Another Little Step

A shower. Doesn't sound like much, does it? But I haven't taken a shower since May 24th. Tonight was the night. My incision has healed over (or so Mike tells me - I still haven't looked at it - and it's not exactly in an easy spot to view), so we figured it was okay to get it wet (the doctor said no water on it until the scab fell off). Finally. It wasn't all rainbows and lollipops as the nerve is extremely sensitive to heat. Even though the water was only running at a lukewarm temperature, the pressure across my foot got pretty intense in less than five minutes. So, it was a very brief shower, but a shower nonetheless.

Update...
I saw the doctor on July 2nd. The stitches were removed and he evaluated my progress. He reassured me that it was not at all unusual to hear that I am still having such pain in my left foot. It is a residual effect of the injured nerve and will simply take time to heal. He read through the surgery notes and said the good news was that the hole in which the herniated disc was primarily protruding was small, so that minimizes my risk of recurrence. The bad news is that the nerve was not only pressed by the herniated disc - it was pressed so hard that it was also displaced in my back. Because of the pressure on the nerve - pressure which was significant for nearly three weeks, the nerve was very red, swollen, inflammed and irritated. No magic wand to speed up the healing process. Even physical therapy will not help because it is geared toward rebuilding muscle strength; however, not nerve-related muscle weakness. Doctor's orders were rest, rest and more rest. I go back in for another check-up on August 4th.

Last week, I was able to go into the office for a half day each day. Thankfully, one of my co-workers is letting me park in her spot in the bank building. (I normally park in a city parking garage that is three blocks from my office.) I have been using crutches to get around the office as it seems to help conserve my energy and gives the left foot a break.

Our July 4th weekend was a fun one! My parents came to visit, and again, they were so helpful in getting the house cleaned and laundry done. We enjoyed a grill-out on the 4th as Mike's parents and the Foster's joined us also. On the evening of the 4th, Dad, Mike, Marcia and Casey went to Larry the Cable Guy's comedy act at Memorial Stadium (along with nearly 60,000 other fans). Mom and I enjoyed viewing wonderful displays of fireworks out both our front and back windows. (A definite benefit of legalizing fireworks in Nebraska. You Minnesotans are missing out.)

Since I've been out of the house a bit more, I've actually managed to consistently put on make-up. We figured this was something to catch on film, so Mom took a few pictures of Mike and me after church last week. Thought I would share...

The Light at the End of the Tunnel...

I can see it...finally...it might be only a flicker at this point, but there is a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel. I was initially undecided on the title for this blog posting and was toying with "When it rains, it pours", but I opted for a more positive theme. I realize an update to the blogsite is long overdue, so I'll do my best to recap the events of the past two weeks.

Mike's mom was kind enough to take me to my neurosurgeon appointment on Monday, June 15th. The intent of the visit was to discuss the results of the epidural steroid injection (i.e. little pain relief and minimal improvement) and to determine next steps. As had been the case with the past 3.5 weeks of appointments with this neurosurgeon, he was extremely indecisive. So, the following day, I had an appointment with a different neurosurgeon to seek a second opinion. His approach was as different as night-and-day. He took the time to thoroughly examine me and to review the results of the MRI by specifically pointing out the problem area. His message was absolutely clear - I needed surgery. He expressed his concern with the increased weakness, numbness and pain in my left foot and the risk of permanent nerve damage which could potentially lead to a 'drop foot'. Both Mike and I felt good about this doctor and my gut told me that a change was in order. He checked his schedule and as a result of a recent cancellation, he had an open operating room available for me the very next morning. For those who know me well, this was great news as I had limited time to worry, stress and develop a massive cold sore. The morning of surgery was a bit chaotic because there was no time for a pre-operative check-up the day before, so I'm pretty sure at least 4 nurses and 2 doctors listened to my heart and lungs to confirm they were healthy and clear. One of the six of them were supposed to draw blood for lab testing, but each one of them assumed the other completed that task and after the drama of a University of Nebraska nurse in her first month of schooling trying to kill me as she attempted her first IV insertion, I was the last person in the room who was going to remind them of the forgotten blood draw. Thank goodness Mike was there to provide some much needed comic relief. Mike's mom rounded out my support system for the day. I was taken into surgery at 9:30 and woke up in recovery at 11:25. After a dose of morphine to make me comfortable, I got back to my regular room around noon. After we accomplished drinking a glass of water, a trip to the bathroom and a few steps down the hallway (without the walker, mind you), I was cleared for release around 3:00. My at-home nurses (Mike and his mom) took great care of me the next few days. We all become experts at the 'log roll' to get me on and off the couch for bathroom breaks. As wonderful as it is to have pain relief in the hip/butt, the left foot continues to cause me issues with numbness, pressure and pain. The doctor reassures me this is to be expected. Although the "pinch" was removed, there is still swelling in that area (as a result of surgery) and the nerve itself will take some time to heal. Progress is slow, but sure. However, it should be noted that on Sunday afternoon, I put my contacts in, applied a little make-up and wore something other than sweatpants and a t-shirt for the first time in more than a month! My parents arrived on Sunday (to help us out for a few days) and we had a wonderful evening celebrating Father's Day with my parents, Mike's parents and the Fosters.

