The Cheese

In 1999 I had the very first surgery of my life.  And a few months later I had my second.  I had carpal tunnel surgery on both of my hands.  My mom had the same surgery on both of her hands, so I have to wonder if it was partly hereditary. 

Before the surgery, my hands would go to sleep all the time.  When I was cooking, scrapbooking, and especially typing.  Night was the worst.  I would wake up and they would be completely numb.  It was so uncomfortable. 

I went to a doctor about it in 1999.  I had to wear a brace for a while, which didn’t help.  Finally my insurance approved the surgery.  Each hand was done separately in out-patient surgeries.  After the surgery, I had to wear a “club.”  My whole hand was wrapped up and I couldn’t use it at all. 

I was also supposed to keep it propped up.  To aid in this, I was given a foam block.  My children quickly dubbed it “The Cheese.” 

 

Those 10 days after each surgery were so hard, but most especially when my right hand was done.  I couldn’t curl my hair on my own and I couldn’t bathe on my own.  My husband was so sweet to bathe me, especially when I would sit there and cry because I was so helpless. My mom and my sisters came over and curled my hair for me. I had to put my make up on with the wrong hand, I had to eat with the wrong hand, and I had to wipe with the wrong hand.  To make matters worse, Aunt Flo came to visit and I had to take care of that with the wrong hand.  Ever tried that?  Don’t.  It’s not pretty.

But I am so happy I had the surgery done.  My hands felt so much better and they didn’t go numb anymore.  I was so happy.  I had several people tell me they had the surgery and regretted it because they didn’t have the strength in their hand anymore.  I did not have that problem.  My surgeon said that if I wanted my hands to get back to normal, I had to use them like normal.  And I did.  I had 3 little kids ages 5, 2, and 4 months.  I couldn’t baby my hands because I had them to take care of!  They got back to normal quickly and I haven’t had any problems since then. 

Oh, my aching back!

So I have been working on making 4 rag quilts for some people in the ward (*wink, wink). I have them all sewed and now I have to do all the clipping. I bought the special rag quilt scissors and those are going to save my hands. However, when I did the first one, I did it on Friday while sitting on my bed...hunched over...for 3 1/2 hours.

I am in so much pain now. My lower back is killing me. I took 2 ibuprophin yesterday, and they didn't touch the pain. This morning I took 4. They didn't touch the pain. It didn't help that I had to get dressed in nylons and wear high heels for 4 1/2 hours while at church and dancing around trying to get the kids to sing!

So I just took a Percocet and I am really hoping that will help. Plus The Teenager is going to help The Doctor flip our mattress tonight in hopes that it will help. It's been a while since we did that...like 2 years. I know, I should be better about doing that.

So does anyone have a sure-fire way of helping back pain? Because I don't like it!

Funny picture at the end!

I am allowed to make fun of my husband once in a while, right?

Here goes.

Last June, The Doctor had a pimple on his nose. No big deal, we all get them, right?

RIGHT?

Thank you. :-)

So he pops it and goes to bed. The next morning, his nose is red and a little swollen.

The next day it was really red and a lot more swollen. We had no health insurance, but we found a health clinic that we got him in to. They said he could possibly have cellulitis and prescribed an oral antibiotic. I took him home and then filled the prescription.

Which by the way was when I ran into Liz Rushton.

Anyway, that evening, his nose was huge.

I'm talking bigger than Karl Malden!

I took him to the InstaCare because we were really worried. The doctor said it was definitely cellulitis.

This is what I found on the Internet about cellulitis:

Cellulitis (sel-u-LI-tis) is a potentially serious bacterial infection of your skin. Cellulitis appears as a swollen, red area of skin that feels hot and tender, and it may spread rapidly.
Skin on the face or lower legs is most commonly affected by this infection, though cellulitis can occur on any part of your body. Cellulitis may be superficial — affecting only the surface of your skin — but cellulitis may also affect the tissues underlying your skin and can spread to your lymph nodes and bloodstream.
Left untreated, the spreading bacterial infection may rapidly turn into a life-threatening condition. That's why it's important to recognize the signs and symptoms of cellulitis and to seek immediate medical attention if they occur.
Cellulitis occurs when one or more types of bacteria enter through a crack or break
in your skin. The two most common types of bacteria that cause cellulitis are streptococcus and staphylococcus.
Although cellulitis can occur anywhere on your body, the most common location is the legs, especially near your shins and ankles. Disrupted areas of skin, such as where you've had recent surgery, cuts, puncture wounds, an ulcer, athlete's foot or dermatitis, serve as the most likely areas for bacteria to enter.
This reddened skin or rash may signal a deeper, more serious infection of the inner layers of skin. Once below the skin, the bacteria can spread rapidly, entering the lymph nodes and the bloodstream and spreading throughout your body.
In rare cases, the infection can spread to the deep layer of tissue called the fascial lining. Flesh-eating strep, also called necrotizing fasciitis, is an example of a deep-layer infection. It represents an extreme emergency.

