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Poetry - By Dale
Quotations/Other
Sayings
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"Spare me the analysis. It's enough that it works.!"
-Dr. McCoy: Miri Stardate 2713.5
Star Trek
"Creativity is necessary for the
health of the body."
- Spock: The Return of the Archons Stardate 3145.2
Star Trek
"Recovery from a great loss
involves a great deal of pain. If we try to avoid that pain, we make it harder
on ourselves in the long run."
-Counselor Troi: The Loss Stardate 44356.9
Star Trek the Next Generation
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I have Sarcoidosis
the mystery disease
it's symptoms are no mystery
to get through them, no breeze
I have swollen glands, swollen feet,
swollen hands
every joint in my body aches
there's no cure, that's the breaks
I have a bad cough, nothing comes up it's dry
how'd I get this disease? no one knows why
I get short of breath
can't get enough rest
for I'm fatigued all the time
and sometimes do whine
The Prednisone made me really depressed
now I have to see a shrink and I'm very distressed
I got the ol' moon face and widow's hump
40 pound weight gain and the skin bumps
There is one more thing I'd like to say
A cure is what I ask from God each day when I pray.
Laurie McGee
e-mail desaire@infowest.com
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I can feel it within - something is wrong
I am losing energy and not feeling as strong
Complex symptoms - of which there are many
Yes doctor, I too, wish there weren't any
I know there's a lot, but they are all true
Isn't there anything at all - you can do?
I know it's all happening, I sit there and plead
No matter what I said, I just couldn't succeed
Then into my search the right person came
A doctor who finally gave my ghost a name
The force of its strike can put you to bed
No physical boundaries excluded - not even the head.
It just sneaks right up - can make you feel like dirt
Creating problems to even button pants or a shirt
No Known Cause - Not Contagious - they can't figure it out
For Research - For Knowledge - use us we all shout !!!
I do at times sit - with my head in a wonder
What else in my life may I have to encumber?
My body - My life - are at times in a tizzy
This disease of many symptoms, the days that I feel like a sissy
They say there's no cure - so for now - that's the breaks
YES - I continue to fight - no matter what it takes!
It can happen to Anyone - so don't even feel smug
If you meet a person with Sarcoidosis - Please give them a HUG.
Dale C. Lucarelli
a woman of love and strength
and mother of three
e-mail THEDLINE@aol.com
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We and Mr. Prednisone - we're holding hands
He's only in our lives - due to physical demands
This LOVE/HATE affair - it is like NO other
Reaching for that bottle - we say worse than - Oh Brother!
This hellacious disease goes on the attack
Then it's hit the ol' "P" drug - to give it a smack
Alternatives? there are few - times we have to surrender
Up the dose? Oh my! Lovely! Another Prednisone bender!!
The wishing to fight with just strong mental power
Our tears of defeat - wash away in the shower
Damn this disease - it doesn't follow any rules
Please convince us it's being studied in medical schools!
Disease symptoms - drug side effects - some choice!
Let the pharmaceutical companies give us a voice
We search to gain knowledge - with great frustration
If Mr. "P" - *?*?*? - allows us the concentration.
With vengeance - SARC patients - do fight back
Many trying several drugs - to cut us some slack
We put people in space - they can walk on the moon
Let us hope for the - ULTIMATE - Sarcoidosis drug soon!
Dale C. Lucarelli
Chippewa Falls, WI.
e-mail THEDLINE@aol.com
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There is a mystery disease; it's real and out there
With no clue regarding the why, how or where
Researchers seek answers, and then only find
Scant funding and attention, which tighten the bind
The symptoms play havoc with your life
Causing daily hardships and emotional strife
You make the doctor appointment, then there you are
Conveying symptoms that sound quite bizarre
Those with Sarcoidosis, unitively proclaim
That doctors treat or look at them like they are insane
Difficulty finding the good doctor-patient relationship
Just that look: Did you come by vehicle or by spaceship?
The disease is what's crazy, not those who are afflicted
Please listen to us; the symptoms can't all be predicted
You feel great frustration, you say, "Hey, I'm no nut!"
The appointment is over, out the door you do strut
People, in all areas of health care professions
Listen to your patients make their symptom confessions
You do not know them, as they know their own selves
Time out! High and mighty attitudes belong on the shelves
Doctors please, try to be more ... diplomatic
It's not our fault that Sarcoidosis is so symptomatic
Please play detective, you'll gain knowledge, too
Let's all work together, finding out what to do!