I should better explain my discarded title of "When it rains, it pours".
Lefler Dilemma #2:
The week before my surgery, Mike saw his doctor for an abscess on his cheek that had been bothering him for a few weeks. The doctor agreed it was terribly infected and needed to be immediately lansed. So, Mike experienced a small incision of his own and had the wound packed with medicated gause for 4 continuous days (even had to go to the lab on Saturday and Sunday). Three days after that, he was tasked with having to do the gause packing on his own. Thankfully, it is healing very well (and quickly) and the scar should be minimal. (My incision scar beats his, but at least mine is only noticable during bikini season...oh, that's right...I don't wear a bikini...so who's kidding who...mine ain't so bad.)
Lefler Dilemma #3:
Sunday morning, Mike woke up and came to check on me sleeping on the couch. We both heard a burst of water and assumed it had to be coming from the washing machine or dishwasher. To our dismay, it was, unfortunately, coming from the basement. Sometime during the night, the PVC piping attached to our sump pump busted - sending gallons of groundwater flooding into our storage and family rooms (we got a little over an inch of rain overnight). I was, of course, no help with the task of removing things from the affected area. When Mike rearranged several totes and furniture items, I quickly hit the phone to dispatch ServiceMaster to the rescue. Thankfully, they arrived within a few hours. They ripped up the carpet pad, but were confident the carpeting could be salvaged with a few days of drying. Good news is the last fan was removed today and the carpet should be re-layed in the next week or so. Who was the wise guy who picked the high-deductible homeowner's insurance policy? I guess if we're going to meet medical deductibles this year, we might as well go for the double play and meet the homeowner's deductible as well!

I can't close without expressing heartfelt gratitude to our parents for the help and support through the past few weeks. Also, I have simply been touched beyond words with all of the cards, flowers, food, gifts, emails and calls of concern. I will tell you this...pain pills are great, but the greatest source of healing is all of the well wishes I have received. They truly keep me going each day - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

Cruise Photos

Just wanted to share with you some of our favorite photos from our cruise to the Bahamas and Key West. Hope you enjoy!

Our cruise ship...Enchantment of the Seas


Mike and Lisa at Atlantis in the Bahamas


The centrum area of our ship


Key West


Sunset from the ship

Remember to pause and smell the flowers

Over the last month, I've learned a valuable lesson. Never take for granted the little things in life...things like a good night's sleep, walking, good health, independence.

My pain started the evening of May 8th. I finished a Tae Bo aerobic workout (the DVD has since been destroyed) and about an hour later, felt the pain begin in my hip/butt. Over the course of the next two days the pain increased considerably and led me to see the my regular doctor on May 11th. Without any testing, she shrugged off my pain as a injured hip muscle (piriformis syndrome). She gave me a pain pill prescription and told me to stretch a lot. The next 10 days were slow going, but I started to improve and was progressively able to walk more, with less pain. So, we decided the Memorial Day weekend Royal Caribbean cruise/vacation was something I could handle - rest and relaxation - what could be better healing, right?

