[Dailydrool] My Howliday miracles & gratitude

[Jaime Brigance]

Dear fellow Droolers; 
 
My daughter Jessica and I want to say a huge THANK YOU for all of the great cards this year.  
 
They are all over our walls, even in the bathroom!!  They make us soooo happy!  So much love is put into them.  It is great to walk to the mailbox and reach in and get LOVE.  Wow. 
 
The joy that you all have shared with us is amazing.  And especially those folks who remember their hounds of Christmas past who are ATB.  Those cards make me cry with joy for all the love that is STILL there, that never leaves us.  My Nellie is with me everywhere I go, sometimes I even feel her in my bed behind my back.....those times are extra special. 
 
I'm grateful for many things this year, I will share with you the highlights, so that you may know miracles are possible.  
 
My older daughter (25) and I had not spoken for 7 months, since my move to the coast.    I had to cut off communication for many reasons, among them to save the sanity of my youngest daughter and myself.  My older daughter is on the "low end" of schzophrenia with bi-polar schio-affective disorder.  That and several other factors have complicated us having a healthy relationship.  One morning at 7:10am, a friend called me and said "you'd better google your older daughter, its an emergency."  My daughter Olivia had been hit by a truck in front of the police station in Beaverton, OR.  Her front teeth were knocked out and she has memory problems, it could have easily killed her.  She was in a pedestrian crosswalk.  And less than a foot behind her was a baby in a stroller.  And a foot in front of her was her best friend who weighs 110 pounds and is barely 5 ft. tall.  My daughter is almost 6 ft. 2 and weighs around 230, and is one big boned gal.
  That made a lot of difference in how her body took the hit, according to Dr.'s.  
 
here is the URL: http://www.kgw.com/news/neighborhood-news/beaverton/Woman-struck-crossing-street-in-Beaverton-107494088.html
 
I tried to reach out to her by email/snail mail and no response.  Then, by some strange non coincidence, we both were standing next to each other at the Dr.'s office (she never goes to this place for medical care, it was a referall & at the exact day/time as my appt. ) and I looked at her and barely recognized her.  She had lost so much weight and had a mask on to cover up the loss of her front teeth.  
 
We reunited and have since put down some good ground work toward a healthier relationship, and she has reunited with her younger sister as well.   We both recognize that we were given a second chance at having a relationship, and we are cherishing that.  
 
My 2nd miracle of the year is that I've been able to go back to college on-line at Ashford University to work on my Bachelors in Psychology.  With Lupus/fibromyalgia/lyme disease, I never thought this was possible, and I was wrong.  I'd sort of given up, and with the help of friends got built back up enough to give it a shot, and it is going great!!  I've declared war on my body (hey, it declared on me first!!) and found new supplements to take, go to accupunture, am going swimming 4 times a week and to an aqua class with seniors 2-3 times a week; which has helped me lost 56 pounds so far and counting.  And it has made all the difference in the world.  I actually feel better!!!! I never thought I'd get to say that after living in so much pain for years :)
 
To anyone out there who might feel like they are too old (I'm 46) or too tired, or too sick to start life over, I'm here to say it can be done.  And several of you on this list have walked with me on this journey, and many of my friends call sometimes just to cheer me on!!!  I feel very well blessed.  
 
To think that my own daughter could have died without being in direct communication with me has really changed the channel in my brain.  The past does not matter any longer, it is the future that my heart and my eyes are looking towards.  
 
I wanted to share my miracles with my wonderful drool family, you all understand the true meaning of love and devotion and heartache.  And triumph.  I've been on this list since getting my first basset, Nellie, from Suncoast Basset Rescue in FL while visiting my son in 2000.  I know you folks know the real meaning of love.  And I'm grateful to be a part of this family.  
 
My best wishes to all of you, you all are the change that makes the world a better place. 
 
 
love, 
 
Jaime Brigance 
Jessica, Alex & Olivia 
Biscuit Geoffrey-resident basset extraordinaire
Mya the Dashound--Grandma's baby, now my baby 
all of our kitties, who love & put up with Biscuit & Mya & vice versa
 


      
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