Spent a quiet day at home trying to learn Flash MX Studio. I would like to start adding some flash content to the site but it is slow going as I learn the different aspects of the software. It is pretty cool stuff though!
A pretty wild day on the pain side. I spent the first part of the day trying to get an old computer working for my sons room but ran in to nothing but trouble. First the power was not working to the CD player and then the hard drive was not working for some reason. I got it all going somewhat but now I am getting some errors so tomorrow I will just format the drive and install the OS again. Meanwhile I had been sitting on the floor the whole time and paid for it dearly later on with a huge flair up. I popped the oxy and some muscle relaxers and plopped in to the chair to rest. While it is comfortable now the small of my back feels like it is in a giant knot. I will take some darvocet before bed and sleep with some pillows behind me to kind of prop myself up. I have found if I sleep like that I feel better then if I just slept on my side or back.
12/30/2004
70+ Degrees?
I decided to make a normal dinner tonight since everyone is home for a change. I did some pork loin (chops)with roasted carrots and potatoes and some lemon/garlic seasoning. It came out excellent but I think next time I need a thinner cut for the chops as these were a good 2" thick. Since I did not grill them I did not butterfly them and instead went for the slow and low in the oven to prevent them from drying out (too much).
Tomorrow is my wife's and I 5th anniversary. It sure the heck does not feel like 5 years but when you think about all the things that have happened in that short time it all adds up. We bought our first house, we were pregnant (and lost the baby at 6 months in to it), we bought a bigger house, we had our youngest son, I broke my back and she spent the next 6 months helping me get back on my feet and on and on. We had some downs but certainly we have had the ups to more then balance it out. Even when things got really tough (my injuries meant she could not work as I needed someone to help me 24/7) and we were flat broke we still had a good time. Maybe it was finding the humor in everything and laughing our way through it that helped.
We don't have any plans since it is New Years eve, although we like to joke and say that everyone is throwing us a party. I will make dinner, most likely some Turkey mingons and my wild mushroom risotto with asiago. She likes both of them and has been dropping the not so subtle hints... Not sure what I will do for a veggie but I bought some really nice green broccoli today and will probably throw it in the steamer with some herbs. Desert will be either pumpkin pie or maybe an apple pie, either which I will have to make. I have some great recipes for both of them and they are low fat.
The pain today has just sucked. I woke up super late and had to wait for the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions. I called them in the day before but they were out of some of them until today which means I ran out of them and it screwed up the way I like to take them to get the best relief possible. I am sure it made me cranky enough but top that off with the very severe weather change we had today. One week ago we were below zero for a week, today it was 75F and windy. I don't mind the warm weather but the wild swing wreaks havoc on the joints which add to the pain. Of course tomorrow we drop down 30 degrees and then further during the week. I am guessing that Spring is going to SUCK!
Tomorrow is my wife's and I 5th anniversary. It sure the heck does not feel like 5 years but when you think about all the things that have happened in that short time it all adds up. We bought our first house, we were pregnant (and lost the baby at 6 months in to it), we bought a bigger house, we had our youngest son, I broke my back and she spent the next 6 months helping me get back on my feet and on and on. We had some downs but certainly we have had the ups to more then balance it out. Even when things got really tough (my injuries meant she could not work as I needed someone to help me 24/7) and we were flat broke we still had a good time. Maybe it was finding the humor in everything and laughing our way through it that helped.
We don't have any plans since it is New Years eve, although we like to joke and say that everyone is throwing us a party. I will make dinner, most likely some Turkey mingons and my wild mushroom risotto with asiago. She likes both of them and has been dropping the not so subtle hints... Not sure what I will do for a veggie but I bought some really nice green broccoli today and will probably throw it in the steamer with some herbs. Desert will be either pumpkin pie or maybe an apple pie, either which I will have to make. I have some great recipes for both of them and they are low fat.
The pain today has just sucked. I woke up super late and had to wait for the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions. I called them in the day before but they were out of some of them until today which means I ran out of them and it screwed up the way I like to take them to get the best relief possible. I am sure it made me cranky enough but top that off with the very severe weather change we had today. One week ago we were below zero for a week, today it was 75F and windy. I don't mind the warm weather but the wild swing wreaks havoc on the joints which add to the pain. Of course tomorrow we drop down 30 degrees and then further during the week. I am guessing that Spring is going to SUCK!
Well Echo is finally here, after about a month of jumping through the hoops and getting the yard ready for a dog again. Like all of our animals he is a rescue although this time we adopted him from the shelter where they did the majority of the care. He has warmed right up to the family and is now in the living room taking a nap.
He is a lab/? mix but has most of the black lab features save a large white patch on his chest and is a tad smaller then a full grown black lab. I would say he is about 55-60lbs which is a HUGE change from what we are used to having around. Shadow was about 110-120 and he was about the smallest dog we had before Echo. We love big dogs, especially Danes but we have been unable to locate a Dane rescue with a dog that would fit in with us.
Rescuing dogs can be very rewarding but at the same time dangerous. Many come from homes where they were neglected and/or beaten. They need a lot of time and dedication to bringing them back in to the fold. We love to spend time with them but this time a big concern was our youngest son so we decided to go with a dog that has been in a shelter and cared for properly. Echo is the perfect dog, he is house trained, fixed and has spent his last 6 months with a foster family working with him daily. They do live in this area and the women we worked with was his caregiver as well she works for the local animal shelter.
I will get some pictures of him and put them up but it will be tough. Every time he sees the camera he wants to come over and sniff/lick it.
He is a lab/? mix but has most of the black lab features save a large white patch on his chest and is a tad smaller then a full grown black lab. I would say he is about 55-60lbs which is a HUGE change from what we are used to having around. Shadow was about 110-120 and he was about the smallest dog we had before Echo. We love big dogs, especially Danes but we have been unable to locate a Dane rescue with a dog that would fit in with us.
Rescuing dogs can be very rewarding but at the same time dangerous. Many come from homes where they were neglected and/or beaten. They need a lot of time and dedication to bringing them back in to the fold. We love to spend time with them but this time a big concern was our youngest son so we decided to go with a dog that has been in a shelter and cared for properly. Echo is the perfect dog, he is house trained, fixed and has spent his last 6 months with a foster family working with him daily. They do live in this area and the women we worked with was his caregiver as well she works for the local animal shelter.
I will get some pictures of him and put them up but it will be tough. Every time he sees the camera he wants to come over and sniff/lick it.
12/29/2004
Damn those mice are smart...
I own an older house (100+) and every now and then we end up with a mouse or two. We thought we got the last of them, see here for the last mouse story, but with the much colder weather it looks like they are back.
Last time they figured out how to get the food (peanut butter) out of the swing door traps, this time they stole all the food from the snap traps and figured out how to get the food out of the glue traps. Guess it is time to call a pest control guy and see what they have for them. I won't put out poison because I have 2 kids one of which is a toddler as well I don't need the mice crawling in to the wall and dying. That will smell real good in the summer!
Last time they figured out how to get the food (peanut butter) out of the swing door traps, this time they stole all the food from the snap traps and figured out how to get the food out of the glue traps. Guess it is time to call a pest control guy and see what they have for them. I won't put out poison because I have 2 kids one of which is a toddler as well I don't need the mice crawling in to the wall and dying. That will smell real good in the summer!
No more oxycontin?
My wife had her doctors appointment this morning and as I have said before we have the same doctor so they discuss her views of my care when she sees them (it is actually a doctor and his nurse practitioner). This morning the nurse mentioned to her that they have some concerns about oxycontin and my doctor wants me to discontinue it's use when this prescription expires. Apparently some of the studies being done suggest that oxycontin does indeed peak, creating a euphoria which is one of the primary leaders in cause of addiction. I was unable to find anything this effect and in fact only found this which counters the claim. It does not however mean much as newer studies may not have been published to the web recently meaning search engines have not had a chance to index them or probably I am not using the proper search terms to find them. Regardless, my wife did ask what their plans were and they are going to switch me over to Kadian or a similar morphine sulfates like MS Continfor the pain. It seems there is no peak with these (but they said that about oxy didn't they!!!) as well there is supposed to be no breakthrough pain and it is also available in a 24 hour time release rather then just a 12 hour like the oxycontin. Looking at the list of the sulfates it appears that there is indeed a generic so this should be a bit cheaper then some of the other crap I have taken. We will see what happens as I still have almost 2 weeks of the oxycontin before I need a refill.
My wife also expressed to them that I am willing to try new alternatives or meds but the one major issue is that they must not only combat the pain but be able to allow me to have some quality of life as the oxycontin has done. While I am obviously not back to where I was I am doing a lot more then I had been. Little things like getting all the laundry done without having to stop every 10 minutes or cleaning out the laundry room and rearranging it like I did last night. Sweeping, mopping and using the vacuum were all things that I dreaded before as they left me in more pain then when I had flair ups but with the oxycontin I have been back to making sure that all the floors are done at least every other day or so rather then once a week. If you have a toddler you can understand how quick floors get dirty! Most importantly it has enabled me to take a bit more active role in taking care of the baby. While I am home with him most of the time I could generally only have 2-3 hours with him before the pain was to much and I needed some help. This meant that my wife, who works until 2am at the restaurant, would have to get up at like 8am or so to help me out. That would leave her with only 5-6 hours of sleep a day on which she would have to work a 10-12 hour shift at the store.
The only issue I might have with a morphine derivative is that when I was in the hospital they gave me morphine which made me itch like crazy. I ended up scratching my leg raw before they noticed. I thought I was scratching due to the return of feeling in the leg but the doctor later explained that some people have that reaction to morphine. They gave me benadryl to combat it but if I am indeed allergic to it, I do not want to be popping benadryl everyday.
We will wait and see...
My wife also expressed to them that I am willing to try new alternatives or meds but the one major issue is that they must not only combat the pain but be able to allow me to have some quality of life as the oxycontin has done. While I am obviously not back to where I was I am doing a lot more then I had been. Little things like getting all the laundry done without having to stop every 10 minutes or cleaning out the laundry room and rearranging it like I did last night. Sweeping, mopping and using the vacuum were all things that I dreaded before as they left me in more pain then when I had flair ups but with the oxycontin I have been back to making sure that all the floors are done at least every other day or so rather then once a week. If you have a toddler you can understand how quick floors get dirty! Most importantly it has enabled me to take a bit more active role in taking care of the baby. While I am home with him most of the time I could generally only have 2-3 hours with him before the pain was to much and I needed some help. This meant that my wife, who works until 2am at the restaurant, would have to get up at like 8am or so to help me out. That would leave her with only 5-6 hours of sleep a day on which she would have to work a 10-12 hour shift at the store.
The only issue I might have with a morphine derivative is that when I was in the hospital they gave me morphine which made me itch like crazy. I ended up scratching my leg raw before they noticed. I thought I was scratching due to the return of feeling in the leg but the doctor later explained that some people have that reaction to morphine. They gave me benadryl to combat it but if I am indeed allergic to it, I do not want to be popping benadryl everyday.
We will wait and see...
12/28/2004
A little bit of this and that...
I woke up this morning to a numb foot and leg but had some new numbness around the top of my leg, almost but not quite my butt. It was the burning pain that comes with the numbness though that really woke me up and it did not go away for most of the day. Sitting aggravated it so even the recliner was not comfortable. I ended up doing the up and down thing where as soon as the pain starts in one position I move to the other to ease the pain. So every 20-30 minutes you are adjusting or having to get up and move.
I also spent some of the day on the phone trying to track down all the medical records in regards to my surgery and subsequent care. Since I had care at 2 different hospitals and 3 different doctors it is going to take some leg work to gather them all and then sort them out find out which are duplicates as everyone is charging .51 cents a page for copies. I am pretty sure we are looking at 500-600 pages combined. I think I am just going to get the ones that show my services dates for the myleogram and all the epidurals and stellate ganglion blocks. Since my AA is in the lumbar spine I doubt the stellate blocks had anything to do with this but I want them handy in case I develop that far up or have issues later on (at the C-6). I am really hoping that the epidurals and the myleogram lead us closer to the cause.