The first day of vacation was spent in Fort Lauderdale and we had a great time hanging out at the beach - very relaxing. The second day of vacation, we boarded the cruise ship and enjoyed touring all that it had to offer. I was starting to hurt again, but we took lots of breaks to sit down and let me rest. The first full day of the cruise was a stop in Nassau, Bahamas. We had planned on a beach day excursion at the Atlantis Hotel. It was a fun day, but much more walking that we had anticipated. By the time we returned to the cruise ship, I was in trouble. We made it to the Captain's Dinner and show that night, but by the next morning, I was shaking in pain. I spent the next two days of the cruise completely bedridden, aside from 4 trips to the medical facility for anti-flammatory injections (6 total). It was a bit unsettling when the only available medical personnel was a 60 year-old Polish doctor dressed in a Captain's suit (not sure if he was steering the ship in his free time or what?) Fortunately, getting home was an interesting, yet surprisingly pleasant, experience. I had a wheelchair ride off the ship, which budged us through long lines and sped us through customs. After a short taxi ride to the airport, American Airlines was able to put us on a stand-by flight that ultimately got us back to Omaha five hours earlier than scheduled. They had wheelchairs available to get me through security and the second I stepped off the plane for the layover in Dallas and again when we arrived in Omaha. Just when I thought we were on the home stretch, I attempted to get into the Acadia in the Omaha airport parking garage and felt a burning sensation run down my leg, deep into my foot, much like I would imagine it might feel like if I had just been struck by lighting. Since then, not only have I had pain in my butt (literally), but it runs all the way down my leg into my foot.

Immediately the next morning, we took a trip to Urgent Care and they gave me two more shots to help with the pain (8 is the new total, if anyone is counting with me). They recommended an immediate MRI, which I had done that same day. The results reflected two bulging discs in my low back (L4 and L5). Next step was to consult with a neurosurgeon who felt that we could avoid surgery by treating me with steroids in an effort to decrease the inflammation. I had an injection of steroid into my arm and then took a regimen of oral steroids the first weekend in June. A week later, with little improvement, we tried another round of the oral steroid. Still no improvement. Yesterday, I went to the neurosurgeon again and he was concerned to see that my reflexes and strength in the left leg had actually gotten worse, instead of better. He recommended an epidural steroid injection to get some novicane and cortisone directly into the area where the nerves are inflammed. I hate needles, but was willing to do anything to make this wall of pain subside. The procedure really wasn't too bad. My wonderful husband agreed to come in the room with me (he had to put on the lovely radiation vest due to the x-ray equipment used to help guide the needle). I didn't feel immediate relief as I had hoped, but am able to report that the hip/butt pain is definitely better today. The foot is another story, but we've got to start with progress somewhere. If anyone was curious of the pricetag of an epidural steroid injection, it is a mere $1,200 - not your everyday shot!

In a nutshell, I have not been able to walk since May 23rd. I haven't seen the kitchen since then either. I can't do anything for myself. I can't sleep. I can't shower (thank goodness for baths). I'm not hungry. I haven't worn my contacts or make-up for over 2 weeks. I haven't slept in my own bed for 3 weeks. I have cried nearly every day for the past 2 weeks. I haven't been outside the house for 2 weeks aside from 5 doctor appointments. If it wasn't for the walker (borrowed from family), I wouldn't be able to get anywhere. The walker at least enables me to go from the couch to the bathroom and back to the couch. I wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone.

The bright spots...
My husband has accompanied me to every doctor's appointment and has rearranged lots of meetings to make sure I am getting the treatment that I need. He comes home every noon to make me lunch and helps me up and down the stairs with my clunky walker. He gets up in the middle of the night when I can't sleep and helps to re-adjust pillows to try to make it stop hurting.
My parents came this past weekend and cleaned bathrooms, scrubbed and vacuumed floors, dusted, did a ton of laundry, brought us some delicious meals and gave Mike a 2-day break from having to wait on me.
Mike's mom is coming to help me tomorrow while Mike is in Kansas City and she will be coming again on Saturday when he is in Omaha.
Marica/Casey, Ann and Cindy have been great about calling to check in on me - sure means a lot.

