The past 3 weeks have been three of the most difficult and painful weeks of my life. After struggling with back pain off-and-on for the past 6 years, I am rather accustomed to random, unpredicted flare-ups, so when my lower back started hurting three weeks ago, I just assumed that I was in for more of the same. Was I ever wrong. Recovery has previously required 2-6 days of rest, some pain medicine, and a few days lying on the sofa on my back before I would return to my normal self. This time I immediately got prescribed a steroid pack to try to heal it a little faster. After about 3 days on the steroids I was feeling slight relief and feeling a little stir crazy, so I did a few little projects and some cleaning. The next day I still felt better, so my boyfriend and I met some friends and went to the Saturday market held downtown Greenville (where we picked up some of the ingredients for the salsa from my previous post). That didn't go so well. I actually ended up passing out in front of the Westin Poinestt Hotel, which proved rather embarrassing, but comical. Glad I have a good sense of humor and found it hilarious that my boyfriend had tucked the cabbage, which I bought at the market, up under my skirt to keep me from flashing the hundreds attending the market, as my legs were elevated. I joked that I had birthed a cabbage patch kid at the farmer's market. :) I rested that afternoon and felt so much better by that evening that I entertained a few friends for dinner. That night my back pain returned in full force. By the next morning it was so bad that I actually got stuck on the livingroom floor for 3 hours unable to find any position that would offer relief. I was misdiagnosed with SI band disfunction on Monday morning. Tuesday morning my boss who is an orthopedic surgeon told me that he thought I needed an MRI, but that I would have to start with x-rays. I had the x-rays and a round of physical therapy. Then Wednesday morning I had the MRI. It was torture to lie on my back, but I endured the 25 minutes in the claustrophobia-causing tube. The MRI showed that I had a burst disc in my back and that a piece of the disc is sitting on a nerve bundle- my sciatic... causing intense shooting pain all down my leg. Thursday morning I went in for an epidural shot which was supposed to ease the pain within 2-3 days. I lay here now almost 2 weeks later, on a double-strength of Percocet and I am still without relief. Surgery has been recommended at this point to remove the piece of disc that is on my sciatic nerve so that hopefully I will be able to walk and sit again soon. I meet with the surgeon tomorrow (Wednesday) to find out the details of the surgery and get a surgery date. I am praying that I will get scheduled this week. I am so tired of being in pain.
All of that update to say that I have been working hard to find activities to do as I lie on my stomach on my parents livingroom floor, which has been the only comfortable position for 2 1/2 weeks. I have found quite a few crafts to do. And since my boyfriend and I are planning to get married next Spring, with his approval, I have started gathering ideas and working on projects for our wedding. It has been so much fun! It will be nice to have a few things completed that I may or may not have found time to do between now and then. I will try to post some of the things that I have been working on.
This is me and my sweet puppy, Paisley, lying on my yoga mat... where I have been for 2 1/2 weeks.
This is my boyfriend, Topher and Paisley visiting me on the livingroom floor. (aren't these the 2 prettiest sets of eyes ever?)
My parents have been so kind and thoughtful by letting me stay with them and waiting on me hand and foot. I couldn't have gone through this without them. I have amazing help! I am so thankful to the Lord for the wonderful, loving parents that He has given me. I am so blessed.
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