A Tale of Contrasts...

Hello and welcome to our April tale. I'm your host and storyteller, Trevor aka T Man bringing you another inspiring tale of Brenda's life.

As you know, Brenda has been living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for almost 31 one years and is also a 13 year brain tumor survivor. We give you these stats as background, so you will understand were we are going with this tale. 

Brenda has loved the singer, Elton John since she was 10 years old. It had always been a dream to one day see him in concert. Sometimes dreams actually come true. This particular one happened twice. We want to bring out what was going on in Brenda's life with each significant event. 

11 years ago, Brenda was facing some major challenges. She had found out very recently that her mother was facing the end of life in a nursing home. Brenda would try to come and visit her most days, as the home at that time was located in close proximity to where Brenda's apartment is. 

Brenda was also scheduled to attend a meet and greet in Omaha, Nebraska with her peer brain tumor group, Meningioma Mommas and Poppas. Her mother was to go along with her on this trip, but that did not happen, so she had another friend go along. Life can be strange and sadly that person is no longer a part of her life. We try to be transparent here and it was in Brenda's best interest and well-being that she step away from this friendship. 

Two nights before the trip, Brenda was able to see one of her favorite singers for the first time in concert, right here in Bismarck. Imagine, seeing Elton John stepping out on stage. Brenda told me that she got chills. This was a thrill of a lifetime and something Brenda's mother insisted that she do. She told her that she could afford it and she never does anything for herself. That was true. When you become a caregiver, you tend to let your desires and even your health go by the wayside. We are here to tell you that taking care of yourself is paramount, so you can be the best that you can be! 

Brenda was however, sporting an aircast on her right foot for torn tendons in her right ankle. She was determined to make this work for the concert. Her friend made sure she was doing okay and they even took the elevator once, so she could save her energy. They were quite high up, but could see fine, because the light show was spectacular in that you could actually see Elton John at times. It was a night she will never forget. 

Brenda had a conversation with her PCP and he encouraged her to go on this trip. Her mother had also insisted. She told Brenda this may be the last thing she could do for her. How can you argue with logic like that? The doctor also told her she needed it and would regret it, if she decided not to go. Brenda did agree that getting away would be good. She was concerned about all she was facing, but was again determined to give it a go.

As you know Brenda is a brain tumor survivor and had been dealing with some motion issues, which seem to be worse since her craniotomy. She even had gone to a balance clinic, but could not even finish the exercises, because she became so sick. It seemed that when she would turn to the right side and hold, it would start an attack. That made sense, because that was the side her tumor was on. She had however flown before and it never was an issue, so she didn't think much of it. She took meclizine before her flight to make sure she would be covered. As soon as they took off, which she used to love, something in her head felt it instantly and it brought her back to when she would try going on amusement rides as a kid. She was in pretty rough shape by the time they got to Minneapolis. They even suggested that she go to the hospital. No way! Brenda fought for this trip. They had a layover, so she decided she would try and recover before their flight to Omaha. 

Well we all know how that worked out. She took something again, even more this time. Got on the plane and wham, she got sick again. She knew now it had to be because of her brain surgery. It was a shorter flight and again had to take a minute to recover. This was not sitting well with her friend, who was not very supportive and was making it even more difficult for Brenda. You lost your lunch, wearing an aircast, by this time experiencing a bad bout of bursitis in one of her shoulders, because of being so lopsided. By the way, those things are heavy. She even had to sleep with it on. You're getting the idea, that this has been a difficult trip so far.

Brenda tried to make the best of things despite all that was happening. Remember, she is also concerned about leaving her mother behind, who was now down to almost 88 pounds. She managed to have some fun while getting a sunburn sitting outside in 80 degrees. They actually had a tornado warning that evening. Talk about contrasts in weather. 

Now to the 2nd time that Brenda got to see her favorite singer in concert. This time was a road trip and so much more enjoyable. It was 3 weeks ago and could not have asked for nicer weather. The biggest concern for all 4 of them was the fact that there could be a storm. Next week could be another story. North Dakota is supposed to get hit with a lot of snow. Anyway, they were able to make the trip to Fargo without a hitch. 

Brenda had such a good time. She can't remember the last time she had this much fun. All 4 of them work in the medical field, so they definitely had that in common. Only one of the gals had never seen Elton John in concert. Brenda made sure she told her how wonderful an experience it would be. Anyone who meets Brenda knows within minutes what a fan she is. She met a lady at the restaurant who even said, "You must be a fan." She is and no shame! BOL

They had gone shopping, because it was too early to check into their motel. They each found some neat items. Brenda got herself a purple purse. She sported her glitter one for the concert. It's Elton John after all. 

When they got to the hotel they saw a photo of Elton John. Brenda thought for just a moment, he's staying here? No, it was an offer if you were staying there and going to the concert, you could take a shuttle bus for only $10. Great thing, right? Brenda was also experiencing problems with her ankles. Only one of the gals knew, as they had been talking about it several months before. Brenda made sure she got herself some good ankle boots and was able to put her orthotics in them for support. It worked pretty well. 

Brenda misjudged when she stepped off of the bus, not remembering how high that last step down is. She ended up aggravating her dormant Baker's cyst behind her right knee and knew instantly that something was wrong. She didn't say anything, because she wanted to enjoy the concert. Again, this is what some of us do, we end up sacrificing our health for the alternative. Brenda wanted to have a good time, which she did. It was another dream come true to see Elton John in concert once again.

It was to be her 60th birthday present to herself, but as you know we went through a pandemic and the concert was postponed for almost 2 years. It was to be originally scheduled for June 13, 2020. I would say that Brenda is quite patient. There were times when she thought this might not happen, because of weather, etc. They had had several snowstorms in that area, as they had more snow than back home. 

Brenda enjoyed this night so much more. It was something Elton John said during the end of his concert. His first hit in the United States was 52 years ago which was Your Song. Brenda is now 62, finally getting to enjoy her 60th birthday gift to herself. Brenda has followed his singing career since she was 10. She can actually think of a song for almost every decade of her life since then that has become special to her. His music is timeless. He is indeed a legend! 

We are going to end this tale with a photo of Brenda dressing up for Halloween as who else but the one and only Sir Elton John.

This has been another T Man Production. 

~T Man barking off~