I am watching the snow from the inside and wishing I didn't have to go outside. While it is pretty to look at, it's not very fun to walk in, especially with a bad back and ankle. I am terrified of falling down.
When I was a little kid I loved days like this. I couldn't go out very often because I was asthmatic so when I did go out, time was limited. One of my favorite memories was when my brother, sister and me all had colds and couldn't go out and play in several inches of freshy fallen snow and my Dad bundled all up and we watched through a window as he built a snowman. My mom donated one of her headscarves, and he put rocks for eyes and mouth and buttons, a carrot for nose and sticks for arms. My mom has a photo of it and I need to borrow some of these images to scan and keep for myself and my kids.
The weather this year has been very blustery and freezing cold. We've had more freezing rain than I can ever remember. Over the weekend, the house and fence, deck, trees were all coated in ice. Usually, ice melts off rather quickly on the house and tree limbs, but not this time. And Saturday night the house was making booming noises and sounded like beams were splitting. Anyone know what would cause that? It sounded as if a giant was slamming his fist against the side of the house and roof at random times. The deck makes a similar sound as boards contract in the freezing weather, but never heard anything boom or make a noise in the cold before.
Tomorrow is Christmas eve. The best thing about the holidays is getting together with family and friends and eating food that we really shouldn't be eating and exchanging gifts and seeing the kids' eyes light up as they open their presents. Though I am a bit nervous about walking outside, I am looking forward to getting dressed up a bit and going to visit friends. First we will visit some long-time friends at 4 and stay for a bit and then we will be heading to our best friends Pam and Eddie for dinner and to spend the evening talking, playing cards and just chit chatting by their fireplace. Then Christmas day we are going to my parents' place which I look forward to the most. We do miss the old days though when the kids were all little and playing with each other and all dressed up in fancy outfits. All of us together. Now it's hard to get everyone together. The grandkids are scattered, and some have kids of their own. My middle son now has in-laws so is in Albany, NY with all of them. My daughter lives out east and has Christmas "gigs" and can't make it home, unfortunately. Our oldest son lives nearby so we can look forward to him coming over and being with us and giving him his presents and then going with us to my parents' house for dinner.
Then soon it will be all over with and New Year's eve will come and go and before you know it 2009 will be underway. What happened to 2008? It seemed to have flown by. But I missed all of autumn with spending weeks in agony and in and out of the hospital and emergency rooms. I am so thankful I have the hubby I have. He has been my rock in all of this...as he always is (even though he loses his patience with the medical staff at times..only because he cares).
Hope for happy and healthy new year for everyone. Hopefully I can manage to stay out of the hospital this coming year and recover from this back crap and ankle crap and get back to normal. I am sure by spring I will be near to normal.
I am still confined to just walking, limited sitting time and can lay down in between. I still can't do too much of anything. I have been writing letters paragraph by paragraph, and then challenging myself to read at least a page or two before nodding off. I am getting back into blogging little by little.
I bought myself, online, a coloring book of kaleidoscope designs. I started coloring them with crayons but had to have my daughter dig out my professional colored pencil set before she left.
I have plenty to keep me busy with all the pen friends I have via snail mail and online, and reading and blogging, etc. But I am getting sick of being in the house and when Jon gets home he has been out already all day since 4 a.m when he leaves to go to work. So, to take me out is very difficult for him. But last night we did go out to Wendy's for chicken nuggets and a root beer and then stopped by the Verizon store in town to look at the phone I am getting after Christmas when our contract renews. I want the new DARE phone. I was looking at it back in the summer when it first came out, before all this surgery happened. Last night I got a better look at it and I really do want that phone.
I have therapy tonight. Not looking forward to that. I just go for my ankle right now since they can't work on the back till doctor says. The other day when I went to therapy, the day Mary took me, the therapist said the scar on my ankle was really kinking up and she rubbed the hell out of it and it hurt really bad and though I didn't scream and holler like some people do, I simply asked "Is it supposed to hurt that bad when you do that?" and she sympathetically said "yes, I have to break up this scar tissue or else you will never regain normal motion". Since she did that it's been sore as hell. I still do my exercises for it, it is getting loser so I imagine it will get better soon if I keep working at it.