Since one of the hospitals is near the Toy's R Us I am going to bring the oldest along and when I am done with the records he can hit the store and finish his gift card spending. He has found a microscope, not super high speed but nice, that has a USB connection so you can use it on the computer. I had looked at one like it a few years ago but they were fairly expensive at the time so we passed on it. Now they are less then $100 and the resolution has improved vastly. It only goes to 200x but I have tons of specimens that he should be able to see at that power. I would love to show him a yeast cell but you need 1000x and for that you need oil immersion scopes which even a crappy used one will run towards a $1000.
I also spent some time trying to get an old PC working for my son. It is a 650Mhz and I upgraded it a few times during it's use but it developed some problems that would cause it to reboot at random or not boot at all. I did everything I could think of without tearing it apart so tomorrow and check the memory sticks. I have some extra ones hanging around that I think will work in it as well as a 20GB drive that is good to go. If I can get it working I just need to grab a wireless PCI card and he should be good to go. Maybe then he will stop bugging me to get on my computers all the time. I don't mind him using my computers but since they are both work related I limit his time on them. Even when I am watching him on it he has a bad habit of just downloading anything he feels like and putting it anywhere on the drive. He has not hit a virus yet but trying to find all the damn files and get rid of them is a PITA. Now he can trash his own machine and I don't have to worry about my data base getting trashed. I also have a key logger for it as well as a daily email report of his online activity.
I also spent some of the day on the phone trying to track down all the medical records in regards to my surgery and subsequent care. Since I had care at 2 different hospitals and 3 different doctors it is going to take some leg work to gather them all and then sort them out find out which are duplicates as everyone is charging .51 cents a page for copies. I am pretty sure we are looking at 500-600 pages combined. I think I am just going to get the ones that show my services dates for the myleogram and all the epidurals and stellate ganglion blocks. Since my AA is in the lumbar spine I doubt the stellate blocks had anything to do with this but I want them handy in case I develop that far up or have issues later on (at the C-6). I am really hoping that the epidurals and the myleogram lead us closer to the cause.
Since one of the hospitals is near the Toy's R Us I am going to bring the oldest along and when I am done with the records he can hit the store and finish his gift card spending. He has found a microscope, not super high speed but nice, that has a USB connection so you can use it on the computer. I had looked at one like it a few years ago but they were fairly expensive at the time so we passed on it. Now they are less then $100 and the resolution has improved vastly. It only goes to 200x but I have tons of specimens that he should be able to see at that power. I would love to show him a yeast cell but you need 1000x and for that you need oil immersion scopes which even a crappy used one will run towards a $1000.
I also spent some time trying to get an old PC working for my son. It is a 650Mhz and I upgraded it a few times during it's use but it developed some problems that would cause it to reboot at random or not boot at all. I did everything I could think of without tearing it apart so tomorrow and check the memory sticks. I have some extra ones hanging around that I think will work in it as well as a 20GB drive that is good to go. If I can get it working I just need to grab a wireless PCI card and he should be good to go. Maybe then he will stop bugging me to get on my computers all the time. I don't mind him using my computers but since they are both work related I limit his time on them. Even when I am watching him on it he has a bad habit of just downloading anything he feels like and putting it anywhere on the drive. He has not hit a virus yet but trying to find all the damn files and get rid of them is a PITA. Now he can trash his own machine and I don't have to worry about my data base getting trashed. I also have a key logger for it as well as a daily email report of his online activity.
12/27/2004
A shopping we will go...
Well we hit Home Depot and spent all but about $7 of the $250. I bought myself a new Ryobi circular saw, drill & multi-angle light and an 1/4 sheet hand sander so I can do the shelves myself and not have to wait for the guy to cut the wood for me or have to borrow someone else's tools anymore. I thought about grabbing this set but I don't think I would use all the tools and it was $200.
This coming week is supposed to be nice outside so I can do some more work on the shelves I built. I am going to sand them and then stain them and I am also going to use my dremel with the router bits to make them a bit more decorative. I am not really a DIY kind of guy but since I have been unable to work I am trying to find something to keep myself busy as well as something that will benefit us all like the shelves in the bathroom and rec room. Next I was thinking of some cubbies for the back wall as extra storage space or maybe a large footlocker for the bigger toys.
I also got myself some 900mhz wireless speakers that also have some headphones which are perfect for when the baby is sleeping. I went with the 900mhz as my wireless network is 2.4ghz as are the phones (which was a bad idea!!!). I need to buy some 5.8GHZ but I just spent $200 on the other ones as they are expandable and have a built in PBX which works great as I have a second line for my office. I almost forgot the most important thing, the little George Foreman grill. I had a large one way back when but after years of use it died on me. It works great as my youngest tends to only like hamburgers/chickenburgers. Normally not a problem but firing up the grill for one burger is a pain in the butt as well as expensive. Now I have one that is perfect for 2 burgers or a few Salmon filets.
My took my son to the stores where he got gift cards for and he bought himself the 3rd Season of The Simpsons, Tommy Boy, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again and Drop Dead Gorgeous. He also bought himself a Texas Hold'Em set. Not the same one as in the picture but I could not find the one he bought. While some people would frown on teaching their kid poker I have no problem with it. I dealt Poker and Craps for Harrah's Casino for 3 years and there are some tough math skills involved in working out the odds of a hand. I am hoping I can get through to him this way as nothing else seems to work with math and him. Worse comes to worst, when he goes away to college or the military I won't have to worry about him getting his paycheck or loan money taken. LOL!
Even doing all the walking around the pain was not to bad when we got home. I would say about a 5 or so and the numbness and throbbing in my leg was also minimal. One thing I have noticed an increase in lately is the "spasms" that cause my legs to suddenly just kick out. It is not painful but it is totally annoying. It generally occurs when I am sleeping or just sitting in the recliner but more and more lately it is happening whenever and today I about busted my ass in Home Depot when it happened.
When we made it home I got the boys some dinner and set about getting the batteries to the tools charged and the wireless speakers working. That proved no small feat as I had used all the audio outs on my amp and the only other option was to use the headphone jack. I did some shuffling around and amazingly everything works, including the wireless. Now I need to find another set of wireless headphones.
This coming week is supposed to be nice outside so I can do some more work on the shelves I built. I am going to sand them and then stain them and I am also going to use my dremel with the router bits to make them a bit more decorative. I am not really a DIY kind of guy but since I have been unable to work I am trying to find something to keep myself busy as well as something that will benefit us all like the shelves in the bathroom and rec room. Next I was thinking of some cubbies for the back wall as extra storage space or maybe a large footlocker for the bigger toys.
I also got myself some 900mhz wireless speakers that also have some headphones which are perfect for when the baby is sleeping. I went with the 900mhz as my wireless network is 2.4ghz as are the phones (which was a bad idea!!!). I need to buy some 5.8GHZ but I just spent $200 on the other ones as they are expandable and have a built in PBX which works great as I have a second line for my office. I almost forgot the most important thing, the little George Foreman grill. I had a large one way back when but after years of use it died on me. It works great as my youngest tends to only like hamburgers/chickenburgers. Normally not a problem but firing up the grill for one burger is a pain in the butt as well as expensive. Now I have one that is perfect for 2 burgers or a few Salmon filets.
My took my son to the stores where he got gift cards for and he bought himself the 3rd Season of The Simpsons, Tommy Boy, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again and Drop Dead Gorgeous. He also bought himself a Texas Hold'Em set. Not the same one as in the picture but I could not find the one he bought. While some people would frown on teaching their kid poker I have no problem with it. I dealt Poker and Craps for Harrah's Casino for 3 years and there are some tough math skills involved in working out the odds of a hand. I am hoping I can get through to him this way as nothing else seems to work with math and him. Worse comes to worst, when he goes away to college or the military I won't have to worry about him getting his paycheck or loan money taken. LOL!
Even doing all the walking around the pain was not to bad when we got home. I would say about a 5 or so and the numbness and throbbing in my leg was also minimal. One thing I have noticed an increase in lately is the "spasms" that cause my legs to suddenly just kick out. It is not painful but it is totally annoying. It generally occurs when I am sleeping or just sitting in the recliner but more and more lately it is happening whenever and today I about busted my ass in Home Depot when it happened.
When we made it home I got the boys some dinner and set about getting the batteries to the tools charged and the wireless speakers working. That proved no small feat as I had used all the audio outs on my amp and the only other option was to use the headphone jack. I did some shuffling around and amazingly everything works, including the wireless. Now I need to find another set of wireless headphones.
Stress...Arrrrgh!!!
The baby has been an unbelievable bear for the last 3 days. He does not want to eat, he will ask you to hold him and then scream to be put down and on and on. He is not sleeping well and refusing to take his naps which is screwing up his bedtime. He has a runny nose that is like a faucet but he is not coughing so I have just been giving him some Dimetapp which does not seem to be working, the only thing I can think that it might be with all these symptoms is new molars cutting through. I will run to the store later on and grab some toddlers ibuprofen and see if that helps any.
My back is on fire this morning most likely from the workout I have been getting taking care of the baby and dealing with my smartass 11 year old. He has been up for less then 30 minutes and has already earned the day in his room. I need to lookup the info on stress and how it affects arachnoidtitis!!! He has turned in to a complete smartass in the last few months and has not learned that as much as he tries he will not get the last word in, no matter how hard he tries. He will now spend some time in his room with nothing but a book.
Anyway, the burning is right in the small of my back and is annoying as it is making it very difficult to get comfortable sitting, standing or any other positions that I have tried. My left leg is not so bad today but it is throbbing a bit and my foot feels like it is on pins and needles, the usual feeling it has. I took my meds and made myself some hot cocoa to relax but it is not working. I think this might be a heating pad kind of day which has not happened in a bit. The stress part will be tough to sort out though as what is stress from having the arachnoiditis and what is coming from other sources? Does one affect the other in a way that they multiply exponentially?
Here is some info from the COFWA website on stress
AA does not have a typical clinical presentation, although there are a number of features, which are common in people with the condition. However, the picture is somewhat complicated by the fact that the symptoms of AA occur against a backdrop of the original spinal problem for which invasive procedures were undertaken (except in a small minority in which no spinal condition has occurred, for instance, in AA secondary to epidural anesthesia in childbirth).
It is important also to remember that a number of the symptoms experienced are common to various chronic illnesses and may well arise secondary to the general debility occasioned by unrelieved pain and stress resulting from dealing with illness that is relentless for years on end.
Chronic pain is not regarded by most of the medical profession as detrimental of itself; however, recently some doctors are beginning to voice a different point of view, recognizing that unrelieved pain constitutes a source of constant stress on the body, resulting in over-production of stress response chemicals in the body, such as adrenaline, insulin and cortisol. These substances cause a variety of problems. In America, highly sophisticated PET scans have shown that chronic pain in some way alters the way in which the brain responds to stress or pain; the concentration of neurotransmitters (chemical nerve messengers) in certain brain areas seems to vary from that of healthy people.
I will do some more research this morning on stress. Maybe it will be enough to take my mind of the back for a bit, which should reduce stress which in turn should aid in the reduction of the pain.
I had thought about hitting the stores today but not with this back and a cranky 2 year old. Usually day or two after Christmas they have some great sales but I wait a few days to go so that the crowds are gone and they have had time to re-stock the returned items. Once they have done that it is open season, especially for Christmas decorations. I bought a few small things at Home Depot yesterday that I had looked at before Christmas but they were more then I was willing to spend. I picked up several strands of lights that were $7 the other day and are now $1.50 as well as 3 small pre-lit trees for my ever growing tree forest; they had been $35 but were marked down to $6. Instead of one big tree we have several small trees between 1.5' and 4' that make up the Christmas tree "forest" where we put the nativity scene. It looks pretty cool when it is up and each tree has different kinds of lights, like pepper lights, Santa lights and so on.
