Vacation Injury Follow Up

OK, I had my appt with Dr. Martin. I don't ever want to see him again, and here's why: He walks into the examination room with my MRI's in hand. Dr. Martin: I've got good news and bad news. (Seriously, that's what he said!) Me: Uh, OK. Dr. Martin: The good news is your rotator cuff is perfect. (He shows me on the MRI) Me: Then what is causing all of my pain? Dr. Martin: You have edema in your joint, and your bone. Me: Swelling in my bone? My bone is swelled? Dr. Martin: Yes. It's rare that we see this kind of injury outside of power-lifters. Me: Do I look like a power-lifter to you? Dr. Martin: Nope. It must have been one hell of a wave that knocked you over! Me: Still waiting for the good news, here! So I have an injury that is usually seen in those HUGE men (and women) that lift really heavy weights for sport. Yeah, that's not me. For those of you who don't know me, I try not to ever lift anything heavier than a Miller Lite bottle! When I told Kramer about the power-lifter comment from the doc, I thought he was going to croak! I've never seen him laugh that hard. I didn't think it was that funny, Kramer! So, the doc tells me that a shot of steroids into my shoulder joint should do the trick. Hmmm, can you first knock me out? Anyway, I wanted to make sure that my insurance would cover it, which it does. Next, I wanted to make sure that there would be no pain associated with this shot. Dr. Martin said, "No, it won't hurt." Then shook his head and said, "Well, maybe a little." At that point, I nearly started crying. You would think that I'd be ok around needles, having 3 tattoos. Yeah, not so much! Tattoos are on the surface. This needle looked like the barrel of a shotgun, and it was about the same length, too! He prepared my shoulder for the injection and then sprayed this stuff on it for about 15 seconds. He said it would 'freeze' the spot where the needle would go, so I wouldn't feel it. Well, it did freeze my skin, but somehow missed the layers under the skin. It still hurt! All of a sudden, the room is turning black, and I can't hear anything. Then I hear the doc say, "All done." The nurse had the smelling salts at the ready. She says, "I thought you were going out." I say, "Yeah, me too." Dr. Martin said I should feel better by Sunday. I asked him what happens if it doesn't work. He said if I'm still in pain in a couple of weeks, call him, and come back in. I was very clear with him that we would not revisit the large-bore needle in my shoulder again, and he assured me that he wouldn't. I was still in quite a bit of pain. More than I had been all week. So after dinner, I popped another Percocet and zoned out on the couch all night watching something on TV. (I'm sure it was something, but can't recall what.) And no, I didn't have a beer with it. I just drank ice water all night. Today, I'm still in a lot of pain, but hoping that tomorrow, it will miraculously be gone! I have a 4-year-old's birthday party to go to this afternoon, but it's at Peter Piper Pizza, so at least there'll be beer. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

MRI's Suck!

Let's see, dress me in a paper-thin piece of cloth, bring me into a very cold room, wrap my arm in a pillow, give me some earplugs and slide me into a tiny hole for 20 minutes on a cold hard surface...sound like fun? Not so much! Not one of the better experiences in my life. But, hopefully the doc will figure out what's wrong now and fix it! I didn't know MRI's were so noisy, either! And the guy could have warned me a little better: MRI guy: Here's some earplugs for you. Me: Huh? MRI guy: The machine gets a little noisy. Me: Uhhh, OK. How noisy? MRI guy: Oh, it's not bad with the earplugs in. Me: OK. What he didn't tell me is that the whole frickin machine vibrates and is still very loud with the earplugs! And it moved, too! I was a little freaked out. But I did my deep breathing, closed my eyes and went to my happy place. By the time it was over, I felt very relaxed - thanks to Big D for teaching me how to relax and go to my happy place! I now understand why peeps who are claustrophobic have to get the open MRI. I am not claustrophobic and it bothered me. I was picturing something like when I had my first CT-Scan at age 15 (I think), and it was a HUGE hole they slid me into, and it wasn't bad at all. I was sadly mistaken thinking it would be similar to that. Well, I'm glad it's over. Now we can move on to healing!! Soon, I hope! I'm running out of painkillers!

MRI Day

Today is MRI day for me! Woo-hoo! Yeah, I know: I'm a little off to be so excited about a damned MRI! But I'm in a lot of pain, here! At first, I was totally against surgical options. And to be truthful, it's still not my first choice. But, if it's going to relieve this pain quickly...I'll take it! I didn't think I'd ever feel that way, but I do. I can only take so much! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day!