Stabbed In The Back...
A couple months back we shared with you that Don hurt his back and we thought it was time for an update. Keep reading and you will find out what we’re talking about... hurry there is no telling how long they we allow this blog to stay up. Okay... that was odd... guess an Facebook infoblog tried to take over.
The original diagnosis was bursitis in his hip. After a round of anti-inflammatory drugs and Physical Therapy (PT), AND continually worsening pain Don was referred to the Pain Management Referral team at Rothman Institute in Egg Harbor City, near ACY. A quick MRI later and it was discovered he has three bulging disks and one, how did they put it, a Superimposed Disc Herniation with Caudal Migration of Disc Mater. Ouch.
After a change in treatment now with heavy drugs (Lyrica - did you know the pharmacy’s on base and off WON’T fill this and Trevix - a Codeine based cocktail - good stuff) and more Physical Therapy (Dan at Rothman in Manahawkin is really good by the way). Shortly there later treatments were deemed ineffective and Don was fired from PT. Nice to actually work with a team that wants him healthy and not just a paycheck. Time to ratchet it up just a bit.
W decided to look at non-traditional treatment, while we scheduled the next step. First we looked around town for a Chiropractor. Don has never used holistic/non/non-traditional methods but he found one he liked the reviews on. We went in for the appointment and after 30 minutes of look what we offer, buy our products, and ducking our no Tri-Care (our insurance provider) doesn’t cover this how much are your rates questions we walked out. So much for a health care provider caring about the patient!!! Now a waiting game.
The day comes, oh we never told you what we were waiting for, for the Spinal Epidural. Don, who has an object fear of needles, isn’t handling this day well. We arrive at AtlantiCare Surgery Center on time after the GPS gets us lost. We get him checked in and he tells them he is a fainter. Notes go on charts, of course the ‘ol credit card gets heated up, and back behind the locked door he goes. Uh-Oh this looks like a real hospital and Don’s heart rate just hit the roof. Put the robe on backwards, surrender your clothes (thought this was a catch release ordeal) and the nurse gets set for the IV. Because of Don’s fear of needles it was decided to knock him out you see. And since he is a self admitted fainter he gets oxygen, rails up on bed, extra staff (I’ll bet he didn’t even notice the cute blonde - wink lol), cold compress on forehead and.... he tenses. The nurses there rock. They kept talking to him, touching him, reassuring him and while he wasn’t great he didn’t pass out. Doctor Armstrong, his pain management physician, gives him the small print speech (that went over like a fart in church) and time to go behind the next doors into the very bowels of the center. Whoooo shit’s getting real; bright lights, full surgical staff, anesthesiologist, slide over onto the table and ass exposed. Hey, where exactly are the sticking him? Anesthesiologist slips him a cocktail and that’s where the stress stops.
Well hello there, how you feeling? Want something to drink, a chocolate chip cookie? Wait, he’s still groggy but hears the nurse tell him “Don’t worry we just gave you some Michael Jackson juice so you might grab your crotch and moon dance for a little while. All good, no driving for Don - lol.
Eighteen hours later and the pain is 90% gone. Doc told us he felt really good about the procedure and it could take 1-2 weeks for the full effect. Now we need to keep Don from thinking he’s Superman and reinjuring his back.
Hopefully we’ll be back on the road soon. Thanks for hanging out and following our awesome adventure.
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn Mountain.” - Jack Kerouac