Be steadfast in your spouse then you will have happiness.
Coffee, My friend
As the morning arrives I look for you, my friend The one who gives me peace The one who makes me be Without you I am nothing Without out you my mood is wrong Without you people avoid me Without out you I am not whole Coffee, my friend you are My one and best support The one who gives me strength The one who makes me whole Copyright 2020 Ricardo and JoJo My Unique Stories.com
Lymphedema Frequently Ask Questions
1. Is there a cure treatment for lymphedema?
At this time there is NO cure for lymphedema. But it can be controlled, or it can be managed.
2. How do you know that you have lymphedema?
When you notice that you have swelling that does not go away, make sure you visit your physician and have her or him check on you. And he/she makes a diagnosis.
Once you are determined that you have lymphedema then get a referral to a certified lymphedema therapist.
3. What can be done when having lymphedema?
There are 2 phases of treatments, first you will be seen by a certified lymphedema therapist and during these sessions you have treatments such as therapeutic exercise, skin care, manual lymph drainage and bandaging using short stretch bandages.
The second phase, once the swelling /lymphedema is decreased in volume and it is determined by your therapist that you are ready to move forward with compression garments , your therapist will let you know. Then you are set to be fitted with compression garments or farrow wraps. At this point you are ready to manage your own lymphedema.
It is very important that during your sessions with your therapist you learn the manual lymph drainage, self-bandaging, taking care of the skin and therapeutic exercises.
4. How often should I change my compression garment?
It is very important that you change your garment every 6-9 months. There are so many brands that you can choose. Make sure you are measured for right fit to avoid wasting your money.
5. Is ace wrap okay to use for bandaging?
Ace wrap is a long stretch type of bandaging. It is recommended to use a short stretch type of bandaging for better compression of lymphedema. There are different brands such as comprilans or lo press. There are also different sizes.
6. Why skin care?
Our skin is our protection so if you take care of your skin you minimize the entry of the bacteria. For example, if you leave your skin dry and it is scaly, your tendency is to scratch it. Once you keep scratching the skin, then it is subject to skin being cut and is potential for bacterial entry. With the presence of fluids in the interstitial tissue there is less blood flow and your immune system is compromise.
7. What can I do to take care of skin?
Taking a shower or bath would help. Keep the body clean. After taking a shower or bath apply moisturizing lotion such as Curel, Eucerin or Aquaphor.
Looking Back at You
What do we see looking back at us when we find a surface that reflects ourselves? Do we see a nice beautiful image, is it full, does it contain small parts that make a whole? Do we like what we see? Do we want to change what we see?
Many times what reflects back to us looks different to what we expect. Hardly any time we see what we would like, but does it mean that we have to dislike what we see? Not necessarily. We also need to accept what is shown back to us, we take the positive and see what needs to be improved. This is the way that we can become better and move forward.
It is also important to remember that sometimes we might think that there is nothing worth about it, but other people might see it beautiful. We have to be careful to see ourselves in a positive and real way. Do not put your self down, but do not think you are over other people. The higher that you think you are the harder that you will fall, and the more painful that it would be.
Always remember that all that we do eventually comes to the surface, both the good and the bad. If this is the case then why not just do good and not be ashamed when it comes out? It is our choice to do it, nobody can choose for us.
Work hard on improving your self and be someone that you will be happy when your reflection is looking back at you.
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Ricardo and JoJo
Beauty Inside the Shadow
As we go through life, we find ourselves many times crossing some shadows, sometimes they are scary, sometimes they are not, but we often see them as something that we do not want to enter. Is it fine to try to avoid them? Is it fine to be afraid of them?
Life will always be a mixture of light and shadow, of happiness and sadness, but it is this mixture that makes us who we are. We should not fear the shadow, we might even find some beauty inside of it.
Look at this picture for example. There is a rainbow that we can see on the shadows due to the light interacting with the water. In the same way we can find something positive on our shadows if we let our light, our family and friends, become our support.
If you ever find yourself in a situation that looks dark, looks for the rainbow inside of it, look for the positive on it. It is not an easy thing to do, and it takes a lot of work to get to this level, but it is worth it. If we can see the beauty inside the shadow, we will be able to overcome adversity with a better attitude, which in turn will reduce our stress.
Work on your thinking and make it to a point where thinking positive is automatic, where looking for a rainbow in any situation is part of who you are. Never give up and continue moving forward with everything you got.
God’s Love
Lord in my darkest time you are my flickering light
Lord in my despairing moments you are my hope
When my knees are weary and weak you send your angles to lift me up
In times of despondent and loneliness you send your Holy Spirit to give me life once more.
