And So It Goes

I had my second and final epidural today – it hurt less than the last one, partially because I think I was more prepared for it, and partially because, last time, everything else was still hurting so much, any additional pain was just blown a bit out of proportion. Once again, Special K and I were out in Columbia, MD at the crack o’ dawn, and the early rise combined with a late night last night meant that we got home after a stop at my parents’ house and I crashed for about five hours. I love naps – I really, really do.

It’s unfortunate, however, that I’m left with a lot of unfinished work that I’ve got to try to get to now, because I was mesmerized by a website that I found yesterday called www.myheritage.com that has the COOLEST FEATURE EVER – it can scan a photo of you and tell you which celebrities you look like. However, you have to specify the gender when looking at your results, or it might tell you that, in a certain photograph, you look like, oh, say, David Hasselhoff.

I can’t even remember the photo in which I, allegedly, bore a 60something percent resemblance to The Hoff, but the others were far less off-putting. Much to my dismay, it didn’t think I look like Jennifer Garner (although Special K mysteriously does, or at least says he does – he’s either deluded or very smart…), but I did get results like Kelly Preston and Shania Twain, which I didn’t find particularly insulting or anything, just odd because I don’t think I look like either one of them. Katie Couric came up several times, which was somewhat distressing, since I’ve seen those pictures of her where she looks like the Crypt Keeper or something. I’m sure she’s a lovely woman, but really – it was a tad disturbing.

In any case, if you want to waste a few hours, that’s one way to go.

Wedding planning goes on and continues to be relatively low-stress, despite the occasional bump in the road. However, Special K and I seem to agree thus far on the nature of the bumps and how to best handle them, so I think that bodes well for the future. I’m sure that we won’t always agree about these things, because no two people ever agree all the time unless one of them is lying, but we are able to talk with each other like adults, which goes a long way toward working through disputes.

On that profound and slightly-Dr.-Phil-ish note, I’ve got to get back to work. Meah.

The Verdict

I went back to my doctor who had the report from the radiologist in his hot little hands, and according to the radiologist, the guy who went to medical school just so he could read and interpret x-rays and MRIs and things like that, I have a moderately herniated disc in my lower back that is bulging out and putting pressure on my sciatic nerve on the right side – which is completely consistent with my symptoms. Now, if this is moderate, God help the people who have severely herniated discs. As I mentioned before, I think I have a fairly good pain tolerance, and this had me in tears. I’m going to see a spine specialist next week, and I have another epidural injection scheduled for this Friday to further minimize inflammation. I don’t know yet if this is the kind of thing for which I’ll need surgery, although I know it’s the kind of thing for which people do have surgery. I just don’t know if I have to be one of those people, so I’ll check with the spine guy about that. I’m all set up in bed at Special K’s house, with pillows under my head and arms so I can see the screen and reach the keyboard on my laptop, and I’m catching up on e-mail and other things. He has threatened to take pictures, but I’ve threatened to chase him down if he does. Once I can, that is.

People at work have been really, really cool about everything (i.e., the prolonged absence) and they really could be jerks if they wanted to. It’s good that I’m in a position to be somewhat productive now, so I think that will also help. (If nothing else, it will help my sanity.) My doctor said that walking is okay, so once I get a little more caught up on work, I’ll start going for walks to try to get off my rear end. As I told him, and as I’ve mentioned to a few other people, getting me to do physical therapy is not going to be difficult at all – it’s getting me to do nothing that’s the hard part. Ask any of my roommates over the past few years – I am a lousy patient, if being a good patient requires not doing things for myself. I’ll be out of the office the rest of this week, and possibly all of next week (if I can’t sit, there’s not much point in going into the office, after all). It’s so weird – when I had mono, it was kind of the same thing (except I didn’t have a laptop, and I worked with a bunch of far less pleasant people who expected me to be at their beck and call) it just feels strange to not go to work for a while. I am definitely the type who likes to keep busy, and every so often something will happen to force me to slow down a little.

I really wouldn't mind, however, if it was something a little less annoying than a mono or a herniated disc. Geez.

Merry Christmas Tto All...

I am sitting in a living room in Round Rock, Texas, surrounded by my family, and very glad that I was able to make it here. My epidural on Friday (the first of…three?) was not the most fun I’ve ever had, but as is the case with things like that, the local anaesthetic hurts the most. Fortunately it works, so the only thing you feel after that is pressure in your spine. Not something that I often think of as a good thing, but pressure is better than fire.

I haven’t been wrasslin’ with my nephews as much as I like to, but we’ve been able to play and enjoy each other’s company, which is the best part of any family time. The boys are all getting so much bigger, I can’t believe it! The newest addition to our family, my niece-to-be, is taking up more and more room inside her mommy, who continues to bear it all like a rock star. I do hope that I’m as active and gracious when I’m 8 ½ months pregnant (and make the same tasty, tasty mint chocolate fudge), although I make no guarantees. For the time being, I’m just trying not to be too much of a whiner when it’s been too long between painkillers. Actually, I only take one or two a day now, as it appears that the anti-inflammatories are doing their job. Often, it’s more discomfort than actual pain. Although, last night I did wake up in the middle of the night because the pins-and-needles in my leg made it feel like something was crawling over my legs or something equally disconcerting.

I’ve figured out how to make my convalescence a little more productive, and will be working from Special K’s house as much as possible next week since he has wireless internet, and my laptop for work has a wireless card. Therefore, I can lie down *and* do work and research and check e-mail, all at the same time. But this whole “not being active” thing can’t last too long, or I will go insane. And need to buy new pants, but that’s a whole separate issue. (And I may be able to take advantage of some post-Christmas sales, should it come to that.)

Christmas detritus is strewn all across the living room floor, and my dad and my brother have been working on assembling a trampoline for the past few hours – it’s one of those things that that is supposed to be easy to assemble, but is really only easy to assemble if you’re the person who designed it. Everyone else will want to take bolt A and, instead of inserting it into slot B, jam it through their eyeballs to make the pain go away.

Mom is working away in the kitchen for Christmas dinner and I’m about to get up and make some baked brie to tide us over until dinner is ready. When we were getting ready to leave last night, Mikey, my youngest nephew, jogged over to the door with us and started to put his shoes on with an inquisitive look. He was mildly crushed to discover that we were leaving and he couldn’t come with us. Christmas with children is just a completely different experience from Christmas with grownups, there’s that exuberance of “HE’S BEEN!!!” (a quote from my brother, many years ago) that adults can’t quite match. Special K and I won’t have our own to add to the mix for a few years yet, but it’s fun to hear him referred to as “Uncle Special K”, even though it’s not quite official yet.

So with those ramblings completed, I’ll be off to caramelize some onions, pour them over brie, and wrap the whole thing in phyllo dough before chucking it in the oven. Not exactly a healthy holiday treat, but it sure doesn’t suck.

Pictures of the Darth Family to come…