Abbeytessmom,
I also had a large syrinx at the time I was decompressed three years ago and had occasional foot numbness and sometimes pain for quite a long time. This may not be anything at all to worry about. In my case, which may very well be the same for your daughter, the foot pain was (is!) due to residual damage in the spinal cord caused by the syrinx pressing on nerves that are on pathways to the extremities. My NS was not at all concerned as long as it did not get worse and said that time should show some improvement as the nerves begin to heal. He was right-it was very gradual improvement until finally after a couple of years I realized that the numbness and pain was much less frequent and intense. If your daughter is doing well and not experiencing any new or worsening symptoms, I would encourage her to go on with her life and not borrow trouble.it sounds like she is doing well and managing her headaches well so I would encourage you to set āwhat ifā worries aside so this doesnāt needlessly take over your life and hers. I am sure you have already worried enough with everything she has been through! This is just my opinion but I think what she is experiencing is very common for people with CM and syringomyelia.
Kate
Thanks Beeba! This is such a difficult battle for us. We already feel like poo physically and then to have to deal with the ignorance and the lack of care and concern from the medical community only adds to our stress level. Higher stress level makes symptoms worse. Itās a vicious cycle, a vicious disorder. I myself have been struggling lately trying to find docs who know what theyāre doing who care and want to help me. Feel like Iām being bounced around from doc to doc. Frustration levels run high. The depths of depression can run lower than you ever realized before. You wonder what is the right thing to do? Surgery? No surgery? You hear about so many people having bad outcomes from surgery, but yet you are in so much pain every day that you think anything has got to be better than this and you just want someone to make you betterā¦soon. Chiari and its related disorders is such a hard thing to deal with. None of us deserve this. But we all have to keep stickin togetherā¦Iām finding out weāre the only ones who understand each other and Chiari. And weāre the the only ones who are going to do anything about it. So we have to fight for ourselves and fight for each other. Love to all the Chiari Warriors out there!
Its unfortunate that people are not more informed. Most doctors dont believe Chiari is a problem. Victims are suffering too much to realize doctors are not sincere. We are a pay check. I still cant get answers, they push me out even after surgery. I worry im a bobble head now. Would i benefit from more surgery. My skull and scar tissue hurt and endless problems. I wish, i wish. Tracy, i hope you know you help people more than anyone on here. Thank you. Dont stress too much it takes too much energy to help everyone. We all need and thank you very much.
What I have read about EDS is that it is a connective tissue disorder and that there is nothing they can do about it. So I have never mentioned this to my neurosurgeon, even tho I'm pretty sure I'm a good candidate. Is there really something they can do to help, correct or do anytime for someone with this?
Carol in Las Vegas
Godsend... that's what you are. I was diagnosed in 2002, a neurosurgeon wanted to perform surgery but my neurologist discovered I had Myasthenia Gravis. After he discovered a benign tumor in my thymus, he decided I should get it out with a chestcutter who performed a thymectomy. Meanwhile, in 2008, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and this year it reached new highs (or lows) such that I could not sleep without a CPAP and a dopamine agonist called Requip. If I napped, my brain would still be awake and it'd be useless. I'm undergoing MRI's left and right.
Life is so fricking fragile. Please take care of yourselves!
This is the reply I received by email this morning from the Cleveland Clinic Health Chat Director requesting two health Chats about CM. During these Health Chats Members can ask and have any questions you may have answered by true Chiari & related disorder specialists.
Tracy ----- I am working on this ........since the chat about AVM's was so great with the help of BensFriends - our neurological institute is especially excited to move forward. I am just trying to find the right people to contact and will keep you posted.
They are truly incredible and I laid the need out and the reasons.
There are a lot of questions to be answered here and I will try my best to answer each one as I am sure others will also. This is probably one of the most important posts I have read since being a Member in regards to Member additional questions and comments.
Thank you All !!!
Thank you Beeba & Abby and know we are all thinking about you and the loss of your friends !!!
May your friends rest in peace knowing even though the medical community failed them. Their life was not wasted because they have touched and motivated others that will not ever forget their sacrifice.
We can also start a Memorial Tab.Other Forums has them.If you would like please let me know and it will be added.
When I first had CM surgery and my life went to hell I called a great humble man who had serious CM surgery also and he was so kind to me and literally saved my life. He died several years later and people like that you never forget. God has some incredible CM humans and angels on earth. He has to or none of us would be here.
