"Real World's" Frankie Dies at 25

76. So Sad! RIP Frankie!

Posted at 7:43AM on Jun 13th 2007 by GoDiVa35

77. I did not personally know frankie but Ive bumped into her several times in the westport area in kansas city...she seemed very nice! Rest in Peace!

Posted at 8:03PM on Jun 13th 2007 by From KANSAS CITY

78. lot's of love Don't need the attention, it was just a posting. I heard 2 close bro's from my old unit went down recently. I was just a thought at the moment, go easy.

Posted at 8:22PM on Jun 12th 2007 by PO

79. R.I.P. That is sad and for her to only be 25. To anybody else that has lost someone recently my condolences.

Posted at 8:25PM on Jun 12th 2007 by A.C.

80. Isn't that horrible.... To all her friends and family, she's at peace now, please take comfort in that. Beautiful girl! R.I.P

Posted at 8:27PM on Jun 12th 2007 by BrazscoBeaco

81. RIP Frankie. You were our favorite on the RW San Diego.

Posted at 9:38PM on Jun 12th 2007 by the212

82. Oh No!!! That is terrible, no wondered she was so troubled on the show. Frankie, may you be in peace in the after life, in the way you could not be in this messed up world.

Posted at 8:31PM on Jun 12th 2007 by deanna

83. Hey #15 BLOW IT OUT YOUR ASS

Posted at 8:30PM on Jun 12th 2007 by MIDWEST

84. For everyone, who wants to know, how hard her life and death really was, here are some of her posts form the FC forum:

Well, i can see i missed out on some fun... However, as ironic as it is that my question is about drugs, and i do have a very sarcastic sense of humor, my question is one that i am serious about.
Pain Killers... Who takes them? What do you take them for? How often do you take them? What kind do you take and how much? When do you take them? How willing is your Dr. to prescribe them? etc...
The reason i ask... When i have been hospitalized, the dr.s and nurses taking care of me have had no problem giving me pain meds whenever i ask for them. They have always made it very easy to say, "i'm hurting. Can i have something for pain?". When i am not hospitalized, however, it's usually like pulling teeth to get a dr. to give me a perscription for anything.
i will admit that my pain levels are higher right before i get sick and sometimes right after, (depending on the meds i am on and how long i am on them) but as i have gotten older, i swear my body feels like it's 80 years old, whether i'm sick or not. In the morning, when i first wake up, and at night, when i lay down in bed are the times that it is the worst. i have conditioned myself to ignore it on a daily basis, but pretending like it's not there makes me really cranky and not fun to be around. My family definitely notices a difference in the way i carry myself and my mood when i have them.
So, i was just wondering where others with CF stand on this. i really would like to see what's what by slight comparison. (i know that everyone's case is different, but, a little reassurance never hurt anyone). Thanks. - f
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Anyway, weed makes me really paranoid. My hands get really cold and then i convince myself i'm dying. i used to be able to smoke weed no problem, but ever since i graduated from high school, it's a big no for me. i also hate not being in control, and losing track of the time every 5 minutes drives me batty.

i used to get migraines a lot, so, i would take ibuprofen religiously. i think my body is kind of immune to it now, as it takes at least 800mg to do anything at all. i accidentally cut my finger off a few years ago (long drunken story) and they sewed it back on, but the healing was excruciating. They gave me vicodin for that, which helped a little. It kind of made the pain go from horrible to bad. First pic line was my first dose of morphine, and Luke, i am so with you, it is a beautiful thing. My veins are really tiny and they are super over reactive, so they clamp and close in a milli second... which makes pic lines that much more fun. So, when i got pic lines, i got lots of morphine. Eventually they had to do my pics in special procedures and they used some kind of pain killer that i can never remember the name of. That stuff was nuts. It was like they would inject it in my IV, everything would spin and echo and suddenly the lights would look like the Las Vegas strip, and then out. i would wake up in my hospital room. When i was discharged, they would always send me home with percocet, which is my favorite after morphine. Percocet does the trick. It hardly ever makes me nauseus(?) and it gets rid of my pain.
After i got my port put in last December, something new started. See, my port is in a weird place. i wanted it under my arm so that i didn't feel self concious going out with a low cut shirt on. Well, doing the vest while my port is accessed is painful to say the least. SO... Last December, they sent me home on IV morphine. i took 2 mg before a treatment, and 2mg after, every day, 4 times a day, for like two months. At that time i was also on Oramorph (instant oral morphine) and Morphine CR (controled release) and percocet for break through pain. After i stopped my IV meds and my port was de-accessed, the morphine injections stopped. But new pain started.
i don't know if the pain is from taking IV antibiotics so long, or if it's from morphine withdrawl, but my bones start to feel dry and achey. Seriously, it hurts so bad, i can't get out of bed some days. When this happened last December, my Dr. gave me percocet until the pain stopped, so that was another month of it at least. i started seeing a chiropractor to help, which it did a little.
This time, i have this new Dr. since i moved. She sent me home on the IV morphine, and percocet. Now my IVs are over (so goodbye morphine) and that damn pain is back in full swing.
Sometimes i just lay in bed and cry, it hurts so bad. And my lung function is way down too, so my back is killing me. So, my new Dr. gave me percocet to try and help, but when i told her that i might need refills on it, due to how much it hurts, and how long it lasted last time, she said i'm just going to have to deal with it.
So, i'm trying to conserve the ones that i have left... but it's weird. It's like the day will start and i will say, "Grit your teeth and bare it." And i do that for a few hours. But by dinner time, i usually can't stand it anymore, so i take a percocet, and it's like in a matter of moments, i'm a different person... a funner, more energetic, happier person.

