PAIN UPDATE

I'm still in pain. So far there's been no relief from the Injection. I am extremely disappointed since I expected to feel at least a little better by now. They do say it could take up to two weeks to work so I guess it's a waiting game...

THIS SUCKS :(

BACK INJECTION

I went this morning for my Injection. The procedure wasn't as bad as my mind imagined it to be. They had prescribed Valium to take an hour ahead of time but it did nothing for me and when I took a look at the dosage after the procedure I noticed it was only 10mg, No wonder why it didn't help!

I got there at 9 and was brought into a room with a bed and a big machine over it. I pulled down my pants some and layed face down on the bed. The nurse cleaned the area and briefly described the procedure and called the Dr in.

He placed a needle against my skin(actually right between the very top of my butt crack) and asked if I could fell it and I said yes. He then told me that there would be no surprise sticks and he would walk me through it. The first step was using some sort of injected dye with the help of the large X-Ray machine to make sure they were going into the right spot. I then got a bunch of Novocaine Injections which hurt like hell and then he said he was done.

So I'm thinking that wasn't so bad and the rest will be easy. Well I was in for a surprise, when he said he was done... he meant DONE! I had to hang out in the waiting room for 10 min to make sure I didn't have a reaction to anything and then was told to rest the remainder of the day and ice frequently.

My status now is PAIN!

The Novocaine has worn off and my whole back hurts and my right leg has pain shooting down it and is kinda numb and tingly.

I need to go lay down again, I will update again soon!

INJECTION DECISION

I've officially decided to go with the injection in my lower back first. I called and it's scheduled for Sept 25Th.

After a conversation with Human Resources when I forced to play a little hard ball, I was told if Dr submitted letter that I was having an injection and my next follow up date that Costco would extend my leave until mid-Oct but no later.

I'm hoping this shot gives me some relief fast!

WELSOME MADISON SHEA

Introducing the newest member of my large extended family......

MADISON SHEA CRUZ

SEPTEMBER 15 2008 8:09AM

4 LBS 2 OZ 17IN

Madison wasn't schedule to make her grand arrival until Oct 29 but was born healthy and beautiful. Since she was a preemie and is so tiny she is in an incubator but is not in the NICU

I got to go down with Saram to see her new baby for the first time. Saram had an IV in and hadn't seen Madison since she gave birth hours before

Saram holding baby Madison for the first time!

Both mommy and baby are doing great!

BATHROOM MAKE-OVER

Here are my Bathroom make-over pictures I promised from last week. I wanted to do something new and unusually different than my normal style & taste so I chose Reds & Browns. Prior to the re-do the bathroom was Yellow and Blue with Duckies & Flowers. It was a completely matchy matchy set that I had ordered out of a catalog years ago.

First I fell in love with this shower curtain ($24) at Target so decided on that. Next I went and picked up some new Red Rugs($48) and stumbled across towels in similar colors as the curtain so I grabbed some hand towels($32) and wash clothes($24). I also needed new shower curtain hooks ($12) and I chose a style that matched perfectly!

Before there was a mirror above the toilet, it had a Duck and Flower border so it needed to go. I found this Candle Holder thingy($26) at Target and got some Red Tea lights($5) to go.

I also purchased a new Toilet Seat($12).

Before there was a White Cabinet here that went with the last set so I needed something else. I found this build it yourself Cabinet($60) at Target. I found the bowl($22) on top at Target too. I know it's kinda expensive for a bowl but I really liked it. I bought a bag of Red & Brown Potpourri($10) to go in it.

Above my new cabinet I hung this Picture($10) that I got at Walmart and Sconces($14) I got at Target along with Red Candles($10)

Across the room near the sink I hung another Walmart Picture($10) and I got a 3M removable hook($4) for a hand towel.

I love the way it turned out and it feels very warm and cozy now!!

APPLE TIME

I love living in New England during the Fall months! The Apples around here are ready and plentiful!! I picked up a bag the other day from a local farm and have been waiting till my Back wasn't killing me to bake. This morning I woke up sore but felt a little better than normal so I decided to go for it. The hardest part was just getting the Apples peeled and sliced and then the rest was a breeze. I can't tell you how great my apartment smells right now, I'm sure my neighbors are drooling and jealous!

