Feeling terrible

Hi Bridget. In a way, everybody here is a 'support person'. Some will have your same level of injury. Some have been paralyzed for a long time, have experienced a lot and know a lot, though they may not have your same level of injury or issues. Others, like me for example, have been in a nursing home, so we know the frustration of trying to get the services we need in a place where those in charge may be clueless about spinal cord injury. Our Admin, DJ, is in Canada, so he will likely know about services there, much moreso than I would. What's your most miserable symptom at present?

It is simple, Bridget. just tell us your story and people will read it, then decide if they have anything to contribute. It is a public forum and not all of us will be sensitive or thoughtful on the same day, so feel your way slowly. I personally have not read any thoughtless comments- this seems a pretty safe place. Still, don't tell us where your jewelry is hidden!

It is never ever wise to use your full legal name on a public forum of the internet, nor to share your e-mail address nor especially your phone number unless you have chatted here with the person for years. We CAN communicate privately suing the private message system- you just click on a person's forum name, then look for the box on the right that says 'send message'.

How have things gotten more difficult? Being C-4-5 complete is always tough.

The “Reply” section here doesn’t seem to be voice sensitive – is that because there’s something wrong with my settings or interface or whatever –? Does anybody know why I can’t dictate directly?
The other thing is, every single time I open the Inspired SCI Forum, I get the same 2 messages:
1. A problem with this web page caused it to close and reopen this tab
2. Internet Explorer has stopped working.
Again, is there something wrong with my settings? Very discouraging, I’d like to fix it, please. For now, I’ll dictate in Microsoft Word and try cutting/pasting into the forum.
DJ, do you have a decent GP in Toronto, please?
Sure I know Lyndhurst, I’m frequently at the seating and the wound clinic there. Spent 15 months in rehab at Lyndhurst when it was the finest spinal cord injury specialty hospital in Canada – before the massive hospital amalgamation/umbrella reorganization thing they did in Toronto around 1998. Were you an inpatient? The problem, of course, is that the intense, comprehensive, old-fashioned training I had in how to take care of myself is almost impossible to accomplish through public services nowadays. I am just done getting blamed by “service providers” who cause negligent harm. I should be used to it but I still find myself devastated, incredulous that there is absolutely nothing I can do to protect myself or affect meaningful change.
Are most people on this forum in North America, please?
The foremost terrible symptom today is having to chase a doctor for pain medication when pain and spasms keep me from resting at night; dealing with yet another overworked Dr. who wants to give me an appointment in a month’s time and expects me to be grateful for it. It blows my mind that doctors, specialists, allow their practices to grow beyond their capability of meeting patient needs and then blame the patient for their needs. I am deeply discouraged and not a bit surprised that so many SCI patients are drug addicted.
I’ve lost my way to getting close to the things I love.