I go to see my ankle doctor on Wednesday. He will say how much more therapy I have to do and to figure out how to work the harder exercises into my back routine...things I can do for the ankle that won't interfere with the back. I do not want to pop a screw of do like the therapist said mostly happens...when people fall or whatever after having fusion it usually blows a disc above or below the fusion, or breaks a vertabrae above or below the fusion. So, I need to be extremely careful.
I am still with my stupid aluminum granny walker. I walk away from it a few steps now sometimes. I am not really supposed to be doing that, but I am careful and don't walk into open areas without it. Going out is a real hassle with it. Get me in the vehicle, then fold up the walker and get that in the vehicle, then where we go I have to wait for him to get the walker, then climb out of the vehicle, and then stand up with the walker. It's been over a month since my operation and it seems like I have not progressed much at all. Still moving the same ways as I am told, rolling side to side in bed, no reaching behind me or twisting to get stuff. Using my grabber tool to pick stuff up that I cannot reach without bending. I will be so glad for the day when I can move freely again. Well, as free as I can. But doctor assures me the day will come and though some motion will be limited, it will be normal for me and I will be in good shape.
So enough time on here, I better go do some walking.
Here is a pic of the new coat my husband has ordered for me for Christmas. I told him awhile ago that I would love a long winter coat since my butt gets so cold with the shorter jackets. I get so cold nowadays. He told me to go to the LL Bean site yesterday and we were looking at it again and he said to buy it. I told him that we could see how things look after hospital bills are paid off and he said just get it, so I did. I can't wait. I might just sleep in it.:- )
Our daughter, Mary arrived home on November 26th and spend Thanksgiving here with us and went home today, December 3rd and I spent the entire morning crying. I usually do cry when she leaves, but not all morning. I guess it's because she pays attention to me. She was sick when she got here, and we spent the whole time together. She even took me to a therapy session. I don't have to ask her for even the simplest things. And if I do ask her for something it isn't "in a minute" or "later" she does it right away. Some say that is because she was only here for a week, but I don't think so.
Even the times I have visited her when I was well, she was very helpful and patient. And even as a little kid she was the same way. I miss her very much already and wish her music hadn't taken her so far away. She is a trumpet player in an orchestra out east. She also has students, is an adjunct professor out there and does solo and ensemble gigs. So, her whole life is going out there.
She is lonely too a lot (her boyfriend is working in another town and they have a long-distance relationship), but she just can't do what she is doing there here in Chicago. Chicago is more of a Blues town, music-wise. It's nearly impossible to make the Chicago Symphony...have to wait till someone dies for there to even be auditions for anything. And though there are show orchestras, etc it's very difficult to get into those. Our east there are many more better paying wedding gigs, and other events. For some reason Chicagoland is very cheap about what they pay musicians for those things. I hope to get well enough to go out and visit her for a week in April. That will be the five month mark and within the average time frame of the fusion being completed. So, we shall see. If I can't get out there I want to pay for her to come here again.
So how long will it take him to get this installed? He wanted to do this about a month ago when all this back stuff happened and delayed his plans. It's always something. Can't plan anything around here.
The furnace came at the end of last week and he was anxious to install it over the weekend but guess what? He measured wrong and the coil thingy or whatever it is called on top doesn't fit correctly and will have to be "modified". And also our present air conditioner doesn't fit so in spring he has to buy and install a new air conditioner which I am not happy about. Everything he does turns into an ordeal.
So, he is going to different stores making sure he has all his parts before turning the a/c off this coming weekend . . . Thanksgiving weekend when our daughter will be home visiting us. He says the heat will only be of for a couple of hours. Shall we all take bets here how long it will really take him? I think I should have a secret back-up plan for a place to go get warm since it is very cold here now since it's nearly December. If a guy installed it they would indeed have it done in a couple hours, but that is $2,500 to do it. So, he is doing it himself for that reason.
He says it will take a couple of hours, and I am saying it will take at least double that time that he says. At least Miller has her heater tank, but the rest of us won't have anything since the gas will be off. Last year it was the water heater and that took him two weeks to do. I told him to wait to do the heater till spring, but what do I know.
