This has not been the best of years for most of us. Donation of used items is not as difficult as donation of a more difficult to find commodity — cash! And this, of course, applies to the purchase of gifts for our loved ones. This is in spite of all the so-called predictions of a better than expected retail results for 2010.

Most of us, who are considered “Middle Class” or below, have to get creative when shopping for Christmas gifts. Places like Big Lots, Ollie’s, and even Salvation Army and Craigslist have more to offer than the sales sheets for Macy’s, Sears and JCPenney’s. In our case, we slashed our Christmas budget from last year to half. We watched the hot toys list for ideas and started our shopping back in September. Our daughter put together a wishlist for each child (ages two, three, and eight) and we tried to limit the pile of presents to one major gift and hopefully, a moderate pile of lesser ones.

And, for many of us, the best Christmas gifts are those that come from the heart — like having all or most of the family together at one time — everyone happy, even if for a short time. We were the lucky ones this year. We got to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with our grandchildren, our daughter and our son, together at the same place at the same time.

There is nothing better in this world (or beyond) than to watch children enter the living room on Christmas morning, rubbing the sleepiness out of their eyes, and come wide awake when they view the glory and wonder of what Santa Claus left for them. Before going to bed the night before, the oldest made certain the stockings were empty. On Christmas morning, three pairs of eyes were opened wide when they saw the filled stockings. When the eight-year-old emptied his stocking, he was pleased and comforted by the range of surprises, until he came to the orange. (It’s a long tradition in our family to find fruit — apples, oranges — as well as candy and toys in a Christmas stocking.  His comment was that Santa forgot to take his orange with him.

Our three-year-old (almost 4) was in his element, going from package to package, playing with as many of his toys as possible. His little face held a continuous smile.

Sing-A-Ma-Jigs

One of the enjoyable experiences this Christmas morning happened when our granddaughter, age 2.5, opened the package containing 2 Sing-A-Ma-Jigs (strange little off-beat characters that jabber, sing, and harmonize when 2 or more are activated). These are supposed to be some of the hot items for this year and we were lucky to find them. When they came out of the package and pressed their bellies, our granddaughter squealed with delight and then let out a long giggle. It was impossible not to smile and laugh. As the day went on, the adults took turns pressing the pink and blue critters and laughed as the 2-yr-old squealed and ran around the room. Smiles for everyone.

And of course, one of the better gifts came from Mother Nature, with the snowfall today, so they could tromp outside in their new boots, wearing new hats and mittens to play with the white stuff. I keep telling my kids that it doesn’t take a lot of money to have a merry Christmas, just enough. This year, Christmas 2010, is proof of that.

Facts are facts. The economy disaster originated LONG before Obama won the Democratic victory. And, he has done a lot to attempt a cure for the economic problems. However, he is only one individual and his efforts only affect one of many layers to our economic woes. We had high unemployment before Obama won the election, and with all of the layoffs and job losses, that unemployment has skyrocketed to historic proportions. And because people have lost jobs, some have lost their homes and had to change their patterns of living. Many who were at a moderate income range now find themselves at the poverty level, or lower. The so-called improvement in unemployment does not reflect true numbers. Many people who have not found jobs have simply given up or do not meet all of their state’s unemployment requirements.

The old adage, “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer” is very true right now. Many of the items on the NEW Republican agenda are to remove any obstacles to Republican wealth and make it as difficult as possible for those at poverty level to improve their pattern of living. For instance: the proposed slashes in unemployment benefits. There is a large fragment of the population who lost their jobs due to cutbacks in the job market and actual loss of small businesses. Some of those small businesses are still holding on, but cannot afford to hire new people.

For some reason politicians seem to lack the genetic makeup to understand how a small business works. Some small businesses start on a shoestring, only paying out of pocket for the minimum required for startup (business license fees, supplies, etc). Others who have a credit rating that makes it possible, gamble their business with the bank for a loan to get it started. In either case, it is rare that they can afford to hire the employees they need. Most are doomed from the beginning to fail.

On the employee side of the economic game net, many got laid off or lost their jobs completely when the recession hit. A loss of a job means you make serious lifestyle changes. Some are able to find a part-time job to bring in some kind of income. Many go through their savings to pay the bills. Others are unable to pay their bills and wind up losing their home and are left homeless and nothing to call their own but a bad credit rating. Those who can qualify for unemployment benefits to help while job searching are now facing losing their benefits and trying to figure out how to pay bills, mortgage/rent and buy diapers and groceries.

