So today I begin to blog...well this will actually be my second attempt at blogging. Got busy and never kept up with my first blogging attempt.
Where does one begin when they start out blogging? Is it called blogging? Hmm not so sure. Anyway, where does one start? I guess I could start out with a little bit about myself.
My name is Melba but I go by Renee. I am the mother of 5 children, though one of my children is now in Heaven. He passed away at the age of 7...16 years ago. That is another story in itself which I am sure I will blog about soon. I am the grandmother of 2 beautiful children, my grandson is 10 months and my granddaughter is 3 going on 16. I currently reside in the state of NY in a small town called Rome. I have lived here for 10 years. Prior to living in Rome I lived in a very small town in Wisconsin called Westby. My father was in the Air Force so I guess you could say I am or was a military brat. I loved traveling but hated leaving behind friends and having to start over so many times. I do wish my children were as privelaged as I was in the fact that I was able to travel all over the United States and in parts of Europe. I am engaged to a great man who is quite a bit younger than myself. We have been together for 3 years. He makes me feel young and alive. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis a little over 2 years ago. I hate it. There are days it is difficult to get out of bed due to the aches in my joints. I also have a few problems going on with my back and my neck. I am still working in spite of all the pain. I have been working for the same company since 2002.
My joints are achy today. I can usually tell how my day is going to be first thing in the morning when I place my feet on the ground. I have good RA (rheumatoid arthritis) days and I have bad days...I guess they call them "flare ups". I haven't really had a flare up since I started Humira injections last year. My joints pretty much ache, kind of like when you have the flu, on a daily basis but it could be worse and I am thankful for the Humira. I thought I would have a difficult time learning how to inject myself but it wasn't really that bad. I started out injecting myself in the stomach, seeing as I have quite a bit of fat there. Over time though my stomach bruised easily so now I inject myself in the thigh. No bruising yet. I have been on steroids since I was diagnosed. I gained some weight on the steroids but it seems like every time my doctor takes me off of them my joints swell up and burn. I am also on another medication called Methotrexate. They used this drug at one time to treat cancer patients. I have lost some hair due to this drug but thank goodness I have thick hair and it is not noticeable.
The heat this summer has been unbearable, that and we have not had a good amount of rain in some time. We had some rain yesterday but definitely not enough to help the crops. It's rare here in NY to see people watering their lawns. This is the first year since I have lived here that I have actually seen sprinklers going. The corn crops dying out is a sure sign the cost of food will go up.
