Thanksgiving Grief

While so many Americans were sitting down with their families to share in their yearly turkey feast, my family was split in several places around the State. The worst was the hospital where 2 aunts and 1 cousin are keeping a bedside vigil on another cousin who was in a serious accident on Wednesday. We do not know if we will see his smiling face again in this world. It was not a good day.

I'm not asking for money, just a few minutes of your time to say a prayer to your chosen deity and ask that Bobby be spared and be allowed to come home to the ones who love him. If you're a regular reader here, you know I'm not able to make the 4+ hour drive to the hospital to see him myself, so I depend on test messages from the family that is there.

That was hard enough to take, but I get home and there is a message from one of my dearest on-line friend's nephew letting me know that Bill has passed away on Wednesday. He has been ill for a while, which is why we connected so well.

Please remember those prayers, candles and healing energy. They're vital now.

Finally home and healing ~ Resistance is Futile

I had the second neck fusion done several weeks ago in Pittsburgh by the only specialist I would allow to work on such a delicate area. Dr. Vinny Silvaggio is a partner in 3 Rivers Orthopedics. He performed the first fusion in April. He warned me that it might not work and he would have to go in through the back of my neck and have more metal put in to keep the nerves from being pinched. Sadly, that prediction is exactly what happened. The pain was coming back and it radiated out to my left shoulder. Numbness would be next step. He asked if I could take the pain another 6 months to give more time to completely fuse, but I wasn't able to deal with it. I met with him last Thursday & he personally made sure I was first on the next surgery day. That happened to be Monday. It worked out well, only 3 days to worry.

We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. on Monday. Mom, Randy and I were there in plenty of time. The surgery was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. I was taken back at just about the exact time. Of course, I got kisses from both and my teeny beanie Peace bear was in my hand. He goes everywhere with me. This was his third surgery with me this year. I started to have a bit of a panic attack when I first had the face mask put on. Claustrophobia is a horrid thing and mine keeps getting worse. The staff were wonderful and had me calmed down in minutes.

The next step in my transformation towards becoming Borg

It looks like I'll be having another surgery before too long. Back in April, my neck was fused because I wasn't able to use my left arm. I had a herniated disc and fell. The disc moved and pinched the nerve and it went numb. The surgery was supposed to have me better within 6 months. It's been those months, but my neck still isn't better. We were warned that could happen and I would need more surgery. I have no problem with things happen. My whole life has turned into "THINGS HAPPEN." I try to just go with the flow.

The neck surgeon sent me for a CT scan last week and it wasn't conclusive, so we decided surgery is a very real possibility, he wanted a MRI to see how bad my neck is. One disc was fused then, but now it's a possibility that it will be three disc. He'll go in and remove more bone, give the nerve more room to keep It from being pinched, add donor bone (THANK YOU DONORS!!!!), then add rods and screws to hold me together. Go ahead, I've heard all the Borg jokes. Resistance is futile, I will be assimilated!

Then there is my knee. I had surgery at the end of February to repair a torn meniscus. No worries, I'll be fine a couple weeks. WHAT A JOKE! I can barely use my lower leg most of the time. Why? According to another doctor, the nerve was CUT! The knee surgeon says it's only pinched and he was going to send me for a MRI and go from there. It's been a month since then and not a word from the office. I called and ripped them a new one. I know it's not nice, but I have no confidence at all in him or his staff. The secretary claims that their "phones were having trouble for the month." Can you believe that smoldering pile of horse droppings? Everyone has a cellphone. If it's an important issue with a patient in horrid pain, use hour cellphone! Besides, it's a hospital clinic. There is no way in the world that a hospital would allow one of it's clinics to go without working phones for a month!

Since then, we have new insurance, so she has a new company to call. I admit it, I was not the nicest person to her. I told her straight out I thought she was lying. The connection ended then. Hmmm That awful phone system at work? She calls me back. What happened? You hung up on me, lady. "I would never hang up on a patient." RIGHT! I have no such worries and have and will continue to hang up on people. My mother was here, so I couldn't tell the secretary what I thought of her skills and those of her boss. He was in surgery yesterday, so I let them have a day and expect it returned today. Give me the MRI. I will get the disc and the radiologist's report and find a new orthoscopic surgeon. Everyone has urged me to get a lawyer and sue him for malpractice. I fully intend to do that if I don't get a call today with an approval for the knee MRI, I'll make another call. I also know the hospital's CEO as well as their top doctor. I will never allow anyone to do surgery or any test on me without a second opinion.