So, i don't know what to do... i'm not going to lie, do i like the little head buzz that morphine gives me when it's first injected, of course, do i like the fuzzy feeling i get sometimes with percocet, sure, but aside from fun side effects, i really am in a lot of pain... What should i do?
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And Kiel, i used to never have pain and stuff. Especially not from CF. But this last December when i got sick, it changed everything. i get chest tightness sometimes. But when i lay down, i get theese sharp shooting pains through my lungs. More my left one. It feels like someone is stabbing a long needle into my back, through my lung, and out my chest. Then there's the stomach muscle pain from coughing all the time. (Though my abs are ripped now, which is cool. *see below). The bone stuff only happens right after a long stretch of antibiotics, and pain meds. Ya know how your back feels when it needs to pop? It's like that times ten all over. They feel dry and cramped. Like they don't have enough room inside my body. And my knees... dear god, my knees kill me. It used to happen only when it was going to rain, but now it's all the time. They hurt so bad, i can't walk. And my bones get so stiff i can't walk. So i lay in bed and get nothing done. And when my lung function is down, it causes me to slump, so my back starts to hurt too. Right now, it's pretty bad. Also, something happened to my right shoulder. In December they put me on Colistin for the first time, but it made me have seizures and durring one of them i threw out my shoulder.
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Anyway, Debbie, i believe you are right, but any time i mention it, they sweep it under the rug and say, "It'll go away..." and i'm sitting here screaming, "Really?! Alright, when then? Tomorrow, next week... F**k this... Get it gone NOW, or make it not hurt... no more of this, 'oh, you'll have break through pain, but don't take more percocet, it'll go away... evntually...' Eventually?! i'm sorry, do you have CF, do you know what it's like to have your chest feel like a 500 lb man is sitting on it? Do you know how it feels when your walking and you're so weak that your legs just fold? ... no? But you say you've studied so you understand? GRRRR!!! Understand, shmunderstand, it hurts real bad, now be a good doctor and make it stop..." Sorry, i guess i needed to vent...

Oh, and about my stomach... i always knew i had muscle underneath, they just never really showed... Much like you, Sue... but the other day, and let me just say, i do not believe in exercise... i'm lazy, i like to sleep and sit, no walking, no sit ups, no yoga or pallades... i'm a watcher, not a doer when it comes to that stuff... but the other day, i got out of the shower and i was cleaning my ears, which ALWAYS makes me cough (strange, i know) but while i was coughing i looked down and was shocked... i was buff! i called my whole family into the bathroom and made them look, that's why i took the pic... i'm sure it won't last and i wanted to have proof...
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Tommorrow is a privledge, so live today like tommorrow isn't happening.

Posted at 8:35PM on Jun 12th 2007 by Martin Hand

85. how sad!! i will pray for the repose of her immortal soul.

RIP, FRANKIE

Posted at 10:52PM on Jun 12th 2007 by Liz/las vegas

86. That is so sad, I remember her on the show and I remember her saying that she was probably gonna die in the next few years and she knew it. I really pray for her family and friends. I wonder how her boyfriend is that she had while on the show. Wasnt she going to marry him? RIP

Posted at 11:07PM on Jun 12th 2007 by kathleen

87. This really saddens me. She was one of my favorite castmembers ever. I pray for her family.
R.I.P. Frankie

Posted at 11:28PM on Jun 21st 2007 by RW Fan

88. I'm sad :( I loved Frankie!

Posted at 8:47PM on Jun 12th 2007 by DK

89. Frankie was a junkie !!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted at 8:48PM on Jun 12th 2007 by justice

90. I remember her on the show. I always thought she was so pretty. And I remember she exhibited some behavior that her roommates said was not good for her because of her health issues but when you are young, you often think you are invincible. I know she lived each day doing what she wanted to do and in the end, that is all that really matters.

God Bless Frankie and her family, may she rest in peace.

Posted at 8:48PM on Jun 12th 2007 by Cindy Lartigue