Oh cathy, i am so sorry. Very very hard on many levels.

Laura you sound so much more positive!  I'm so happy for you and look forward to seeing the pics of your special space.

(((( Cathy ))))  I'm so sorry to learn about your other brother.  You are such a blessing to each of those families as you (and Bob) have come alongside to help and encourage them during these difficult times.  I know how hard it must be for you to constantly be the one with the knowledge and skill to help so well.  Take care of you as you minister to your brother.

Cathy, so sorry to read about the struggles with your brother.  Life can be so hard sometimes.  Cherish the time you have left with him.

Cathy, I'm so sorry.  I only have one sister and I can't even imagine losing her.  

Carolyn

My mother had carpal tunnel surgery on both of her hands.She never typed.But she sat at that sewing machine all day  and night  till midnite. You can get it from sewing also.

She made men suites for years.

Cathy, sorry for the situation with your brother.  You seem to be the rock in your family, please make sure you have a rock to lean on.

Jo

One way to diagnose carpal tunnel .... do you wake up in the middle of the night with your hand numb and tingle-y and you think "Oh, I've been sleeping on it wrong?".

That's carpal tunnel for sure.

One way to ease the problem is to stop using that hand for a while. Put that arm in a home-made sling and do as much with the other hand as you can. Okay, it sounds silly but force that hand to rest for five or six days and see if  some of the swelling in the painful hand/wrist goes away with rest.

And maybe Dee has made a good diagnosis with her idea that moving (packing and unpacking) has caused a problem.

JulietDeltaOscar (fixin2quilt) said:

  I'm also thinking that I will need to have carpal tunnel surgery

You need to take you friend to the north and your friend to the south up on their offer to help you get your house in order.  I can promise you it will be the most fun you've ever had working.  It will be productive too.

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. 

We leave tomorrow so I won't be on the forum until I return.  I'm leaving that open ended.  

Taking a charity quilt with me to finish binding.  May take another  if I can get the binding sewn on.