Hello Again! It has been a long while again since last I wrote. My goal of wanting to at least get one blog out a week is so far a fail! :( Oh well, there is always next week, maybe, just maybe I will get another blog out on time! Did I mention I started this blog last week!! I did get quite a bit typed up before I got distracted with yet another medical issue, I was already into the second paragraph on Feb. 15th. So really, the couple weeks I mention below, are now a few weeks pushing to one month! @_@
Anyhoo I digress!
It has been a looooooooong (and I really emphasize those o's in long!) couple of weeks! Everything just seems to be happening so fast, that I even haven't had a moment to catch my breath and contemplate on whats going on. So let me go back to when it started. I am always told it is best to start at the beginning of things. I just hope you don't mind getting comfortable and taking a moment to read my story, (you may want to get some coffee or your choice of warm/comforting beverage, take a bathroom break, etc.) this may take awhile. I am a McKay after all, I know we are known for being loud talkers, but erm, we can also be long winded, we do like a good story after all. ;)
Monday February 15th:
Started off like any normal Monday, helped Rowan out the door for school (which is always a madness rush, despite even early wake ups, lol) and then I started my day. Coffee, bagel (sometimes it's oatmeal), yogurt (greek of course), sometimes I will grab some fruit too, then I get my medicine (which includes Vitamin D & a Multi, *pats self on back*), sit down in a comfy spot and hop online. This is when if I remember, turn on my "daylight" lamp and keep it on for a minimum of 15mins, it really does help!
Anyhoo, since my leg has been out of it, (I got a gimp leg), not to mention my "other" heath issues, that is about as much as I can do right now. I do get up and move around my apartment so I am not just sitting in one place for too long. I also try to get a few housework things done in between, like dishes or vacuuming, (nice light & easy things). There are other things I like to do, for example; read, write, study my bible, watch shows, etc. (I even play video games & help moderate an anime chatroom! Yerp, the cat is out of the bag, though it isn't a secret I do talk about it, a lot. lol)!
Really I just spend a lot of time online right now. Some days I have appointments to get ready for and well before that first ER trip, when I was allowed to drive, (pre-medicated) I would get out and try to DO stuff and see/visit with people on "good" days, which includes all the fun church activities, (I really do miss too many services and events). :(
Really who likes to be couped up in an empty apartment ALL day every day, esp. in the winter when it is just hard anyway! Not to mention, HELLO I live in ALASKA- it is sooo gorgeous here!! A nice walk to the Kenai River (even in winter!) is just soo wonderful, just don't forget the camera! I miss that a lot! A short drive when it's too icy to walk, *sigh*. Yeah, gonna have to work on that!
Okay I am digressing again, continue on Monday Feb. 15th...
So you get the idea of how a typical day is for me, with a gimp leg. I already had one trip to the ER, so now we are going to fast forward to later that evening on Feb. 15th, to around 9pm-ish:
Everything was going great, it had been a good day! My daughter was just done getting ready for bed and was about to join me on the couch so we could watch a short show before bed and have some, "Mom & Daughter Time." Sounds good right? Well that is when my leg started to spasm, but this time way worse then I had ever felt before. It felt like I had a hamstring in my thigh and a really bad charlie horse in my calf, the tightening and burning sensation was very scary, at one point it felt like liquid lava was dripping down my leg! I was literally in tears with the pain and how it just came all of a sudden was frightening, I did not want to mess around with this and just had my daughter call 911. I had no idea what was going on and really the pain felt very similar to how they describe a blood clot in the leg. In fact that is what the EMT's were worried about when they finally arrived and after listening to me describe the pain and showing them where it was hurting.
Okay now to paint the picture of the EMT's arriving, our first responders were not the actual ambulance EMT's, but they got my vitals down and made sure I was not in any immediate danger- it helped me to keep calm while I was in pain. So I was able to direct my daughter on what to put in a bag to bring along to the hospital. She stayed very calm and cool through the whole thing, though I could tell she was worried about her mom.
