Okay, after discussion with Tony, the page stays up. We are both stunned, thrilled, and every other synonym for “happy” that you can imagine. He has two doctor’s appointments next week, and one at the end of the month to try to diagnose what’s going on - much nicer than the waiting spell we’ve had since January! And the credit cards are paid in full - those weren’t huge, and I’d been chipping away at them since we had to use them to stay afloat in February/March, when the insurance and the human resources department crossed their wires and we went without income for five weeks, but it’s nice to know that those aren’t racking up interest now. And I can’t wait to reach the point where we can pay this forward!
Now that your money worries are somewhat at bay, I sincerely hope Tony’s medical worries will also take a turn for the better. Would that we could help with that as well.
Best wishes.
Oh definitely keep the page up! It’s EOFY here in Aus, and some of us might have a few spare bucks when the taxman gives us our returns.
If I can ever get through the new stupid fucking online system they’ve rolled out this year, I might even donate again.
Yes – and some padding/safety net will go a long way at easing your stress going forward.
I won’t forget the love and help the Dope offered me. Paid it forward a leetle bit.
Wishing you all the best!
Just bumping this in hopes of hearing good things about Tony’s doctor visits next week. I don’t want it to fall off the thread.
And thanks for the fun update on your go fund me page. Yeah, you certainly took all of the money and partied. Paying off credit cards AND paying your mortgage bill a month early? Girlfriend, you take partying to extreme levels!
I’m so happy that you finally asked for help. I’m so glad that you seem to be dog paddling now.
However, there is something I’d like you to do for me if you can. I’d like you to plant some milkweed in a muddy place on your land. Somewhere that will be safe from the dogs. The dogs won’t eat it, but they might run over it while playing. I’ll send you the seeds. If you can’t do it, I won’t cry much. But its a small thing that could make a big difference and will take very little time.
I’m already expecting a packet of milkweed seeds in the mail - I don’t know whether it will grow in our only really muddy spot, next to the little stream in the woods, but it’ll grow somewhere here. The little girls are thrilled with the notion of butterflies! (And while I was traipsing through the woods to look for some muddy spots, I marked two dogwood saplings to transplant in the fall - one to the yard, and one to the back of the property, to mark Mojo’s resting place. He was a good dog, and deserves a nice shady spot.)
It is good that you can see the little things again, life is sweeter and fulfilling with the little things.
UPS, USPS, and FedEx paid us several visits today with many new shoes and school clothes. Girl 2.0 is just healing up from a broken foot, and is beyond thrilled with her new sneakers (no thanks to our resident curmudgeon who kicks puppies in her spare time.) I clicked the wrong box and missed it when I got the confirmation, but the shoe company is perfectly happy to exchange the Littlest One’s shoes that I ordered in the wrong size, and the Medium-Sized Girl is actually sleeping with her new shoes! (There was a lovely bonus package of stickers in that delivery - the doll house is now decorated with adorable little puffy stickers, because Mom is horrible and wouldn’t let the smallest people in the house decorate walls or dogs with stickers.)
Boy 2.0 has all of his school clothes now except for a couple of pairs of jeans, Kindergarten girl has all of her clothes, and Girl 2.0 and I are going shopping in Savannah Wednesday while Tony has his doctor’s appointment. I may splurge - surely there’s a restaurant in the mall that serves alcohol? - because shopping with a 14-year-old calls for a drink, right? (I swear, I’ve spent two hours in a single store with her, during which she spent 1.5 hours in the dressing room, and finally bought a bracelet!) There may be a beer with my name on it. I’ll just have her leave purchases at the register, and zip back through and pay after drinking my lunch!
Missed the edit window, but there are those of us on this board who will seriously appreciate this: Girl 2.0, like her older sister, inherited my mother’s shape. I’m a pear, but my girls are top-heavy. Girl 2.0 wears a size 4 everywhere else, but a 34D or 34 DD in bras. Thanks to the clearance sale at Belk’s, I was able to buy Wacoal bras for under $15 each. Her size is hard to find anyway, and I’m generally happy if I can find anything at all in her size, much less a really good bra for a reasonable price! (So it’s lavender. That’s totally okay! She was dealing with only one beige bra, plus a kind of crummy, half-fitted bra for laundry day, and lavender will work with anything except white or beige tops, right?)
So glad the Dope was able to help you all, Miss Lacunae. I just read through this thread (been on a little sabbatical) and have been smiling the whole way through.
Speaking as a top-heavy lady myself, she was very lucky to find a bra in a larger size that was not black, white, or beige. 
Glad to see you’ve left the page up, too…I was a bit late getting here.