My back is on fire this morning most likely from the workout I have been getting taking care of the baby and dealing with my smartass 11 year old. He has been up for less then 30 minutes and has already earned the day in his room. I need to lookup the info on stress and how it affects arachnoidtitis!!! He has turned in to a complete smartass in the last few months and has not learned that as much as he tries he will not get the last word in, no matter how hard he tries. He will now spend some time in his room with nothing but a book.
Anyway, the burning is right in the small of my back and is annoying as it is making it very difficult to get comfortable sitting, standing or any other positions that I have tried. My left leg is not so bad today but it is throbbing a bit and my foot feels like it is on pins and needles, the usual feeling it has. I took my meds and made myself some hot cocoa to relax but it is not working. I think this might be a heating pad kind of day which has not happened in a bit. The stress part will be tough to sort out though as what is stress from having the arachnoiditis and what is coming from other sources? Does one affect the other in a way that they multiply exponentially?
Here is some info from the COFWA website on stress
AA does not have a typical clinical presentation, although there are a number of features, which are common in people with the condition. However, the picture is somewhat complicated by the fact that the symptoms of AA occur against a backdrop of the original spinal problem for which invasive procedures were undertaken (except in a small minority in which no spinal condition has occurred, for instance, in AA secondary to epidural anesthesia in childbirth).
It is important also to remember that a number of the symptoms experienced are common to various chronic illnesses and may well arise secondary to the general debility occasioned by unrelieved pain and stress resulting from dealing with illness that is relentless for years on end.
Chronic pain is not regarded by most of the medical profession as detrimental of itself; however, recently some doctors are beginning to voice a different point of view, recognizing that unrelieved pain constitutes a source of constant stress on the body, resulting in over-production of stress response chemicals in the body, such as adrenaline, insulin and cortisol. These substances cause a variety of problems. In America, highly sophisticated PET scans have shown that chronic pain in some way alters the way in which the brain responds to stress or pain; the concentration of neurotransmitters (chemical nerve messengers) in certain brain areas seems to vary from that of healthy people.
I will do some more research this morning on stress. Maybe it will be enough to take my mind of the back for a bit, which should reduce stress which in turn should aid in the reduction of the pain.
I had thought about hitting the stores today but not with this back and a cranky 2 year old. Usually day or two after Christmas they have some great sales but I wait a few days to go so that the crowds are gone and they have had time to re-stock the returned items. Once they have done that it is open season, especially for Christmas decorations. I bought a few small things at Home Depot yesterday that I had looked at before Christmas but they were more then I was willing to spend. I picked up several strands of lights that were $7 the other day and are now $1.50 as well as 3 small pre-lit trees for my ever growing tree forest; they had been $35 but were marked down to $6. Instead of one big tree we have several small trees between 1.5' and 4' that make up the Christmas tree "forest" where we put the nativity scene. It looks pretty cool when it is up and each tree has different kinds of lights, like pepper lights, Santa lights and so on.
12/26/2004
Christmas...
Well Christmas has come and gone and I must say it was a good day. We spent it at my parents and were surprised when both my brother and sister showed up with their families as we were told they would both be out of town for the day.
It was cute watching 3 2 year olds running around and playing together. While they do see each other enough it is generally not with all 3 of them together. My parents also got them all some really neat presents. My niece got a wooden doll furniture set up that was good quality with dove tail joints rather then just nailed at the corners. My son and my nephew both received a really nice wooden artists easel that has a place to for a roll of butcher paper to be pulled down.
My wife and I both got gift certificates, mine to Home Depotand hers to Victorias Secret and I also got a Smith & Wesson flashlight with the carrier which is cool. They are bright little suckers and I needed one for the car since my mini-mag light went AWOL. I also got a 2lb bag of Pistachios (not the red ones) which is awesome because I love them. When we were kids my dad would buy a bag and he, my brother and I would sit on the couch and eat them while watching the Three Stooges.
Most of all it was a nice relaxing day. While the kids (and moms) took nap my son, brother, father and I went to the field behind the house and flew their model airplanes. It was funny watching them fly in such high winds but the cake topper was my father nailing the backstop of the baseball field while trying to pull up in time to avoid it. It was one of those times you wish you had a camera to record it all.
The only pain all day was when we were out flying the planes. It was close to when I should take my meds but I figured I would be back in time. Just standing to long and the cold wind really was a bit more then I expected. It brought the numbness in my leg back and by the time I got my meds the small of my back was burning. I ended up taking the pills and just sitting in the recliner for a bit. I did find out that my recliner is much more comfortable then the one my mom has. Makes me glad I did not buy the la-Z-boy I looked at.
We ended up getting home about 7:30 or so and I feel asleep in my recliner. I woke up and thought it must have been well after midnight only to find out that it was only 9:30. LOL, I went up stairs and played Ghost Recon II for awhile and then racked out. While we did not do much I was tired as I have been in some time.
It was cute watching 3 2 year olds running around and playing together. While they do see each other enough it is generally not with all 3 of them together. My parents also got them all some really neat presents. My niece got a wooden doll furniture set up that was good quality with dove tail joints rather then just nailed at the corners. My son and my nephew both received a really nice wooden artists easel that has a place to for a roll of butcher paper to be pulled down.
My wife and I both got gift certificates, mine to Home Depotand hers to Victorias Secret and I also got a Smith & Wesson flashlight with the carrier which is cool. They are bright little suckers and I needed one for the car since my mini-mag light went AWOL. I also got a 2lb bag of Pistachios (not the red ones) which is awesome because I love them. When we were kids my dad would buy a bag and he, my brother and I would sit on the couch and eat them while watching the Three Stooges.
Most of all it was a nice relaxing day. While the kids (and moms) took nap my son, brother, father and I went to the field behind the house and flew their model airplanes. It was funny watching them fly in such high winds but the cake topper was my father nailing the backstop of the baseball field while trying to pull up in time to avoid it. It was one of those times you wish you had a camera to record it all.
The only pain all day was when we were out flying the planes. It was close to when I should take my meds but I figured I would be back in time. Just standing to long and the cold wind really was a bit more then I expected. It brought the numbness in my leg back and by the time I got my meds the small of my back was burning. I ended up taking the pills and just sitting in the recliner for a bit. I did find out that my recliner is much more comfortable then the one my mom has. Makes me glad I did not buy the la-Z-boy I looked at.
We ended up getting home about 7:30 or so and I feel asleep in my recliner. I woke up and thought it must have been well after midnight only to find out that it was only 9:30. LOL, I went up stairs and played Ghost Recon II for awhile and then racked out. While we did not do much I was tired as I have been in some time.
12/25/2004
***Make a Difference in America...Save Merry Christmas!***
***Make a Difference in America...Save Merry Christmas!***
Here is a site that has some good ideas. It is ever more important that we save the culture of the Christian community in this country. While I may not agree that a boycott is the answer, mostly because it would not work, I like what they are saying. A national boycott is usually ineffective as many people do not get the word or do not realize that a company as large as Macy's parent corporation operates under mny different names.
The funny thing is that more then 3/4 the US is some form of a Christian religion. We outnumber almost 6 to 1 those who claim no religion but sadly their numbers are growing, almost 110% over 10 years yet we find ourselves being forced to pander to them and remove any symbol of our religious beliefs. We re being told that "Merry Christmas" is no longer acceptable as a greeting and that we should use "Happy Holidays" instead. I am tired of being told by the few how we should live our lives. Worse is they are making this country out to be an overly politically correct place, which is garbage. What ever happened to just being polite/nice? What happened to being allowed the freedom of speech or freedom of religion?
The liberals are slowly hacking away at these rights in fear that the way we choose to lead our lives might offend someone. They want us to be more European. Excuse me? We left Europe because we did not WANT to be like them and wanted the right to do as we please within the confines of our laws. If they want to live somewhere that is all touchy feely and everything is sugar coated so as not to offend their delicate sensibilities then maybe they should head North to Canada like these people. The only thing I really have to say to them is, Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
I would be more then willing to rent a van and drive them to the border myself. The funny thing is how many of them will find out that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. They will find themselves having to pay through the nose for taxes and while they may now have medical coverage under the social programs of Canada, that they will have to wait weeks, months and on occasion years to get the treatment that they need. I have several friends with the same problem I have who live in Canada, they waited years to get the same surgery I had and it only took me a week to get done. They get to live in a country where gas is paid for by the liter and right now it is about 85 cents per liter or about $3.23 Canadian per gallon, even with the exchange rate it is still almost $2.65 per gallon in US dollars. Last time I hot the pumps, which was yesterday we were paying $1.65. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces though when they try to come back to the US.
Anyway, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
Here is a site that has some good ideas. It is ever more important that we save the culture of the Christian community in this country. While I may not agree that a boycott is the answer, mostly because it would not work, I like what they are saying. A national boycott is usually ineffective as many people do not get the word or do not realize that a company as large as Macy's parent corporation operates under mny different names.
The funny thing is that more then 3/4 the US is some form of a Christian religion. We outnumber almost 6 to 1 those who claim no religion but sadly their numbers are growing, almost 110% over 10 years yet we find ourselves being forced to pander to them and remove any symbol of our religious beliefs. We re being told that "Merry Christmas" is no longer acceptable as a greeting and that we should use "Happy Holidays" instead. I am tired of being told by the few how we should live our lives. Worse is they are making this country out to be an overly politically correct place, which is garbage. What ever happened to just being polite/nice? What happened to being allowed the freedom of speech or freedom of religion?
The liberals are slowly hacking away at these rights in fear that the way we choose to lead our lives might offend someone. They want us to be more European. Excuse me? We left Europe because we did not WANT to be like them and wanted the right to do as we please within the confines of our laws. If they want to live somewhere that is all touchy feely and everything is sugar coated so as not to offend their delicate sensibilities then maybe they should head North to Canada like these people. The only thing I really have to say to them is, Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
Wednesday, Dec 22, 2004
First 'Bush refugees' win visa approval
VANCOUVER (CBC) - The first of an expected influx of Americans unhappy with the re-election of President George W. Bush have received their visas to come to Canada.
Hundreds of Americans have expressed a desire to come to leave the U.S. in the wake of Bush's win.
The Kilbourne family of Seattle has already been approved by Immigration Canada, and they're now looking around B.C. for a place to call home. Becky Kilbourne says she has mixed feelings about leaving her life in Seattle, where she works as a state prosecutor.
"It's a little scary because we've lived in the same place and had the same jobs for well over a decade," she says. "I am very anxious to have the kids settled with new friends and in decent schools."
The Kilbournes applied more than a year ago after deciding they couldn't take another term with Bush as president. Tresey Kilbourne says initially they planned to withdraw their applications if the Democrats won.
"With the Republicans in full control of everything, there hasn't been anything that has caused us to think that we weren't doing anything other than the smart thing a year ago," he says.
The Vancouver law firm the Kilbournes first contacted says it has retained more "Bush refugees" – and it predicts dozens of them will be moving to B.C. once their immigration applications are processed.
I would be more then willing to rent a van and drive them to the border myself. The funny thing is how many of them will find out that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. They will find themselves having to pay through the nose for taxes and while they may now have medical coverage under the social programs of Canada, that they will have to wait weeks, months and on occasion years to get the treatment that they need. I have several friends with the same problem I have who live in Canada, they waited years to get the same surgery I had and it only took me a week to get done. They get to live in a country where gas is paid for by the liter and right now it is about 85 cents per liter or about $3.23 Canadian per gallon, even with the exchange rate it is still almost $2.65 per gallon in US dollars. Last time I hot the pumps, which was yesterday we were paying $1.65. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces though when they try to come back to the US.
Anyway, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year.
Well the baby did not get back to sleep until almost 2am and then he was up again by 7:45, so my hopes of getting to sleep in were dashed away. So now it is just time to wait until we go to my parents house for the afternoon which is a dual purpose mission as my fathers Birthday is today.
My back is ok this morning just a slight tight spot in my back which is probably just from sleeping and should loosen up once the robaxin kicks in and then there is a bit of numbness in my leg and foot which is not to bad. All in all I would say that combined they are only 3 or so on the pain scale and when the meds kick in all the way I should be cleared hot.