Sarcoidosis -- it's a multiple system disease
The symptoms are real, not just whims on a breeze
This disease is horrific! The treatments are few
We need our strength to fight the symptoms -- not fight with you, too.
Dale C. Lucarelli
Chippewa Falls, WI. USA
e-mail THEDLINE@aol.com
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What good does it do -- to stew?
Sarcoidosis is a disease that is NOT new!
Afflicted are many -- but still no known cause
World Wide lives are lost -- PLEASE -- take this moment to pause....
What do YOU want to leave behind?
You were a good person, warm, giving and kind?
ME -- I want MORE -- so I have opened a door
Give my body to Research, they need to learn and explore...
To live in hearts--we leave behind--is NOT to die...
Let your soul and spirit rise to the sky
Keep your body here with a Medical School
Your donation may just be the CURING TOOL...
Research is needed--this disease is horrendous!
PLEASE consider "those" diagnosed--coming up behind us
We have all read and read to try and gain knowledge
The cause/cure discovery -- just may happen at a MEDICAL COLLEGE
Death is inevitable -- be it Sarcoidosis or not
It happens to everyone -- so give it some thought
Think of your body -- no matter what age it goes
The vast medical findings from you head to your toes...
To each your own feelings -- in making a choice
But my opinion, I just had to voice
My body will stay -- not in a hole -- to just lay
Think about a future cure for Sarcoidosis -- consider signing Living Will papers today......
Ms. Dale C. ( Thurlow) Lucarelli
Lehigh Acres, FL.
e-mail THEDLINE@aol.com
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You are like a butterfly
flittin' all around...
Then one day you awake
feeling knocked to the ground
You arrive for the doctor appointment
follow the medical routine
You explain so many symptoms
you just want to scream
Some patients get listened to
examined with great concern
Others get that disbelieving look
and do a slow burn...
There's some who get diagnosed right away
but then, for the majority of us all
The road to get answers
is a very long haul...
No matter the timing
when given the name to your ghost
Public and medical reaction is -- SarcoidWHAT ??
and your body -- the host ??
You feel like you've entered the Twilight Zone
Sarc demons invading -- behind you a locked gate
But please don't give up
though the frustration is great
With unity and strong voices
we continue to shout
"It is called SARCOIDOSIS"
and we will get awareness out!
Ms. Dale C. ( Thurlow) Lucarelli
Lehigh Acres, FL.
e-mail THEDLINE@aol.com
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I have...Sarcoidosis"
say.....whaaat?
So many I have contact with
Are afflicted with this disease
It is called. . ."Sarcoidosis"
"Say.....whaaat?? - if you please?"
"Sar-coy-doh-sis" we repeat - "Ask whatever you would like."
We strive to educate with words
This disease of multi-symptoms
Which to some ... may sound absurd
But hey! Vicious and unyielding - it can surely be!
No rules - No cure -- so, quite daunting
And where it may strike you next
Is a fear that can be haunting...
Any part of you - it can attack
From your toes -- up to your head
A persistent irritating cough - to serious neuro involvement
Knocking your butt - right into bed!
For some it's completely debilitating
And trust me. . .selective - it is not
Be you...black-white-yellow-orange
Or purple - with pink polka dots!
No matter... in the mild form-to severely chronic
Sarcoidosis challenges your daily living
The damage being done to your body
May be permanent and unforgiving
For the lives that are touched by this disease
Be it yourself - a loved one- or a friend
Please spread the word with hope and prayer
That medical research will find an end
Ms. Dale C Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
E mail THE D LINE@aol.com
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S is for spirit, with which we battle you
A is for attitude, it helps to see us through
R is for resilient, for we shall not give in
C is for conquer, the cure someday we'll win
O is for often, the drugs we have to take
I is for indefinite, for choices we will make
D is for doctor, those who try to do some good
O is for overwhelming, symptoms not well understood
S is for severe, a chronic illness with no pause
I is for incredible, to date - still no known cause
S is for sharing, in unity - we are strong
and our fortitude shall see us through,
the cure will come along
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
E-mail THE DLINE@aol.com
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Ever felt people staring at you?
Because they know you are sick or even disabled?
And they're not sure what to say or do?
You hold your head high
Just walk on by__
Do they have any clue
What this disease has done to you?
Or the living hell. . .you have been through?
You hold your head high
Just walk on by__
The road of life... with Sarcoidosis
Can surely take its toll
But hang onto the dream
And go forth with our goal
Give them a smile
Help spread the word!