To tell the difference between the two surgeons, Pittsburgh (where my neck surgeon is) called for the MRI approval on Friday when I left. It was a 3-hour drive home and when we go there, the insurance company had already called with the approval. That's less than 3 hours! There is NO reason for a professional to take a month to get an approval or at least call me and say they are having problems.

If I have to go to the knee doctor's office, I'm afraid to think what my mouth won't be able to hold back. I married a Marine and spent years learning some very "colorful metaphors!" I have no trouble using them. When low~life telemarketers call me, I have had some of them so upset they couldn't even think of a response to me. That's skill! :-)

More Health Woes

I went to my monthly visit with the surgeon who fused my neck in April. We were so hopeful then. I healed quickly and was feeling good. Sadly, that is no longer the case. I went to the doctor on Friday and had the news I was dreading. It looks like my neck isn't fusing like we hoped. The surgeon is sending me for a CT scan tomorrow morning and then we'll go back to Pittsburgh this Friday and sit down with the CT scans and make a decision on what the next step will be.

I'm afraid that steel rods will need to be placed to keep my neck safe. My nightmares are now revolving around what will be done to my neck. I'm scared and I can't help it.

The surgeon is one of the most highly respected spine surgeons and we completely trust him. If he thinks I need more surgery to keep my neck safe and to take away the pain, then there's no question I will have it done. He is one of only two doctors I trust completely. My family doctor and this surgeon are it. I've been injured too oft3n by too many other doctors. My knee is still mess up after I made the mistake of not going to Pittsburgh to their orthoscopic doctor to have my knee repaired. Now it looks like the knee surgeon cut the nerve to my lower left leg. Walking hurts like crazy. I just cry with pain every day. He says it's only pinched and he can go back in and repair it. He must be out of his mind. There's no way in this life that I will ever allow him near me with a scalpel. He was supposed to set up an MRI to see what is really wrong with my lower leg. That was a month ago. The Pittsburgh got approval for the CT scan in several hours. There's the difference between a true specialist and a wish he was.

I'll get my neck taken care of right now and then get my knee taken care of by my neck surgeon's partner who does knees, legs and hips. Until then, I'll just suffer.

Don't end up like me. Please get a second or third opinion before allowing anyone to operate on you. I'll keep everyone updated on the decision made.

Kevin Sorbo: NFL won’t fire anyone over domestic abuse scandal because of Benghazi

There has been a lot of talk about the Ray Rice video. If you've been living under a rock for the past several months, you might not have heard or seen the sickening video of Rice knocking his then girlfriend out cold with a punch to the head and then dragging her out of the elevator. <BR><BR>

The "man" is a disgrace to the NFL and to the entire male species. It all goes back to how star athletes are treated. If they can throw or catch a football or are star basketball players or great high school or college wrestlers, they are treated like gods. They can do no wrong. In high school, these athletes are held to a difference accountability and get special help or outright changing of grades to make sure they are eligible to play. College recruit these high school gods with a vengeance that includes all expense-paid trips to the college for the athlete and his family, they are offered cars and cash. Best of all, the student who gives them tours of the campus make it clear they are happy to show what "team spirit" the female population is willing to give to make sure the athlete picks their college. Now this doesn't happen for every athlete and every school. When JoePa was in charge of Penn State, his players had to live up to a higher standard than most every school. He wanted his boys to have a real degree, not one that is given to them because of their skills on the football field. Don't bother to send hate mail about JoePa, the witch hunt killed him. He paid the ultimate price for his beloved school. I will delete and block anyone who sends such filth. <BR><BR>

I'm not sure that Keven Sorbo knows what he's talking about. He should go back to doing what he does best - acting with his shirt off. I see no connection between the White House, IRS and a cruel, monster who was lucky he didn't kill his girlfriend. There are one-punch murders all the time. If it works, there is a video at the bottom of this with Sorbo telling his story and thoughts on it. <BR><BR>