When I run out of ideas, you send many
When I complain of overwhelming problems you pointed me to your cross
When the battle is hard and knowing I am lost, you send your soldiers to fight with me
When laughter seems far off
You shine your face upon me
When I feel I am unloved you reminded me that your love is greater and unending
Reminding me always that your awesome love is shown as you die on the cross.
You save us and you want us to be victorious in our adversities.
There should NOT be complaining, but thankfulness of what wonderful Lord you are.
Copyright 2020 Ricardo and JoJo My Unique Stories.com
Happiness
What is happiness? How do we find it? These are questions that eventually during our life will make it to our heads. How do we answer them? Are we going to be positive or pessimistic? Are we going to be excited thinking about it, or are we going to frown at that moment?
How can we be happy? Every person will give you a different answer. Some will say that they are happy with the family, some that going to a concert brings it to them, and some will tell you their favorite food is enough to make them happy.
Does this mean that there is a right and wrong answer? Not really, happiness depends on the individual person, but there is one variable that will always be present, and that is as positive thinking at that moment and for that action. If you do not have positive thinking, then you cannot be genuinely happy.
Our minds are incredibly powerful, they can control how we react and how we feel. Therefore, it is imperative to be positive and not negative. Negative thinking will always bring negative results. What is in your mind will always surface, be it positive or negative.
Always strive to find the good in anything that you do or that happens to you. By finding the good you will be able to control your negative feelings and you will be one step closer to be genuinely happy. Do not react to what happens to you, learn to control your feelings, and find the best possible way to move trough that moment in your life.
You are not alone; you are not an island in the middle of the sea. Find a connection with your family and with your friends; these are other keys to find that internal happiness that we all desire.
You are responsible for your own happiness, you either will let the environment control you or you will learn to navigate through it without being controlled by it. Find the positive in everything that you do, become happy one step a time, and once you do, share it with the ones that surround you. Create a positive circle, not a negative one. Be a happy and always move forward.
A Morning’s Cup of Coffee
I find myself waking up to the warm embrace of the sun light, reminding me that it’s a new day and it’s time to get up, which I start to do as fast as my still half sleep body and mind let me do.
The first order of business is getting myself a cup of coffee; without it I probably would just sit across from the TV and staring blankly at it. Mind you, the TV is off, but my mind probably would not register it.
I await patiently, or as patient as I can be, for the coffee to be prepared, but once it’s ready I go for it without any hesitation and start to drink it, slowly, and this starts to wake up my mind.
Today it’s Saturday, so no need to worry about getting ready for work, the kids, or anything that usually needs to be taken care of during weekdays. Today is relaxation day!
With my cup of coffee in my hand I proceed to the living room to find my favorite spot on the couch. Am I going to look for news? Of course not, today I take a brake from that too and instead find something that I can stream from my online services. Will it be the new movie that my friend told, or how about the next episode of my favorite show?
Finally I decide that I will watch the next episode of one of my favorite series, something that should take around half an hour to do, which would be enough time for my stomach to also wake up and ask me for some food.
Once the show is over, I proceed to the kitchen and open the refrigerator. I decide on making some sunny side eggs with some toasted bread for breakfast, with some milk to enjoy it more.
It is at this moment that I hear noises coming from the rest of the house; it seems they are awake. This signals the end of my quiet time, but it will be replaced with laugher and company.
What would the rest of the day be? Will it be a relaxation time? Will it have some activities that need to be taken care of which I probably don’t know about it? It probably would be a combination of all.
Whatever the day bring I know that it would be a happy day, a day to make
more memories to those that I love.
Copyright 2020 Ricardo and JoJo My Unique Stories.com
Stay Calm, Be Cool
One day when we look back on this, we will remember everything that we went through, and we might even wonder how did we make it? This is a question that we answer every day during these especial times.
The very first step is to stay calm, be cool. Every day we can find ourselves in situations that increase our stress. It is especially important to maintain our calm during these moments, even more so if across from us is someone that is having trouble keeping a cool head. If both sides are hot and angry then the outcome will be a tragedy.
How many times have we heard that people have being attacked, or even died because of a face mask? Is it worth it? The answer will always be no. A life if not worth a piece of cloth.
Always respect the decisions of other people, even if you disagree with them. Do not let it become an excuse for you to do something that you will come to regret. An action that takes a moment to do can change not only your future, but the future of your family.
How can you stay calm and be cool? Find ways to reduce your stress. Maybe you like gardening? Or how about reading a good book? Do you enjoy exercising? Give it a try on you living room! How about watching TV or even playing some computer games? Find ways to keep yourself occupied and to bring a smile to your face. A smile in your face will also be a smile for your family.
Do not give up and keep moving forward. One day everything will pass, and we will find ourselves in a better situation, but to make it there remember to always stay calm, be cool. Never Give up!