WE CAN... go that extra mile
Yes, my dear friends - do hold your head high
And say... " S-a-r-c-o-i-d-o-s-i-s have I "
For you have just spread awareness
to one more person
Before. . .you just walk on by__
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
E mail THE DLINE@aol.com
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Star light. . . Star bright. . .
As she gazes upon the star-lit sky__
Her longing to experience true love - intensifies...
This woman, within her, will she ever be free?
"Shush...little lady." "You no longer have any normalcy."
"But why?" she asks tearfully "Should I be left out?"
"To experience - true - unconditional love - the kind with no doubt?"
A voice whispers down gently, "I understand the kind of love you
seek."
"But dear.... the drugs - the disease -- go now...take a peek."
"I see the effects..." she admits, as she looks at herself
"Am I destined to place my heart - to collect dust, on a shelf?"
Within her comes a scream...."Wait!" "There's so much more to
me!"
"Please. . .can't you see?"
"My heart - my soul - my spirit - I am me. . .I'm still me!"
As she gazes upon the star-lit sky__
A voice whispers down gently, as she looks upward - misty eyed
"I shall guide each person, who looks upon me in the heavenly skies,
not to judge a person by their cover -- but by what is inside..."
*Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
E mail THE D
LINE@aol.com
*Authors note:
Do not squelch your feelings, from razor sharp words in your past.
Those minds will stay shallow -- your love and strength will surpass.
Never - never stop gazing upon the stars where you wish . . .
And do not treat a life lightly - for it is truly - to be cherished.
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CHRONIC ILLNESS - it can rip right into the
"core of your being."
It can be over whelming and your worst enemy.
Unfortunately - statistics show the numbers are high - in the devastation
done to lives - from the interruption of chronic illness.
Be it a spouse, a lover, family, friends, and/or your own self worth - it
can all be altered drastically.
Like the dropping of a bomb - into your life - when all was normal one day -
and then destruction happened. You had no warning......no clue......
no time for preparation......no power to control its wrath and evil.
The war taking place within your body. This battle waged against you -
by the invasion of chronic disease and the drugs used to combat it.
It is happening - your life changing before your very eyes - the stress
of living with something so " alien."
You want to scream...."What is happening to me?"
But wait........no matter what has happened - you are still - YOU inside.
Your spirit and your soul is your strength - and you can still fight and you
can still win - because your attitude is stronger than any illness - any sharp
words - or the loss of what you once thought was concrete love.
You cannot control the behavior of others - but you can still go forth
radiating
all the goodness you have within your own heart.
Of course...we all have times of feeling sadness.
You miss "that person" you used to be.
And now...these foreign feelings are happening to you.
You may be feeling - upset - out of control - un-worthy - inadequate
- LOST - and your brain is screaming. "I am sick of being sick !
With chronic illness - there is NO consistency - of how you can feel.
It can change so rapidly in minutes - hours - or on a day to day basis.
The difficulty you begin to think - YOU cause to people - because you are
sick.
The stress it puts in the relationships - with a spouse - a child - a friend,
etc.
"Well - yesterday you were feeling ok!" "And now today - when I
need you
or we have plans - you say...you can't!"
Like...you are doing this by choice?
Chronic illness does change your life - in many ways.
Some of you may have a spouse - a special someone - the devotion
of your family - the friendships built of strength.
And some of you...may feel very very alone.....
But no matter your situation - please... love yourself - be good to yourself
-
and live each day for the gift it is.
The words in the writing you have just read - Star light... Star bright...
- were done in the "she" form - but my hope is that they will be felt
deeply by man - woman - or child - for their meaning and content.
Felt by those...who have someone, it may give you the chance to share
it with them - to say thank you - for standing beside me.
It will also be felt by many... whose lives have been torn apart by chronic
illness and they are alone, hurt and struggling.
But what I hope most will happen to all. . .is that with the compassion
that exists within all our hearts - you will think very long and hard
before ever passing judgment on another human life.
For no one makes a choice to open a door and let chronic illness
come into their home - but we can make a choice of what we do about it
and how we deal with it.
And may these words you have read, touch your heart
as deeply as they did mine, when I wrote them. Dale
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This disease -- called Sarcoidosis,
Still a mystery, not yet solved.
We beg of you, Medical Researchers,
Please. . .become more involved.
It does not seem to listen,
It ignores the drugs we take.
The pill bottles lined up like soldiers,
Our fight continued. . .at daybreak.
It's 3 o'clock in the morning.
I lie awake in my bed.
Aware of the many symptoms I feel,
Checking them off within my head.
To me the list seems longer,
Than when I first felt ill.
The thoughts of what I've already endured,
Down my spine, does send a chill.
