Crappy Cold

I have been dealing with the whole gamut of a crappy cold the last couple of days, and I still feel horrible.

I am always amazed how you can be fine, and just all of a sudden it is like a cold just jumps all over you and invades every part of your being. I hate runny noses.

I did finally manage to get my bow tie quilt put in yesterday and got one whole block hand quilted. I am determined to hand quilt this one even though it may take me from until Christmas to do so.

That was about my whole day, lying on the couch taking cold medicine, working on a quilt in between sneezing fits and of course, reading a book.

I am currently reading "Blind Submission" by Debra Ginsburg and it is really good.

Mark fixed talapia for supper. Despite the taste buds being on the out, it was really good.

Have a good one.

addictions

I think the time has come in my life to admit that I am addicted to.............reading.

I have always been a big reader, I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t reading, but as I grow older my addiction grows worse.

I have to have a book in my hand, and I have to be reading something, at all times.

This is why my dishes don’t get washed, my floors aren’t swept, projects in my sewing room go unfinished and canvases are stacked against the wall with no paint on them.

I try to control it, I really do, but right now my pile of works to be read continues to grow and some days I worry it may grow completely out of the ceiling.

Does anyone know if there is a program for this addiction?

Jenni Osborne

Jenni Osborne



After big bump in life’s road, Osborne back on track
By Kathy W. Hathcock

Jenni Osborne was on track to achieving the goals she had set for herself.

She graduated from Logan County High School in 2001. She took a year off before beginning her studies at Western Kentucky University with a major in journalism.

Her initial goals had been to pursue a fashion related journalism career or possibly working in the country music industry.

It was while she was doing an internship in 2005 in New York City that Osborne began to realize she didn’t quite have the energy level she was accustomed to.

She kept thinking to herself about how she had considered herself to be in good physical shape and couldn’t understand the fatigue she was beginning to feel. She was finding it difficult to stand on her feet for long periods of time. Osborne recalls asking, "Have I really become this lazy?"

During 2006 she described her physical condition as one in which she felt "run ragged."
Her hands kept falling asleep with a continual tingling sensation. She said her legs felt numb. She also noticed a different texture to her hair as well as finding more and more of her hair in the shower or on her brush.

Osborne decided to visit her regular doctor to describe her symptoms. Her initial thought was that maybe she was suffering from an exercise injury, since extensive working out was a big part of her life.

Her doctor told her she needs to see a neurologist. Osborne responded she didn’t have time, it was her senior year at Western and she was on the fast track to finishing her degree.

Osborne had one more class to complete before she could hold that degree in her hand.

The class was Basic Photography. It was in the early part of this course she recalls sitting in class one day and feeling very sick. Her entire body was going numb; she kept telling herself she needed to get up and leave.

Osborne made it through the door of the classroom. Then, the next thing she remembers is is lying on the floor, unable to move, feeling tremendous pain all over her body.

An ambulance was called. Osborne was transported to the hospital where an MRI was run. The test didn’t provide the doctor any explanation for what had happened to her.

The instructor of the class told Osborne she could wait until the fall to take the class if she wanted to do so. Osborne told him no, that she would finish. "Something inside me told me I needed to go ahead and finish this class," Osborne says.

She struggled to complete the class with her mother driving her to shoot the assignments. Then she would be in the photo lab for hours at a time working on getting the pictures ready for the assignments.

It was a wise decision by Osborne to finish that class when she did, since her health kept deteriorating after that for the next two years.

The pain in her legs worsened as well as the numbing sensation. "The cramps in my legs were similar to suffering a charlie horse that would not stop," Osborne said.

There were more MRIs, exhausting amounts of other tests as well as being stuck with endless needles to try to put a name to what had happened to the vibrant 23-year-old.

In January 2007 the doctors did a spinal tap on Osborne. Later it was discovered that the hole where the spinal tap was done had opened up and all the fluids in her body drained out.

"I got up to go to the bathroom and it was like someone had stuck a knife through my head; the pain was that blinding," Osborne recalls. When she lost all of the fluids, she lost the cushioning around her brain. The pain she felt was caused by her brain literally slamming into her skull.
She was immediately given IVs to restore the fluids in her body as well as providing pain medication.

Finally, the doctors gave her a name for what was happening to her, transverse myelitis. Doctors explained it to be a form of MS (multiple scelorisis.)

Transverse myelitis is caused by a virus settling into the spinal cord. Osborne believes she contracted the virus through a cut in her mouth that became infected, resulting in her being hospitalized.

Through different trials with medication, Osborne is now on one that has helped get her illness under control. Even though she is not back to being 100 percent of the person she was, she says life is a lot better.

"I was so out of it for more than two years. Now at least I can now be a person," she says.
Traveling has long been a dream of Osborne’s, and she’s not letting go of those dreams. She traveled to Hawaii in 2007 with the help of a good friend, Madessa Rouse.

This past year she achieved another one of her dreams by traveling to France.

Osborne realizes how quickly something in life can land you on your back. While she is so much healthier, she plans to grab on to every bit of life to the top of her capability.

