A month or so ago I went to see my PCP about my extreme back pain. It has gotten worse lately and I wanted to find out if there was anything that could be done for it. For the first time, I had a doctor prescribe me pain medications for my back pain. But he also ordered an MRI. I had that done two weeks ago.
Now it has been my experience that when I have medical tests done, I have to contact the doctor’s office a couple of weeks later and get an appointment as much as a month after the tests were done, so I can get the test results. Or on rare occasions, someone on the doctor’s staff will call me and relay a message about my results. Generally, this is just about a change in my medications. Such calls also occur at least a week after the tests are done.
I was called two days after the MRI was done and asked to come in to talk to the doctor as soon as possible. As you can imagine, I was extremely concerned about what may have been seen on that MRI.
But I also could not get into the office right away. Jerry had taken our car in for some routine maintenance, and it was discovered that our transmission was going out. This resulted in our car being in the shop for about a week. The only good thing about it was that the transmission was still under warranty.
Anyway, I had several days to stew about what might have been seen on that MRI and my conclusion was, based on experience, that it wasn’t anything serious or even new. My doctor was just going to tell me my arthritis was worse and give the same trite suggestions. Namely diet and exercise.
I was not pleased with this prospect. I knew my back pain had gotten increasingly worse over the last few years. I had even done physical therapy and recently I’d lost a tiny bit of weight, with effort. Yet with all of that, I still have to regularly use my walker nearly every time I leave the house. I’ve managed an appointment here or there without it, but I use it every Sunday at church now. This is because the walk from the chapel to the Sunday school classrooms is too long for my back to handle without support.
Still, I made the appointment and went to it not expecting much.
My assumptions were incorrect.
He told me have had several herniated disks and some of them were pinching my nerves. I now have an appointment with a specialist to see what can be done for the pain. I am trying not to make any more assumptions about it, but I know the most common treatment for herniated disks is surgery. Like it or not, my brain is assuming a long recovery time and more pain.
I am hoping I’m wrong again.
Now if this wasn’t bad enough, on the last Sunday in August we discovered that our largest dog, Hmwun, was sick. Sick enough that Jerry quickly got him an appointment and took him to the vet.
I knew Hmwun had several issues but assumed it was all age-related and he still had a couple more years in him. I also assumed Jerry was overreacting as he is prone to do.
It was age-related, and conditions that are common in his breed. The issue was it had advanced to the point that there was nothing more they could do for him. Jerry was able to walk him to the car but by the time they got to the vet, he couldn’t walk anymore. He passed away on the exam table.
We miss him terribly.
One would think that would be more than a sufficient amount of bad news for just two weeks, but it hasn’t ended there.
I contacted our second-born child, who lives on the other side of the country, to let her know about Hmwun and my back. She let me know that she has been having some major health setbacks and is currently in the hospital battling a major infection.
As a mother, I want to be with my child through this health challenge, but I have my own health issues to deal with and I couldn’t possibly afford the trip. I can only pray she gets better.
This has just added to our string of unpleasant events this year. Thankfully, we have had some good things happen too. Like our son surprising us with a visit and I’ve been able to get most of the way through editing my sci-fi. Now if I could just finish it.
Smile. Make the day a brighter day.
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