I was in a lot of pain, looked a mess, was in a pair of sweat pants, and t-shirt (all ready for bed, so no bra, yes embarrassing!) Not to mention I had not showered for a few days because of my gimp leg and not being able to stand for long. So I am sure I was a sight to behold and probably smell(?), (and of course ALL of the EMT's were young/ish cute guys!) Hahaha... isn't that how it works out, but I will say they were all so nice and really did a great job! Because of the stairs, ice outside, and not much room in the parking lot for the ambulance, I got to get strapped into this weird looking chair with wheels. I rode down the stairs all strapped in, they had me cross my arms and hold onto the straps, it was kinda like a roller coaster ride, but not nearly as fun. In fact, I felt a bit green around the gills and each bump sent another shock of pain through my leg and lower back. Not a ride I care to experience again! @_@
Our sidewalk is also very uneven and there is no outside light for the building, (really bad planing and an easy fix on the landlords part, okay that is a whole other blog post!) So that was yet another bumpy part of the ride, by this time I had to cough really bad. Oh I forgot to mention, I just had finished my antibiotics the day before for my bronchitis. (Yes, in between the two ER visits my daughter and I both had bronchitis, she had it first for one week then it was my turn, just lovely!) My cough sent more pain to my lower back and left leg and of course was full of phlegm, (gross huh?) Anyways I went to spit off to the side and complete fail... huge loogie on my favorite sweat jacket, on my left shoulder. (Just when I thought I couldn't look worse or be more disgusting, right?) I had to ask the EMT if they had a paper towel to clean up the loogie! They got me switched over to the gurney and into the ambulance and they got my shoulder all cleaned up. (BTW, our first ambulance ride, EVER! That was kinda cool, I guess.) My daughter got to ride in the front while I rode in the bag strapped into the gurney with a cute EMT. Really though the song "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," comes to mind for the whole trip. That line, "don't spit into the wind," lol, or if you can't spit that far and are strapped into a chair! (Go ahead and laugh, I did, it's okay, I am not offended, really I am not, sheesh if you can't laugh at stuff like this, what can you laugh at?) :P
(And yes I had no help with the pain during the ride, I think I made several odd comments/observations and of course puns! Hey I made the EMT laugh, though if he were laughing at me or my comments I don't know and oh well it was an adventure for sure! hahaha!)
I will say this, arriving at the ER in an ambulance you sure do get seen a whole lot faster! I don't think I have ever been seen sooo quick! lol. Though it did not make my stay at the ER any less, because I had to get some testing done and had to wait for the results before I could either be discharged or admitted to a regular room. We probably arrived at the ER around 9:30/10ish, my daughter left me around midnight, I did not get to leave till 2am. Not too bad at 4hrs and most of that time was just waiting on results, all the action happened the first two hours, when my daughter was still around.
Before my daughter got picked up, she got to see me get my blood drawn (I could not watch and a good thing too!) Apparently the guy was new and whoops blood shot out, ugh, I would have tossed my cookies for sure! Then I had to get an ultra sound on my leg, they were worried about a blood clot as well...
So she got to see the vein's in my leg and hear the pulsing sound. She thought it was all really cool, and when the guy messed up on my arm she kept her cool and just did the smallest of inhales and that is when I felt the second poke and asked, "Is everything okay."
His reply, "Sure, sure, we will get you all cleaned up in no time and sorry about that, I am new and still getting the hang of this fast way, it slipped and had to redo it, hope it did not hurt to much." *This is not verbatim, but how I remember it.* In his defense he was really nice and sincerely sorry about causing any extra discomfort and we both thought he was cute, (shh, my daughter will kill me when she reads/hears about this part!)
Yeah, that was the first time I had to get "cleaned" up after getting blood drawn and people wonder why I have a needle phobia? I have bad luck with needles okay!! If they always went fine I probably would be okay them, but nope not with me. Let's just say needles and I do not get along and leave it at that. =/
After the blood was drawn, I still could not look at my own blood, I dunno, just makes me woozy and he put all 5 vials on my chest!! UGH! (And Yes I said 5 or was it 6? I need to ask my daughter.) I had to tell him to grab them, I could feel that they were still warm! I had already done some drive heaving just before he came in to draw the blood. The whole down the stairs and ambulance ride along with all the pain had finally got to me once I was still and dressed into one of those fashionable gowns. Yep, I had to drive heave more after he left... yeah I was pretty dry mouth not allowed to have anything to drink yet and just feeling, yuck! On the plus side, I did not have to wait long before they gave me something for the pain, so I had just a tiny bit of water and extra tabs to help my upset tummy. =/
The result of the evening:
Good news, no blood clot! Bad news, they have no idea what is causing the pain, except the ER Dr. felt it was all due to my fragmented disc and pinched nerve, he was very concerned about that and wanted me to go in to see a surgeon about it, ASAP! He was able to stress upon me the seriousness of the matter, that for some reason had not quite sunk in yet. Which is good and brings me to my most current events for my back, which I will sum up here in just a bit.
