Sunday...

Normally, Sundays are one of my favorite days of the week. I get to relax (usually kick back with a Starbucks) and take a look at the Sunday paper. I love to look at the ads and check out the sales. In the hospital though, this is not as fun. Besides, the fact that I'm still sore and the medications are driving my blood pressure and blood sugar all over the place, I just can't relax, I want to go home. Cody makes an effort to get Castro his insulin and food early so that he can be with me when the neurosurgeon comes to check on me. Cody gets there nice and early (since yesterday the neurosurgeon came around 8am) and we end up waiting for a bit. As soon as I step into the bathroom to try and pee, he shows up. He talks to Cody, and me through the bathroom door. He says that he's not really comfortable releasing me with the blood pressure issues, the fact that I'm still working to control my bladder, and I'm still retaining even after peeing. He's not ruling it out, but he'd like to re-evaluate later in the day to see how I'm doing. I ask if I can at least take a shower, and he said that would probably help me feel better, so to do so with the help of Cody or a nurse. When I ask later for showering supplies (towels, soap, etc) they are told that there is no record in my file that I was given the o.k. to shower, so it is put off again! Later in the evening Cody and I relax, (he brought his laptop from home) and we share the little overbed table. Him on one side playing a game on his laptop, me on the other. I do some reading, I put in a Scholastic book order so my kiddos get their books before the last day of school, I play some games on my iPad. The neurosurgeon does not come back to check on me. The attending physician comes through and says that a urologist will be coming to see me at some point today because they are worried that I might have a secondary urinary infection because there had been blood in my urine (because they make you pee into a cup so they can measure your urinary output). I once again state that of course there is blood in my urine, I am MENSTRUATING!! (Really... how many times do you have to state the same thing over and over and over). I pee again, and they scan and it shows I'm only holding 100ccs (just over 1/3 cup), this has been considered acceptable. So a couple hours later a urologist comes through. He had been told I was on a catheter (I'm not), he had been told I was retaining large amounts in my bladder even after peeing, which is also no longer true. I also let him know that they put me on an antiobiotic just in case I had a urinary tract infection. He leaves a card and tells me to follow up later with my PCP or with his office to ensure there really is no urinary infection. By now its getting late into the afternoon, and I'm starting to realize I am not going home today either. The attending physician comes through and says that I will be staying again, until I have more control over the bladder, blood sugar and blood pressure. My blood sugar is apparently too high, so I get another 2 units of Inulin Lente before dinner. Cody leaves to get Castro his insulin and food, as well as some dinner for himself. I take a small nap, and wake up as I realize I have to pee, but just can't make it fast enough. Small accident, but this is what they were talking about with control of bladder. Cody comes back and we relax some more together, but I convince him to go home and try and get a good night's sleep so he'll be better ready to take care of me when I come home tomorrow.... because it has to happen... I have to go home tomorrow or I will go insane. Cody goes home to get some sleep. I try, but after about 30 minutes I can't sleep. I get up and walk around the floor, I watch some Netflix, I watch some t.v., I read, I get up and walk around some more and I pee a lot. It's finally 4am before I fall asleep, then at 4:30 they draw more blood, and take blood pressure and blood sugar. I finally fall back asleep for until around 7am.

