Update on Life

Things have been really crazy here.

DH had an appointment with a neuro-psychologist and were were told that any TBI he MAY have had in 2004 has healed so these lasting affects are due to PTSD.

I drove like crazy for the last 10 days or so...drove my brother to the Sea-Tac Airport so he could fly to NM for the sentencing hearing. Then two days later I drove from Lacey to Longview to take DD to meet up with her friends for the weekend...then pick on on Sunday at the same place. Monday had to run to the bank late in the day. Tuesday back to Sea-Tac to pick up my brother. Wednesday was grocery shopping. Then Friday to the VA for DH to get his Vpap machine so he can breathe at night.

We have had a wonderful weekend with 80° weather and sunshine...don't ever let people tell you it only rains in the Pacific Northwest, they have no clue what they are talking about.

The kids have state testing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this next week.

Thankfully the kids are feeling better since getting sicky last week.

Blogging for Stress Relief

We have had a crazy week and I really have no one I can vent to but the Whole Wide World.

• Monday - 
• Finished my letter to the judge and emailed those over to the Crime Victim Advocate
• Helped my mom get her letter straightened back out
• Got yelled at by my sister (turns out it was a misunderstanding but you know how that can work out)
• Helped my brother with his letter
• Tuesday - 
• VA Day From Hell
• 90 minutes appointment with a neuro-psychologist telling me that every one of my husband TBI symptoms is caused by something else BECAUSE TBI's heal in a short amount of time and there are no lasting, long term effects (The new VA party line)
• DH has suffered from headaches since 2004 when injured overseas BUT they believe the headaches for 9 years are due to SLEEP APNEA which is only something we have dealt with for about 18 months
• Balance issues are caused by the medications he is on regardless of the fact that the balance has been an issue for these same 9 years and the medications have only been for 2 years now
• Cognitive/Memory issues are due to medications as well regardless of how long he has been having these problems
• Every symptom he has is caused by something else and not the event in question
• Everyone of these symptoms could be resolved with Cognitive Processing Therapy or some kind of PTSD Treatment or Group Therapy
• I would love to get these 90 minutes back but I know that is not possible

• Wednesday - 
• Went to Lowes
• We figured out that since we will probably need to stay in this house another year we need some type of temporary fencing for the backyard for privacy
• We picked out some nice bamboo privacy screens we are going to put up over the next month so we can be out back more without the neighbors driving us bonkers
• Thursday - 
• Lazy Day
• Never left the house but I managed to go to the High School Orientation for DS online.
• Made a plan to move the office/classroom into the dining room and the dining room into the office area. More room. 
• Picked out the new desks at Ikea
• Friday - 
• Social Security
• Dropped off paperwork for reconsideration
• Wal-mart
• Dog Treats and a wander through the store
• State Surplus Store
• A box of books for $1 got some great books for DD
• District Office
• Paperwork for next year for the kiddos is finished

Not much else to tell but I am already working on my list of To Do for next week which includes A LOT of driving and hopefully a visit with my Dearest Friend, not to mention the sentencing of a killer.

This Is My Reality

Here is a link to a wonderful article, "Is PTSD Contagious?", featuring a Dear Friend and her family's struggle with PTSD/TBI.

Click Here to access the full article, it is long but it may shed some light.

While I titled this my reality, I do not hate my life but, yes, I do wish it were different. This is not the marriage I had envisioned when I committed my life to my Dear Husband in the beginning, when our children were born, and finally, when we married in 2003.

There are some that will read and think just because they THINK they know what his duties were does mean those same duties were only the tip of the ice berg. The article talks about how different people viewing the same event have a different perspective, which in turns alters their own thoughts on the events. This is normal and it happens all the time.

Thank you for taking the time to try to understand the changes in my life and why.