Mornings are the hardest part of the day. She feels a coldness and soreness in her legs that she must deal with on a daily basis.

Osborne said when she graduated from high school she knew what she wanted to do after graduating from college.

Life changes. Now, she is not sure of what goals to set for herself. She knows she wants to do more photography as well as writing a book one day.

"I have yet to figure out what I can do, if anything, that will contribute something to this world that matters," Osborne says. "Since I got interrupted, I honestly don’t know where I’m supposed to go yet."

All who have been around Jenni Osborne have reason to believe that with her determination, intelligence and perseverance, we will all learn what her role will be in life and that it will affect those around her for the good.

Quilting

I have a quilting class today in Bowling Green and I am so excited. I know what you are thinking, but you make and sell quilts. I make very homespun quilts so I am hoping to "up" my skills by taking a class.

My hand quilting is very primitive and that is about the nicest way I can think of saying it. So, I am hoping through this class to improve that a lot.

And to tell you the truth, I think I just wanted to hang out with some other quilt enthusiasts. It gets pretty lonely around here at times.

Another motivator has been the Elm Creek Quilt series. I started reading the series over Christmas and I am now on book number 3, so I just seem to be surrounding my life with quilt jargon except there is no one to talk to.

So, I am off to quilting class.

Ky. National Guard

If you live in the state of Kentucky or read the news, you know the entire Kentucky National Guard has been called out to help people in the midst of this ice storm.

My son Dusty, pictured above, is now in the Lake Barkley area. When he called Sunday night, he said it is really bad and these people have been without anything since the storm first hit.

We were very lucky here because we were only without power for about 10 hours. However, just 20 miles north of us, the folks in Muhlenberg County are still without power, the schools have been closed until further notice, and they are begging for blankets, water and non-perishable foods. Muhlenberg Co. is so rural, rescue personnel is stated as saying they are really worried about those who have no phone communication or cell phone because they really don't know if these people have survived or not. Keep all of them in your thoughts and prayers.

New job

I have a new job (doing the happy dance) in the background.

Well, not a new job where I have to punch a clock and all that, but a new job where I get to write feature articles and take endless photos. By the way, I am praying for a digital camera, so if any of you happen to find a really nice one laying in a parking lot, hay field, or somewhere and want to mail it to me it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, a very nice lady in Bowling Green is trying to get a new publication started here called the Logan Independent Journal. It's going to be tough to get this started because we are going up against the current newspaper that has been here for 200 years.

But, if you lived here and could read our present newspaper, you would understand our need for a new one. If you get a chance, check us out at http://www.loganandbeyond.com/
When the page loads, there will be a little icon to your right of some newspapers, click on that, register and then you can read it.

Ice Storm

If you have been reading the news at all, or live in the state of Kentucky, you know that the entire Kentucky National Guard has been called out to help those in parts of Kentucky who are still without power.

My oldest son, Dusty, called last night and said he had been moved to the area of Kuttawa and Eddyville.Dusty talked like it is bad, it resembles a war field and the people there have been without any electricity for several days.

Mark and I did a craft show this past summer in Kuttawa so I at least knew what town he was staying in. Kuttawa is a beautiful part of Kentucky near Lake Barkley, with rows of quaint looking homes, and a just a really nice part of the state to visit or live. So, I am really hoping they are able to recover from the damage done there.

Today, Dusty's unit is going to start with door to door welfare checks. I just pray they don't find anything but survivors who have managed through the storm somehow.

Dusty stated that is he glad he is able to do something to help out. He is now under federal orders and said it may be a month before he gets home.

It means a lot to me that both of my sons are willing to serve not only their country but their fellow mankind as well. They are willing to sacrifice a warm bed, television, and good hot meals to go and help other people.

The flag that shows on top of this page was taken in front of the rubble of the Russellville Middle School. That flag has come to mean a lot in this house. After marrying Mark I adopted an entirely new respect for the flag even though I was raised in a home with a strong military history. Now, with two sons in uniform, the flag flying in the wind will bring tears to my eyes.

We have two flags in this house that mean a lot to the occupants here. One is the flag that was presented to my great-aunt and great-uncle after their son died in WWII. This flag only has 48 stars, each one of my sons has asked for it, so that will be a hard decision one day of deciding which one will receive it.

The other flag holding a special place of honor is the one that draped the coffin of Mark's dad, Kenneth Hathcock. He, too, was retired from the Army. One day the decision will need to be made of who to pass that flag onto. This flag holds a very special place in Mark's heart since he followed his dad's footsteps of a career in the military.

My mother still has the flag that draped my dad's coffin. He was a disabled vet and instilled in all four of his daughters a love for this country. I guess when the time comes to find a new home for that flag we will just have to put our names in a hat and see who gets drawn out.

I am very proud of my sons, and all three of my children, because they are always so willing to give to others. Their unselfishness toward others is one that fills my heart with pride. They don't look at situations and ask what they can get out of anything. They aren't the type of people that believe in the "I" mentality.