Sarcoidosis was once considered rare,
Now that theory is no longer true.
Another patient was newly diagnosed today,
Tomorrow. . .it could be you.
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
Email THE D LINE@aol.com
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"A B C D" . . . "E F G" . . .
Ohhh. . .that sweet sweet sound,
Of a child's singing voice.
The innocence of youth,
Truly makes us rejoice.
But Wait!
Some of the children,
They are not singing,
They feel sick - they are frightened,
See their little hands wringing?
Suddenly. . .
The vocabulary of another family,
Has just learned a new word.
Sar - coy - doh - sis ?
Oh - no - no! Not possible!
My doctor says that's absurd!
ALERT! S O S!
All Medical Professionals. . .
React to this message,
Like you've just heard the call for a "CODE BLUE."
And. . .now that I have your attention - ladies and gentlemen,
"CHILDREN GET SARCOIDOSIS TOO"
So!
The next time you are looking,
Into the eyes of a sick child.
Doing your tests. . .
And getting your results all compiled.
We ask you - Please!
Read the published medical journals and articles,
On which your profession, places such a great worth.
You will discover. . .Children - CAN & DO - get Sarcoidosis,
From their teen years. . .all the way down. . .to within months after birth.
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
E mail THE D LINE@aol.com
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Yesterday. . .
I was healthy
I had a career
I had a life of "normalcy"
I had the plans of my future.
Today. . .
I am sick
I have no career
I have a life of "mystery"
I have Neuro/Sarcoidosis
Tomorrow. . .
I want to feel strong again
I want to stop taking all these drugs
I want my life back
Please God. . .I want a cure.
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL USA
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The medical ignorance, concerning this disease
Is absolutely absurd!
It is time to give this horrid illness
The recognition it deserves
The disease is Sarcoidosis
Its cause is still unknown
Yet in recent years, it's a proven fact
The number of cases . . .have surely grown
Tell us, Why are we still hanging?
Without a clue - regarding this affliction!
No Known Cause - Not Contagious - No Cure -
With symptoms this great in complexion?
We need aggressive medical research, along with education
Yet our frustration - is continually spurred!
Please help us - with our fight against Sarcoidosis
Don't let our pleas go by . . .unheard
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL. USA
email THEDLINE@aol.com
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To:
Medical health care providers
No matter your
level of degree, or title, within the health care system -
we ask that you take a moment to THINK - of what it might feel like to be
on "the other side of the coin."
A PATIENTS VIEW
We did not call or walk into this medical facility today just to purposely
make
anyone's job more demanding or difficult.
We called or walked through the door because we have a legitimate health
challenge -- it is called "Sarcoidosis."
This disease presents itself in our bodies in many ways and symptoms.
Sarcoidosis has the power and the ability to knock us off our feet with the
same
force as an undertow.
We take our lives and well being very seriously.
We were not always people who now hold the title of "patient."
We are educated men and woman who have/or once had - a career and a future
full of plans - but we have been struck down by a vicious disease - which has
forced
many of us to have to change those plans.
It makes us no less of a "person" - we have just had to adapt to a
different
way of
life - and many of us have fought a long and hard battle to get to where we
are today.
But one thing we will not sacrifice - is our feelings of worth as human
beings.
We have families - friends - children and grandchildren - who would like to
keep us
around for a long time to come.
We are as baffled as you are with all the symptoms we experience and we
don't need any extra hassle.
Your employment depends on "us" the "patients" - so
remember that - when
you are doing your jobs - as without us "you" would not have your
title or
your job.
Maintaining - IS - of great importance to us in our fight with Sarcoidosis.
We need - each other - so work "with us" -- please....
We who are afflicted with Sarcoidosis, are surely not alone in our fight
against
a disease for which there is no cure. Unfortunately, the world is full of
illness.
But the biggest fight we are continually confronted with - is the lack of
medical
education and public awareness of the ticking time bomb that Sarcoidosis
truly is.
This disease plays by no rules, nor has any bounds, to the degree of havoc
it can and does cause within our bodies and within our lives.
We ask you to take our hand and join us on The SILL of Sarcoidosis.
Study - Investigate - Learn - Listen --- It is
called Sar - coy - doh - sis.
And remember. . .
Sarcoidosis, as with many other diseases, picks its victims at random.
So all of you continue to pray . . . you stay healthy.
For as quick as the strike of a match, your life can flip
to "the other side of the coin."
Ms. Dale C. Thurlow
Lehigh Acres, FL. USA
email THEDLINE@aol.com
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Last updated 11/20/06