Therapy is really difficult, and I am only going for the ankle at the moment. I have about a dozen exercises, one of them being this one pictured, that the hospital therapy department gave me to do at home till I can start the big stuff.
My therapist, Carrie, told me I was twisting while standing up from a seated position when I lean on my walker and whatever else I have nearby to push up with. I didn't realize I was doing that. So, she had me attempt to stand up alone without touching anything. I could not do it. I tried about a dozen times with sweat dripping down and finally I managed only with the help of the therapist's hands in front of me. It's like I have lead weight in my butt. My ankle is still real weak so that doesn't help. She says I will be able to do it in time.
Then she had me walk without the walker. That was also difficult. She was trying to get me to loosen up and I was too tense. It's still sore to move and I am also afraid to fall. She says to keep trying and before long I will regain my regular walk and relax. She had me cracking up as she held out her arms and said "come to Mama". LOL! That's what it feels like, a baby taking their first steps alone.
She says this is about three months after I start the back therapy after December 12th when I get the green light from Dr. Lim, the back surgeon, to begin. I am definitely going to have to wear lighter gym clothes because I pour sweat doing just the simple things right now. I have shed another 8 pounds from all this back crap.
I have found this handy little gadget (along with the EZ Grabber) to be so helpful since I cannot bend and put on my own socks and shoes. Now if they only had something for underwear and pants!
I won't be making every day posts for awhile since I am unable to sit here for very long. While recovering from my ankle surgery, and because I was struggling to take that damn boot cast on and off, I blew my back out. I had surgery to remove part of L-5 in my lower spine in 2004 and this time it completely blew out. Also, L4 was also herniated. S1 was degenerated and nothing but bone rubbing on bone there.
So, had spinal fusion surgery on November 3rd and have been doing my best to get moving again. This has been one of the most painful recoveries I have experienced, but the post op pain from this is nothing like the sciatica and horrible back pain I had before the operation. The pain was hot and searing and going right down the leg into the foot I just hand ankle surgery on. So, had to interrupt the ankle therapy and have this done. Before they did surgery they tried an epidural. The first attempt was a failure when the damn anesthesiologist put the needle in the wrong place and I felt nothing but pain and he wanted me to come back and do it again in a week. NO way was I going back to someone who says "oops, wrong place, have to try it again!" I found another spinal specialist who urged me to try the epidural again. I did and this one did not take even though the spinal surgeon who did it injected the steroid into the right spot.
The only option was spinal fusion. So I agreed, wanting to get the problem solved sooner rather than later. It was unavoidable so why prolong the wait. So, after five hours of surgery, I now have six screws, metal rods and some mesh cylinders, etc. in my lower back. There are also plastic discs between the vertabrae which are not shown on these images.I sort of feel like I have a rod up my back and a bunch of hard stuff in there. I am told that I will get used to the feeling once the pain goes away.
Here is a couple of photos I found online similar to what I had done.
Things are starting to get easier, like getting in and out of bed which has to be done without bending my back at all. Tricky. Then sitting down and getting up. I can't twist at all and have to make sure my hips and shoulders are aligned at all times. I can't sit too long or else it hurts really bad. I have ten pages of therapy exercises to do twice a day. And I had to walk farther and farther each day and have to try to get up to a mile at one time. Right now I am about a half a block.
Well, I caved and watched Paris Hilton's My New BFF last night despite saying I would not watch that garbage. She is so full of herself it isn't funny. And what's with all these contestants who want to kiss her ass just to be her so-called "friend". Paris doesn't know what a friend is. She thinks that a friend is someone who caters to her every spoiled rotten desires, and who will do anything to kiss her ass and make her happy. She is superficial, immature, and so full of herself. Stuck up, royally. How can she ever be true friends with anyone if she is so in love with herself.
Reality television sucks, generally, but this one is just pathetic. Are there no writers left to produce any quality television shows anymore? Not many from what I have seen lately since being laid up and watching more tv than I should. I need to start leaving the television off like I usually do and read the stack of books I have sitting here.