I just talked to my son at my parents and they let him open a few gifts since they could not really wrap them and it would give him something to do. They bought him a bike, rollerblades and the safety gear to go along with it. That always gets some bitching and moaning when he sees pictures of my brother and I riding as kids without them. Worse is the pictures of my brother riding freestyle without the helmet, unthought of today. It is tough to explain it to him other then "we did not know any better" which is indeed the truth. He usually settle down quickly and goes out to ride. My parents house is a better place to ride as they live on the end of a Cul-de-Sac in a quiet neighborhood. Most of the people are my parents age and have grandkids like my son. We also go trick or treating there as it is much safer due to the sidewalks. I live in a section of town that is quite old, my house is one of the newer ones on my street at just over 100 years old. They also just declared my section an historic district. It is so old (but very quaint) that some of the street are still cobblestone and some of the houses have carriage houses that have been converted in to mother in law quarters. Since we are so old there are not many sidewalks, rollerblading or riding a bike can be difficult.
My back is ok this morning just a slight tight spot in my back which is probably just from sleeping and should loosen up once the robaxin kicks in and then there is a bit of numbness in my leg and foot which is not to bad. All in all I would say that combined they are only 3 or so on the pain scale and when the meds kick in all the way I should be cleared hot.
I just talked to my son at my parents and they let him open a few gifts since they could not really wrap them and it would give him something to do. They bought him a bike, rollerblades and the safety gear to go along with it. That always gets some bitching and moaning when he sees pictures of my brother and I riding as kids without them. Worse is the pictures of my brother riding freestyle without the helmet, unthought of today. It is tough to explain it to him other then "we did not know any better" which is indeed the truth. He usually settle down quickly and goes out to ride. My parents house is a better place to ride as they live on the end of a Cul-de-Sac in a quiet neighborhood. Most of the people are my parents age and have grandkids like my son. We also go trick or treating there as it is much safer due to the sidewalks. I live in a section of town that is quite old, my house is one of the newer ones on my street at just over 100 years old. They also just declared my section an historic district. It is so old (but very quaint) that some of the street are still cobblestone and some of the houses have carriage houses that have been converted in to mother in law quarters. Since we are so old there are not many sidewalks, rollerblading or riding a bike can be difficult.
I am looking forward to a nice relaxing day with my parents. I am not sure why but it is always like that at their house, even when it is hectic. A very big plus is that my parents and my wife get along very well as do my sister and sister in law. As funny as that sounds it is important to me. I am glad that she can spend a day with them and not need me around. I also like that my parents will invite just her to an event and that they will ask to have the oldest over for a day or two.
I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas and that sometime today you will find a quiet moment to reflect on your year and be thankful for the blessings you have received and to remember our brave men and women who are serving our country, especially those who have given all they had of themselves. Without the brave men and women like them, going back to the founding of this country, we would not be here today as free Americans.
12/24/2004
MASCAL
First hand account of the chow hall bombing
I got this not from the blog originally but from another site I frequent. This was to much for me not to post, especially at Christmas time. I am not going to say much as this speaks for itself. Please follow the link above to read this post at the source as well as some other great posts from someone serving in Iraq. I have changed nothing nor edited it, you get it as I read it.
I got this not from the blog originally but from another site I frequent. This was to much for me not to post, especially at Christmas time. I am not going to say much as this speaks for itself. Please follow the link above to read this post at the source as well as some other great posts from someone serving in Iraq. I have changed nothing nor edited it, you get it as I read it.
By the time I got back to our compound it was all over the news. It seemed like the thing had just happened when in reality I had been neck deep in it for several hours. And there it was on TV. Frankly, it's kind of a blur.
The day began early as I didn't sleep very well last night. Once I was awake I decided not to just lay there and stare at the darkness so I got up, got dressed, shaved and headed into the TOC, the heart of what goes on. In the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) they monitor several different radio nets to keep abreast of what is happening in the area. It's the place to be if you want up to the minute information. When I arrived it was fairly calm. I made small talk with the guys there and sipped that first cup of morning coffee. The day was clear and there was very little going on, or so it seemed. A very short while later we received the initial reports. In this area there are several "camps" or "posts" that house the various combat and support units that do the day to day fighting and working around here. The first report said that a mortar had just hit one of the nearby chow halls during the middle of lunch (I'm on GMT so my morning is actually the middle of the day). It's called a MASCAL or Mass Casualty event and it's where the rubber meets the road in military ministry. They said there were approximately 10 casualties. That was the extent of it so I kind of filed it away in the back of my mind and continued to sip my coffee. The next report wasn't so good. 10 dead and approximately 50 wounded. They were being transported to the Combat Surgical Hospital down the street. The Chaplain at the CSH is a good guy and I knew he'd be in need of help so I woke my assistant and we rushed to the hospital. I didn't expect what I saw.
The scene was little more than controlled chaos. Helicopters landing, people shouting, wounded screaming, bodies everywhere. As the staff began to triage the dead and wounded I found the chaplain and offered my assistance. He directed me to where he needed me and I dove in. I would be hard pressed to write about every person I had the opportunity to pray with today but I will try to relate a few.
I found "Betty" on a stretcher being tended by nurses. I introduced myself and held her hand. She looked up at me and said, "Chaplain, am I going to be alright?" I said that she was despite the fact that I could see she had a long road to recovery ahead of her. Most of her hair had been singed off. Her face was burnt fairly badly, although it didn't look like the kind of burns that will scar. What I do know is that it was painful enough to hurt just by being in the sun. I prayed with Betty and moved on.
"Ilena" (a made up name. She spoke very softly and had a thick accent so I couldn't really hear her) had been hit by a piece of shrapnel just above her left breast causing a classic sucking chest wound. The doctors said she had a hemothorax (I think that's what they called it) which basically meant her left lung was filling with blood and she was having a very hard time breathing. For the next 20 minutes I held her hand while a doctor made an incision in her left side, inserted most of his hand and some kind of medical instrument and then a tube to alleviate the pressure caused by the pooling blood. It was probably the most medieval procedure I have ever been privy to. In the end she was taken to ICU and will be OK.
"Mark" was put on a stretcher and laid along a wall. A small monitor on his hand would tell the nurses when he was dead. Even a cursory glance said it was inevitable. Mark had a head wound that left brain matter caked in his ear and all over the stretcher he was lying on. I knelt next to Mark and placed a hand on his chest. His heart was barely beating but it was beating so I put my face close to his ear to pray with him. If you've never smelled human brain matter it is something unforgettable. I had something of an internal struggle. He's practically dead so why stay? He probably can't hear anything! A prayer at that point seemed of little value. But I couldn't risk it. I prayed for Mark and led him in the sinners prayer as best I could. There are few things in this life that will make you feel more helpless. After that, I needed some fresh air.
I stepped outside and found the situation to be only slightly less chaotic. The number of body bags had grown considerably since I first went inside. I saw a fellow chaplain who was obviously in need of care himself. I stopped him and put my arm around him and asked how he was doing. A rhetorical question if ever I asked one. He just shook his head so I pulled him in close and prayed for his strength, endurance, a thick skin, and a soft heart. Then I just stood and breathed for a few minutes.
Regardless of what some may say, these are not stupid people. Any attack with casualties will naturally mean that eventually a very large number of care givers will be concentrated in one location. They took full advantage of that. In the middle of the mayhem the first mortar round hit about 100 to 200 meters away. Everyone started shouting to get the wounded into the hospital which is solid concrete and much safer than being in the open. Soon, the next mortar hit quite a bit closer than the first as they "walked" their rounds toward their intended target...us. Everyone began to rush toward the building. I stood at the door shoving as many people inside as I could. Just before heading in myself, the last one hit directly on top of the hospital. I was standing next to the building so was shielded from any flying shrapnel. In fact, the building, being built as a bunker took the hit with little effect. However, I couldn't have been more than 10 to 15 meters from the point of impact and brother did I feel the shock. That'll wake you up! I rushed inside to find doctors and nurses draped over patients, others on the floor or under something. I ducked low and quickly moved as far inside as I could.
After a few tense moments people began to move around again and the business of patching bodies and healing minds continued in earnest. As I stood talking with some other chaplain, an officer approached and not seeing us, yelled, "Is there a chaplain around here?" I turned and asked what I could do. He spoke to us and said that another patient had just been moved to the "expectant" list and would one of us come pray for him. I walked in and found him lying on the bed with a tube in his throat, and no signs of consciousness. There were two nurses tending to him in his final moments. One had a clipboard so I assumed she'd have the information I wanted. I turned to her and asked if she knew his name. Without hesitation the other nurse, with no papers, blurted out his first, middle, and last name. She had obviously taken this one personally. I'll call him "Wayne". I placed my hand on his head and lightly stroked his dark hair. Immediately my mind went to my Grandpa's funeral when I touched his soft grey hair for the last time. And for the second time in as many hours I prayed wondering if it would do any good, but knowing that God is faithful and can do more than I even imagine. When I finished I looked up at the nurse who had known his name. She looked composed but struggling to stay so. I asked, "Are you OK?" and she broke down. I put my arm around her to comfort and encourage her. She said, "I was fine until you asked!" Then she explained that this was the third patient to die on her that day.
"Rachel" was sitting in a chair with no injuries. She was worried about two friends that had been moved to other hospitals in country. So we prayed.
"John", a First Sergeant, asked me, "How does my face look?" knowing he had been badly burned and would probably have some scaring. He was covered in blood, pus, and charred skin so I said, "First Sergeant, you look better than some people I know back home." He laughed and we prayed.
One of the many American civilian workers had been hit in the groin. He was happy to be alive and even happier to be keeping, "all my equipment." It was a light moment in a very heavy day.
As my assistnt and I walked away at the end of the day I saw another chaplain and a soldier standing among the silent rows of black body bags. The soldier wanted to see his friend one more time. We slowly and as respectfully as possible unzipped the bag to reveal the face of a very young Private First Class. His friend stared for a few seconds then turned away and began to cry.
The last count was 25 dead, and around 45 wounded. Nevertheless, our cause is just and God is in control even when the crap is a yard deep. I'm where God wants me and wouldn't change that for anything, even if it means death. After all, "to die is gain".
Post Script: all patient names are ficticious.
I just got done reading another blog where the author is an advocate of oppressing those of us who are Catholic's/Christian's in the way of not allowing the words "Merry Christmas" and instead using "Happy Holidays". This is a Christian holiday, not Jewish, not voodoo or any other religion. We do not get pissed off when someone says "Happy Hanukkah" or "Happy Kwanzaa", yet as Christians our rights to celebrate as we choose are slowly eroding away each year at the hands of the ultra-left. They have waged their campaign to remove any Christian related items from our society and I am sure before they are done they will want "In God We Trust" removed from all coinage.
You cannot teach about Christ in public schools, even though it is history. However they teach about Judaism as well the celebration of Kwanzaa, which did not even exist until 1966. I understand that Kwanzaa is neither religious or political when it as started but it has taken on a somewhat of a religious theme over the years. I do not begrudge the people who follow Judaism or celebrate any other festivals of any denomination much in the same way I would hope they would respect my right to say Merry Christmas, and I am sure that they do indeed respect our choices. It is the liberals who have no faith who choose to persecute, swearing up and down that the Bill of Rights the first amendment while forgetting that the same exact amendment gives us the fundamental right to practice our religion in any manner we choose.
If they choose to live their life without faith, that is their choice. However we will not stand by while they attempt to turn the United States in to 17th Century Europe or even the modern day Middle East.
They claim that we have turned Christmas in to a retail holiday rather then a day of remembering what being a Christian is all about. But the really ffunny thing about them is that while they attempt to stop our freedom of religion they will take the Christmas holiday off from work and they will be buying Christmas presents for all their friends and relatives and making sure they milk the time for all it is worth, all the while never letting the true spirit of Christmas in to their black hearts.
I have many friends and even relatives who do not celebrate Christmas for whatever reasons they might have. Some are Buddhist and others are Jehovah's Witness and none of them have ever asked me to not say Merry Christmas or boycott the school Christmas Pageant. Likewise I respect their religious choice and make sure that when I do greet them or send them a card it does not say Merry Christmas, but it also does not say Happy Holidays as they do not celebrate the holiday at all. Instead I send a generic card with a greeting that lets them know what they mean to me, in the true spirit of Christmas. I guess some people just don't get it though and will continue to try to impose their will on others.
You cannot teach about Christ in public schools, even though it is history. However they teach about Judaism as well the celebration of Kwanzaa, which did not even exist until 1966. I understand that Kwanzaa is neither religious or political when it as started but it has taken on a somewhat of a religious theme over the years. I do not begrudge the people who follow Judaism or celebrate any other festivals of any denomination much in the same way I would hope they would respect my right to say Merry Christmas, and I am sure that they do indeed respect our choices. It is the liberals who have no faith who choose to persecute, swearing up and down that the Bill of Rights the first amendment while forgetting that the same exact amendment gives us the fundamental right to practice our religion in any manner we choose.
If they choose to live their life without faith, that is their choice. However we will not stand by while they attempt to turn the United States in to 17th Century Europe or even the modern day Middle East.
They claim that we have turned Christmas in to a retail holiday rather then a day of remembering what being a Christian is all about. But the really ffunny thing about them is that while they attempt to stop our freedom of religion they will take the Christmas holiday off from work and they will be buying Christmas presents for all their friends and relatives and making sure they milk the time for all it is worth, all the while never letting the true spirit of Christmas in to their black hearts.
I have many friends and even relatives who do not celebrate Christmas for whatever reasons they might have. Some are Buddhist and others are Jehovah's Witness and none of them have ever asked me to not say Merry Christmas or boycott the school Christmas Pageant. Likewise I respect their religious choice and make sure that when I do greet them or send them a card it does not say Merry Christmas, but it also does not say Happy Holidays as they do not celebrate the holiday at all. Instead I send a generic card with a greeting that lets them know what they mean to me, in the true spirit of Christmas. I guess some people just don't get it though and will continue to try to impose their will on others.
Merry Christmas
Man it is COLD out today. My back feels like someone is beating on it with a hammer and my leg and foot are done. The oxy is barley touching it today and even adding darvocet every 6 hours is not helping. I would have to say that this has been one of the worst pain days in some time including before the pain meds. It sucks, but at the same time I feel pretty good. We did go out for a few minutes to grab some diapers and the leg was bothering me in the store but since it was a short trip I did not mind. I just pushed the cart to steady myself and plow through the crowd of people who waited until today to buy presents. Who shops for gifts at CVS?
Since my son is spending the weekend with my parents we opened up our gifts this morning rather then lugging them all the way across the city. We got him an MP3 player and a boom box for his room as he is really in to music. He also got a ton of gift cards for music downloads, so we let him download enough songs to fill the MP3 player and Sunday we will grab the memory card to expand it. The memory card slot surprised me as it was not mentioned on the box. Turned out to be a good thing because we filled the player up quickly. He is only 11 so we did not think he would need a 20GB Ipod so we bought him a 128MB Phillips. He thought it was the neatest thing he got so my wife and I are happy. He also got some books on HTML and Java Script as he has been tinkering around with it and then some art supplies as he loves to draw (and he is pretty good at it). My sister lives a few blocks from my parents so she is picking up my son and taking him to see Polar Express and then we will head down there tomorrow in the late morning, which means I get to sleep in late!!!
For the baby we got him all wooden toys from Gummy Lump but for the first time in about a year he has a cold and has been very cranky. He took a long nap today and did not even get up until 2pm and then he fell asleep in my wife's lap at about 5:30pm. Oops, my wife just came downstairs with him, so it looks like he is back up.
My wife and I bought each other our gifts a few months back when a local store was going out of business so we only got gifts from the boys. She got the new Spyro which she was upstairs playing and I got Ghost Recon II (both for the PS2). The boys also bought me some new slippers and sleep pants from Old Navy so I can lounge around the house.
Since my son is spending the weekend with my parents we opened up our gifts this morning rather then lugging them all the way across the city. We got him an MP3 player and a boom box for his room as he is really in to music. He also got a ton of gift cards for music downloads, so we let him download enough songs to fill the MP3 player and Sunday we will grab the memory card to expand it. The memory card slot surprised me as it was not mentioned on the box. Turned out to be a good thing because we filled the player up quickly. He is only 11 so we did not think he would need a 20GB Ipod so we bought him a 128MB Phillips. He thought it was the neatest thing he got so my wife and I are happy. He also got some books on HTML and Java Script as he has been tinkering around with it and then some art supplies as he loves to draw (and he is pretty good at it). My sister lives a few blocks from my parents so she is picking up my son and taking him to see Polar Express and then we will head down there tomorrow in the late morning, which means I get to sleep in late!!!
For the baby we got him all wooden toys from Gummy Lump but for the first time in about a year he has a cold and has been very cranky. He took a long nap today and did not even get up until 2pm and then he fell asleep in my wife's lap at about 5:30pm. Oops, my wife just came downstairs with him, so it looks like he is back up.
My wife and I bought each other our gifts a few months back when a local store was going out of business so we only got gifts from the boys. She got the new Spyro which she was upstairs playing and I got Ghost Recon II (both for the PS2). The boys also bought me some new slippers and sleep pants from Old Navy so I can lounge around the house.
12/23/2004
Rest In Peace
Well, it is that time of the year when many people forget about anything other then what is in that big box for them under the tree. They will reflect on how great the year has been to them, the amount of money they socked away in their 401K and then they will start to dread that looming day of April 15th.
What they won't do is remember that in some hell hole half a world a way there are people who would love to be home worrying about April 15th instead of mortar attacks, IED's and suicide bombers. The men and women that make up our military and those of the coalition troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It matters not what your thoughts on the war are, whether it is illegal or if it violates international laws. What does matter is that these men and women are sacrificing so much for people they have never even met, all so that those people might have a chance at a better life.
They will not think of all those men and women who will not be coming home for the holidays. They will instead sip their eggnog and tear in to the packages resting under the tree, they will go from house to house and collect this years take and they they will crawl in to bed around midnight thinking about the great day they had. Never across their mind will the soldiers, sailors, marines or airmen cross.
It does not take much to think of them and hold them in your heart and not knowing them is not a reason to forget them.
So for just a moment, it does not have to be Christmas or any particular day, but just for a moment remember them. You don't have to be religious to reflect for a moment and you don't have to say a prayer, just quiet reflection.
Coalition casualties in Iraq
Coalition casualties in Afghanistan.
What they won't do is remember that in some hell hole half a world a way there are people who would love to be home worrying about April 15th instead of mortar attacks, IED's and suicide bombers. The men and women that make up our military and those of the coalition troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It matters not what your thoughts on the war are, whether it is illegal or if it violates international laws. What does matter is that these men and women are sacrificing so much for people they have never even met, all so that those people might have a chance at a better life.
They will not think of all those men and women who will not be coming home for the holidays. They will instead sip their eggnog and tear in to the packages resting under the tree, they will go from house to house and collect this years take and they they will crawl in to bed around midnight thinking about the great day they had. Never across their mind will the soldiers, sailors, marines or airmen cross.
It does not take much to think of them and hold them in your heart and not knowing them is not a reason to forget them.
So for just a moment, it does not have to be Christmas or any particular day, but just for a moment remember them. You don't have to be religious to reflect for a moment and you don't have to say a prayer, just quiet reflection.
Coalition casualties in Iraq
Coalition casualties in Afghanistan.
Four hour nap?
I finally got some much needed sleep during a four hour nap this afternoon. I fell asleep in the recliner when my wife put the baby down for a nap and woke up to the smell of pizza and the sound of screaming kids. Not sure why I am so tired but i'm glad that my wife let me grab some Z's this afternoon.
It is still freezing out side, actually it is well below freezing as we sit at 3 below zero with a 7 below wind chill. Meanwhile the rest of the country is getting 15 inches of snow, so much for the white Christmas in the plains. Of course with the cold weather comes the pain, which has not let up even with the oxy and darvocet. Looks like I am just going to have to sit this one out for the next few days as it look like we are going to hit 50 on Sunday.
With the pizza for dinner we threw in Dodgeball which is pretty funny if you remember that it was not made to win an oscar, or any other award for that matter. The cast has been in so many other funny movies especially Office Space which happens to be one of the funniest movies ever made.
It is still freezing out side, actually it is well below freezing as we sit at 3 below zero with a 7 below wind chill. Meanwhile the rest of the country is getting 15 inches of snow, so much for the white Christmas in the plains. Of course with the cold weather comes the pain, which has not let up even with the oxy and darvocet. Looks like I am just going to have to sit this one out for the next few days as it look like we are going to hit 50 on Sunday.
With the pizza for dinner we threw in Dodgeball which is pretty funny if you remember that it was not made to win an oscar, or any other award for that matter. The cast has been in so many other funny movies especially Office Space which happens to be one of the funniest movies ever made.
It is FREEZING outside today. I had an appointment at 0830 and about froze my ass off on the ride over. Since someone has to be with the boys I had to drive myself over which means I could not take my meds until I got back. By the time I was done I felt like crap and was at a good 8. Top it off with I had to stand and wait as there was no seating left when I got there. The back was burning and my leg was throbbing and when they finally called me in I could not sit down because it hurt so badly. It was a quick appointment, maybe 10 minutes, but the wait just sucked. Driving home was no fun either and I could not wait to get inside and take my meds as the pain was bad enough but I could feel myself trembling. I don't know if it was the freezing cold or the extra 2 hours I had to wait to take the meds.
I am in now and going to rack out for a bit. Since my wife is off for three days and there is no hurry to do anything I am going to relax for until Sunday.
I am in now and going to rack out for a bit. Since my wife is off for three days and there is no hurry to do anything I am going to relax for until Sunday.
12/22/2004
Whew!
Getting this moved over was for some reason more of a pain in the butt then it should have been and I still cannot figure out why the blog.html file was so jacked or why I could not just re-publish that alone and fix it. I tried deleting and then republishing and in the end I just deleted the whole directory, re-created it and republished to it using my own FTP.
Christmas is upon us!!! Looks like the snow will miss us which bites as I was really looking forward to a white Christmas. It will still be nice without it, but we have not had one in many years and thought it would be cool for all the kids.
Shopping for an 11 year old is a pain in the butt. Especially when they make a list with items we would not buy for anyone. We explained to our oldest that while Saint Nicholas existed but that Santa Claus is not real and that all the presents come from us. It was not about ruining Christmas or anything like that it is about the spirit of Christmas and what we as Catholics believe. The true spirit of Christmas is not the load of presents under the tree or getting everything on your list but spending time with your family and giving of yourself, not receiving. Christmas in our house has always been extra special as my fathers birthday is Christmas day and we are reminded of Christ who was born on Christmas day and how he gave freely of himself for others.
The pain level has been fairly high for being on the meds but it is from the osteoarthritis as our high temps for the last 24 hours was I think 15F(-9) and it looks like the high for the rest of the week is about the same. My leg feels good though and the numbness has been minimal for the last day which is always nice as trying to walk on ice with it is difficult. I am waiting for the doctor to approve my handicap placard and I told him if he does I would prefer the temp one just for the winter/cold months. We get a ton of ice here and when we are out my walking across an uncleared parking lot can lead to disaster. I don't know how a broken rod or screw feels and if I am lucky I will never know. I am also getting more sleep then I have been but it is not restful sleep, if that makes sense. It seems like I am up and down to go to the bathroom often or I just wake up and cannot get back to sleep for a bit. In an 8 hour night I might sleep for 5 hours or so.
