ODSP - I've had to apply.

[lecale]

.

[Miss_April]

I'm glad this thread is here for everyone

Hugs for everyone who's out there having a tough time.

[Andit]

Andit you sound like a truly lovely lady who has made the best out of a bad situation.

Thank you, that's very sweet of you to say. I don't think of myself as anything special, I'm just happy each day I get to wake up.

I need to get it together like that.

Are there any day programs near you? A friend of mine dealing with depression goes to an art therapy class once a week through her local hospital & works in the office of a charity that provides programming for those with mental health issues. They've helped her build up her confidence.

I need to find something where there's people and things are a bit more upbeat though.

Any larger charities near you? I stuffed envelopes for a large charity. & while the work itself was mind-numbing, it was nice to be out socializing with other volunteers and staff members.

I've recently started looking into seizure alert dogs so maybe that is an option for me.

One of the volunteer jobs I've done in my past is helping a small charity that trained shelter dogs to help folks with various disabilities. Before Lily dog came into my life, I babysat a dog trained to help an individual with epilepsy. The pup was trained to pick things up, stick close to his person & most importantly to not cross the street (& prevent his person from crossing) unless given a very specific command (the human in the partnership had cluster seizures where he was ambulatory, but not quite coherent enough to give the verbal command).

The dogs are trained to respond to the situation (ie keep a person safe) not necessarily predict it. Trainers have not quite figured out how to teach dogs to predict seizures. The theory is that when a person has a very close bond with their dog, the dog tends to keep close watch on their human & picks up on minute changes.

& thinking outside the box, I think you have a cat? There is no reason why a cat is not able to figure out how to tell their human about an impending seizure (I know of a cat that does just that).

I know seizure assist dogs cost 5 figures, so I am wondering if you ever considered training a dog yourself. I've done a lot of training and think you can get some spectacular results without being a professional.

There is no reason you can't train your own dog to help you in home. However, there are some restrictions when training a dog for public work.

My Lily dog does a lot of stuff around the home to help me (the first useful trick I taught her was "help me up", where she braces herself so I can balance off her shoulder & hip to get up off the floor).

I hope ODSP comes through for you but this thing about spouses...

That's one reason I'm a spinster. The other is that I would likely kill any human I had to live with.

Honestly, it seems that if you have a good education behind you it is harder to get approved with these programs.

At one point, I tried to go through a program with ODSP, using this dimwit of a consultant (she kept hugging me & telling me I could do it when I told her I was immunosuppressed, sigh ).

[gameprogirl]

Thank you so much for the advice and support. It means the world to me. I had my gallbladder out 2 yrs ago and since then my issues have 110% worsened. I have lost 75% of my hair which was super thick and healthy, I took a picture 2 easters ago and I took one now and you can easily see my scalp, its all falling out and thin and breaking. I don't even look like the same person anymore. I have had chronic bathroom issues and if I eat, I am doomed for 15+ trips to the bathroom. I have lost 45 lbs since my surgery with no physical activity. I keep having these attacks on the left side, similar to gallbladder attacks. The doctor said I had abnormal cell development in my stomach and diagnosed me with dysplasia, IBS, IBD, liver issues, hernia, nervous stomach and bowel, and chronic inflamation of the stomach and esophagus. I haven't went to my brothers for Christmas since 2008 because he lives 30 mins from town and I cant make the trip due to the bathroom issue. I am only 32

In this time frame, my husband lost his job, my dad had his 5th heart attack and had a quadruple bypass, which he wasn't supposed to recover from hospitalized in Ottawa for months(but did thank God), become estranged from my brother, got evicted, ex hasn't paid child support either.

It's kinda been a nightmare

[lecale]

.