Tracy
I completely agree with all I have read. sometimes its hard for me to understand each day is why do I have to feel this way I had surgery for the chiari I am supposed to be better was I wrong yes. I recently had some mri's done on my neck and spine this was a month ago and I can not go back to the dr until November 19 to go over all the test. and you no this is the way I feel these days is people think I am crazy, just want to complain, maybe think I am just looking for something to be wrong with me, hypoconeract, I could go on that is not the case someone that does not live with chiari has no idea what we all go through everyday I think my husband is the worst one no support at all from him..some days I am scared because of the way I feel living with this disease has taking a toll on the way I live these days and its just not right more test and studies do need to be done on chiari but how do you get people to listen.. so sorry for the lose of the chiari friends thoughts and prayers from me go out to the family and friends.
you are awesome girl you sure no how to lift someones spirit and be confident when feeling kind of down. and I thank you so very much for that.
I just want to say that Iām one more person to count who has multiple other conditions along with chiari and syringomyelia. I was decompressed march 2009, hospitalized several weeks later for chemical meningitis and had another brain surgery due to infection.
I have since been diagnosed with EDS, sacroilliac joint dysfunction, severe central sleep apneaā¦ the list goes on. I am bedridden most of the time. The only thingmy dr did was get me into pain mgmt but the only thing that does is mask the pain somewhat.
And even getting pain management took forever because of the rareness and lack of knowledge about my conditions (in the medical community anyway).
My 3 teenage children each show signs of eds and my youngest son shows signs of chiari too. But after everything Iāve gone through only to end up worseā¦ how do I bring myself to get them tested when I know it could take away their health.
My son gets headaches yes, but he still lives a normal teenage life. How can I take that away from him? I donāt want him to end up like meā¦ having a surgery that changed my life to an extremeā¦ for the worse.
I know I got off subject Iām sorry. What I really want to say is that I want to help with awareness. If it would make a difference I will dedicate the rest of my life to making sure whatās happened to me doesnāt happen to my kids and others of their generation.
These illnesses have taken so much from me. If doctors would have listened to meā¦if they had been more aware of the complexity that comes with eds and chiariā¦ that tey are NOT stand alone illnessesā¦ I could go on but sorry for my rant. I have a headache so I hope this wasnāt too jumbled. Tracyā¦ if I can help in any way with this amazing thing you are doingā¦ please, I want in. I want to help.
Carol, EDS is significant because of the subsequent injuries/pathologies that arise directly from it. EDS patients can have lax and stretchy ligaments that cause joints to become unstable. It can affect any joint in the body, including the cervical vertebrae and the cranio cervical joint. When these joints are unstable they can compress the spinal cord. EDS can also cause cranial settling, causing compression of the brain stem and medulla. There is no cure for EDS, but the reason we need to be aware of it is because it can cause damage and symptoms much the same as the Chiari malformation. Some types EDS can cause clotting problems, tissue scarring problems, and vasculature problems.
I had a perfectly good decompression for the Chiari, but my symptoms continue because(at least in part) I have cervical spine instabilities and possibly a cranio cervical instability. I wish I would have had it all fixed in one surgery.
Jenn
Grandma Carol said:
What I have read about EDS is that it is a connective tissue disorder and that there is nothing they can do about it. So I have never mentioned this to my neurosurgeon, even tho Iām pretty sure Iām a good candidate. Is there really something they can do to help, correct or do anytime for someone with this?
Carol in Las Vegas
Kat, have you been screened for cranio cervical instability? Cranial settling or basilar invagnation?
Kat said:
I just want to say that I'm one more person to count who has multiple other conditions along with chiari and syringomyelia. I was decompressed march 2009, hospitalized several weeks later for chemical meningitis and had another brain surgery due to infection.
I have since been diagnosed with EDS, sacroilliac joint dysfunction, severe central sleep apnea.. the list goes on. I am bedridden most of the time. The only thingmy dr did was get me into pain mgmt but the only thing that does is mask the pain somewhat.
And even getting pain management took forever because of the rareness and lack of knowledge about my conditions (in the medical community anyway).
My 3 teenage children each show signs of eds and my youngest son shows signs of chiari too. But after everything I've gone through only to end up worse... how do I bring myself to get them tested when I know it could take away their health.