One thing different this year is the back TV room is warmer. It was an addition to the house and whoever built it did a poor job. We had a strong draft in here last year and the temp was a good 10 degrees lower then the rest of the house. They only installed 2 vents which happen to be on the outer wall above windows so they are almost worthless, the windows are the bare minimum to qualify IMHO. Last year they developed ice on the inside as did the sliding glass doors. My dad came out a bit back and helped me insulate around the doors. When we pulled the molding off there was a 2" gap all the way around the door and header that had NOTHING in it. We stuffed it full of insulation and it has helped immensely. While it is still cooler back here the draft is gone and the temp difference is only 2-3 degrees. He also pulled off some of the switchplates and found that they too had nothing to insulate them. He and my mom spent 12 year renovating a house that is 160 years old so they learned a ton of stuff about how poorly people will do a job or worse how many corners they cut for the sake of saving a few dollars. Our back room is also over the old root cellar (my house is about 100-110 years old) and while there is a vent in the room to prevent the lines from freezing over, there is no isulation above it which is the floor to this room. I am going to grab some R-19 or so and roll it in and then cover that with some cello-tex as well as stuff some insulation in a few of the crawl spaces we found behind the old coal furnace.
Christmas is upon us!!! Looks like the snow will miss us which bites as I was really looking forward to a white Christmas. It will still be nice without it, but we have not had one in many years and thought it would be cool for all the kids.
Shopping for an 11 year old is a pain in the butt. Especially when they make a list with items we would not buy for anyone. We explained to our oldest that while Saint Nicholas existed but that Santa Claus is not real and that all the presents come from us. It was not about ruining Christmas or anything like that it is about the spirit of Christmas and what we as Catholics believe. The true spirit of Christmas is not the load of presents under the tree or getting everything on your list but spending time with your family and giving of yourself, not receiving. Christmas in our house has always been extra special as my fathers birthday is Christmas day and we are reminded of Christ who was born on Christmas day and how he gave freely of himself for others.
The pain level has been fairly high for being on the meds but it is from the osteoarthritis as our high temps for the last 24 hours was I think 15F(-9) and it looks like the high for the rest of the week is about the same. My leg feels good though and the numbness has been minimal for the last day which is always nice as trying to walk on ice with it is difficult. I am waiting for the doctor to approve my handicap placard and I told him if he does I would prefer the temp one just for the winter/cold months. We get a ton of ice here and when we are out my walking across an uncleared parking lot can lead to disaster. I don't know how a broken rod or screw feels and if I am lucky I will never know. I am also getting more sleep then I have been but it is not restful sleep, if that makes sense. It seems like I am up and down to go to the bathroom often or I just wake up and cannot get back to sleep for a bit. In an 8 hour night I might sleep for 5 hours or so.
One thing different this year is the back TV room is warmer. It was an addition to the house and whoever built it did a poor job. We had a strong draft in here last year and the temp was a good 10 degrees lower then the rest of the house. They only installed 2 vents which happen to be on the outer wall above windows so they are almost worthless, the windows are the bare minimum to qualify IMHO. Last year they developed ice on the inside as did the sliding glass doors. My dad came out a bit back and helped me insulate around the doors. When we pulled the molding off there was a 2" gap all the way around the door and header that had NOTHING in it. We stuffed it full of insulation and it has helped immensely. While it is still cooler back here the draft is gone and the temp difference is only 2-3 degrees. He also pulled off some of the switchplates and found that they too had nothing to insulate them. He and my mom spent 12 year renovating a house that is 160 years old so they learned a ton of stuff about how poorly people will do a job or worse how many corners they cut for the sake of saving a few dollars. Our back room is also over the old root cellar (my house is about 100-110 years old) and while there is a vent in the room to prevent the lines from freezing over, there is no isulation above it which is the floor to this room. I am going to grab some R-19 or so and roll it in and then cover that with some cello-tex as well as stuff some insulation in a few of the crawl spaces we found behind the old coal furnace.
Looks like it is fixed...
Well, it looks like I got the problem fixed and all seems to be working right now. If you notice any dead links please let me know.
I tried...
Well I moved all the files to my own server and for about 10 minutes they worked. Not exactly sure why but out of the blue the main page was all out of whack. I am working on it and removed all the files from my server and will try to FTP them again in a bit.
We are experiencing technical difficulties
Not sure exactly what happened when I republished the blog but the format is a bit out of whack and nothing I do seems to fix it. I will have to work on it some more in a while when I am not ready to kick the computer.
12/21/2004
Automated Systems For Drugs Examined
Yahoo! News - Automated Systems For Drugs Examined
This is an interesting piece as it does not go into any detail as to what the hospitals have implemented in the way of oversight for the systems. While computers are a great tool they should not be relied on solely to administer medications. I would expect that they had some human interaction to double check the dosage that the computer administers, not just for an overdose but for an short dose as well.
It is bad enough having to be in the hospital for any reason. One should not have to worry about whether they will be receiving the proper dose of medication from a human let alone a computer. This is just not acceptable and nothing will be done unless we put our foot down and insist that we receive the best attention and care, after all we are entitled to it.
225K+ people die due to medical neglect each year in the U.S.
Top this all off with hospitals that do not report in a timely fashion the accidental deaths of their patients to the proper authority. You hear about hospitals afraid of law suits and the rising cost of malpractice insurance but we do not see the doctors and hospitals doing anything to prevent malpractice or lawsuits. In fact they seem to be more complacent then ever and accidental injuries and deaths are out of control in our countries healthcare system. How many times have you heard about someone having the wrong limb amputated? Once? Twice? I bet more then that and even one is unacceptable because this can be prevented with a simple $1 worth of YES/NO stickers like my surgeon used. If doctors want to reduce their malpractice insurance and the rate of lawsuits then it is time for them to earn those 6 figure paychecks and do their jobs correctly.
By Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer
Computer systems designed to prevent medication errors in hospitals can actually contribute to mistakes, according to a new report.
As more hospitals have implemented automated systems for administering drugs, the number of errors associated with them has risen, according to an annual report on medication errors released yesterday by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), a nonprofit group that sets standards for the drug industry.
"It would seem logical that applying computer technology to the medication use process would have a significant positive impact in preventing medication errors," said Diane Cousins, vice president of USP's Center for the Advancement of Patient Safety. "Yet, depending on the computer's design or user competence, new points of potential errors can emerge."
The findings should help hospitals that have adopted the systems find ways to reduce errors, and those considering such systems to implement them more safely, Cousins said. As the technology matures, the number of errors is likely to decrease and the technology should eventually make hospital care overall safer, she said.
Many hospitals have been adopting computerized systems for administering drugs to patients in an attempt to reduce errors, especially since a landmark 1999 Institute of Medicine (news - web sites) report estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 hospitalized Americans die each year from medical errors of all kinds.
USP has been collecting medication error data from hospitals on a voluntary basis for the past five years. In the latest data, 570 hospitals and other kinds of health care facilities reported 235,159 medication errors that occurred in 2003. Of those, about 20 percent -- or about 43,000 -- involved some kind of automated drug administration system. The group did not have a comparable number from previous reports because it added new categories for computerized medication systems this year, but there was a clear trend of these types of errors increasing, Cousins said.
Errors occurred in all phases of using the systems, including entering incorrect or incomplete information such as patient names, drug doses or lab test results.
The mistakes that occur as a result of these systems tend, however, to be about half as likely to harm patients, the group found.
"What we hope this data will do is identify things that can be designed into the system or designed out of the system," Cousins said.
For example, the data show that many errors occur as a result of the user becoming interrupted or distracted. That suggests the system should be situated in a quiet place where the user can concentrate.
"It shouldn't be in the middle of the patient care unit. There should be an area designated for this -- a quiet area where this can be done in peace," Cousins said.
Other experts said they were not surprised by the findings.
"Technology offers great opportunity to reduce errors, but it's not a panacea," said Kenneth Kizer, who heads the National Quality Forum, a private Washington-based organization trying to improve the quality of health care. "You can't just throw a computerized system in and expect that everything's fixed. It has to be done right. The technology is only as good as the people who use it."
This is an interesting piece as it does not go into any detail as to what the hospitals have implemented in the way of oversight for the systems. While computers are a great tool they should not be relied on solely to administer medications. I would expect that they had some human interaction to double check the dosage that the computer administers, not just for an overdose but for an short dose as well.
It is bad enough having to be in the hospital for any reason. One should not have to worry about whether they will be receiving the proper dose of medication from a human let alone a computer. This is just not acceptable and nothing will be done unless we put our foot down and insist that we receive the best attention and care, after all we are entitled to it.
225K+ people die due to medical neglect each year in the U.S.
Top this all off with hospitals that do not report in a timely fashion the accidental deaths of their patients to the proper authority. You hear about hospitals afraid of law suits and the rising cost of malpractice insurance but we do not see the doctors and hospitals doing anything to prevent malpractice or lawsuits. In fact they seem to be more complacent then ever and accidental injuries and deaths are out of control in our countries healthcare system. How many times have you heard about someone having the wrong limb amputated? Once? Twice? I bet more then that and even one is unacceptable because this can be prevented with a simple $1 worth of YES/NO stickers like my surgeon used. If doctors want to reduce their malpractice insurance and the rate of lawsuits then it is time for them to earn those 6 figure paychecks and do their jobs correctly.
A prescription for safer healthcare
OUR OPINION: WE NEED A NATIONAL REGISTRY ON MEDICAL ERRORS
Hospitals and medical-care providers can do a better job of protecting patients and avoiding injuries during hospital stays. One would be hard pressed not to draw this conclusion, as we did, from reading data in a recent study of healthcare quality in the nation's hospitals.
The report is sobering. It concludes that at least 32,600 patients die each year as a result of avoidable medical errors. We hope that the report spurs hospitals and medical providers not to react defensively, but to rethink patient safety and support calls for a nationwide, mandatory reporting system for medical errors. Only by collecting such data will health officials get a firm grasp of many causes of the hospital errors that kill and injure patients.
Wrong-leg amputation
The fatality estimate by doctors from Johns Hopkins University and the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality actually is lower than earlier reports on patient injuries and deaths while under care. Previous estimates placed the number of deaths at between 44,000 to 98,000. But those studies used much smaller samples than the current study, which used a database of 7.45 million hospital discharges. Thus, the Johns Hopkins study is a more-accurate assessment of errors.
Errors can result from a multitude of causes, including administering an incorrect dosage of medication, improper transfusions, surgical mix-ups, mistaken identity, accidental falls, post-operative infections and so forth. For example, one Florida doctor recently amputated the wrong leg of a patient, and another gave an adolescent a fatal dose of medication. None of the medical errors are intentional, and only rarely are they the result of recklessness or negligence. Most, in fact, are caused by faulty systems and processes that cause caregivers to make mistakes or prevent them from catching an error. The doctor who amputated the wrong leg, for example, had been given the information of a different patient.
Malpractice suits
Understandably, doctors and hospitals have grave concerns about reporting such data beyond existing requirements by the state and individual hospitals. They fear that a large database on errors could be used in liability or malpractice lawsuits. That's a valid point.
Since the important thing is to detect and prevent unsafe patterns and behaviors, information about specific doctors and hospitals should be confidential in a national database.
The goal is to identify errors and learn from them. With a national database on these errors, caregivers can develop better procedures, tools and safety protocols for eliminating errors.
No one is immune from making mistakes. But lawmakers and caregivers should do everything in their power to reduce the possibility of harmful errors to patients.
Accidental death in San Francisco
REDWOOD CITY -- After it took administrators at the San Mateo Medical Center a week to inform county leaders of a patient's accidental death in August, a proposed county ordinance would require all major medical errors to be reported to the highest levels of county government within hours of the incident.
Mark Church, president of the Board of Supervisors, proposed an ordinance Wednesday that would mandate public health employees to immediately report any major accidents to their superiors, who must notify the county's top administrator within 24 hours.
The new law is intended to protect employees who report medical errors from retaliation by superiors, but stops short of requiring a victim's family or the public to be notified of the accident.
"We want to create a work environment that promotes the reporting of medical errors, not one that creates fear of reprisals," Church said. "We're not interested in placing blame, but in making sure the same mistakes don't happen again."
On Aug. 11, doctors at the San Mateo Medical Center realized a 41-year-old cancer patient had been given a lethal overdose of a chemotherapy drug. The patient died Aug. 16.