(Yes this is one looong blog already! I did warn you ahead of time! Sorry and thanks for staying with me this far, I will try to wrap it up quick!)
Oh I almost forgot to mention, we had to wait for someone from New Zealand to read my ultra sound, everyone was off duty for our office, in fact they had to call in the ultra sound guy from home. I know not vital news, but we thought it was kinda cool someone from New Zealand would be looking at it, since my daughter has a good friend in New Zealand, so it was just a fun kawinkydink for us!(Yes one day we would love to go visit there!)
Again with the digressing...
Okay, I am going to try to summarize everything from Feb. 15th to right now (March 9th).
We have been staying at our good friends house, they are absolutely wonderful to put us up and give us rides!! They are our "adopted" family here in Alaska, not to mention a great Brother and Sister in God! So Huge Thanks go out to them, they know who they are! :)
I have had several Dr. appointments over the last few weeks, one week seemed like there was something going on everyday! @_@ I met with the Surgeon twice, the first time sounded like he agreed with the ER Doc's assessment and that surgery would def. be needed. The second appointment, which was last Tuesday, he wanted me to try out physical therapy for 6wks and wait and see what was going on from there.
Here this is a good place to tell you my current condition, which has not changed, since last Tuesday. My whole left leg is pretty much gimpy, from my hip to my knee I get a lot of that hamstring pain that sent me to the ER; from my knee down I have zero response, (that means when they take that little rubber mallet and bang your knee, it is suppose to reflex, yup? Nope not for me, it is all numb.) I occasionally get pains on the back of my calf like a charlie horse which really hurts and feels weird since the front part of my leg is completely numb. I can wiggle my toes and move my foot, but I have a very hard time lifting my leg or putting ANY weight on it at ALL. So this means- NO stair climbing. Just going up or down a couple of steps is difficult for me right now, let alone all the steps I need to go up and down just to get into my apartment and when I have to leave again, because I have appointments. Yeah, not going to work right now.
Also, I have been dizzy/lightheaded (side effects from the meds, most likely), my balance is off, I need to walk with a cane and sometimes my whole leg will just get the circulation cut off and go dead. This usually only happens if I am sitting in a straight back chair/toilet for too long. The image of the little old lady who has fallen and can't get back up keeps popping into my head, esp. when Rowan is at school. =/ That is just an unnecessary anxiety neither of us need at this time.
Just another reason why I need to move! Anyone know of a first floor unit w/2 bedrooms, in town close to our current location, prefer/need a washer & dryer in the unit (would be easier), and that will take our cat- the cat is not negotiable, he is my companion, part of the family and I really have been missing him, a lot!! :( Oh and that is under $800 a month? (Really, been wanting to move for awhile now, and until just this last Jan. could not afford anything above $600/month. I just know God is working on something, but I need to do all I know to do first!)
So thank you Jesus, for putting us into this church body and giving us such good friends! We have been here for them and in turn they for us, God knows what He is doing. I think that has been the coolest thing out of all of this, is really seeing God's hand at work, not just on me, but those around me and how it just ripples out like a pebble being thrown into a pond. What an awesome God we have! =)
Alright back to the point:
My leg is gimp, been staying with our friends since Feb. 15th (well really the 16th as of 2am) ;). I have had a ton of appointments, each one is getting me closer to a solution, like I said God is working on it. The most recent set of appointments was my EMG/NCS testing yesterday morning, which led to my first physical therapy appointment this morning. My 6wks of PT has turned into 2wks; so I may have surgery or at least get a date at that time, which is good! And of course they found I definitely had nerve damage, (duh! And no I did not say that, though I did think it). For those of you who are unfamiliar of what an EMG/NCS testing is; I have posted a link below that will tell you exactly what it is all about.