My son gets headaches yes, but he still lives a normal teenage life. How can I take that away from him? I don't want him to end up like me... having a surgery that changed my life to an extreme... for the worse.
I know I got off subject I'm sorry. What I really want to say is that I want to help with awareness. If it would make a difference I will dedicate the rest of my life to making sure what's happened to me doesn't happen to my kids and others of their generation.
These illnesses have taken so much from me. If doctors would have listened to me...if they had been more aware of the complexity that comes with eds and chiari... that tey are NOT stand alone illnesses.. I could go on but sorry for my rant. I have a headache so I hope this wasn't too jumbled. Tracy... if I can help in any way with this amazing thing you are doing... please, I want in. I want to help.
I have never posted before. Just happened upon this comment. I have watched my 37 y.o. daughter, now with one child, suffer off and on with this condition only to finally be formerly diagnosed with Chiari Malformation two years ago. She was not diagnosed by the medical community. Only after seizures began, and she was becoming paralyzed, and the words "tonsillar ectopia with posterior thinning" showed up at the bottom of the MRI report, did....I... figure out she did not have just Epilepsy as the doctors had said. If my daughter had not asked for a copy of the MRI, we would have never read those words or been told of this condition. Even then, when I asked the epileptologist at a very well rated hospital in the country about their MRI report stating this condition, it was dismissed as rare and that she just had Epilepsy and to just take her seizure medication. No clinical diagnosis was taken into consideration even with the blatant symptoms that we had reported ongoing for years now. She was homebound at that time, unable to walk without dizziness, raise her arms for very long, neck pain, etc., etc. My 9 year old grandson is being monitored for Chiari due to some neuro symptoms that I saw as I raised my daughter. If you really do the research on this malformation, even with the many symptoms, it just is not rocket science to put the pieces together. With an MRI plus time taken for a good medical history review, this should have never been neglected. Of course, mention Elhers or Dysautonomia and you have thoroughly stumped most physcians not to say confused the doctor that has never even heard of Chiari the so called "rare malformation". Ha!
I do not have a college education. I did, however, KNOW, something was wrong. Watching some undiagnosed or misdiagnosed malady ruining my daughter's life fueled my determination to find out more and more so as to try to have a somewhat normal life. Looking back, the single most telling clue for us was living in Alabama with many barometric pressure changes and as one's arthritis will kick up in your knees or other weather related joint stiffness; her squeezed brainstem area would worsen and cause lethargy, headaches, etc. When the weather would be less humid and no big weather fronts would move in, things would be so much better earlier in her life. These different symptoms would be so severe as to send us to all types of doctors. After a auto accident with a whiplash at age 18, things were never the same. She begun to have degenerative disc problems cervically and lower lumbar which improved with four artificial discs being implanted in Germany in her neck and one in her low back. These operations shocked the American doctors. But we had tried for 10 years to relieve her nerve pain and being so young they just would not medicate or operate even though all film showed she had bad discs. Every conservative measure was taken before we finally went to Germany (insurance would not pay so we used our credit cards) and under the care of two renown doctors, her life was much improved. Our research on her spine and communication with the doctors again made that happen.
When the neck pain and other Chiari symptoms started up four years after all the spine surger, we thought she had failed cervical surgery. We went to several doctors here who were doing artificial disc replacement, and they said her prosthesis' were perfect, and they had no idea as to why she would pass out or get all the symptoms she had when she would tilt her head back.
After years of research and neglect from the medical community, I too have formed my own opinions of Chiari Malformation, and I agree totally with your recommendations and what you have come to know through your research.
My daughter had Chiari decompression surgery two years ago with about 8 months of improvement and relief. Then symptoms returned, and after changing doctors, she is now being scheduled for another surgery for bovine patch rejection and being assessed for cervical instability by Dr. Frimm in Chicago. So far, I feel her condition is being better validated. It is very evident to me that she has Elhers and no doubt Dysautonomia. These conditions were mentioned by me yet ignored when the first surgery was performed by the other doctor. I am angered by the ignorance and neglect I have witnessed over the years by the medical community and hope that others will take an active role in reading and preparing for visits and only use those physicians that are listed as being knowledgeable and experienced with Chiari, Dysautonomia and Elhers and consider the patients total medical history before operating. But even then, as in our case, things were overlooked, even when I raised questions for further testing.