The Day After Surgery

Cody stayed the night with me, but he needed to leave to get Castro his morning food and insulin. I'm still very sore from the surgery and my saddle area is numb. I fight with the nurses to remove the catheter and to be able to wear underwear and sanitary napkins. Donna arrives and is with me when neurosurgeon comes to visit this morning. He is upset that I didn't get up and do any walking around the night before. This is just as the nurses are changing shifts (7:30am) and I get the same AM nurse as I had the day before. She said she knew that I was clear to walk without a brace. I explain that the night nurse did not know this, and there was nothing in the notes to indicate, and normally they don't allow patients to walk after back surgery without a brace. He says that we can remove the catheter and see how I do on my own for peeing. He says if I can manage my bladder and get walking there is a chance that I can go home today. I ask if I can please wear underwear and a sanitary napkin now, and he says yes. Luckily, Cody not only brought me my favorite Starbucks breakfast (Venti White Mocha Non Fat No Whip with 2 pumps Raspberry and a Perfect Oatmeal yummmm), but also some undies and napkins so I put some on. Now I've just gotta get walking around. Cody is disappointed that he didn't get a chance to see the neurosurgeon, who'd have thought that the doctor would be in at 7:30 on a Saturday! Donna leaves because she has to do Karaoke that night (and she's barely seen Gordon or Tiffany since this all started) and Cody takes me for a lap around the floor. When we get back, Cody leaves to go check on Castro, he's been home alone a lot! While Cody is gone checking on Castro, I convince the nurses to remove the I.V. and Jason and Carrie come to see me. I'm looking totally awesome since I haven't had a shower since uhm Wednesday (4 days) and am not feeling too confident in hospital gown. At least am sitting in the little recliner that they have, and Jason and Carrie take the other chairs. They are so sweet and bring me some pretty purple flowers and gift cards to Mimi's Cafe and Rock Bottom Brewery so that Cody doesn't always have to cook when I finally get to break out of this place! The attending physician comes in to see us. He is concerned because I haven't peed since they removed the catheter and its been about 4 hours (hello, teacher's bladder). I pee a little, but they can feel my bladder and tell it wasn't nearly enough. They tell me everytime I pee, I will have to have a bladder scan (ultrasound) They come do the ultrasound and I'm holding about 300ccs still, which is like 1 and 1/4 cups. So they reinsert a catheter to drain it. The nurse tells me that the catheterising should hurt, but I don't feel anything, still numb in the saddle area, then they remove the catheter. They are also concerned about my blood sugar (which was up around 300) and my blood pressure (162/109). They say that these can be related to the steroid, dexamethasone, that I am on to help with the iflammation from surgery. Before dinner they give me 8 units of Inulin Lente and my blood sugar drops to just over 100, and that is after eating dinner.  I get up and do more walking. The attending physician comes back and says that because I'm retaining too much urine and my blood pressure is high (due to being in a hospital AND the steroid they have me on for the inflammation in my back) I'm not going home today. I am devastated. Cody stays the night again tonight after going back to check on Castro, but I know that sleeping in the chair can not be comfortable for him. The night nurse comes and checks my blood sugar again, and its high (about 150) but she decides not to give me any insulin, because she wants to check it again later to make sure its not related to the dexamethasone. She checks later and it is closer to normal, so no more insulin tonight.

Carrie says that this should be our Christmas Card for this year!

Surgery Day

I luck out and get to have an early surgery. Cody spent the night with me, and Donna came back. They want me completed naked, which I am not comfortable with because I am menstruating. They tell me I can wear some special mesh underwear (think fishnet tights) and their special sanitary napkin. I meet the neurosurgeon and he tells me that he is going to remove my L5 disc because it has herniated and it is pressing on the lumbar sac and compressing the nerves that control the lower half of my body, including my legs, bladder and bowels. I have something called Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is why there was the numbness in the saddle area (it is one of the tell tale symptoms for the syndrome). I, like the idiot that I am, ask how long I'll be out of work after (I'm thinking of my appendectomy where I was only out a week). He tells me that I'll be out for several weeks. I start to cry, thinking of all I'll miss, because that's the end of the year. I tell Cody he has to call Lynn and request some subs, I need Mrs. Grasso or Mrs. Pearson, or someone who is going to take care of my kids. Donna tells me that she will keep my mom updated. Then they wheel me away. The next thing I know I'm waking up in a bigger room, and I have no undies (not even the fishnet guys!) First order of business is I NEED underwear. Cody has gone while I was in post-op and given Castro his insulin for the morning, but Donna is still with me. I'm allowed some ice chips, and I'm so thirsty. After a little while the neurosurgeon comes to visit. He says that the surgery went well. The disc was the 2nd or 3rd largest he has ever removed and he even took a picture (it's graphic) and emailed it to me. He said if I had waited for a day or more I would have likely been paralyzed from the waist down. He tells me that with any luck if I get up and walking around today that I can go home tomorrow. I have to be able to pee on my own (they have me on a catheter). Cody brings my iPad, a magazine, a book, and a picture of Castro on his phone. Donna stays until early evening, we ask the nurse if I can get up and take a walk (which is what the neurosurgeon wanted me to do) but she says there is no order for a back brace, and she can't take the chance that I hurt myself walking without a brace, so no walking for tonight. They also won't remove the catheter. Which means I need to practice walking and peeing tomorrow if I want to go home tomorrow. Donna leaves to go spend some time with Gordon, and Cody stays the night (after he goes home to give Castro his insulin).

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me (Part 2)

Cody drives me back to our side of town so that we can go to the E.R. for the MRI. I call my mother in law and let her know where we are headed, she says she can leave work, but I tell her not to worry and we'll keep her updated. Thank goodness the P.A. gave me the shot of Toradol, or the pain in the car ride back would have been unbearable. When we get to the ER, we get another wheelchair, because the left leg is giving me problems still. I let them know every step of the way that I was just here a week ago. We have to wait for about 90 minutes before we get to the back. The pain is escalating, the Toradol must be wearing off. They ask for me to get into a gown, I do. The insurance lady comes to get my card and info. I have to give a urine sample. So I wobble over to the bathroom (I'm almost as far away from it as you can get) wait for the person who is currently in there (because of course there is only one) and then finally work on the urine sample. When I take it back, they kind of freak out. But, because if all of this back stuff isn't bad enough, I'm also menstruating, isn't it just great to be a woman? They nurses come back and ask about the symptoms again. I let them know that I'm experiencing numbness in the pelvic area and left leg. They ask about the urine, I tell them. What is my pain level, I'm at about a 5. They ask me to turn over, they're going to perform a rectal exam. I do, they put on the gloves and I know they're getting ready to stick their finger in my bottom... but I don't feel anything. They ask me to squeeze, I tell them I can't, I can't even feel their finger. Now they're worried. They give me a shot of Valium and Demerol to prepare me for the MRI. They leave... I start to get a little sleepy, Cody is still there, then all of a sudden I'm on fire. I feel like every nerve ending in my legs are on fire and as if someone has scooped out my uterus and its hollow. I'm now at like a 20 on the pain scale that goes to 10. Cody is very concerned that I'm going to pass out from pain. As I'm writhing around in pain the insurance lady comes back in and wants us to put down some money (we just gave them $500 last week when we were here). Finally a nurse comes in and gives me a shot of Dilaudid and things start to come back under control pain wise. They wheel me for the MRI, and the Dilaudid is starting to wear off and my left leg feels like it is on fire, but I have to stay perfectly still during the MRI or they will have to do it again. I somehow manage it. I get back to a room, and Donna is there talking on the phone to my mom, Kathy, because Cody had to go home and give Castro his insulin (for the first time by himself). I want a glass of water so badly (those of you who know me, know I'm not a water girl), but they say that I have to wait for a neurologist to review the MRI before I can do anything. A nurse comes back in and tells me that I will be having back surgery in the morning. I can have some dinner or something to drink, but nothing after midnight. I call my mom, and try and reassure her that its going to be okay, I'm going to be okay. Cody comes back, then leaves to get me a salad for dinner. I'm put in a bigger room for pre-surgery. I'm allowed to have Dilaudid to help control the pain, and the goal is to make it through the night.

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me (Part 1)

I wake up and I am still experiencing numbness in my pelvic region, extending down my left leg. I call my P.A.'s office and again let them know that I am numb and I need her to call me back. Then I call chiropractor's office and grab the first open appointment. Cody drives me over there, and I'm so slow... I can barely feel my left leg... my buttocks are numb, my pelvic area is numb, I'm slow and hurting despite the medications that I am on. I know.. its unusual to say that even though I'm numb it's painful, but it is completely possible. I get into see the chiropractor, he takes a look at me, palpates my back and says that the x-ray came back clean. He said it looks like there could be some calcification in the kidneys, which is a sign of a kidney infection, so he palpates my kidney and asks if it hurts, which it doesn't. He tells me he is not going to adjust me, I need to call my P.A./PCP and arrange for an MRI. He tells me again that the numbness is related to the bed rest and how I'm doing it, nothing to be concerned over. We leave and I book an appointment for my P.A.'s office, insisting I still need her to call me back about the numbness. Now, let's keep in mind that I live in Peoria and my P.A.'s office is in Tempe (a 40 minute drive). Sitting in the car for the short trip to the chiropractor was painful, I know that heading to the P.A.'s office is going to be torture, so I try and time taking the Percocet so it will be the most beneficial. When we get to the P.A.'s office in Tempe for appointment, I'm headed to the back walking with Cody and my left leg feels like it goes out from under me. They bring out a wheelchair and wheel me back. The P.A. takes one look at me and asks me what I'm doing there. I'm not really in the mood to bring up the fact that I've been calling. I tell her that the chiropractor recommended that I get an MRI, to get an MRI I need a prescription from the doctor. She asks me about my pain level and I tell her I'm at like a 6 or 7, the highest it has been, but I'm more concerned with the numbness that I'm experiencing in my pelvic region and down my left leg. The P.A. says that the best way to go about this is for me to go to the ER and have an MRI done. If she were to just send me for an MRI they would have to wait for her to get the results, but if I go to the ER they can have a neurologist look at it right away. She is very concerned about the numbness and wants to know if there have been any issues of incontinence with it. I let her know that there have not been. She gives me a shot of Toradol to help make the trip to the ER more bearable, and tells me if there are any issues admitting me, to please call her and she will talk with them. She expresses that I must tell them about the numbness in the pelvic area because this is very important. As we get out to the car I see I have a voicemail from the P.A.'s office telling me that my x-ray has come back normal.... lack of communication.