Why are we punishing the poor? Why do they have to jump through so many hoops just to survive? Some politicians run on the premise that they are going to help the “common man” and the voters elect them based on that promise. A promise that never comes to pass. We need honesty in government, AFTER the newly elected promising candidate takes office.

In my thirties, I was proud of the fact that I had very few surgical scars.  That was then and this is now when you can play a game of connect the little white lines on my body. The surgeries started 15 years ago with an ankle reconstruction (from a sprained ankle), shoulder surgery (rotater cuff), then a lumbar fusion at the base of the spine, followed by the knees and finally another back surgery. The first lumbar surgery was over 5 years ago to solve the degenerative disk problem. I was NOT told that the surgery would put strain on the surrounding vertebrae and I would probably have to have more surgery. The doctor did NOT suggest physical therapy to strengthen the muscles and delay the degeneration. All he required is that I wear the brace until the incisions healed and released me. The pain was eased slightly and came back. After I was sufficiently healed, work was done on both knees (with a different surgeon) with new knee joints. I did get physical therapy with those surgeries. The theory was that if the knees were healed properly, then some of the back and hip pain would be eased. It seemed to help the hip but not the back. So, I found a new orthopedic surgeon.

Of course this meant longer rides, more doctors’ visits and x-rays. My fusion was in place and this surgeon only wanted to consider more surgery as a last resort. So it was off to the pain clinic (also part of the orthopedic group) for three years. Together we’ve tried all sorts of things — pool exercise, walking, epidurals, spinal cord stimulator (which has helped some) and more epidurals. More x-rays and cat scans. More epidurals and a number of falls. And during this time a lot of mind-numbing drugs to dull the pain. It didn’t work.

By this time, I was taking enough pain medicine to knock out an elephant and it was having little effect. My pain doctor told me that all he could do was increase the pain meds or refer me to the surgical department for another fusion. Apparently after the first lumbar surgery, scar tissue developed and was forcing a shift in my vertebrae, pinching nerves. In doctor-speak, it’s called Spondylolisthesis. This mouthful of syllables is a serious condition in which one vertebra slips forward on the one below it. It can cause back pain by disturbing biomechanics in the back or by pinching a nerve as it leaves the spinal column. It was causing numbness in my legs, causing both pain and falls. There were several possibilities for repair and all involved invasive surgery. The doctor would not know what he would find until he was in there. Our hope was that there would not be massive arthritis and he could stabalize the spine with flexible cords (similar to bungee cords) and give me some relief. Unfortunately that was not the case. The scar tissue and arthritis made the 90-minute surgery turn into 3 hours. It required extensive skill so as not to damage the leads and wires for the spinal cord stimulator while cleaning out the scar tissue. They were able to mount new hardware to the existing hardware and fuse the remaining L-series.  Scarring will be minimal since they were able to go in along the existing scar. And the stimulator still works.

Of course I have no knowlege of the event since I was out completely and had informed them of my allergy to morphine and latex. When I came around, the difference was obvious. Less pain. In fact, I did not ask for pain meds during my stay. Walking was much easier and no weakness in either leg. Over the past 4 months, since the surgery, my physical abilities have increased. I’m still a little weak at times, but I can now stand up straight — something I have not been able to do for at least 7 or 8 years. I can walk without dragging my feet. Sometimes I have a mild limp but I can take long strides. Again, something I have not been able to do in years.

The improvement in physical activity is one thing but the most impressive is that I have reduced the amount of pain medicine going into my body by almost half — all on my own. Before the surgery, I kept my pill case and a drink of water next to the bed so I could take my meds as soon as both eyes were open. That doesn’t happen very often. In fact, there are some days that I almost forget to take that morning dose. According to my husband, my general attitude has also improved. I’m not sure if he’s ready for the real me to resurface.

I would not recommend this type of surgery for everyone. It is obvious that it worked for me; but I did the research and knew my options before going under the knife. I did not have any anesthesia problems because I informed the surgical staff of my allergies and problems beforehand. I know I would have preferred the stabilization method, without fusing the lower part of my spine. As it stands, I will have to accept the fact that the entire L-series is now permanently fused and I will have to deal with discomfort in the lumbar area from time to time. However, this surgery has probably taken about 20 years off. I no longer move around, bent over and dragging a foot. I can walk like a woman half my age and play with my grandkids. Life is good.