The most painful two weeks EVER
Friends and family have been asking to be caught up on my medical conidition so I am posting all of my blogs here for everyone to get caught up on. I am working on trying to keep everything up to date. These first couple of blogs are all from the last couple of days.
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Ugh...well, I have been really out of touch for the last couple of weeks so I wanted to provide an update on what has been going on.
About three weeks ago, during our last snowy accumulation, I slipped on the snow and sprained my ankle. I was scraping my car and chatting on the phone wiht my friends and my foot slipped out from under me. Obviously, this was seriously annoying and something that I have done before but this this time it set off a series of catastrophic events leading me to my current state of infirmary. Apparenly, we I went down on my ankle, I probably herniated two discs in my lower back - my L5, S1 to be exact.
I spent the first week limping around the office. You know...wrap it, ice it, heat it...blah blah blah. It didn't really seem to be getting better...my back was sure getting more painful. I assumed that I was over compensating so I went to the doctor on a Friday. I had xrays and everything seemed to check out out ok.
Tim had been working with his friends on a big event with the Burning Man group. All sorts of activities going on...music, lights, art installations it was quite a site to behold. I was going to help but I didn't want to over do it too much with my ankle so I showed up later in the evening. I didn't really drink too much, did a bit of dancing, explored the space. There was probably a 1,000 people. It was amazing to see but at the end of the night I knew I was going to be sore.
SHIT HITS THE FAN
Sure enough, I was sore on Sunday. I just figured it was a long day. Monday was still really sore. I called into work and said that I was going to take a day off. Tim and I were going to sleep late, get some breakfast and maybe run an errand or two. The problems started when I got out of bed. My right leg was really weak...I mean really weak. My back was killing me. I went into the living room and decided to do some stretches. I got down on the floor on my back and my stomach just trying to relax and work it out. The terrifying reality was that now that I was on the floor there was no getting off the floor.
I couldn't get up. I couldn't move. Poor Tim tried a couple times but I was down on the floor with no hope of getting up. I decided to call the office. I wante to get ahold of someone to help me find a chiropractor. I got a number and called them to get in right away. If I could get to the office in 20 minutes, they would help me work out my back. Tim managed to get me to a chair but I couldn't move. We called the chiropractor back and he urged us to call 911 since there was no moving to be done.
I was absolutely hysterically crying in pain. There was nothing to be done. Tim was helpless. He was amazing...but helpless. I was hyperventilating and not really breathing and not good. The ambulance came, brought me to the hospital -- Weiss Memorial at Clarendon and Wilson. I spent about six or so hours in the emergency room screaming like a crazy person. I am sure Tim could tell the emergency room story more accurately that I could because it took me about four or five mophine shots to calm me down. To say that I was irate would be an understatement.
I couldn't sit on teh gurney, I couldn't lay flat on the gurney, nothing was working. All I knew is that I had the most horendous pain reminating from my ass to my toes. There was one nurse who had had a similare problem with her siatic nerve. She was my favorite person...she was able to help eleviate some of the pain, gave me morphine and didn't keep reminding me that I had been crying so much that I gave myself hives. I was SUPER red.
Finally, after my idiot doctor took a look at my MRI, I was told that I had a "trophy winning" herniated disc in my back. Then, proceeded to tell me that I could go home and come back in the morning for a visit with the neurologist. I think that is the point were my brain actually split into two pieces and my completely rotated around like 15 times. Where they fucking nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I went hysterical. I begged them to keep me there. I couldn't sit in a wheel chair. Tim could barely keep me calm. I had nothing to eat and this fucking crazy doctor was telling me to go home. Jan, my favorite nurse, went into action. She sent Tim to get my prescriptions at the Walgreens then talked to the doctor about how I have about 30 stairs into my apartment. I tried to get into a wheelchair but it didn't work. After finally resolving that they could admit me, I went upstairs. I was in the hospital for two nights and three days.