I made a Apple Pie &

a Apple Crisp

MEDICAL 9-12

Once again I'm behind in my postings. I haven't really done much at all lately due to Back Pain (as if I wasn't already in enough pain with my Neck/Shoulder). I just haven't been able to sit at the computer much. It's been so bad that I haven't even been to CVS!

I did go to the Dr this week and let me tell you I'm pretty frustrated with the whole thing. My Dr just seems to never really listen to me. I understand that he sees alot of patients every day but I feel like I just get shuffled in and out and it's not only him, I've seen probably 10 different Dr's since this has started and they're all the same in this area :(

Now I try to make it easier for the Dr, I always bring a typed update on what has been going on with me since my last visit. When I went Wednesday Dr Cooper read the update and then looked at me and said "I don't remember you mentioning Back Pain before". I explained that if he dug through my chart he would notice it was on the initial forms I filled out plus I have mentioned it at the last 2 visits since it has started getting much worse. He then looked at me and said "Aren't the Muscle Relaxers helping?" HELLO Earth to Dr Cooper... First you don't remember me complaining about Back Pain and now you ask about Relaxers??!! Where does he think I got these Relaxers since he is my Dr and obviously didn't give them to me? Ummmm No the Relaxers aren't helping because you never gave me any!

He then promises to call in a Script for me. My next question was "How are we going to get rid of this pain before I lose my job?"(I've now been out 19 months and Costco is on verge of firing me). Dr Cooper looks at me and says "Why aren't you back to work yet?" Once again HELLO Earth to Dr.... Since your my Dr, your the one that has to release me back to work and you haven't because I can't lift much.

At this point I'm thinking this guy doesn't listen to me at all! I'm not sure what to do though, Do I switch Dr's again and start all over or grin and bear it since all the Dr around here seem to be the same??

Dr Cooper then says he's not sure how much more he can do for me. What?? You haven't done anything at all yet. He says that it's not like I'm dying from cancer or something and these may just be pains I have to live with. I was then given 3 choices and told to think about it and call him at the beginning of next week.

1- Do Nothing and hope it goes away

2- Have Injections in my Neck

3- Have Injections in Back

So I already ruled out #1 since this has been going on for 3 1/2 years obviously doing nothing won't help! I can't have both injections at once so I have to choose. I'm leaning towards my Back since that seems to be the newer of the two pains and maybe they can nip this one in the bud but then I'll still have to deal with my Neck later. I spoke with my Chiropractor and she thinks I should do back first as well.

Now neither of the injections are guaranteed to work. Dr seems to think most of my issues are Muscular and not much can be done for that. I'm willing to try something though! From my understanding the morning of the injection I have to take Valium and then some sort of Anesthesia is used and injections are given with help of X-Ray machine. The whole process seems kinda scary but I'm desperate!

If things aren't bad enough I got a call from Costco HR yesterday and was told that I'm at the end of my rope and either have to come back or resign. Then she went on to say that the company can't treat me better than other employees. That's when I spoke up (previous I ha vent said anything cuz they were giving me extensions and I didn't want to ruffle feathers till I had too) and said that I knew of at least 3 other employees that have been out much longer than I've been so don't even try to say I'm being treated differently.

There was a long pause on the phone and then she said that I didn't know all the details and she couldn't discuss their cases with me. I then reminded the woman that I was a store manager and I was the one that dealt with those employees before they went out of work and I was very familiar with their cases. She then said that their cases were Work mans Comp and mine wasn't. I then told her that first of all she was lying because one of the cases wasn't work related and that mine actually was and my claim was denied after 2 years of haggling with them. During which that whole time I wasn't treated and my condition got worse because of it. I then let her know that I had kept all my paper work the whole time and will be going after Sedgwick (WC Co) & Costco as soon as I was better.

I was then told that if my Dr submitted a letter saying that I was having an injection that they would extend my time till middle of Oct but no longer!

Silly Costco.... They trained me on all their policies and leave acts plus I was the Store Safety Manager and was often in charge of calling in employee accidents and investigating them so that the accident wouldn't happen to someone else. Costco may get away with telling an average employee some bullshit but not me!

I'd really like to hear from you guys on which injection you would get done first or if any of you have had them done before. I don't have to decided until Monday so I still have a little bit of time to think about it.

