tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post6980246054993012671..comments2024-03-28T15:01:21.285-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: Writing What You Know -- the Hard WayLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-36499061043409297302016-07-06T23:49:19.803-04:002016-07-06T23:49:19.803-04:00If you want more stories I have a few including po...If you want more stories I have a few including polio and post polio, epilepsy, misdiagnosis of psychiatric disorder that was epilepsy of the type that Van Gogh and Dostoyevsky had. This is well documented, and in fact, BBC TV sent a team of people over to the Boston to interview and film me and my neurologist twice. It was shown in other countries with BBCTV but not in the US. I can give you a URL for that, but the complete version I have on tape that needs to be converted to disk format. Let me know.Maureen Harringtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03499876353651763590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75683129560627348702016-07-06T18:20:46.151-04:002016-07-06T18:20:46.151-04:00There's nothing scarier than black ice, Kaye!There's nothing scarier than black ice, Kaye!Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-8551881527798784652016-07-06T16:45:06.536-04:002016-07-06T16:45:06.536-04:00This one doesn't involve pain, just terror. It...This one doesn't involve pain, just terror. It was winter in Michigan and I was driving on an icy patch of road, getting the kids home from nursery school. I hit black (undetectable ice) and started skidding into the oncoming lane, which was full of cars, our speed was good enough to probably kill one or two of us. I wrestled with the steering wheel, but it turning the wheels didn't stop the skid. Since there was not a thing I could do, I had to give up and accept that we might crash and die. It's an unexpectedly peaceful feeling, the end of the struggle. However, I got off that ice and regained control of the car before we collided. It veered into the right-hand culvert, also full of ice, but now I was back in control. I kept going as fast as I could, so I wouldn't get stuck and have to be towed. Before we came to a cross street, I was able to gun the thing out of there and continue home. After we got home, I shook for hours. My brother reported the same peaceful feeling when his car flipped and he was riding down the highway on the roof at 60 mph, hanging in the seatbelt. It's not something you'd expect.<br />Kaye Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596677617002735674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-18110540734302905212016-07-06T09:50:58.427-04:002016-07-06T09:50:58.427-04:00Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and sharing your...Thanks, everyone, for stopping by and sharing your mostly terrible experiences. I hope your willingness to share can help others create more realistic fiction.Barb Goffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16013123434790272424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-7072906587038135902016-07-05T22:10:40.806-04:002016-07-05T22:10:40.806-04:00I haven’t skydived either, but I had an acquaintan...I haven’t skydived either, but I had an acquaintance who did until the day her chute didn’t properly open and she crash-landed, breaking her back. She planned to return to skydiving after she healed. She and a friend even skydived nude once!<br><br>Then there’s the <a href="http://criminalbrief.com/?p=14301" rel="nofollow">story of Miss Clottemans</a>, jealous schoolteacher and a skydiving enthusiast. She murdered her romantic rival by rigging her parachute not to open. At the time, I calculated the victim had a full 1½ minutes of terror as she plunged to earth.<br><br>The women’s web site, Lemondrop, said, “We don’t have our bucket list written just yet, but two things we’re pretty sure are not going to be on it are 1) jump out of a plane, and 2) be involved in a love triangle that ends in murder. Thank you, Els Clottemans, for really (allegedly) cementing our position on that.”<br>Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-52426756014829659552016-07-05T21:40:50.076-04:002016-07-05T21:40:50.076-04:00Poor Becky! It can prove dangerous to be your frie...Poor Becky! It can prove dangerous to be your friend, Barb!<br><br>In the spirit of helpfulness, here's <a href="http://www.sleuthsayers.org/2014/06/the-age-of-stone-surgery.html" rel="nofollow">my own guide to kidney stones</a>.