So, here we are again facing another surgery and traveling quite far to have it again. I am helping my daughter and her husband raise their nine year old son as well as helping my husband run our small business. I just wish I had more time to devote to helping get the information we have gained from our experience out to the general public. I have talked openly about Chiari when I am out and around the community. Because of this, I now have knowledge of 5 people who have positively been identified with this life changing diagnosis. They too have been years trying to get someone to believe the severity of their condition and were not helped.
Thank you for your post and recommendations. I absolutely concur with your theory and approach. Sorry this post is so long. Our journey has been a long one and evidently isn't over yet.
Beeba, do you know whatās up with the coccyx pain? Iāve had tremendous pain there for about two weeks, came on suddenly. Almost impossible to stay seated.
Pebbles, good luck next week 
pebbles said:
Foot numbness us a symptom. If you are concerned keep pushing the doctors. I had to take my daughter to 5 doctors just to get the initial CT and be told (despite the 7mm ectopia) she did not have Chiari.
I was enraged! Had I not read the ct report myself we never would have known for sure.
I pushed for the MRI... which came back 9mm Chiari.
As a parent you know better than any Dr when something is wrong.
To the moderators - I totally agree. I am scheduled for c-spine surgery for cord compression next week and am still having testing for autoimmune disorders.
I am worried about the surgery due to heart palpitations and Raynauds symptoms. EKG came back clear (the test took about 40 seconds... wth?!)
All of us have to watch out for our health as most others do see us as "fine".
We are not fine! We cannot quit and I will not stop until I feel better.
It is our lives not theirs in the balance... we have to make ourselves heard...
Sherry,
Thank you very much for sharing your daughters story.
I too have had a very difficult CM situation. In 2005 after 4 years, and one previous brain surgery for Geniculate Neuralgia, I was emergency dx'd with CM & had to have emergency 16 hour CM surgeries & a rebuilt C Spine or become a quadriplegic. No time to even research anything. I didn't even care what CM was or know what I was in store for. I just didn't want my young daughter to have a quadriplegic as a mother. When I woke up in ICU I thought I was in hell literally. It was terrifying, Now I know that is common for ICU patients. Then when I was moved to a room on the neuro surg floor days later I learned what pain is. When I was moved I loudly screamed & never even imagined this kind of pain existed. I was not new to pain or brain surgery or medicine & have a high pain tolerance or did before these surgeries. In 2008 I had a discectomy on C5 & Fused C6 for DDD. My C5 literally disintegrated in the surgeons hand when it was removed. They did not recommend artificial discs in the C Spine, and I asked, so I have cork & titanium screen where my C5 was. I always thought if I had any additional CM related issues other than severe chronic pain, it would be from the Degenerative Disc Disease. Boy was I wrong. Then came POTs, EDS, Chronic IH, Post Concussion Syndrome, Serotonin Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet, Narcolepsy, Insomnia, Depression, Alexia, Dysphagia, Arthritis, Anemia, Hemipledgic Migraines and every other kind of Headache & a bent Optic Nerve & Vision Problems............and the most insulting diagnosis ever developed by the Mental Heath Experts for someone dealing with all of this and is still living......An Adjustment Disorder. I have fallen so many times I have broken so many bones and had 4 closed concussions & even broke my front teeth falling face first in a dept. store. I have had every treatment for pain available & constantly search for new options. My pain doesn't diminish. It is as horrid now as the day they first moved me in the hospital. The medications and nerve blocks and ablations just keep me able to be alive. I used to never tell my story because I didn't want to scare people. Now i am just proud to be alive and the worst part is I look totally normal. The final kicker was I had a MRI in 1993 when I was pregnant because I was having daily migraines and it showed my CM. If they had told me or treated me post delivery I would never be this sick. My OBGYN told me the headaches were just from the way my daughter was laying. Out of the 52 Specialists I saw in 4 years prior to surgery a 30 year experienced ENT told me I should see a psychiatrist, that there was nothing physically wrong with me and I was having ice pick stabbing ear pain from compressed cranial nerves causing Geniculate Neuralgia. One of the ways you can die from CM is from compressed Cranial Nerves. It can instantaneously stop your heart.