My thoughts are simple: hundreds of women (and men) are abused every day by their partners. The numbers are easy to find. Talk to volunteers at shelters for abused women. Sometimes, they have to run with nothing but the shirts on their back and their children on their hip. They have nothing, but knew if they didn't leave, one day their husband would finally kill them. Abuse isn't always physical, it can be emotional as well as sexual (yes, there is spousal rape and it's horrible).  Words hit as hard as a fist. When you are told day after day after day that you are worthless and nobody else would put up with such a stupid idiot, you begin to believe it and that when the abuser has truly won. He/She knows their victim will never leave and they will always have their punching bag. We need to help these people not laugh and say "Maybe they should learn to take the stairs" like the idiots at Fox News laughed about the day after TMZ leaked the video. Abuse is never funny and there's nothing to laugh about seeing a woman being knocked unconscious. Ray Rice should never be allowed to play football again. There needs to be a strong message sent that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. <BR><BR> 



Kevin Sorbo: NFL won’t fire anyone over domestic abuse scandal because of Benghazi

A huge weekend for us

Tomorrow is a major milestone in our family. My parents are celebrating their 50th anniversary! I can't wrap my head around being with the same person for half a century! We are having their party on Saturday afternoon. I have planned it, made all the arrangements, sent out the invites and will decorate tomorrow as soon as we can get into the fire hall where we are having the party. I have RSVPs from almost 100 people. It will be huge, but laid back and casual, just like my parents. They didn't want a big catered affair, that's not who they are. They opted for wings, ham and a variety of salads that family and friends have offered to bring. There will be lots of singing from the guests, as well as stories of how they met from the ones who were there.

I'm creating a scrapbook for them and have asked everyone to write up a memory of their lives before I came around and it will be a beautiful way to share their story for generations to come. It's very important for me to have this. My parents, especially my dad, value photos as a way to keep the memories alive. I'm sure the stories will be funny, sweet and completely them.

Randy and I have been married 26 years, so we are slowly catching up. :) His parents were married well over 50 years. We were brought up knowing the marriage was a true life-time commitment. Divorce isn't an option. When life gets hard, you don't throw in the towel, you work harder at it. I'll freely admit it, our marriage hasn't been all roses and moonbeams over the last two and a half decades, but we didn't give in. We dug in and worked a little harder.

I'm so proud of my parents! I will post photos from their party on Saturday. I have already received a Citation of Congratulations from the PA State Senate as well as our local County Commissioners. I have another big surprise coming for them, but won't put it here in case Mom happens to read it.

IRS Scam Warning - Agent David Parker/Barker/Barjer UPDATED August 22, 2014

As you can probably tell from my blog and how it's changed over the years, I have become disabled in far too many ways, so I don't always think as quickly as I use to. You can imagine how it felt when I answer the phone with a Washington D.C. number (202-241-1885) and am told that it's the IRS and there is a federal warrant for the arrest of my husband and myself for miscalculations on our 2006 and 2007 taxes! Plus the government felt that we were sending money to family outside the country to hide assets. We have no family outside the country. We haven't been outside the country in over a decade, except to go to Canada for a couple days vacation last year for our 25th anniversary. My husband traveled the world with the Marines and I visited Paris, France for a week for our first anniversary 25 years ago.

The person on the other end had a thick Middle Eastern accent and claimed that he was Agent David Barjer, and his badge number was #732. Randy was on his way home from work (an hour away) and you know how impossibly unreliable cell service is in this rural area. There are more dead zones than WiFi spots on the drive. I couldn't reach him if my life depended on it.

This man demanded that I go to a store while he was on the phone with me and purchase an EFDBS card in the amount of $1,451 and that an attorney would be at my door to give me the documents and pick up the card. I wasn't thinking because I was completely hysterical at this point. I don't have $1,451! I don't think I could come up with $451 in an hour that he was demanding it in. He claimed he would stay on the line with me the entire time until his associate arrived and the money was transferred. I would also have to show our Drivers' licenses as well as our Passports and our tax returns from those years. I told him it was impossible, I had no money, I was disabled. Then he said that my unemployment and Social Security payments are taxable and I hadn't reported any of that. I tried to tell him I don't receive either of those, but he didn't care. Even though my neck is fused, a nerve in my left leg was cut during the repair of my meniscus and walking more than a few feet at a time is torture, I have constant migraines and the pain is unstoppable. There are other problems, but I don't feel comfortable talking about them in public.

At this point, he demanded my husband's cellphone number and I asked him if he knew where we lived. There was no way he could reach Randy on a cellphone. He said he would call back in an hour and my husband had better be there with the information and money he required. I know now he just wanted more of our personal information. Getting those ID numbers and our Social Security numbers as well as our children's Social Security numbers would give them four people to steal their identification.