This makes me smile! It’s something I would do. 
Your username does too. Did I tell you this already? One time Mom made leftovers for her and Pop – leftover baked potato, some cheese, a can of tuna. They had seen **The Lion King **not long before so she was able to announce dinner in song: “A TUNA POTAHTAH!”
A Tuna Potahtah? I hope desperately that dish remains on your mom’s menu!
I survived a trip to the mall with the medium-sized girl today. Two hours was my limit, but we managed to find her some good clothes that made her happy. (Mom win: I found a skirt that she hated on the rack, but I insisted that she try it on, to humor me. She took it to the fitting room, and came out twirling and happy. It’s just a basic black a-line knee-length - with pockets! - but I knew it would suit her girly/preppy style and look great on her.) I managed not to kill the poor little kid having a meltdown as he shopped with his mom and grandmother, too. Yay me!
And we were at the mall while Tony went to the doctor - even bigger win. The doctor finally listened to exactly the symptoms Tony was describing, with Tony showing Dr. C on Dr. C’s own body where the pain is*. Dr. C immediately knew the source of the problem - a calcification, causing bursitis in his hip. A cortisone injection should make quick work of the pain, and that’s scheduled for next week. Woot!
Also, my milkweed seeds came in today’s mail. Shoe shopping is all done, I need to buy about 3 more shirts for the kindergartner, a couple of pairs of jeans for Boy 2.0, and some socks, two more shirts, and another pair of jeans for the Medium girl. Paper and notebooks and pens and pencils and such. And I’m done!
It’s a good day… Now to figure out what’s for dinner, 'cause I’m too tired. (Watermelon and croutons? Cheerios? PB&J sandwiches?)
*I joked with Tony that Dr. C hadn’t tried this method before because he needed to get to know Tony better before letting him touch his butt. 
I just saw your update on Gofundme about Tony’s hip, and I came here to say: YAY! I really will keep my fingers crossed for the shot to work as advertised. At least you have a doctor listening; that’s a big head start.
OOh, potential diagnosis and treatment…now THAT’s hope. YAY!
The bolded is so funny You are such a meanie, the dogs would have looked adorable with puffy stickers!!!
I’m so glad that it looks like Tony is going to finally get some pain relief. Chronic pain is horrible, and I’ll bet that he’s the sort of guy who would rather tough it out before taking pain meds.
Your updates make me smile. You haven’t sounded happy for a very long time. Not that you ever sounded whiny or bitter or anything like that. You just didn’t sound happy, and who could blame you considering what you have been dealing with. I’m so glad that we Dopers as a community came together to help you smile again.
Fingers crossed for more happy updates. I can’t wait for the day when you post about Tony going back to work and actually being able to work a full day.
I do think its a rather sad commentary on the system that a LEO who was seriously wounded in the performance of his duties can’t get the help he needs and that you are excited to be able to buy school clothes for the kids. That’s just wrong. That should be the least of your worries.
Be proud Dopers. We did good.
Dopers are the bomb diggity. I’m looking forward to posting more happy updates!
We are off to the doctor in a bit, to get that first cortisone shot for the bursitis. While we’re in the city, we’ll also go see the attorney - we got a letter Tuesday, notifying Tony that, if he can’t return to work by July 31, that he is released from duty. Mostly, this leaves us in the same position as before, except that we need to get health insurance. Probably Medicaid. I’ll see whether the ex can put the big kids on his insurance, since Boy 2.0 will be 18 in the fall, and I don’t want him to lose coverage when he finishes high school. Gotta figure out how to roll Tony’s retirement funds into a private account, that sort of fun crap. Turn in radio chargers and duty belt, wherever those might be hiding. Whee.
I really hope this morning’s shot helps enormously, but it’s almost more painful to see him struggling with the employment situation. The fact that he got a letter, that no one could even bother to telephone and say “hey, we’re sorry, but we have to fill that slot.” That hurts.
Update about the shot, please. Is Tony feeling any better now?
I read your rant in the BBQ pit and holy cow, I’m so glad that you left your gofundme site up. What is happening is wrong, wrong, WRONG.
My BB’s knees are going out, and he got steroid shots. It was a world of difference for him. Its hard to get rid of extra weight if it hurts to walk, its hard to take care of yourself if it hurts to walk.
I’m sure hoping that you haven’t posted today because Tony is feeling so good that you got to have a chance for happy fun time before the kids woke up.
PS if the dopers kick in odd numbers of dollars, my CDO will kick in and I’ll have to round it up. If anyone wants to make me give more money to the cause…just toss 3 or 4 bucks their way.