So this was a lot more serious than I thought. Anyway, they put him on another antibiotic, and gave him 2 shots in his, ahem, tushie. And he went the next day for another shot. It worked and the swelling went away.

I know it could have become a lot worse, and I am so grateful that it didn't.

However, he looked so funny with his nose all swollen! The following pictures were taken before it got even bigger!



I have always loved the fact that he has such a nice sized nose, and I was seriously worried that it wouldn't ever go down! But it did!
And I will try really hard not to make fun of him ever again!

Wow!

This is amazing! It makes my shoulder hurt even more watching it! lol

Why I wanted to be a Lamanite and steal sheep from Ammon...

July 13, Sunday afternoon my arm started hurting so bad, specifically my shoulder. It was awful. Sleep was impossible.

Monday I went to work and just forced myself to keep going. When I got home, The Doctor took me right to the doctor. I was diagnosed with tendonitis, given Lortab, my arm put in a sling, and bound tight to my body, and I got an appointment to start physical therapy on Friday. It still killed the rest of the day and sleep was awful. I woke up every 45 minutes to shift to a new position.

Tuesday I didn’t work, just sat all day.

Wednesday I didn’t work, just sat all day.

Thursday I didn’t work, just sat all day, although it was starting to feel somewhat better, and I was sleeping in about 3 hour blocks. But my arm and underarm have the worst heat rash that itches so bad!

Friday I went to physical therapy. It was so painful. She taped my back so I had to sit up totally straight with my shoulders back and it hurts. I have to go twice next week. I then left The Doctor at home and I drove The Princess and The Teenager up to camping. I lasted about 2 hours before I left. I was really hurting. I left the kids and drove home and wasn’t sure I was going to make it. But I did.

By the time The Doctor got home, my shoulders and back were hurting so bad from the tape. I couldn’t get comfortable and I was just bawling. The Doctor took the tape off for me (we were supposed to wait until Sunday), and then I took a hot shower and then The Doctor iced it for me. I was then able to sleep a little.

Saturday I woke up at 4:30 and just couldn’t sleep. My shoulder was hurting so bad. I got up and got on the computer and updated my journal. Then I worked on my quarterlies for work. We bought a bunch of mangos last week and today I peeled them, sliced them up and bagged them. I froze them so we can make more mango ice cream. I did 32 mangos. I took it easy, I thought. Nope, I paid for doing too much. My shoulder hurt so bad. I just couldn’t sleep.

Sunday I think I got maybe 2 hours of sleep last night. It was horrible. Church was okay. I just kept my arm folded against my body so no one would bump it. I should have worn the sling…

When it was time to go to sleep, my bicep was cramping from holding my arm in the same position all day. It was awful. I couldn’t find any position to get comfortable in. I cried most of the night.

Monday night was horrible. I maybe got 2 hours of sleep again. I was so tired and I hurt so bad.
I went to work and got everything done that had to be done, and then I left after 2 hours. I just hurt so bad and I was so tired.

I took a nap and was actually able to sleep. That felt so good. I also concentrated on keeping my arm down by my side to keep the muscle stretched out and that really helped. So when it was time for bed, I took an Advil PM sample that I found in my medicine closet, which has a sleeping aid. And I went to sleep on the couch, sitting up, leaning on my good arm.

Tuesday, about halfway through the night, I woke up just sweating. I went up to the bedroom and climbed into bed, laid down on my good side, and guess what? I went to sleep and slept until 8:00 the next morning! It was awesome! I had physical therapy at 11:30 and she commented on how much better my posture was. She was really pleased with how my arm was moving. She put warm, moist heat on my shoulder, we went through some new exercises, and we ended with an ice pack and electrical stimulation. The Doctor bought some sleeping pills for me and I took one tonight. I crawled into bed and I was comfortable! It was great!

Today I slept in again! I love being able to sleep. I feel like a completely different person. I napped this afternoon. It was wonderful.

Such is the saga of my arm thus far. I hate being sick, or injured. I would rather be poor than have health problems.

there's no place like home

we aren't moving to wisconsin! we are staying here! i am very excited. i would be even more excited if my shoulder didn't hurt so bad. can't i just chop it off?

why i am typing in small caps

hurt shoulder.
tendonitis.
arm in sling til friday, then physical therapy.
typing with one hand long and tedious.
not fun.