2011
    My little Princess, Amber Renee, is seven years old today! I was 21 yrs old in June 2004, and had just come home from the Air Force in Sept 2003. I didn’t know I was pregnant with our second child/first girl till January 2004. My body was still in shock...
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  15. Debbie

    Invisible

    by
    10
    | Debbie's Blog
    June 1, 2011
    Went upstairs last night after coming home from work. Husband was not in his usual spot downstairs and the kids were at their stations either coloring or making a craft. After saying hello to the kids, I go upstairs and find hubby in the bath tub, tried to initiate some...
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  16. Debbie

    Motherhood Started 9 Years Ago

    by
    7
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 24, 2011
    Nine years ago today I was 19-years-old, Chuck was 25 -years-old and he had not become ill/disabled yet. We had been married just a few days shy of six months. I gave birth to and we became parents to our very first child, our only boy, Dylan Alexander I was...
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  17. Debbie

    Boring Mom…Always a “Catch”

    by
    3
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 19, 2011
    There’s a Mom, who everyone knows, her kids are her life. She strives to give them the most normal childhood possible, but Daddy’s always sick and they never understand why, Mommy works all the time, and is always tired, the kids always hear: “No we can’t do this,” “Not this...
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  18. Debbie

    My Three Children Have Celiac Disease

    by
    10
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 10, 2011
    As you have read, I’m a spousal caregiver to my husband. However, in September of 2010, I found out that my three children have Celiac Disease. My son was in 3rd Grade, my Daughter in 1st, and my youngest daughter starting her first year in pre-school. Celiac Disease is an...
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  19. Debbie

    Don’t Judge the Book by Its Cover

    by
    4
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 6, 2011
    I wrote this for people to read when they don’t bother to think about the lives of spousal caregivers, or those who care for their sick loved ones. Think about this: “You don’t look sick” answer: “No, I don’t, maybe not to you” It’s hard to explain to someone when...
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  20. Debbie

    Social Security Disability – Troubled System

    by
    8
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 4, 2011
    When we applied for my husbands disability in late 2007, no one ever contacted us. (Online portion wasn’t submitted, like it was supposed to be, their fault). So I filled everything out again in mid 2009; we weren’t contacted till January 2010. He goes for the SS Doctor evaluation in...
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  21. Debbie

    Caring for a Young Husband: The Rundown

    by
    19
    | Debbie's Blog
    May 3, 2011
    Hello My Fellow Caregivers, I’m Debbie, I’m 28-years-old and my husband, Chuck, is 34. We married in December 2001 and he became ill in 2005. He was born with Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida in March 1977, which are brain and spine birth defects. Hydro is fluid around the brain; in...
    Read more...
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