EVS

I am doing well. Thank you. I do wear the masks that are provided at the hospital. I have no idea if they are effective against coronavirus. I just wear them for general protection.

I just started my cancer treatment for lymphoma 2 weeks ago. This is a scary time to have a weakened immune system. I pretty much haven’t left the house except for treatment. Of course, I have to go to a hospital for treatment which is the worst place to be as far as germs and exposure to everything.

It’s the Winter 2020 Feed Our Starving Children Grifting Tour, to be followed by the 2020 Spring FOSCGT, followed by the Summer tour...As long as there are well meaning people willing to feed and entertain them, the grift bus will keep on rolling. I’d like to see just ONE picture of Jill and David treating their hosts to a nice meal to thank them for their hospitality. That is the proper thing to do. I won’t hold my breath though.

I’ve been thinking about something I learned from Scientology And The Aftermath and the book I Fired God. On SATAM, Mike Rinder said something like, “One of the signs of a cult is what happens when you leave.” In I Fired God, Jocelyn Zichterman talks about how her father stalked and harassed her and her husband and also her sister who stepped out of line and eventually left the church. He pulled in other prominent IFB leaders to help him. He was also incredibly abusive to his daughters growing up and even as adults. It’s been a while since I read the book but that is what I remember. Anyway, my point is that I think a lot more ugliness has gone on behind the scenes than we realize between JB and Jill and Derick and I suspect there will be more after this decision to send Izzy to preschool. With Fundie men, it is all about ego and control. I wouldn’t be surprised if JB has the older Duggar kids put pressure on J and D as well. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up at their house and tried to intimidate them into getting back in line with the program. I think he did this in the past and, when it didn’t work, put the restrictions on Jill visiting her siblings. It’s like the Scientology disconnection policy for anyone who leaves the cult. Right now, J and D haven’t completely left so Jill is still allowed controlled access, but that could change if she moves further away from both the cult and JB’s rules. I also wonder if some of Derick’s recent SM revelations came after harassment by JB when Derick was angry and frustrated. Sorry this is so long. This is all conjecture but it fits with what we know about fundamentalist fathers and about cults in general. Even though Jill said she thought it might be “fun” to try kindergarten for Izzy, I suspect that JB has made these recent decisions far from “fun” for Jill and Derick. I think Derick is strong enough to resist the pressure. I don’t think Jill could have done it on her own.

In my head, I can hear the unwritten “yay” at the end of that sentence.

Too bad Derick burned bridges with TLC. I would actually watch Jill and her children learn to navigate life outside the Duggar bubble. As it is, I have no interest in watching Counting on with the usual babies, babies, babies, courtship, wedding, babies, babies...

I see a slight difference but I suspect that growing up she never learned how to properly take care of her skin or had a regular skin care routine. If that’s the case, then any decent product, used regularly, would give her improved skin.

Maybe he has to do a group project in college with people he doesn’t approve of, like a lesbian, a catholic, and a black person.

I’m doing well. Thank you for asking. I will finish my last tests this week and finally start treatment next week. @lookeyloo, I am so sorry.

She does mention it being during JB’s time in the legislature. It’s at the bottom of the second to last page. I agree that it is all about the image with them and that was probably their motivation.

It did start with the younger twins. Someone on Reddit posted screen shots of the relevant pages from Michelle’s book. I found it a couple weeks ago by googling ‘Michelle Duggar blanket training’. The post had a picture of 1 page but when you click on it, there are more pages. I’ll try to find it again and link it. Michelle basically said it started with Jer and Jed but it was so successful 🤮 that they then used it on Joy, even though she was older than the twins. Michelle made it sound almost pleasant unless you know enough about it to read between the lines. For example, she refers to “quick corrections” which apparently is hitting the baby with a flexible ruler or something like that. She doesn’t mention stopping training but the caption under the picture of Hannie and Jennifer says they were blanket trained as well. eta link: the link brings up pictures of all the relevant pages.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That sounds like it should be the name of Michelle’s uterus.

I love that it rhymes with Felicity. I usually don’t call the young children anything but their names, but I will not be able to resist calling Felicity this from now on.

Or cause them to ask, “Isn’t that a fish?”.

Someone gave me a beautiful plaque. Here is a picture for anyone with cancer who may find this comforting or encouraging.

Thank you, @Nysha Thank you.

I am so sorry. I had just added to my post that it must be so hard to see your child go through this. Please update us when you feel able to.

Thank you. I just got a call today. I will sign the consent papers, do the intake screening, and have any additional tests (bone marrow biopsy) or test that need to be done again, either this Tuesday and Thursday or the following week. Hopefully all goes well and I can start treatment shortly after that.

Thank you , @lookeyloo. I knew that someone here had a son with kidney cancer but I couldn’t remember who it was. I hope his scan results will be encouraging. He is in my prayers. ETA: As a mother, I would rather be sick myself than watch my child struggle. I am so sorry you have to go through that. I hope you are taking care of yourself and getting the support you need as well.

I’m quoting my own post because this was the last post I made in this thread. I’m sorry I haven’t responded sooner. I have been struggling emotionally the last few months and needed to take a break. I want to very belatedly thank everyone who posted encouraging messages and helpful information. I appreciated it more than you know. I found out that I am stage 3 with intermediate risk so I definitely need treatment. I am currently trying to get into a clinical trial. I met with the specialist in charge of the trial and passed the pre-screening. I will be doing the full screening probably next week and hopefully finally begin treatment soon. My prognosis is still good and I know that I am lucky. I have been lurking occasionally, and I know that many others here are going through worse issues or have family members who are suffering or have passed away. I’m sorry for not responding to those posts individually, but please know that you have all been in my prayers. It seems like many of us had a difficult 2019. I pray that we all have a better 2020.

Or PROP-er-TEE

I would have been happy if they had skipped the IOI lessons, but I enjoyed them as the Statler and Waldorf of tribal council. I wish they could do that every season.

Isn’t Sia the one that went to a Walmart this past Thanksgiving without her wig and claimed to be a recent lottery winner and then paid for everyone’s Thanksgiving groceries? She seems like an amazing and generous person. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/sia-undercover-walmart-pays-groceries-180514158.html Jamal may have only gotten 15k, but that is still 15k more than Noura, Missy, Aaron etc.. got. Sia giving money to her favorite survivor contestants each season is a bit random and odd and could affect how people play the game, so I can see why some people are critical of it, but it seems like her intentions are good and I’m sure the recipients appreciate it. Edited to add link and to add that she also did the same thing at a TJMaxx, as mentioned in above link.