wellhushmypuppies

I know it's hard to believe this, but ultimately the decision to go into that balloon was theirs. believe me, I'm not saying it's their fault! but you made a case for them doing that based on what you thought was best for them and they listened to you. There wasn't a shred of anything evil in your suggestion and sometimes, as it happens, horrible, horrible things happen when they just shouldn't.

I'm so sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you have time to create a bond with your father and stepmother.

Unless i missed it, you don't say what happened to your birth mother. is it ok for me to ask?

Stay strong, and cherish the memories you were able to create with them.

I'm sorry -- I'm confused. I asked about your birthmother which, according to your story, apparently took you and left after your birthfather became drunk and violent one night. But you don't mention what happened to her, and in your response you're referring to a male figure, so i'm lost. Sorry.

as the mother of a former troubled teen, I absolutely considered doing something just as punitive, but instead sent her to an all-girls board school across the country, where the maximum number of students was 25, and the minimum stay was one year. She told me recently she was actually relieved when we did this because she knew she was completely out of control and didn't know how to stop herself (and god knows the last thing she would have done was listen to anything we had to say). Believe me, it was a bumpy road but she came out with her high school diploma (even graduating a year early) and even though she slipped back into her old ways when she returned, she's now a wonderful, beautiful, hard working young lady who credits both us (for not giving up on her) and the school (for the constant supervision she received to make sure she stayed on the right path). But we were the lucky ones -- it seems that most of her fellow students went back to their old ways when they got out, and then stayed there.

It infuriates me when doctors dismiss a patient's symptoms simply because they don't see what they're looking for. as though the patient isn't a fairly good judge of what's going on with their own body. Whatever happened to first do no harm? At any rate, this is an amazing story. Thank you for sharing and I hope you have many, MANY healthy, happy years ahead.