Though hospital staff promptly reported the error to officials, no mention of the incident was made to the county manager, hospital board or supervisors until Aug. 20.
Controversy arose after media reports revealed the hospital did not notify the county coroner of the death and the body was cremated before an autopsy could be performed.
The coroner only learned of the incident after Church announced it in a public meeting. Some in the medical community who feared it would intimidate doctors from admitting their mistakes in the future criticized the move.
Under state law, major errors at any licensed hospital must be reported to the state Department of Health Services for an investigation, but there are no legal requirements that anyone else know about it, including the family of the victim or the public.
Though the proposed ordinance does not explicitly require the county manager to notify the Board of Supervisors of any major incidents at the hospital, Church said that was his intent.
Until Then
This is a flash video that I have seen several times and will not grow tired of any time soon. It is not an easy one to watch because every time I do it makes me want to be with my brothers all that much more. I feel that I could do so much more then I have been able to do and if I could be with my brothers and sisters, I would be there in a heartbeat.
Whether or not you agree with the reasons we are in Iraq or Afghanistan we must always support our troops. They do not get to choose when and where they go, they only follow orders. Many of them will come home, some will not and many will be changed forever.
I am not the author of this and do not know who is but I have seen it all over the web. Please turn on your speakers and watch. Please pray for the men and women of the coalition serving in OIF/OEF.
Until Then
Whether or not you agree with the reasons we are in Iraq or Afghanistan we must always support our troops. They do not get to choose when and where they go, they only follow orders. Many of them will come home, some will not and many will be changed forever.
I am not the author of this and do not know who is but I have seen it all over the web. Please turn on your speakers and watch. Please pray for the men and women of the coalition serving in OIF/OEF.
Until Then
Happy Birthday
Today is my youngest's second birthday. It is hard to believe it has been 2 years already! He is growing like a weed and every day is a new adventure as well as some new words. It is truly amzing watching them grow from a tiny helpless being in to a walking, talking toddler. He is a great kid and loves his big brother dearly. Anytime my older son is around he is climbing all over him and rough housing.
We did not do much today as we had his birthday dinner the other night. Actually we did not do much of anything at all except a quick trip to the store and then to school to pick up my son and and his friend. They are now out of school for the next 2 weeks so we have tons planned to keep them busy.
We did not do much today as we had his birthday dinner the other night. Actually we did not do much of anything at all except a quick trip to the store and then to school to pick up my son and and his friend. They are now out of school for the next 2 weeks so we have tons planned to keep them busy.
12/20/2004
Boston.com / Your Life / Health & Fitness / Diseases & Treatments / FDA issues caution for naproxen painkiller
Boston.com / Your Life / Health & Fitness / Diseases & Treatments / FDA issues caution for naproxen painkiller
So let's add yet another drug that I am on to the list of ones that have recently had warning issued by the F.D.A.
about the drugs possible link to heart trouble.
So let's add yet another drug that I am on to the list of ones that have recently had warning issued by the F.D.A.
about the drugs possible link to heart trouble.
Drugs are bad for you...
For the first time in a few weeks I was dog tired but did not go to sleep. I was too busy working on the new domain and getting some more .info domains that I lost track of time. Before I realized it my wife was home from work and it was 2am.
I want to spend some more time today getting some things for the new site and organizing. When it is done I would like to have close to 75 pages on the site with each individual issue having its own space so it can be discussed more in depth and with links to external sites with more info. I am working on the organization chart this morning and trying to make sure that the site will flow smoothly. Nothing worse then hitting a site that is difficult to navigate because the layout is awkward or even non-existent.
My back is bothering me this morning and is about a 4 right now. I am sure this is a mix of yesterdays chasing the boys around, getting to bed super late and the fact it is freezing outside. It is supposed to warm up to about 30 today but that is also the high temp for the week according to the weatherman. Looks like it might be a good week to keep the heating pad out. My foot is slightly numb but not as bad as the other day but the beginning of a migraine is here so looks like a good day for Relpax.
I did an "experiment" over the last few days and avoided as much caffeine as possible. I did not have any coffee for 5 days and I do not drink soda with caffeine in it and during this time I did not have any headaches. Yesterday I decided to have a few cups of coffee to see what would happen and this morning like I said the headache is coming. I will have to do this again though to make sure it is not just a coincidence. I would sure hate to give up my coffee in the morning as well I just bought 10lbs of my favorite beans last month.
One thing I have had to deal with through my journey with arachnoiditis is my parents. They have always been there for me and have encouraged me to be myself and they are obviously concerned with my diagnoses of arachnoiditis & spondylolisthesis. I know that when I spent the week in the hospital my parents were there everyday at least twice a day. However when ever I am around them and it is time for the meds I watch as they cringe when I take them. It goes back to my grandfather (My paternal grandfather) who died due to his dependence on drugs. He had been in a car accident in the 60's and injured badly so they had him on narcotic pain killers, most likely morphine from what I gather, but he became addicted to them and long after his need for them he was still taking them. In the early 70's he had been admitted to the hospital for I believe a detox program and one day he slipped and when he fell his skull splintered and pierced his brain killing him. I have never had the whole story told to me in one sitting or from the same person but I do know from my mother that his death was blamed on his dependence for narcotics. What my parents have told me is that they have a concern over the meds I am on and I know it stems from their experience with my grandfather. The problem I have had is getting them to understand that his dependence and my need for the pain meds are 2 different things. He only needed them short term. My need for them outweighs addiction as well I am under the constant care of a doctor who monitors my meds with me. I know it is because they care but they are part of America that needs to learn and understand more about chronic pain and its management. Without these meds I would sit in a chair for most likely the rest of my life. That would lead to a lot of things, including reduced life expectancy due to the underlying medical conditions it would create such as depression and obesity.
Anyway, they are good intentioned and I think I am slowly making progress with them. Some people have said that I should just leave the room when I have to take my meds but I see that as denying what is going on in my life. It would also do no good because then it makes it appear that you have something to hide and are sneaking off for your "fix."
I feel like taking a nap but I need to get some things done and I have gone on longer then I expected.
I want to spend some more time today getting some things for the new site and organizing. When it is done I would like to have close to 75 pages on the site with each individual issue having its own space so it can be discussed more in depth and with links to external sites with more info. I am working on the organization chart this morning and trying to make sure that the site will flow smoothly. Nothing worse then hitting a site that is difficult to navigate because the layout is awkward or even non-existent.
My back is bothering me this morning and is about a 4 right now. I am sure this is a mix of yesterdays chasing the boys around, getting to bed super late and the fact it is freezing outside. It is supposed to warm up to about 30 today but that is also the high temp for the week according to the weatherman. Looks like it might be a good week to keep the heating pad out. My foot is slightly numb but not as bad as the other day but the beginning of a migraine is here so looks like a good day for Relpax.
I did an "experiment" over the last few days and avoided as much caffeine as possible. I did not have any coffee for 5 days and I do not drink soda with caffeine in it and during this time I did not have any headaches. Yesterday I decided to have a few cups of coffee to see what would happen and this morning like I said the headache is coming. I will have to do this again though to make sure it is not just a coincidence. I would sure hate to give up my coffee in the morning as well I just bought 10lbs of my favorite beans last month.
One thing I have had to deal with through my journey with arachnoiditis is my parents. They have always been there for me and have encouraged me to be myself and they are obviously concerned with my diagnoses of arachnoiditis & spondylolisthesis. I know that when I spent the week in the hospital my parents were there everyday at least twice a day. However when ever I am around them and it is time for the meds I watch as they cringe when I take them. It goes back to my grandfather (My paternal grandfather) who died due to his dependence on drugs. He had been in a car accident in the 60's and injured badly so they had him on narcotic pain killers, most likely morphine from what I gather, but he became addicted to them and long after his need for them he was still taking them. In the early 70's he had been admitted to the hospital for I believe a detox program and one day he slipped and when he fell his skull splintered and pierced his brain killing him. I have never had the whole story told to me in one sitting or from the same person but I do know from my mother that his death was blamed on his dependence for narcotics. What my parents have told me is that they have a concern over the meds I am on and I know it stems from their experience with my grandfather. The problem I have had is getting them to understand that his dependence and my need for the pain meds are 2 different things. He only needed them short term. My need for them outweighs addiction as well I am under the constant care of a doctor who monitors my meds with me. I know it is because they care but they are part of America that needs to learn and understand more about chronic pain and its management. Without these meds I would sit in a chair for most likely the rest of my life. That would lead to a lot of things, including reduced life expectancy due to the underlying medical conditions it would create such as depression and obesity.
Anyway, they are good intentioned and I think I am slowly making progress with them. Some people have said that I should just leave the room when I have to take my meds but I see that as denying what is going on in my life. It would also do no good because then it makes it appear that you have something to hide and are sneaking off for your "fix."
I feel like taking a nap but I need to get some things done and I have gone on longer then I expected.
New URL
Well I spent a few minutes tidying up the space and even threw some very basic stuff up so that if you just navigate to ihavearachnoiditis.info you can navigate to the blog from there. I would really like to turn the site in to something of use so if you have anything you would like to see on it or if you would like to contribute to it, please let me know.
12/19/2004
Changing URL's
I figured since I own the domain and the space I might as well start using it. I will continue to post here for a bit more but I think after the holidays I will post strictly on my own URL which can be found at ihavearachnoiditis.info I think have the top level domain name with arachnoiditis in it we will get better exposure to people looking for information.
What the hell was I thinking?
Running around after the boys all day and the 10F weather has the osteoarthiritis working overtime. My lower back is quite stiff but not painful just yet. Hopefully a spell on the heating pad will aid in fighting it off until the morning.
Right now on TLC they have a show called extreme surgery and they are working on patients with scoliosis. It is interesting to watch because while the symptoms are different the method used during surgery is very similar to what I had done. I do fell bad for the patients though as they are kids going through multi-level fusion with instrumentation. I had one level done and was in a lot of pain afterwards. I can only imagine how these poor kids cope with it.
I remember about 3 or 4 months after my surgery we were out eating and I noticed the girl with her back to me had a scar very similar to mine. I did not want to be intrusive but somehow we ended up talking to the mom (I think she said something about how cute out our son is) and that led to the daughter and the scar. She was a scoliosis patient and was only 4 week post op. While I was out and about at 4 weeks I do not think I was as spry as that girl was.
I have noticed the restless leg syndrome more often as well as the "bugs" crawling on me and the itching in general, all seem to be symptoms of the arachnoiditis. As well there is some memory issues like I was telling a friend earlier. I have a difficult time remembering things all of the sudden. Simple things like conversations or where I put something. While this is something most people would say "well yea?" for me it is new. I am one of those people who keeps things organized and in the same place. Like my keys for instance. Before we had the key hooks my keys, wallet and watch all went in my hat. Since I always have a hat on outside (ballcap usually) when I head out I just grab the hat and go. Now I have trouble remembering where I put the hat with everything inside of it.
It seems that the closer we get to achieving a better quality of life through pain management the further we get with some of the associated side effects of the arachnoiditis. Not a big deal really as they are all minor symptoms, it is when they all happen at once that I am screwed. Like today I tried to catch a quick nap but as soon as I reclined the chair and shut my eyes the leg started kicking out and the itching started and when that stopped the bugs started crawling. I did finally conk out and get a quick 45 minutes in, but it was perfect. I felt rested when I got up and was able to finish the day out with the boys.
I also found a picture we took of my x-rays after my surgery 2 years ago. It is funny to look at it and see the hardware and know that it is your back and not some picture out of a textbook or another website. I will post it on the blog here in a few minutes.
Right now on TLC they have a show called extreme surgery and they are working on patients with scoliosis. It is interesting to watch because while the symptoms are different the method used during surgery is very similar to what I had done. I do fell bad for the patients though as they are kids going through multi-level fusion with instrumentation. I had one level done and was in a lot of pain afterwards. I can only imagine how these poor kids cope with it.