Thank goodness we have great family and friends to lean on! It's truly kept the sanity in check at this house! Keep the prayers coming. I want to be able to walk by next week - even if it's just to the mailbox and back.

I'll post some cruise pictures tomorrow. Mike captured some great shots!

Company, Easter and Sinus Infection...

I have no excuse for my lack of blogging, aside from dealing with the most awful sinus infection, which has drained every ounce of my energy the past 10 days. Prior to this sinus infection, I have NEVER had one. I hope to NEVER have one again. A throbbing, never-ending headache. Pressure that makes you feel as though your head is going to explode. A trip to the doctor on Thursday provided a prescription for Augmentin and a steriod nasal spray. The doctor also recommended I buy a Neti Pot Sinus Wash. The process of administering this wash was similar to accidentally snorting something up your nose when you laugh. And that "something" is disgusting saltwater. For all the gagging I did, it is likely that I spit up whatever was creating the blockage (gross, I know). Hard to say which medication is making me feel better, but the good news is that I've been headache free for about 24 hours now.

The first weekend in April we had great fun with my parents and Grandma Sally here to visit. The snow and extreme winds did not hold us back from having fun. Dad and Mike took in a Nebraska baseball game and witnessed a bench-clearing brawl. We enjoyed an entire afternoon of shopping. Dad had the biggest purchase of the group as he picked out a new suit. After a nice visit with Mike's parents, we cut into a delicious belated birthday cake (compliments of my Mom). To round out the weekend, we went out to eat at our favorite restaurant (Fireworks).

Our Easter celebration kicked off with a great Easter egg hunt with Evan. He loves to be outside and thought the Easter eggs filled with crackers were pretty neat. We almost ran into a problem when only 23 of the 24 eggs had been found. Even the adults in the group were stumped by Marcia's sneaky efforts in hiding the last one! After taking in the fresh air outside, we headed to Famous Dave's for a tasty Easter meal together.


Wishing you all a great week!

Happy Birthday to ME!

Thanks to everyone for all of the birthday well wishes today! By far, my birthday is one of my favorite days of the year. With everyone's busy schedules, it means a lot to receive emails, cards and calls from those who are remembering me on March 23...I just love it!

As usual, the weather on my birthday was very unpredictable. The wind blew so hard today that it took off the grill cover and "shifted" the patio furniture. High five to me on the decision not to put the garbage out (decided it could wait another week). We likely would have had to search for the empty container in the next county. First real thunderstorm of the season and due to a tornado spotted north of Lincoln, the sirens were sounded at 4:30pm this afternoon. Hopefully this isn't a sign of a rough spring of storms to come...

I failed to post pictures after my quick trip to Minnesota last month. It was an interesting travel schedule as I dodged snowstorms in both Minnesota AND Nebraska. The weekend with my family was great!!! Ann's girls are growing so fast. I really enjoyed playing and reading books with them. Everyone was fighting colds and infections, though, so I even got to accompany Ann and Hadley to urgent care...one diagnosed with a sinus infection and the other with ear infection. Thank goodness everyone is feeling better now.

Spring fever

The temp reached 76 degrees here yesterday! Although I never left the office all day, the number of people lining the sidewalks as I drove home from work clearly pointed out that I was missing out on the fun. People were out walking, running, biking and rollerblading (in shorts and t-shirts mind you). I counted 11 kids playing in the neighbor's driveway as I pulled into ours. Definitely spring fever in Lincoln!

Today was not quite as balmy, but 60 degrees nonetheless, so we thought pulling out the grill was a perfect idea for supper. Three t-shirts, a pair of sweatpants and shorts later (the laundry lady will be busy this weekend), Mike had perfected his feast of burgers and dogs. Really not sure what battle was fought out there, but apparently the grill took a beating over the winter months. The good news is that it still works.

Speaking of warmer weather, the new GMC Acadia experienced it's first car wash on Wednesday...followed by another car wash on Thursday. Mike just can't stand to see it dirty. It may be a long rest of the winter around here.

I heard an interesting statistic on the radio yesterday. Did you know that 85% of people talk about the weather at least once a day. I'm one of the 85%. Anyone from Minnesota is one of the 85%. Enjoy the weekend!