I Am Slowly Going Numb.... Numb Going Slowly Am I...

After bedrest on Tuesday, I wake up Wednesday and am concerned because my butt and pelvic area are going numb. I put in a call to the Tempe doctor's office when they open at 8am to see if they have the x-ray results yet, and to ask if she can call me because of the numbness. I call the chiropractor's office at 9am when they open to ask about the numbness. His office staff checks has him call me back and he says that this is normal becase of how I'm doing the bed rest. I take him for his word, I mean... he is the expert right, this is what they are supposed to know. I'm still taking the Percocet that was prescribed by the ER and then the Flexeril that was was prescribed by my P.A. at the Tempe doctor's office. I'm icing my back like the chiropractor said to, but as the day progresses the numbness continues... my left leg is getting tingly, and my butt feels extremely numb. I call my P.A. at the Tempe doctor's office again around 4, because I know that they leave at 5, and am very clear that I need for the P.A. herself to call me back becaue I am experiencing numbness. Time passes and now both offices are closed, the P.A. has not gotten back to me, despite the calls I put in, so I resolve to make it through the night (I sleep a lot, the Flexeril tends to knock me out), and plan call the P.A. and the chiropractor's offices first thing in the morning.

Total calls to the Tempe doctor's office today = 2

Another Day... Another Pain...

I woke up, every intention of going in. I went to bed nice and early and set the alarm for 5 am. I get up, head out to the kitchen, come back into the bedroom for my laptop so that I can print something out for school (because I had this great idea). As soon as I bend down to pick up my laptop, I know that is it… I’m not going in today either. I wait until a decent hour (6 am) and call Cammy again. Now I’ve just got to wait for the chiropractor’s office to open up. He has been out of town since Friday, and I remember him saying he was coming back today when we met on Wednesday last week. Have some breakfast and coffee, I call the Tempe doctor's office and ask if they’ve gotten the x-rays. They say that they don’t have them, so I call the radiology place and have them resend the results to the Tempe doctor's office and ask if they can send them over to chiropractor’s office too. I call the chiropractor’s office as soon as they open and they can get me in by 10am. Getting in and out of the car is rough; I’m walking slower and more stiffly than before. The chiropractor takes one look at me and says he’s not adjusting me, he’s not doing anything. He recommends that I take the rest of the week off of work and stay on bed rest (on my back, pillows under my legs so my knees are at a 90 degree angle). This kills me, I miss my kids, we have field day this week. I want to be at school. Plus, there’s the whole financial thing, I don’t have any paid time left… I ran out of that last week. But, okay… if you’re telling me you can’t even touch my back because it’s that bad and I need to rest, then I’ll rest. We get home and I call Lynn to let her know what the chiropractor said about not coming back for the rest of the week. She again tells me not to worry about it. This was a plan of improvement offense in my last district, the type of thing that would keep you from getting 301 funds, from being offered a contract for next year. She tells me not to worry, Peoria isn’t like that, she’s already offered me a spot for next year, I just need to worry about getting better! This is why I told Lynn back in December, I don’t care where you move me, but let me stay at Heritage! Everyone is this great, not just Lynn… all the other staff is supportive and helpful, the parents are involved and the kids are the best!! I try to relax and just take it easy, which isn’t easy for my type A personality.

Total calls to the Tempe Doctor's office today = 4