Just wanted to say thinking of you all.. and I pray that the rest of Evie's treatments go smoothly.

bec

Sorry to hear that Evie is having such a rough time. There will be better days to come and she is very lucky to have such loving and caring support. Hopefully she will get some much needed pain relief and the antibiotics take control of the infection. My prayers and thought are with your family.

Evie thanks you all for the kind messages, both here and in her diary. I relay all said messages to her. They do cheer her.

She is having trouble to walk. However. Believe I will take her for a drive today. As a passenger naturally. Discovered recently it is a good way to spend time with her. :-)

Jim.

Jim,

Hope that your ride, and possible talk was a good one.....

I also hope that Evie is up and moving a little better today. It will take time, but tell her that she will be raring to go soon.

Wen

Yep Wendy had a good ride and talk both, and another good talk today. :-) Evie is steadily improving physically. However. The effects of the osteomyelitis will be with her about 6 weeks. Besides which, 11 more radiation treatments. Emotionally she is struggling, but also improving. Forum break is proving most beneficial. Much more open with us, where before she would type her feelings here on the forum rather than speak with us directly. It is a major change - we are delighted to say the least.

Jim.

Interesting Jim. From what you have determined will you continue to place some form of restriction on Evie's usage of the forum in the future to try and keep up her willingness to be open and talk to you more directly?

Well. Evie is an adult. Naturally it is up to her. Did not force the break on her. It was a request - she agreed. Anger problems were a major reason. However. She is unusually quiet - one physician thought she had selective mutism. So. Yes. Given the opportunity, she would say nothing to us for days. Often sent us messages through this forum. PM us even whilst we were in the same room! Was good for a time. However. She must outgrow it.

We have no problem with her coming back to the forum. Marvelous. Tremendous, how it has helped her. However. We do insist that she continue to speak with us off the forum from now on. Kathy and I have considered changing the way we interact with her online. Perhaps we have been part of the problem, by answering her posts here and so forth. Encouraging her to interact with us in that fashion. Distance from us whilst on here, boundaries if you will, may help her. Certainly we do not wish to lose the closeness we are now developing.

Jim.

Jim,

I feel that in todays society that we are ALL losing touch with people in general. We have become a world of technology. The personal aspect of daily life has been replaced with cam corder's, computers, video cams, telephones, and the like. We no longer have one on one conversations with a person. It's all done through technology. So I agree with your theory in part as to Evie wishing to communicate with you and Kathy via the forum....

No one sits down and handwrites letters anymore, it's all done through email. Personally I love email( I hate writing) We really don't spend time with our neighbors, we are "Talking" to someone in Japan.

Yes she is an adult, and you and Kathy really can't tell her what to do. I think that asking her to spend some time with you on a weekly basis may help her to be more open. You and Kathy are remarkable people, and Evie is lucky to have you. It will take time, and love, but I think she will be fine.

Wendy

Good luck and best wishes for Evie and all of you. I am going away to the remote area at the end of the week, and probably will not have an access to the Internet. So, I hope to see the posts of her feeling better when come back in two weeks! Cancer is a nasty enemy, but the modern science can fight it.

Oh my yes Wendy, I am amazed at the escalation of technology present in our daily lives, even in the last 20 years! It is absolutely incredible. I agree, I would very much like to see my children and grandchildren using computers, mobiles, playing video games and such much less than they do. However, the technology has its good points as well. Concerning Evie, with the help of a mobile phone she can go for walks on our acreage without us worrying about her or having to accompany her. Through this forum we have met many people struggling with PTSD, and since we live rurally and quite remotely, that would never have been possible without the technology. And we communicate with our son who is deployed, with the touch of a button basically. I remember when Jim was deployed when we were first married, I would feel fortunate to receive a letter once monthly from him. I never knew what or how he was doing, and it was very difficult.

Evie's problem with communication is accentuated by the technology; however, I believe she would have the problem regardless. Jim and I had to chuckle when we had a power outtage a few weeks back, and Evie resorted to writing us old fashioned paper notes rather than speaking to us. The behaviour continues whether she has access to the technology or not.

Linda, thank you for your wishes for Evie. I share your hope that she will be feeling better in 2 weeks. Do take care of yourself.