Here is my version, pretty much it is to test the nerves. There are two test, the first one the EMG, hooks you up to little pads then zaps you, yes I spent yesterday morning having various parts of my leg being electrocuted, some were small like static shock, others were quite painful. It reminded me of the time I stuck a bobby pin in a light socket when I was, what about 3yrs old, oh I remember that very clearly. @_@
Now the second part of the test, NCS, involves needles, yes you read me correctly, I typed needles. I am sooo glad they did not tell me about the needles before hand, I would have given myself an anxiety attack prior to my appointment. You already know needles and I do not get along. We get along even less now, they said this was similar to acupuncture (I will NEVER try that, btw). Well these "needles" made noise and well some you only felt a small poke and it was not a big deal. Other's holy cow!! OUCH! The louder the noise it seemed the more painful, he would move the needle slightly and WOW it really hurt, I had to bite down on my shirt not to scream at some parts. At least the doctor said sorry, but would continue on poking me and the poking went from my ankle all the way up to my lower back. I am still sore. =( I was also told to watch for any irritation, swelling and general signs of infection, though it is rare, can happen. Great. :| I will now have to ask my daughter or my friend to look at my lower back to make sure it looks okay in the area he poked.
So yup, I spent the morning not only getting electric shocks but being stuck by needles, I am really not a fan of these tests. :| However, it was needed and I made it through, I was praying the whole time and biting my shirt and yes I did yelp and scream a few times when the shock of pain took me by surprise, (the pun was intended). I am also aware I may need to take these tests again at some point in the future, really not looking forward to it, I am going to need a lot of prayer next time, because yeah, it will cause an anxiety attack if I am not prayed up.
Now you are pretty much current, today Wednesday March 9th, (well for the next 20mins). It has been a long day, starting with helping to get my daughter out the door on time, today I rode along. She has been getting rides instead of walking to the end of the block for the bus stop in the am, very sweet of our friend!
Anyhoo, today I rode along because I got my first PT appointment, and wow, though I was really sore, it really did help. My thigh muscle finally got stretched out! Oi! It has been so tight (hamstring) and then pressing down on my knee which then in turn would throb in pain. My knee and thigh still hurt but not nearly as bad and the exercise I was given to do every 2-3 hours, looks like it is working! We will see how I feel when I go back on Monday, the physical therapist will be out of town the rest of the week. It is nice to have a bit of a reprieve, so I can work on other things, like um lets my blog. ;)
It is almost midnight now and I am trying to wrap up this blog post. The last two days were long, Rowan's band concert last night, (Tuesday) was a smash, tomorrow is the last day of the quarter, then Spring Break! Woot woot! So just one more day of waking up at 6/6:30am for at least one week!:) Next week, (Spring Break) I have a few more appointments to go to, but the plan is to be back into our apartment at the end of the week/weekend.
We both miss our cat, as I am sure, he misses us. I was going to start practicing stair climbing this weekend and I think if I take it slow and easy, I should be okay. Though my left side seems to be getting weaker, my mobility time has increased with time and pushing myself, thank you Jesus! I am finally off the prednisone, so no more squirrels running around in my head. I am also off ibuprofen, I had know idea it can actually prevent healing! The extra strength tylenol, along with the pain patch have been working. The gabapentin, has literally been night and day with my fibromyalgia; before it felt like my pilot light had gone out and was just out for soo long, that I just didn't have any more 'get up and go,' even with my thyroid meds, I just was so tired and out of it all the time.
Yes, I was stubborn to try medication in general, I was afraid plain and simple. This whole back injury has been a real blessing in disguise. God knows what He is doing! I would have never tried the medication had I not been in soo much pain. I have been so grateful and thankful that I do not have to deal with the fibromyalgia along with the leg/lower back pain at the same time! It feels like I have my "mind" back; the pilot light is back on and I feel more of my physical old self than I have since I have moved to Alaska, despite my current injury.
I say physical, because spiritually, I have been awesome, the infilling of the Holy Ghost has forever changed me for the better, thank you Jesus! The last two years, it was as if, I was pulling away from God bit by bit, but I have been really trying to draw closer to God esp. as of late. When I pray I can feel Him so strong, I just know He is working on something BIG. So before I finally wrap this blog up, I have to give my final praise and thanks to God, in Jesus name Amen!
I am slowly on the mend, though my condition is degenerative and I may have permanent nerve damage to my left leg, I know I am in God's hands as long as I am serving Him and I know, "ALL things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose," Romans 8:28 KJV And, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15 KJV
Thank you for taking the time to read my long story/blog. I will do my best to keep those interested updated on my condition, maybe my next blog post won't be so long. :)
~Ryan (RMM) ;)
Here is the Link:
EMG/NCS Testing WebMD
Oh, and here is a song, enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment