Sigh

I should be thankful it worked at all, right?

I should be thankful that it worked for 2 1/2 months, right?

I should be thankful that I don't have it as bad as some, right?

Power of positive thinking. Damn it. It's not working. I'm sad & resigned. I've been trying to ignore the pain that's been creeping up in frequency & intensity over the past week. It was easy to ignore. I kept thinking it'd go away.

Uh....nope. Yesterday I could barely get out of bed. And had to reach for the Vicodin & Ibuprofen. What a great way to end my 8 days off. I'm supposed to head back to work now - in pain. UGH! So I made myself NPO and crossed my fingers that the Pain Management clinic would be able to do another ESI on Thursday. Sure, I'd not be able to work on Thursday night, but if it'd get me out of pain that would sure help!! And now I wait....

So what am I going to post about now??

Ok, I'm sure that I'm not *that* boring.... But I'm happy that I won't be posting just about my back pain whining! :) I went in for ESI #2 this morning. They asked me how the first injection went. I think they were a little surprised when I responded "great". And when I responded that my pain varied from 0-2 post-injection they said that I needed to speak with the doctor as he might not want to do the injection today.

Dr. R came in & questioned me. Said that 0-2 was FABULOUS and if it were him he'd recommend not getting another ESI until I need one. Why mess with it if it's working - especially since there are always risks of steroid flare, etc. with an injection. He said he'd be more than happy to stick me if I wanted, but he didn't recommend it.

I got answers to my questions....

1. You can do the series of 3 ESIs every 6 months. So, right now if/when the pain comes back I can go back for another injection right away.

2. As for Amitriptyline or Celebrex. He wouldn't recommend either if I'm not having pain.

So I'm set. Go me!!

The good & the bad....

So I'm supposed to be at work tonight. I got called off on Friday - kind of nice since I haven't been off since early April. I puttered around - took Matthew to BestBuy to get new headphones & I went to JoAnn's Fabrics to pick up some items to complete mom's birthday present. A nice evening. Then I worked last night. Well, if you want to call it work... :) I helped Darlene on MIU by taking a couple sets of vitals. Then we chatted & laughed the rest of the night. No patients. At all.

Unfortunately I was up for being put on call again tonight if there wasn't a need. I got the call at 5pm. That will hurt the paycheck as even though they are in different weeks, they are in the same pay period. UGH! Things better pick up Wednesday & Thursday. I can't afford to be off again - I don't have any PTO time!!! On the up side I will get 6 hours of pay for the 2 shifts off - call pay. At least that's something - only missing 18 hours instead of 24. Plus any PTO time I accumulate will automatically be used. I should be ok. No extravagance the rest of the month. LOL!

My friend, Sara, from work is awesome!! She's agreed to ferry me from home to get my ESI on Tuesday - all at an ungodly hour in the morning!!!! She must really like me! :) I think she just wants to see me drugged up!!!!

It's storming here now. Maybe I'll get called in yet!!

That's all I've got for now.

Sunny Saturday

I get to be up & awake today!!! I was very pleasantly surprised to be put on call last night. It was a good thing as I was a little worried - I started feeling some unpleasant aches & pains in my low back. NOTHING like before, but I was a little anxious that the pain would come back. Resting helped. I slept through the night & woke up early this morning. Matthew was already up.

We were able to snuggle & talk. We played a few games of Monopoly Deal (I won 2/3 games!!) Then we sat down to complete his AVID application. AVID is a program at Corner Lake that helps with organization, study skills, & future educational enhancement. At first blush I was very excited to get him into it. There's an application. So we sat down to complete the application - and I started reading the brochure more. There were tears. And frustration. And when I read that they are expected to study 2 HOURS EVERY night I knew that this would not be a realistic program for Matthew. He would be frustrated. There would be tears - lots of them. He didn't want to do this - I wanted him to. So, we pre-empted the pain and have decided not to apply. He'll just have PE like everyone else.

Now we're off to Chick-Fil-A for an early lunch - YUM!!! Gotta love a special lunch out with my favorite kiddo.

Hope your day is filled with revelations and happiness!!!

Oooo....I found *something* to do with my time....

