In America, this Thursday is Thanksgiving. We spend the day thinking about what we are grateful for and also eating a lot of turkey and pie. :)
I thought it would be fun to start a discussion on what we're all thankful for. I'll get it going:
I'm thankful that my wonderful girlfriend, Vanessa, accepted my marriage proposal last weekend. We're all smiles here. :)
I'm also thankful that this community exists and helps so many people. We started Ben's Friends (www.bensfriends.org) 6 years ago and now over 80,000 patients and loved ones visit all 35 sites every month. It's truly a little Internet miracle.
I'm grateful for the community, the friendships and especially thankful that the volunteer moderators donate so much of their time to help others. Thank You Mods!
Ok, that's what I'm thankful for. How about you? Let us know below.
I am thankful I am going through one of my remission periods so I can enjoy dinner with my family. I really don’t want to jinx it but this year has been a really tough one pain wise and I am happy not to be hurting right now.
I am thankful for the friends and family I have left. TN took a lot away but it showed me who my real friends and family are. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with as little pain as possible! And Scott, CONgRATS!!! -marilina
I am thankful that I have been in a 3 day remission after being in pain for 3 mos - of course the day before I have a neurology appt the pain subsides - isn't that always the way
I’m thankful for my family. They have stood by me through this journey and friends that have never left my side. I’m most of all thankful for my husband who has been a guardian angel and done everything and anything to help me feel a sense of normal.
I am thankful for a loving wife, an awesome son, and a new doctor that has made going to appointments a joy and not a dread. I am thankful I can still work my job, have an understanding employer, and am able to support those who fight to make this a great country to live in.
I am also glad to have found a wonderful site with people such as myself that can share our experiences and not feel like a freak of nature any longer.
Congrats Scott.
I am thankful for my family and their support. I am also very thankful for finding a compassionate neurologist and neurosurgeon who were very familiar with TN. I had MVD on October 9th and have been pain free ever since. I had forgotten how wonderful it feels to be pain free.
I am thankful that my recent MVD surgery seems to have worked. I am thankful for the medical team that brought me this success. I am grateful to all of you in this community who gave me hope during the last few years of pain and despair–I thought of you as my family. I am thankful to my husband Steve who stayed in the hospital with me last weekend and continues to support my healing, and my family and friends who sent me into surgery with healing thoughts and prayers. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I am thankful for my family who will surround me today and support. For the skirt I put on this morning that fits!!!! Happy Happy. I am grateful for my friends and all the people who are praying for me. I am grateful for the great health insurance that allows me to have MVD surgery tomorrow morning at 11. We have to be there at 9. I would be very grateful for prayers from all of you and if you have time a note of support. I am trying hard but I am very anxious and afraid. Happy Thanks giving everyone! Kendall
Dear clearbluesky,
All the very best of wishes for your surgery tomorrow!
Sending you positive vibes…take a deep breath, exhale and may tomorrow be a new beginning for you of long lasting relief… (( hugs )) Mimi
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends…enjoy the day and the food!
Happy Thanksgiving Scott and to all of the Bens Friends Family.
I am so grateful for all of you, whether or not we've crossed paths here already or not. You all validate me and that is huge. Gods Blessings to you and yours!
This Thanksgiving is one that we(my family) will be smiling at the table in comparison to last years where my Son Patrick was able to singlehandedly bring us all down. He had been the victim of a hit and run, pedestrian vs. vehicle at @ 60 mph.
And while the rest of us were so grateful to even have him home/alive, the sadness over what this crime had taken from him had him devastated and plain and simple...he wished he hadn't survived.
This year even he says this one will be so special for him because he see's the blessings and though he has a long recovery still ahead of him, he looks at it with joy...he's alive, he has his legs, he can walk.
I am so grateful for my amazing family. My Mother made it through a leg amputation and is thriving at 85 years old. My younger Sister is still here with us after almost losing her to deadly anemia with a hemoglobin of 2.2. She is sitting right here next to me while I write this. My family is healthy, we're all warm and toasty up on this snowy hill thanks to an outdoor wood-burner that we saved and scrimped for thus cutting our ties to the high cost of propane! Huge!
So many more, so many blessings! My heart is full and I feel loved...I pray Thanksgiving is one of joy, for you and yours...and that you "feel the love" as well.
I'm attaching, for those of your that have sunny Holidays, a picture of the snowy woods that is our yard...enjoy!
Clearbluesky. Sending prayers, support and encouragement to you for surgery tomorrow. I felt the exact same way prior to my surgery. I was terrified. My fears were unfounded and I woke up from anesthesia TN free and have been ever since the surgery on October 9th. I feel great these days. Have an occasional mild headache and a little dizziness which my surgeon assures me is all a result of the surgery. I am completely off all medication now. It was the best decision I ever made. Good luck to you tomorrow.
I am thankful for my Faith, my Family, my new and supportive Friends online :) Yes, they are so important to me that I capitalized all 3 F's. Hehe. I am thankful for my eyes that I can see God's beautiful earth and all of creation, my compassionate heart that moves me to help and encourage others in their time of need or suffering, my able hands that help me to knit warm scarves for my family-especially in my cold northern climate ;) I am thankful that though we have little to eat at this time, and little money in the bank, we are still able to eat and even if we had no money, there are resources to help us. I am thankful my husband does have a job, though his hours were cut a year ago, new promises for more hours or even opportunities seem to be on the horizon. I am thankful that I live in Canada, that I have access to healthcare for my children especially, and myself. I am thankful that I am alive and though I suffer from some rare "diseases" or symptoms-what have you, I am alive today, I can hug and kiss my daughters, and maybe even my husband too (if he's good) lol ;) and not have any pain! Most importantly I am so very thankful that with each new struggle I see an opportunity to learn, to grow, to be humbled, which lead me to recognize and value the most basic and yet most important thing in life, which is to LOVE one another. Nothing else matters. Happy Thanksgiving to All and Congrats Scott! Prayers go out to you Clearblue for your upcoming surgery!
I am thankful for my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ even when I am going thru MANY days of horrible pain because I know HE gets me through them, I am also thankful for my loving wife who tries to understand this terrible disease and for this support site and the people who are going through it with me. Happy Thanksgiving and remember "THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT" God Bless you all, John a 17 year sufferer.
thankful that I feel good enough to share thanksgiving meal with people I love. I’m thankful for this group & all the people here who have found some relief.