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10254942591054683692016-07-05T16:39:51.615-04:002016-07-05T16:39:51.615-04:00One of the worst pains I ever experienced was caus...One of the worst pains I ever experienced was caused by getting shingles. Take note here everyone and get the SHINGLES VACCINE immediately if not sooner. It happened ten years ago and I was visiting my daughter in Nashville, TN. I thought I had a kidney stone the pain wasn't too bad at first and seemed to move around a bit. It was right side of my back about where a kidney is located. Pain got steadily worse. We went to an Urgentcare Clinic where they took an X-ray. A stone didn't show up but they set me up for a Cat Scan the next day with a urologist. Gave me pain meds and antibiotic. Next morning as pain got steadily worse I felt a place on my back waist level that felt like skin irritation and little blisters. Thought I was having reaction to antibiotics. Called UrgentCare. Nurse told me to come in. On the way, it dawned on me I might have shingles. Dont know where that idea came from...however I knew stress often brought it on. In the year before, My husband had died, I wrecked my car, wasn't hurt, was diagnosed with breast cancer, had mastectomy and 4 rounds of Chemo. Found out radiation and chemo both can cause the immune system supression and bring on shingles. My case was so severe that I have nerve damage and daily pain. I take pain medicine daily. When I'm tired or stressed it's more severe but most days now the pain is tolerable and I don't hurt all day. But I do have pain every day. This is now 10th year. Once again if you've had chicken pox the virus is in you so get the vaccine. Shingles can breakout on your head, scalp, face, back, shoulder most anywhere. Believe me you do NOT want to have it, Jan Grapehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13323910083703514953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89061659690123803972016-07-05T15:25:09.861-04:002016-07-05T15:25:09.861-04:00My friend Michaela Shannon-Sank asked me to post t...My friend Michaela Shannon-Sank asked me to post this for her about migraines:<br /><br />"I suffer from migraines. The first thing I want to say about them is no, they are not just 'a really bad headache.' I have heard a lot of people complain that they had a migraine at work or a migraine so bad they needed to go to the store to get medicine or it was so bad that they almost didn't go somewhere. No. Just no. When you have a migraine, the pain is so severe that for the first few hours you are afraid that you are going to die. For the next several hours you are afraid that you won't. The pain is all-consuming. When I have a migraine, I cannot function. I take my meds (if I wait too long then I have to have my husband use my auto-injector because it's the super-strong med but I am shaking too hard to hold my hand still enough to inject myself), then I lay down in my bed, all lights off, absolutely no noise, with an ice pack on my head. Sometimes I cannot deal with the feel of the bed sheets so lay on the floor. Any light causes agonizing flares of pain, any noise is unbearable. Sometimes I have to throw up, that is the worst. That is when I am convinced that my heart will give out or I will have a stroke. The pain is unspeakable. I panic if I have less than five of my pills left in the bottle and I have tried over a dozen different medications over the years along with alternative therapies like Bio-feedback, pressure point stimulation, meditation and homeopathic remedies. My eleven-year-old daughter also suffers from migraines, and that is worse than any pain I feel, seeing her suffering."Barb Goffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16013123434790272424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25628464233066057242016-07-05T14:27:34.878-04:002016-07-05T14:27:34.878-04:00Good advice, Barb. We all have experience to fall ...Good advice, Barb. We all have experience to fall back on, but tapping into another person's experience doubles the benefit. Better to have someone tell you about getting punched in the nose or stabbed than going through those ordeals on your own.jrlindermuthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09204855909246670628noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-16162561804909719312016-07-05T13:35:33.227-04:002016-07-05T13:35:33.227-04:00My father-in-law, now deceased, was born in Poland...My father-in-law, now deceased, was born in Poland in 1931 & was captured & kept at Auschwitz for about a month when he was a teenager. A guard there didn't like him & banged him in the knee with a rifle butt. This of course caused a comminuted fracture & he walked with one straight leg the rest of his life.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00239163766419735693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10199063313158031172016-07-05T13:00:25.565-04:002016-07-05T13:00:25.565-04:00Wow. You all have had horrible experiences. I'...Wow. You all have had horrible experiences. I'm so sorry. But as Janice said, it's all useful once you get past the pain. Thanks for sharing. And I'm glad you've liked the blog I hope it proves helpful with your writing.Barb Goffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16013123434790272424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-49054085497277793832016-07-05T11:03:40.041-04:002016-07-05T11:03:40.041-04:00I've been very fortunate in never being shot o...I've been very fortunate in never being shot or stabbed. I have had cracked (or broken, never went to the doctor) ribs, which means that every breath gives you a stabbing pain. I also once had a biopsy on my uterus done without anesthetic (long story, but the crux is that I have no idea why the hospital didn't do it, other than the fact that I was dirt poor and had no insurance). I don't know at what point in the procedure they were when I realized that I was being carved from the inside out. I walked into that room; I needed a wheelchair to leave. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-44788489260057610912016-07-05T11:01:34.920-04:002016-07-05T11:01:34.920-04:00I may have overlooked something in CiCi's acco...I may have overlooked something in CiCi's account, but I'm assuming she's a police officer. Either that or she needs to move to a better neighborhood.<br /><br />I could tell you what it feels like to tumble down a full flight of stairs, breaking my nose in the process, feeling vise-like pain engulf my head and my sinuses fill up with blood while a river of red stuff poured from my nose and all the joints I'd banged on the way down began to scream. My whole face turned black and swelled enormously, and I tasted blood for a couple of weeks as my sinuses slowly cleared. The ER doctor asked if my husband had beaten me. I almost smacked him, but I guess the hospital rules required the question. He also told me I was lucky I hadn't broken my neck and paralyzed or killed myself. I'd already figured that out on my own. <br /><br />Half of my face turned black and hurt like hell for two weeks after I had an implant that required adding cadaver bone mixed with my own blood to my jaw to strengthen it. <br /><br />Back pain? A lifetime of it, in every variety -- and yes, a herniated or ruptured disc *can* make walking nearly impossible if it pokes out in certain directions. Your whole leg can go numb and start folding under you when you try to stand or walk.<br /><br />And of course there are the major back and pelvic fractures. And the knee where the cartilage totally detached and the joint dislocated. Going up and down the stairs was so much fun right before my surgery.<br /><br />If anyone needs details about any of this, just email me. I realize I've had an unusual number of major injuries and health problems (including lots I haven't mentioned here), and I don't mind sharing with other writers who need to disable a character. All this misery ought to be good for something!<br /><br />Thanks for an informative blog, Barb. I hope your kidney stone won't trouble you much longer. My father was tormented by kidney stones most of his adult life, and I could see how awful it was. I'm glad *that* hasn't happened to me, at least. Sandra Parshallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17403144248962124138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-78549864894315157322016-07-05T10:52:20.524-04:002016-07-05T10:52:20.524-04:00These are very vivid stories, and I can easily see...These are very vivid stories, and I can easily see using some of the details. I prefer not to remember the time I nearly sliced off one of my fingers, and the time I fell down the stairs. Dick Francis was known for getting the physical pain and healing exactly right in his books. No one falls off a horse, gets trampled, and is fine in three hours, back to chasing the bad guys. His books are very realistic.Susan Oleksiwhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02693057997469296068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-12165679274791121162016-07-05T10:12:40.418-04:002016-07-05T10:12:40.418-04:00Thanks to Barb and the other writers for sharing t...Thanks to Barb and the other writers for sharing their experiences of pain. I'll preface my story by saying there's a reason why the bad guys shoot you in the knee cap. I wasn't shot, but my knee cap was broken in a car accident. You can't run or even hobble with that kind of injury. The immediate pain was bad, but not as intense as the pain after the surgery to mend it. I felt as if the lower half of my body was on fire. The only relief I got was a shot of morphine in the leg at night so that I could sleep. If you want your culprit to pay for his crimes, smash his knee cap. Maya Corriganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08353162256268887619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55591902298889015222016-07-05T09:56:32.505-04:002016-07-05T09:56:32.505-04:00I have done some original research in a couple of ...I have done some original research in a couple of these areas. First, if you use as a pry-bar a hunting knife whose edge you have lovingly and painstakingly honed to razor sharpness, do be aware that it can slip and slide right into your belly. Not the best way to spend an evening.<br /><br />Then there was time time my dentist discovered she could not deaden my tooth. Thing is, she only discovered this after breaking the tooth in half, so that she had to proceed. She cranked up the nitrous oxide as far as she could, and with tears in her eyes finished what she had to do. They told me I said at one point, "This hurts like the devil, but it's so far, far away." Also not recommended.Larry W. Chavishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06804143598641414386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-22231085495272799692016-07-05T08:21:18.081-04:002016-07-05T08:21:18.081-04:00I'm reminded of Nora Ephron's mom's : ...I'm reminded of Nora Ephron's mom's : "Remember it's all copy, dear"janice lawnoreply@blogger.com