....and this 'new life' continues, and it sucks

The week of May 11 - 17, 2014

This was written starting on May 28, 2014.  Catching up a little bit at a time!

I must apologize to you all - I forgot to tell you about the doctor calling me with the x-ray results on Friday.  Of course, I missed her call and when I called back, the nurse read me the doctor's note which said "the hip x-rays are fine, and the back x-ray shows an 'old wedge compression.'"  That was it.  Well, okay, I'm thinking - what the hell does that mean?  But she only reads it again.  No new news, no new diagnosis, no new orders, nothing.  Ta-da.

Sunday 5/11/14  Mother's Day

Josh and I were going to go out on Friday night for Mother's Day - to beat the crowd, ya know - but we decided to shelve that for at least a week, seeing that it's kinda hard to go to dinner and a movie when one of the participants can't even sit for a five-minute span.  We will get to celebrate, and when we do, we will know that it's our Mother's Day celebration, even if it's late.  Who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Ron went to church without me, of course, this morning.  He brought me home an envelope - my Altat Society raffle tickets - that was on the table in back of church (good for him!), but when I talked to my friend Bert later, she said something about the plant that was sitting on the table for me, probably from my Secret Pal.  He had totally missed that one!  Silly man!  Oh, well, he tried...
The rest of the day was spent in bed, reading and playing the DS as I've been doing.  I am now only taking the drugs every 12 hours, because they don't do much for me, and since they gave me so few, they are running out fast.  I have decided that I must call the doctor's office again tomorrow morning and see if there is something else to be done.  This NOTHING is not working, and I've had enough.
I don't remember eating anything today.

Monday 5/12/14

When I woke up from my restless sleep this morning, I knew, just knew I couldn't stand it any more and was gonna have to take the step I didn't want to take - go to the ER.  I put it off, though, by calling the doctor's office once again and telling them that nothing has changed, nothing is improving, the meds aren't helping, what ELSE can be done?  I get back a message - nothing.  I can call some orthopaedic doctors, and am given some numbers, and I can go to the ER.  Oh, I don't want to do this!!!!!  Not at all!!  I call the ortho doctors - Wellington, I've been there before - and the soonest they can get me in is JUNE THIRD.  June third!! Are you kidding me??  Three weeks?  I call the doctor's office back and tell them this - they can't believe it, either, and offer to call to see if they can do something.  I thank them, and tell them that I am going to go to the ER because I have to do something NOW - this is getting to where I just can't stand it, and she said that she completely understood that (which I wonder about, but...oh, well).
I text my sister and ask if she felt up to sitting in the ER all day and she sent back "NO."  Well,  howdy doody.  I never like to either, but...damn.  (Not putting my sister down - I know her and didn't really expect her to, but it put me in a quandry.)  Luckily, my daughter-in-law was off work and willing to come and take me.  So, off we went.

ERs are so much fun...especially when you can't sit.  They wanted me to sit in the waiting room (of course, after standing and/or sitting to do the signing in).  I just found a couch-like place and laid out while letting Chelle sign me in.  She had to keep bringing papers over for me to sign and stuff, but we finally got it done, and they did (for a hospital) get me back into a room and onto a real bed rather quickly.  After a million years, an aide finally came in, asks a zillion questions that have already been asked by others at different places and said they can't do anything for a while because of the x-ray I had the other day and they can't - aren't allowed to (!!!) - order MRIs from the ER any more, so I have to wait until the doctor comes in and
makes a decision.   They do give me a steroid something (a pill) and some Valium - muscle relaxer - as I am laying there.  While I'm laying there, the Wellington people call back (I'm assuming they got my cell number from my doctor's office because I didn't give it to them - I don't give it out) and tell me that they can get me in on Thursday.  Well, how about that!!  I happily agree to that.  After another million years, the ER doctor comes in and tells me that they can't do anything for me. (Wonderful!)   He does give me prescriptions for better drugs and tells me to follow up with the orthopaedic doctor as soon as I can.
Chelle and I leave, to go to Walgreens and get my better drugs, and then go home, but why in the hell can't anyone give me a straight answer about why can't I sit?  I am so confused about this.  I mean, I understand that I fell and that I hurt myself - muscles, and all that - but why can't some supposedly educated person explain it to me a little better?  I just don't understand and it makes me want to scream!