I couldn't reach Randy after the man hung up. I was shaking and crying and completely hysterical. I called my 19-year old son Trevor and he came running to help me because I was crying too hard to make any sense. When he got here, he told me to call 9-1-1. I did that and told them what happened and they said it didn't sound right to them. I wasn't to delete the Called ID Number or any other evidence I might have on this crime. The woman said she would have the local police call me or come to my home if I needed them, should anyone show up at my door. I said a phone call would be ok, my son was here and my husband would be home soon and I was safe. Trevor had calmed me down at that point. He got on line and typed in the "agents" name and found a list a mile long that it is a scam.

Randy got home at this point. I was still crying, so he calmed me down and returned the call. He was not amused at the conversation. The "agent" suddenly changed his name to Agent David Parker and there was Agent Richard Parker who answered the call. (They must be fans of the movie The A-Team where the CIA all had the same name) The conversation was not calm because Randy was furious that anyone would treat me the way this "person" did. He's very protective of me. Randy said to this "agent" to begin with, the tax forms were beyond the statute of limitations to even be considered legitimate. Then he never received any paperwork on this. The "agent" claimed that we did get them and Randy tore them up and threw them away. Randy laughed at this and asked how they knew this and if they went through our garbage to find them? The man said they had done this and found the paperwork. I have three cats, so I think it's hysterical to think of this cretin going through our garbage filled with the cat litter to find anything. If you have ever cleaned a cat's litter box, you know what I'm talking about. It wouldn't be pleasant.

At this point, the "agent" started getting angry because Randy had him and he knew it was just a scam. He demanded that Randy "SHUT UP and LISTEN TO WHAT WILL HAPPEN." He said he will be sending a federal warrant to our local police immediately. Randy told him, "I dare you to send it! Do it right now! I have the right to have my case heard in court and our taxes are prepared by H&R Block who will defend us if there was a miscalculation." The man wouldn't stop screaming at Randy didn't understand what will happen to him if he didn't listen. Randy had enough and just told him he would be waiting for this attorney to show up with the paperwork and the warrant to arrive. Our local police know where we lived and we knew them well.

Randy called our police department back and explained what had happened. The officer said that it sounded very much like a scam and to not give them any information or money. He started laughing when Randy told him about going through our garbage to find paperwork. He said there was no warrant for our arrest, but he'd be sure to give us a call if something came through. The officer was very good about this and made sure that I was ok because he knew I wasn't well and he could hear me crying in the background. Even though I had figured out it was a scam by this point, I was still worked up.

This morning as I was packing Randy's lunch and getting his things ready for the day, I was thinking about this. I know that I don't have hundreds of readers (yet), but even if I help one person from being scammed, it's worth it to me. I wanted to write this as a warning to other people.

I know if someone called my elderly mother~in~law and did this to her, she would give them the money immediately because she would be so scared. My son moved in with her last year when he started college to help take care of her and make sure she is safe and nobody can take advantage of her. We all love her very much. I can see any elderly person or a disabled person or even a younger person with less experience with the IRS paying these scam artists. If they call 10 people a day and even 2 pay, that's $3,000! I'm sure they make more than that and there are a roomful of these scammers calling people at random. They could be raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and they demand money immediately, DO NOT PAY. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY INFORMATION. It is a scam. The IRS doesn't call people and extort money from them like this and they do not go through your garbage. They will send you paperwork in the mail that you have to sign for and then they may call you, but they have to treat you with respect and they are not allowed to scream at a person or bully them. You have the right to have your day in court. Our Constitution and our Bill of Rights guarantees this. The IRS phone number is 1~800~829~1040.

If you receive a call from these scammers, please let me know. I want to keep this updated to help stop them.

You are not going to believe this one. Last night the phone rings and it's from SAME WASHINGTON DC NUMBER! Randy answers the phone and the same idiot tells him there is a federal warrant out for his arrest from the IRS for a miscalculation. What was he going to do about it? "I'm going to ignore it and you," he calmly tells them. He's doing his best not to laugh while the guy is clearly sputtering about prison and on and on. He gives them a few more seconds, then hangs up.

These guys are clearly well-organized scammers, but they are dumber than a bag of horse slobber! Wouldn't you write down or somehow keep track of the people you have already called and run your scam on? I can see that idiot "Agent" looking dumb-founded that anyone would talk to an "IRS AGENT" like that! :-} Will let you know when he calls again.