I wasn't going to write this but after reading your daughters story Sherry I had to.......I had an amazing life when I became ill in 2001. Then it slowly did a 180. I try to make the best of it daily & stay positive but at times you have to open the release valve and after reading your daughters story I cried for her and you & understood all too well. I am a better person since starting this journey but it is not now or has ever been pleasant in any way......unless you have taken so much IV Dilaudid you don't know where you are at. Now you all know why I have had to learn as much as possible about CM and constantly researching different topics and I am a Moderator to try & help others not go through everything I didn't have a choice but to experience.
I will say this though.....I have met the most honestly amazing people in the world (literally) with Chiari or a loved one of a Chiarian. You all give me the strength to go on daily when I don't know if it is possible. Never doubt your importance and never give up.
I have been researching ways in which CM can be fatal to make sure I haven't missed anything when I came across this link and post by a NS with three Dr's that agree. I will not make a personal comment and ask that you don't either. I was just surprised at her answer to the question and actual Dr's agreed :
Can chiari malformation kill you I have eds hypermobility, pots, syrinx. Suspecting chiari malformation and I just found out I'm pregnant i'm scared
Answer found in link: https://www.healthtap.com/user_questions/930714-can-chiari-malforma...
Now please make your own educated opinion but please do not say anything negative about a specific Medical Professionals on this Forum for legal purposes. I will be following up with these four Medical Professionals. I REALLY WISH I COULD SAY WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY.
I will write a post about how CM can be fatal, but right now I am very bothered by educate medical providers knowledge about CM's as a whole.
Sorry.....for the major vent. I really have tried and thought I had my anger about this subject under control, but suffering children (and we have several messages from parents) put me over the edge as does other things which I cannot name.
I promise I am good. I just had to get it out. I was like a Gremlin after midnight that had been fed and taken a long swim.
We will persevere !!! I have gone through too much to quit now !!!!
I really feel like watching Fried Green Tomatoes. :-)
I forgot to include ..... CSF Leak, Motion Sickness, Chemical Meningitis, Occipital Neuralgia, and every other symptom of the relate Disorders.
I also forgot to thank the True Healers that are Chiari Experts & Life Savers. They are small in numbers but have a huge impact on our lives and those that care about us.
You read my mind :) . I have two daughters that I have to worry about. I want to live to 100 and see my grandkids. I want to be there for their heartbreaks, triumphs and everything in between. I remember telling my family the same things you just said . Thanks for saying it !
So glad you posted this! After recently finding out that I have at least 4 bulging discs and a syrinx from my t7-t10 vertebrae, I am a little worried. the closest Chiari expert is in Pittsburg and that is way too far for me to go for a day trip. I was told to ask about EDS but there are other questions I have too. Has anyone read anything about Chiari being effected by pre birth problems? or what other things are effected? I have severe allergies, bad reflux, and I get low blood sugar so you can see why I am worried. But again, now I have a few specific things I can ask about whenever I can find an "expert" to talk to.
Great post Beeba, you're the best.
TracyZ:
Thank you for telling me your story. Wow! It is very similar to my daughter's story! People that hear just the pain management issues that we have been through; look at us in disbelief. My daughter was so young when the nerve pain started, and one doctor after another would say "You're just too young to be in that kind of pain". We don't see anything wrong.
The psychological abuse that was rudely rendered by some of the medical professionals will never be mended. When you are not getting your pain validated and treated, it becomes hard for friends and even some family members to continue to believe there is surely something that you could not do to make it better. It can be a lonely road. It has been insulting, demeaning and is a pathetic issue that we will look back on years from now and shake our heads in disbelief that humans could be treated so cruelly.
I keep up on the latest in medical research and pain management. Things are changing and are improving. I believe the computer forums, blogs, etc. are the way we are going to change the treatment and understanding of those who suffer.
I have become a different person and mother than I was then. I lost my sweet, shy, respectful innocence years ago when dealing with the medical profession. I have learned that if you don't advocate and insist on respect and proper treatment for your loved ones and yourself, you are going to be lost before you ever get started. I hope and pray I have impowered my 38 y.o. old daughter to continued to fight for herself and her son, as they still have a long road to go.
My heart truly goes out to you not only for all you are doing but for what I know first hand you have been through and are suffering. I am glad you vented. You're a fighter and survivor and your postings are appreciated! You Go Girl........
Sherry
TracyZ said:
Sherry,
Thank you very much for sharing your daughters story.