WEEK UPDATE

Yes I know it's been a week since my last post so I'm just going to update everyone real quick and hopefully post again later!
After Saram's baby shower last Saturday the whole family ended up going back to their house for a little after party. It was alot of fun to hang out and catch up with everyone! Unfortunately I'm still on the same medication that doesn't allow me to drink so it was a sober party for me. Danni wasn't drinking either so the two of us hung out and watched everyone else get silly!! I was a little concerned about how everyone was getting home but most came with someone that wasn't drinking or had very little. As we were leaving one of our family members got a text warning about all the Sobriety Check Points set up in the area and their locations (a handful of the family works in law enforcement so we get all the head-ups!). Turns out the were holding one right on the main street that their house is off of.
Danni and I were the first to leave and neither of us were drinking so we weren't worried but all the same didn't want the hassle of getting held up in one. The whole process takes forever! As luck would have it we didn't pass through a check point at all so it must have been on the other end of the street. Massachusetts has been cracking down on drunk drivers and for the last few months there has been checkpoints at least 2-3 times a week and according to the news they catch an average of 300 people a night at these points!!
Sunday I kinda of just took it easy. I was in alot of pain probably from Saturday even though I didn't do or lift anything that would have caused it. It seems like my shoulder/neck pain is still the same(no worse but no better) however the last few months my back has been out of whack. I can't seem to catch a break, if a lay in a position to help my back it hurts my neck and vice versa I'm just so frustrated and don't know what to do. I'm suppose to being going back to work any day now but I know in my heart I still can't do the job, there are days that I can't even stand because of my back. I had an appointment this morning to see my Dr but his office called and rescheduled to next Wed.
I've been seeing this Dr since Feb and every single visit I've had with him has been cancelled and rescheduled by his office. I wonder if they do this to everyone or if I'm just a random coincidence? At least this time the turn around was fast(normally they reschedule at least a month away). Something has got to be done at this appointment or I'm going to look for another Dr because I can't take this pain anymore and I don't know how much longer Costco will hold my position. I've actually started surfing the net and looking at classifieds for a more office friendly position.
Besides my pain there hasn't been much going on around here this week. I did a little shopping and bought some new things for my apartment. As much as I want a house I know I'll be stuck here for at least five more years so I may as well make the place look good. It didn't look bad before I just haven't change much since I moved in and since I no longer have a car payment I used that $400 to buy some new things. First I bought a new microwave! My last one was bought in 1997 if you can believe that?! It still worked OK but sometimes when you took your food out and shut the door it would restart automatically hahaha so I figured it was time for a new one. I found a great one at Walmart that microwaves and also has a toaster element for cooking pizza and such for $74!! Woot Woot!!! I also bought a few other things for the kitchen like a new throw rug, potholders and dish towels.
Second I went to Target a bought new stuff for the bathroom(I didn't like anything at Walmart). I found a shower curtain I loved and built off of that. I decided to chose colors that I normally never buy just for something new and completely different from my usual taste. I picked out Reds and Browns and am very pleased with the outcome. After setting it all up it still seemed like it was missing something so I ran to Walmart the next day and found a few pictures to hang on the wall. I took some pictures and I'll post them later. The whole thing cost me about $300 which was a little more than I wanted to spend but I needed a new toilet seat and bathroom cabinet too so for all that I didn't do too bad. The last cabinet I had was white and was falling apart some and since I chose dark colors this time I wanted a new darker finished wood cabinet. I found a build it yourself for $60!
Along with all the shopping I did for the house I also got myself some new shoes. I haven't bought any for about three years and since I am planning on returning to some sort of employment I needed some new sneakers. I still need all new clothes but at least the shoe expense is out of the way. Actually my parents wanted to take me shopping for all new clothes for my birthday last April but I asked them if I could wait and do it when I went back to work so my Mom just told me to let her know when I was ready!
Today my back is hurting already so I'm just going to take it easy since I know it'll be a busy weekend. My friend Andy that just bought the house is having a House Warming/ 10Th Birthday Party for his daughter Alexis on Sunday and I volunteered to make M&M Cookies, Orange Brownies and Macaroni and Cheese. So tomorrow I'll be making the bakes goods(hopefully my back will cooperate) and then I'll get up early Sunday to make the Mac & Cheese. I'll be posting pictures of the party early next week.