I love to "pounce" on etsy. It's one of my favorite past-times. Last night I found exactly what I want to make for mom's birthday. Should be easy enough - right? Famous last words!!

Here are fabric leaf stems:


Looks easy. I need some florist wire, brown floral tape, brown sewing machine thread, pinking shears, interface, & fabric. Well, that & a vase. The plan is to twist the floral wire together to make the "right" height of the stems. Wrap in floral tape. Then clip floral wire varying lengths for the stems. Wrap in floral tape. Then I need to figure out interface (not sure if I need to iron it one or if it's just a layer between fabrics. Then I'll need to stitch the leaves and use pinking shears to cut them out. Finally place the wrapped stem on the leaf & use the sewing machine to stitch them together. Then attach the stems to the main stem using floral wire & viola. Should be easy peasy. I'll bet mom will be impressed!!
We'll see.

I promise I'll post pics of MY finished product - gotta get on it as her birthday is June 1st. I also need to find the perfect vase for them. I also could finish some pillows for mom's bed. Can't wait to see what I can do!!

Guess who had another great day?

ME!! Did some cleaning today - picked up around the house. Thought about moving a couple of boxes, but decided against that. Good choice!! Still just a mild achy pain if I sit for awhile. Otherwise it's all good. I actually had a hard sneeze that before the ESI would have had me in tears & I felt nothing but a twinge of pressure in my low back. YAY me!!

So, I'm still trying to figure out how to get to/from the surgery center next Tuesday. My procedure is at 8am - I'll need to be there by around 7:30ish. So mom will need to stay home to get Matthew off to school. We could take him with us & have him be a little late to school, but he's got a field trip that day so that won't work either. So - I'm going to have to ask for help. UGH! I hate doing that. I'll get a look at the work schedule tomorrow night & hopefully I'll have some options to ask for help. I wish I could just show up & take a cab home, but they won't let me do that either....

On to another topic. Wow - there was some good TV on tonight. I watched Gray's Anatomy & Private Practice. And boy, did I bawl like a baby during Private Practice. Totally didn't see that one coming!!! Kind of sucks that they killed off both of Betsy's parents. I would have thought that they would have had Addison adopt Betsy, but looks like that's not so....

Well, that's all I know. It's good to have little to report!

A good day....

....that's right! I've had my best day in months. I tried *really* hard not to over-do it & I think I did well. The day started with an early morning shower (yay for no-stinky) because I had physical therapy. PT didn't start til 9:30 so I popped into Target on the way to return mom's pillow. While in there I grabbed a couple of house-hold things we needed & then got a picture shelf for the family room and a new hamper for my room.

Then I headed off to PT. My wonderful PT had "that look" when I told her it was a herniated disc. *That* damn-I-wish-it-would-have-been-something-else look - mixed with the you-may-not-be-in-pain-now-but-that-ESI-is-going-to-wear-off-sooner-or-later look. Sigh. I like talking to her. I feel like she gives me the "real deal" and I joke that it's like getting PT & psychotherapy all in one!!! So now we focus on strengthening my core muscles. And she worked me today. LOL!

After PT I ran East to see if I could pick up a copy of my MRI report so that my nosy eyes can see exactly what's wrong with me. Learned that not only do I have the herniation at L5-S1, but I also have a mild disc bulge at L4-L5. Fun times. Lots of big words that I'm not quite ready to figure out yet....

Next I stopped by the WalMart Neighborhood Market to finish my grocery shopping - they were out of most of our staples on Monday when I went after my MRI so I thought for SURE they'd have restocked. Nope. That ticked me off - and necessitated another stop - this time at the "real" WalMart.

So off to the "real" WalMart I go.... There I picked up an "end table" (really just a cube set) for beside my chair. Along with my groceries.

In the afternoon I vacuumed a couple of rooms - much to the chagrin of mom. Then I rested/played on the computer. The picture ledge went up so I could put up my mother's day gift from Matthew. Finally I assembled my cube. It was a productive day.

And in the end I had an occasional ache in my low back, but I stopped what I was doing to lie down and rest. Then all got better. It's been a good day. And I'm looking forward to more of them!!