I too have had a very difficult CM situation. In 2005 after 4 years, and one previous brain surgery for Geniculate Neuralgia, I was emergency dx'd with CM & had to have emergency 16 hour CM surgeries & a rebuilt C Spine or become a quadriplegic. No time to even research anything. I didn't even care what CM was or know what I was in store for. I just didn't want my young daughter to have a quadriplegic as a mother. When I woke up in ICU I thought I was in hell literally. It was terrifying, Now I know that is common for ICU patients. Then when I was moved to a room on the neuro surg floor days later I learned what pain is. When I was moved I loudly screamed & never even imagined this kind of pain existed. I was not new to pain or brain surgery or medicine & have a high pain tolerance or did before these surgeries. In 2008 I had a discectomy on C5 & Fused C6 for DDD. My C5 literally disintegrated in the surgeons hand when it was removed. They did not recommend artificial discs in the C Spine, and I asked, so I have cork & titanium screen where my C5 was. I always thought if I had any additional CM related issues other than severe chronic pain, it would be from the Degenerative Disc Disease. Boy was I wrong. Then came POTs, EDS, Chronic IH, Post Concussion Syndrome, Serotonin Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet, Narcolepsy, Insomnia, Depression, Alexia, Dysphagia, Arthritis, Anemia, Hemipledgic Migraines and every other kind of Headache & a bent Optic Nerve & Vision Problems............and the most insulting diagnosis ever developed by the Mental Heath Experts for someone dealing with all of this and is still living......An Adjustment Disorder. I have fallen so many times I have broken so many bones and had 4 closed concussions & even broke my front teeth falling face first in a dept. store. I have had every treatment for pain available & constantly search for new options. My pain doesn't diminish. It is as horrid now as the day they first moved me in the hospital. The medications and nerve blocks and ablations just keep me able to be alive. I used to never tell my story because I didn't want to scare people. Now i am just proud to be alive and the worst part is I look totally normal. The final kicker was I had a MRI in 1993 when I was pregnant because I was having daily migraines and it showed my CM. If they had told me or treated me post delivery I would never be this sick. My OBGYN told me the headaches were just from the way my daughter was laying. Out of the 52 Specialists I saw in 4 years prior to surgery a 30 year experienced ENT told me I should see a psychiatrist, that there was nothing physically wrong with me and I was having ice pick stabbing ear pain from compressed cranial nerves causing Geniculate Neuralgia. One of the ways you can die from CM is from compressed Cranial Nerves. It can instantaneously stop your heart.
I wasn't going to write this but after reading your daughters story Sherry I had to.......I had an amazing life when I became ill in 2001. Then it slowly did a 180. I try to make the best of it daily & stay positive but at times you have to open the release valve and after reading your daughters story I cried for her and you & understood all too well. I am a better person since starting this journey but it is not now or has ever been pleasant in any way......unless you have taken so much IV Dilaudid you don't know where you are at. Now you all know why I have had to learn as much as possible about CM and constantly researching different topics and I am a Moderator to try & help others not go through everything I didn't have a choice but to experience.
I will say this though.....I have met the most honestly amazing people in the world (literally) with Chiari or a loved one of a Chiarian. You all give me the strength to go on daily when I don't know if it is possible. Never doubt your importance and never give up.
I have been researching ways in which CM can be fatal to make sure I haven't missed anything when I came across this link and post by a NS with three Dr's that agree. I will not make a personal comment and ask that you don't either. I was just surprised at her answer to the question and actual Dr's agreed :
Can chiari malformation kill you I have eds hypermobility, pots, syrinx. Suspecting chiari malformation and I just found out I'm pregnant i'm scared
Answer found in link: https://www.healthtap.com/user_questions/930714-can-chiari-malforma...
Now please make your own educated opinion but please do not say anything negative about a specific Medical Professionals on this Forum for legal purposes. I will be following up with these four Medical Professionals. I REALLY WISH I COULD SAY WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY.
I will write a post about how CM can be fatal, but right now I am very bothered by educate medical providers knowledge about CM's as a whole.
Sorry.....for the major vent. I really have tried and thought I had my anger about this subject under control, but suffering children (and we have several messages from parents) put me over the edge as does other things which I cannot name.
I promise I am good. I just had to get it out. I was like a Gremlin after midnight that had been fed and taken a long swim.
We will persevere !!! I have gone through too much to quit now !!!!
I really feel like watching Fried Green Tomatoes. :-)