I get back home and go back to bed. WhooHoo.

Tuesday 5/13/14

After a decent sleep - the first one in DAYS - getting up this morning was almost a pleasure.  I can truly only say almost.  I don't do much today, except turn over every once in a while.
Ron brought home sandwiches from Subway for our supper.  We just love those seafood and crab sandwiches and haven't had them in a long time!  He actually got home at a decent time today, too, so I ate half of my footlong before he took me up to my TOPS for my weigh-in.  I have lost 4 more pounds.  That makes over 10 pounds now.  Wow.  We come back home, and I go back to bed.

Wednesday 5/14/14

The only thing is that the prescriptions I got were for only enough for 3 days, if I take them as prescribed every time.  Ai-yi-yi.  That will never do!  I am made of tougher stuff than that!  I make up my mind that I will only take the muscle relaxers as needed, and the pain pills at night.  I have already taken over half of both and I want them to last, by God!  They WORK and give me some relief, as well as good sleep, which I need desperately to help my body heal.

I eat about half of the rest of my Sub for lunch today.

Today is our 37th anniversary.  Both of us forgot.  Everyone forgot.  No calls, no cards, no texts.  Can't be such a big deal when you forget, too, can it?  Definitely a very small thing in our now-a-day world.  We made it, though!  We made it!!

Thursday 5/15/14

My sister came up and took me to Wellington.  She knew where that was - it's right beside where she went for her hearing tests - so she was secure in driving over there, and she was okay with sitting in a doctor's office.
Once there - once again - I could only stand so long, then had her finish signing me in while I found a place to 'sit' and do know, there was only one bench/couch seat in the whole place?  I couldn't believe it!  (They did offer to get me a wheelchair, but what good does that good when I can't SIT?)  Surely they have other  spine patients who have trouble sitting.  Surely.   Whatever, man.  Anyway, I went to that ONE, way across the room, and laid on it and starting filling out papers.  They finally called me back and I walked a mile or two before getting to the exam room, then gratefully laid on the exam table while waiting for the doctor.
After he comes in, and does his exam, which mostly comprises of his feeling around the middle of my back - which doesn't hurt - and asking over and over, "Does this hurt at all?" and me telling him over and over, "NO," he decides that I need an MRI to discern what exactly this 'old wedge compression' is (especially since I"m telling him it doesn't hurt) and, once again, the fact that I cannot sit is just briefly touched upon and dismissed.  The MRI is set up for next Friday, and my follow-up appointment, to get the results, for the following Thursday, so it's going to be another two weeks before I know anything.  Good grief!!  I do remember to ask him about more medicine, and he gives me a prescription for pain pills, but not muscle relaxers - he only gives prescriptions for the ones I already have at home (the ones that didn't work), so I don't need that, thank you very much.
We drive through and get sandwiches on the way home, after getting the prescription filled, and that was that.

Friday 5/16/14

Nothing today.  I layed in bed all day, turning over when I had to.
Ron made me eat some supper - chicken noodle soup.

I am so out of stuff - I need to go to the grocery store.  After talking about it, we decide that we will go to SaveALot on Sunday.  It's a small enough store, and since we mostly need meat, that's what we will do.  I will do what I can, and we'll go from there.  I have my walking stick and my pain pills - I can do this!

Saturday 5/17/14

I'm not sure what Ron and Corgan did Saturday morning, but at one point, they were both busy outside, mowing and weed-eating and all, so I made myself get up and do my weigh-in on the Wii (when Corgan had come in for a potty break, I had asked him to set it up for me) and I have lost another 4+ pounds.  Now, I know the Wii and TOPS weigh me differently, but still.....
I also know that I am not losing this weight 'correctly' but by not hardly eating at all.  This just is not right.  I mean, I like losing the weight, but I don't like losing it this way.  Once I'm back to myself, I'll probably gain it all back, and I will hate that!!

Sometime along in through here, it has also come into my mind that I've not had a bowel movement in all this time, either.  Now, guarateed, I'm not eating much, but I am eating, so it should be coming out the other end.  I guess I'm gonna have to call the doctor again on Monday.  Jiminy.

We have breakfast for supper.  I have 2 sausage links and an egg, and half a slice of bread.  It was good!