Well, have full-blown sciatica on top of this ankle surgery I am trying to recover from. So, have to use the crutches again to keep from walking funny..."waddling" I call it.
Walking with the boot makes me walk like C3Po...and makes my hips move funny and out of whack. Therefore causing a disc in my back to bulge and press on the nerve that travels down my butt, down the back of the leg and into the ankle and foot I just had surgery on. Not pleasant. So, must risk bursitis in the shoulder again to get the back straightened out. It's one thing after the other lately. But, I will get through it, I always do.
Jon has been a huge help and very understanding through all of this. I don't know what I would do without him. But he is getting tired, I know. Working, and doing errands, doing stuff I usually do, and has his stuff to do on top of it. And then last night I got bitchy. I try not to get bitchy with him because he doesn't deserve it right now. He is doing his best. But it drives me bonkers when he says "in a minute", "later" or "tomorrow". He hasn't said that for anything I need personally...but yesterday when I mentioned that the pool needs chlorine really bad because it's dark green, he said he would do it tomorrow. It takes one minute to pour chlorine into the pool. I am the one who usually takes care of it, and if I could get down the stairs, bend over to pour the container I would do it myself. If he waits another day it will only get that much more difficult to clear up before closing it up.
I do understand his procrastination, no matter how frustrating it is for me...he is tired, has sore feet and . . .
we should really own a condo and have a homeowner's association do the maintenance. But he won't agree to it.
I had my stitches out and my lower leg and foot is now in a boot cast like pictured here at left. I am getting around the house with using only one crutch now and sometimes no crutch at all. But it's not easy and it's screwing up my back, which was one of my fears going into this.
I have been trying to be careful and have been doing my back therapy exercises that I have done off and on since my back operation in 2004, but they aren't working very well right now. I can only sit here at the computer for a very short time because I get terrible sciatica pain all through my rear end, down the back of my leg and into the ankle I had surgery on. It's agonizing when it gets going. Hence, why I haven't been writing as much lately.
I think it's from the bending over to strap this on and off. I can take it off when I am laying down or sitting with it elevated and iced. Well, the bending takes its toll on my lower back and now I think that the part of L5 disc that they left in is now blown or the one above or below it is bulging and hopefully not herniated. It's hard to walk with this thing too, it is pulling my back out of whack when I walk. I sort of walk like I have a stump. I can't flex the ankle so it's sort of like a Frankenstein walk.
Plus the crutches make my shoulder joints hurt and I now have bursitis in my right shoulder where I had it before. And the scabs on the incision are so sore and rub on the inside of the boot. I have gauze over it and soft post-surgical tape and a white sock and it still stings when I walk or move. :-E
okay, enough complaining and I need to get off of here. I can only sit for a few minutes at a time. Just wanted to let my readers know where I've been.
I have watched a bit of reality television before I was laid up, but now that I can't get around very well, I have been watching way too much of it. While I have always liked orograms like Top Model, America's Best Dance Crew, and fun programs like that, other shows like the Island are aweful in the way that people are so shitting to each other. This isn't how people should behave towards one another in the real world, and most people don't. But people are becoming increasingly stuck up and mean. Rude. I am afraid that the young people of today that are growing up watching this trash are getting the idea that this is how it really is in the world. It's not, or at least it shouldn't be.
Even Top Model is "de-evolving" in how one should treat another person. The girls on the show call each other bitches or worse. The program "I Love Money" is absolutely awful in how they connive and trick each other. Lying, cheating, doing whatever it takes to win money. Island and Survivor are the same thing. So far America's Best Dance Crew and Making the Band have showed great sportsmanship and respect for one another, but most of these reality shows do not promote respect or even civility towards other human beings.
If I had kids now I defnitely would not have cable.
Before surgery I always complained how fast the days flew by and never seemed to have enough time to do the things I want to do. Now that I have been practically bedridden after the op on my ankle, I find that the days are crawling by and have time to watch television, write letters, read, blog, etc. So, that's the good part about all of this (other than hopefully getting a normal ankle out of all of this later).
I am also getting a work out, and the joints aren't liking it much.Hubby went back to work yesterday and I really miss his help, especially at meal times. It's a challenge just to make breakfast and lunch. The crutches are bugging my wrist and hand joints and am getting bursitis back in the right shoulder. My ass hurts too from sitting all the time with my leg up. It has to be constantly elevated and iced.
Yesterday morning I hobbled into the bathroom to brush teeth and wash my face and go potty (which has me sweating from the effort), then went into the kitchen where Jon said he left me a bowl of cereal before he left for work to eliminate the need for me getting a bowl and figuring it out how to get it from the cabinet to the table while on crutches. Well, he poured me my son's Marshmallow Maties and I HATE wet marshmallows. Since J & W moved in with us (their kitchen is still not done yet) our cabinet is full of all kinds of cereal. I have a few different kinds I like...CoCo Krispies, Frosted Mini Wheats, Captain Crunchberries, Cheerios, and Golden Grahams. So, what does he zero in on? The one cereal of my son's that is way in the back. SO, I had to go dig out the cereal I wanted and the bag of Marshmallow Maties, and sit and put all that cereal back into the bag without messing up the zip lock thingy. Then poured my cereal in the bowl, hobbled over to the fridge and put the gallon of milk on the table that is pushed a couple feet away from the fridge so I can easily set stuff there. Then I scoot it to where I want it as I walk. Then when I am done I get up and put the chair in between the sink and the table and set the bowl on the chair, walk to the sink, then pick up the bowl to rinse it.
After I get done with that, I crutch it into the diningroom to wake up little Miller, my Beardie Dragon and then turn her light on and say howdy for a minute. Then I hobble back to the fridge and I figured out I can carry stuff around in plastic grocery bags hanging on my crutches like a bag lady does with a grocery cart. Not real easy to balance that way, but what am I going to do?I then go to the freezer and get my ice pack and put it in the bag and go to the bathroom once more and come back and get settled sitting up in bed here with my ice pack and laptop that my son and DIL are letting me use.
I am learning all of the characters on these lame television shows that I vowed never to watch. The Hills, I Love Money, I Want to Work for Diddy, New York Goes To Hollywood, Gs to Gents, The Island, Making the Band, and also reruns of Sex and the City (which I have seen all of them about seven times now) and Two Men and Boy (whatever it's called), and one of my favorites, Will and Grace. I just started watching the new episodes of Top Model even though Tyra is getting to be more and more obnoxious. I am actually looking forward to ditzy Paris Hilton's show where she is trying to look for a new best friend.
I blog alot. I have done a lot of writing here and other sites I write for. I also write for an atheist blog elsewhere, and I comment on other blogs of different subjects. I read the news, search for information and learn stuff. But the laptop gets burning hot on my lap after awhile and I have to stop. I never realized how hot a computer gets. They really need to figure out that laptop problem. People could get seriously burned! I still have a red spot on my thumb from this one.
This morning I got up and did the bathroom routine and then went in to make my breakfast. This ankle is hurting real bad when I stand up now and I suspect it's because of the stitches...they are getting very tight and need to come out. It's been a week today since the operation. I don't go till Friday to get them out. Then will get a lovely new walking cast. But it has to be better than this plaster thingy. It's like walking around with a concrete block on my leg.
I went in to get my breakfast and no bowl on the table. So, had to inch it down the counter to the spot where I could scootch the chair to the midde again and put the bowl on it, hobble back to the table and hobble to the fridge, get the milk and put it on the table...scootch it down. Sit down and pour the cereal, pour the milk in...shit...don't have my spoon. Have to get up and go over to the drawer and get a spoon, hold it in my mouth hoping I don't fall and ram it down my throat. Then have breakfast. Hubby said to always keep my phone with me when he isn't home so I tucked my top into my jogging pants and stuck the phone into the front of my shirt. It works. What I really need is a fanny pack.
After breakfast I managed to do the bowl thing with the chair again, rinse the bowl, go wake up Miller and then got my plastic grocery bag again and put an ice pack in it, hobbled to my room, took two Vicodin and blogged and napped till lunch time.
Yesterday for lunch I had a couple of granola bars because I just didn't feel like dealing with making a sandwich and back and forth to the refrigerator and trying to get a plate and figure out how to carry this crap. So, it was Fanta and granola bars yesterday. But today I had a little dish of macaroni and cheese that hubby made yesterday with my guidance.
To go back a bit, last night Jon decided to make macaroni and cheese and discovered that I don't just dump Creamettes and cheese together. That's what he wanted to do, and I told him that would not turn out at all. So, had to tell him to melt a stick of butter and he said "a whole stick!?" and I told him if he wanted it like I make it then must follow the recipe. Then I said flour and he dumped in too much at once and didn't add the milk soon enough. It was a big lump. So, I had him slide a chair by the stove which I kneeled on and stirred and told him to put the milk in...he says "you need THAT much milk?" He is cheap and wants to stretch things out as far as he can, but can't skimp with macaroni and cheese or lasagna. Anyway, it turned out good.
And that is what I had for lunch today. I was able to carry the little container between two fingers while using the crutches at the same time. I am becoming talented. I zapped it and carrying it hot was a different story. So did the scooting on the chair thing again. Then after lunch I got my ice bag again and stayed put and waited for Jon to get home from work.
Tonight he made stir fry with chicken pieces, green peppers, tomatoes, red onion with Mrs Dash seasoning, and rice. He was just going to have the chicken stir fry stuff and I said you HAVE to have rice with stir fry. It was too much for him to put rice and water in a bowl and zap it as directed. So, I had to go in there and do it. Jeff came upstairs so I asked him to get me the bowl and cling wrap, etc. It was done in 15 minutes, no stirring, no bother.
It's like this whenever I have an operation. I get help the first few days and then he gets tired of it and he starts taking short cuts and not being as accomodating. Three more days and I HOPE that this will not be as painful once they take the stitches out. I know from past surgeries that after stitches come out it sort of feels unsupported however, that pinching and stinging crap goes away almost instantly. I can't wait for Friday. And with a walking cast I hope I get, I can start putting some weight on it again and though will have to use crutches, it won't be so hard.
Got real nice card from the nursing staff at the hospital saying they hope I am feeling better . . . handwritten! I have never gotten that from a hospital before.
It's been raining and raining and raining here. Streets are becoming flooded. I hope our sump pump holds up. It's 20 years old and I have never heard it run so often, nearly constant. In some towns, houses are filling up with water. Fortunately, it isn't that bad here because we aren't near any creeks or rivers. There is Hickory Creek that runs through the center of town along the Amtrak tracks, but they recently rebuilt the road and improved the drainage system, but this is the first major rain we have had since it has been built so I wonder how it's going to hold up.
With being in a leg cast I can't go anywhere anyway, but it would be nice to see the sun again. It would be easy to get depressed when it's so gray. So,I will write in cheery yellow and keep myself cheered up while watching clips of old movies and keep singing a happy tune in my head.
It's been some time since I have written. I was busy for awhile making arrangements for another operation. This time it wasn't as serious as in the past but something that needed to be done. I had a split peroneus brevis tendon in my foot and ankle. How it happened, who knows. I have sprained my ankle a couple times in the past, and could have gotten a little tear and then over time of the tendon rubbing and rubbing it tore more and more till it totally split. I have been having a hard time walking for any length of time, especially on store floors. And driving always made it hurt bad, even just driving up to town and back.
I have been complaining about this to doctors for a long, long time. I mentioned it to several doctors during my hospital ordeal in Aug./Sept. 2007. They said it was gout in my ankle. But from what I researched online, it didn't look anything like gout. I know from having several gout attacks what gout looks like. It's hot, red, swollen and the skin is shiny. And it hurts like nothing else. My ankle just ached a lot with use. Then when I didn't use it, it felt better. I showed it to several doctors since last year, including two rheumatologists, and my family doctor who also blew it off as gout ankle. Exhasperated with the ankle pain when walking or driving, I kept complaining to my current rheumatologist. She sent me for an MRI to check for RA degeneration in the foot and ankle. Well, while I do have some degeneration in the toe joints and some in the ankles, the MRI showed an obvious tear in the ligament that was causing all my ankle pain.
So, I went to a surgeon who specializes in foot and leg joints looked at the MRI films in the office and said it would have to be repaired. If I chose not to, it would never get better on its own. So, I said let's do this thing. He got in contact with my rheumatologist and family doctor and started planning for surgery.
Now, you would think that something so clear would be easy to set up and get it over with, wouldn't you? This was Thursday and they said they would call me on Tuesday after Labor Day with the schedule date. Well, he has a real ditz working in his office to schedule these things. First of all, she didn't read my medical history form before scheduling it the first time and scheduled it at a place where they do not have the experts to handle difficult intubation and patients who have problems. So, she had to reschedule.
SO, she called me back and said that it was then going to be scheduled at the same hospital we always go to. I thought, ok...this will work out then. They have my history on file, and we are familiar with them. It was all scheduled and then I get a call that says it is the same name as our hospital but the surgical center, which I thought was weird because it was a different address. They assured me they were part of the same hospital. I was planning for that date, Jon took his vacation for that week, and then a couple days before the surgery the surgical center called and told me "Just want to make sure you know what your portion of the bill will be" and told me it would be $2,000!! I asked why we had to pay that much when I have met my deductible for the year and she said that when we choose to go out of network, that is our cost! I told her why would I want to go out of network when we have perfectly good insurance??? I told her I could not believe I was going to have to reschedule AGAIN. I phoned the doctor's office and was quite upset. I told her I want to get this done so I can recover before the holidays and said I can't believe I would have to reschedule it again! So, she told me she would try to get me in to a hospital on our plan that was 25 miles away. Sheesh!
So, I checked with our insurance and did her job for her and made sure that this hospital was on the plan. They were. It was rush-scheduled for the day that had been planned at the other place. The anesthesia staff was great and they were very careful. I had the whole anesthesia team in there before the operation. They convinced me that a spinal anesthesia was safest for me even though I was afraid of problems since I have had terrible experience with spinals with my three c-sections and have had back surgery and back problems the past decade or so. But it went well this time. They have new methods and new equipment and the needle is very thin like a strand of hair.
I was taken into the operating room, and they gave me something to relax me, and my whole lower half of my body was totally numb. They turned me on my side, put an oxygen mask on me and then started an IV drip of something and I fell asleep. Didn't wake up till after they were done.
The thing about a spinal which is nice is that you don't feel any pain when you go to recovery and the pain of the operation comes on gradually as the anesthesia wears off. They give gradual amounts of pain medicine as the pain increases. It's much more manageable. It took a long time to wear off though. They had to move me to a regular room to wait, gave me dinner and then finally went home in time to go to bed. I woke up in the night in big pain though. The first night and the day after wasn't too fun, but things are getting better each day...though the stitches inside the cast are driving me nuts. And if I move my foot a certain way I go through the roof!
Hopping around on crutches is making my joints sore. But maybe I will get my muscles built up. I am a weakling.
I get the stitches out and this bigass cast off on the 19th, and then a walking cast. Will still have to use crutches again while I am getting used to walking on the foot again. I wonder what kind of therapy I will have to do. Hopefully stuff I can do at home. That would be great.
So...second year in a row I am laid up for my birthday. It was a year ago today that I came home from the hospital after my gallbladder/Lupus fiasco.
I say this after every operation..I hope there will be no more surgeries in the future and will try not to have anymore.
This is a very sweet movie. It's about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant and is mature enough to understand that she is not mature enough to raise a baby. I won't give it away, but she decides to give the baby up for adoption and finds a couple who seem like they would be perfect parents for the new little one. The story takes a surprising turn and not what I expected to happen. But, like I said, I won't give it away. The young actors in this film are quite good, as are the adults. I am not so sure I would be able to stay as rational as the parents of this girl if my daughter at age 16 came and told me that she was pregnant, but the parents in the film were great and very supportive through the whole thing. Good flick.
I love to write, read, paint, draw, take photos, listen to music, travel, and stargaze. If I could live my life over again I would be an astronomer.
“Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
Arthur C. Clarke