I remember about 3 or 4 months after my surgery we were out eating and I noticed the girl with her back to me had a scar very similar to mine. I did not want to be intrusive but somehow we ended up talking to the mom (I think she said something about how cute out our son is) and that led to the daughter and the scar. She was a scoliosis patient and was only 4 week post op. While I was out and about at 4 weeks I do not think I was as spry as that girl was.
I have noticed the restless leg syndrome more often as well as the "bugs" crawling on me and the itching in general, all seem to be symptoms of the arachnoiditis. As well there is some memory issues like I was telling a friend earlier. I have a difficult time remembering things all of the sudden. Simple things like conversations or where I put something. While this is something most people would say "well yea?" for me it is new. I am one of those people who keeps things organized and in the same place. Like my keys for instance. Before we had the key hooks my keys, wallet and watch all went in my hat. Since I always have a hat on outside (ballcap usually) when I head out I just grab the hat and go. Now I have trouble remembering where I put the hat with everything inside of it.
It seems that the closer we get to achieving a better quality of life through pain management the further we get with some of the associated side effects of the arachnoiditis. Not a big deal really as they are all minor symptoms, it is when they all happen at once that I am screwed. Like today I tried to catch a quick nap but as soon as I reclined the chair and shut my eyes the leg started kicking out and the itching started and when that stopped the bugs started crawling. I did finally conk out and get a quick 45 minutes in, but it was perfect. I felt rested when I got up and was able to finish the day out with the boys.
I also found a picture we took of my x-rays after my surgery 2 years ago. It is funny to look at it and see the hardware and know that it is your back and not some picture out of a textbook or another website. I will post it on the blog here in a few minutes.
What the F#$@ is wrong with people?
My son spent Friday night at his friends house from school (they go to Catholic school). Since we live on the border of two states some of the kids live across the river in the other state like his friend does. Not a big deal but when I spoke with the boys mom to arrange this (they called and asked us about it) we agreed they would bring the boys to my house at about 15:00. That time got changes several times during the course of Saturday and when I finally called them at 21:00 and told them to bring them over now they still did not show up until about an hour later.
Now if this had been the plan from the start it would not have been a big deal. However, I cancelled my plans so I could be here when they were to come over at 15:00 and ended up spending the whole day wondering where the heck they were. When I called to tell them to hurry up I was so frustrated it was not even funny. Being that this is my sons friend I do not want to give the kids parents a reason to say they can no longer play together but I was ready to rip in to someone about this. I know the mom is ill but 1-so am I and 2-they initiated the weekend by asking if my son could stay. I guess I expected more from a family that would think enough of their child to send him to a private school. Looks like I was WAY WRONG!
They finally dropped the boys off and I got them set up with the air mattress and the small TV for them to play X-box on. I also went out earlier in the day and got them some snack food and rootbeer (real rootbeer is naturally caffeine free) and some baked Lays. I told them to play until they were tired but no later then midnight and took the baby and went to bed myself.
They played fine today and while my son did screw up a bit overall there were no problems. Mom said she was going to do some Christmas shopping today and she would be here about 15:00 to pick up her son. Any guess on how that went???
About 14:45 I got a call saying they were on their way home from the city and that they needed to stop off at home first and then would be over. It is about an hour home from the city to my house which is 15 minutes from theirs. I figured about 2 hours and they would be here. Well about 17:30 I had to start getting dinner for my sons and myself (the Mrs had to work today) but the friend is still here. I make breakfast for dinner and decide that I should feed everyone just in case. I get everybody feed and dinner all cleaned up when they finally showed up at about 18:15 or so to pick him up.
Now, I want my son to continue to play with the friend but these parents (maybe it is just mom???) are not making a great first impression. I know my wife is not happy about it at all and she was not even here for the whole thing, so she must be really pissed to have it affect her like that. I figure what I will have to do is either explain to them next time that when we agree on a time I mean that time, not hours later. The other option is I do all the driving (which is not happening). I am a stickler for schedules and do not like being yanked around. While they were out having a good time both days, I was stuck at home wondering WTF is going on. I could have gone out and finished the shopping that I wanted to do. Arrrrggh!
Maybe it is me an my anal retentive ways about schedules?
Now if this had been the plan from the start it would not have been a big deal. However, I cancelled my plans so I could be here when they were to come over at 15:00 and ended up spending the whole day wondering where the heck they were. When I called to tell them to hurry up I was so frustrated it was not even funny. Being that this is my sons friend I do not want to give the kids parents a reason to say they can no longer play together but I was ready to rip in to someone about this. I know the mom is ill but 1-so am I and 2-they initiated the weekend by asking if my son could stay. I guess I expected more from a family that would think enough of their child to send him to a private school. Looks like I was WAY WRONG!
They finally dropped the boys off and I got them set up with the air mattress and the small TV for them to play X-box on. I also went out earlier in the day and got them some snack food and rootbeer (real rootbeer is naturally caffeine free) and some baked Lays. I told them to play until they were tired but no later then midnight and took the baby and went to bed myself.
They played fine today and while my son did screw up a bit overall there were no problems. Mom said she was going to do some Christmas shopping today and she would be here about 15:00 to pick up her son. Any guess on how that went???
About 14:45 I got a call saying they were on their way home from the city and that they needed to stop off at home first and then would be over. It is about an hour home from the city to my house which is 15 minutes from theirs. I figured about 2 hours and they would be here. Well about 17:30 I had to start getting dinner for my sons and myself (the Mrs had to work today) but the friend is still here. I make breakfast for dinner and decide that I should feed everyone just in case. I get everybody feed and dinner all cleaned up when they finally showed up at about 18:15 or so to pick him up.
Now, I want my son to continue to play with the friend but these parents (maybe it is just mom???) are not making a great first impression. I know my wife is not happy about it at all and she was not even here for the whole thing, so she must be really pissed to have it affect her like that. I figure what I will have to do is either explain to them next time that when we agree on a time I mean that time, not hours later. The other option is I do all the driving (which is not happening). I am a stickler for schedules and do not like being yanked around. While they were out having a good time both days, I was stuck at home wondering WTF is going on. I could have gone out and finished the shopping that I wanted to do. Arrrrggh!
Maybe it is me an my anal retentive ways about schedules?
12/18/2004
Mo. Woman Charged With Kidnapping, Murder
Yahoo! News - Mo. Woman Charged With Kidnapping, Murder
This is so sad. What could possibly be going through someone's mind that they would do something like this? I am however glad that they found the baby and it has been returned to the father. The people involved in this brutal crime deserve nothing less then the death penalty but no matter what they get they have destroyed a family and their Christmas holiday which should be a time of family and caring about each other will never be the same.
This is so sad. What could possibly be going through someone's mind that they would do something like this? I am however glad that they found the baby and it has been returned to the father. The people involved in this brutal crime deserve nothing less then the death penalty but no matter what they get they have destroyed a family and their Christmas holiday which should be a time of family and caring about each other will never be the same.
Well I got out this morning and put the garland on the front porch and the banister in the house and then got the lights on the porch as well. We then finished wrapping all the boys presents and got them under the tree. It finally is starting to look a little like Christmas and all we need is some snow, which is what I here we are supposed to be getting for Christmas.
The back is fairly sore today and I am dog tired, still! Not sure why it hurts other then maybe the cold front that is moving through. The temp dropped and the wind picked up and is now shaking the house. You can hear it creaking, which keeps reminding me of my back. Ouch! I feel good other then the back and while it is painful it is not stopping me from doing stuff today.
My son spent the night at his friends house and tonight his friend is going to stay here, so I ran to the grocery store to grab some munchies for them and stuff to make breakfast with. The store finally has center cut bacon which is much tastier and better for you then what the normal cut. I figured I would make some Belgian waffles, eggs, bacon and some hot cocoa. I have not made waffles in awhile so it will be a change of pace.
The back is fairly sore today and I am dog tired, still! Not sure why it hurts other then maybe the cold front that is moving through. The temp dropped and the wind picked up and is now shaking the house. You can hear it creaking, which keeps reminding me of my back. Ouch! I feel good other then the back and while it is painful it is not stopping me from doing stuff today.
My son spent the night at his friends house and tonight his friend is going to stay here, so I ran to the grocery store to grab some munchies for them and stuff to make breakfast with. The store finally has center cut bacon which is much tastier and better for you then what the normal cut. I figured I would make some Belgian waffles, eggs, bacon and some hot cocoa. I have not made waffles in awhile so it will be a change of pace.
It's Saturday!
I finally feel asleep about 01:30 and was up with the baby at 07:00. I do not mind only getting a short amount of sleep as I feel fine when I get up. After many years in the Army I was used to not getting much sleep, especially when in Garrison. I was stationed at Fort Irwin and married but the wait for housing back in the late 80's early 90's was very long. In the meantime I took quarters on the Marine Corps Logistic Base in Barstow, which was a good 40 miles from post (yes, this was the closest town). If PT formation was at 06:15 I had to leave the house by 04:45 to make sure I got to post on time to get over to the barracks and check on my soldiers. Final formation was usually about 17:30 but then the platoon sergeant or 1SG would have a "quick" NCO meeting that lasted until whenever. If I was lucky I would get home about 19:30 or so for dinner. It was a hard 6 years at Irwin but I would not trade them for anything else that I can think of. The people I spent that time with are some of the greatest men I have ever known. When I got out of the Army I got lucky that one of my former fellow soldiers and Company XO had left the Army and settled in the same town I did. It is hard to believe that I have known this guy for almost 16 years. Sometimes it is hard to believe that had I stayed I would be able to retire in less then 3 years from now.
The pain this morning is a good 6 but thanks to the meds it is dropping slowly but surely but the left foot is still totally numb and my left calf is starting to burn. The pain might be because I could not remember if I took the oxy last night and so I took the darvocet and tried to sleep. Normally I would have just dumped the bottle out and counted them but with the baby running around I did not feel it was a good idea. By the time I got him in bed and sleeping it was pretty late (yes, I spoil him by letting him hang out with daddy) and if I took it then it would throw off the whole schedule and I would be taking it at funky hours. I hate doing it that way because then I would have to get up at 03:00 or so to pop pills and then it is tough getting back to sleep. When I was in the hospital I would say that it was the most annoying part of my stay. You finally get to sleep, hard to do in the neuro ward, and they come in to wake you up and ask you how you feel. Arrrgh!
I thought about looking in to one of those Craftmatic Adjustable Beds to see if it might help me out. When I am napping in the recliner or on the end of the couch which also reclines, I seem to be in minimal pain when I wake up compared to sleeping in bed. I have even tried to prop myself up with pillow below my knees but after a while it is not comfortable and the lack of blood to the feet makes them hurt even more. My only concern would be that both side need to be adjustable. While sleeping in a "sitting" position would help me, I don't think my wife would enjoy it very much.
I am not sure exactly what time the oldest will be home as they are going to drive him so it is tough to say when we might head out for the store. I am hoping they are here before 11:00 o we can eat before we head out. My guess is that with only one week left until Christmas the stores are going to be a zoo. Couple that with the mall we are going to is in a town where they have been out for Christmas break since Thursday.
The pain this morning is a good 6 but thanks to the meds it is dropping slowly but surely but the left foot is still totally numb and my left calf is starting to burn. The pain might be because I could not remember if I took the oxy last night and so I took the darvocet and tried to sleep. Normally I would have just dumped the bottle out and counted them but with the baby running around I did not feel it was a good idea. By the time I got him in bed and sleeping it was pretty late (yes, I spoil him by letting him hang out with daddy) and if I took it then it would throw off the whole schedule and I would be taking it at funky hours. I hate doing it that way because then I would have to get up at 03:00 or so to pop pills and then it is tough getting back to sleep. When I was in the hospital I would say that it was the most annoying part of my stay. You finally get to sleep, hard to do in the neuro ward, and they come in to wake you up and ask you how you feel. Arrrgh!
I thought about looking in to one of those Craftmatic Adjustable Beds to see if it might help me out. When I am napping in the recliner or on the end of the couch which also reclines, I seem to be in minimal pain when I wake up compared to sleeping in bed. I have even tried to prop myself up with pillow below my knees but after a while it is not comfortable and the lack of blood to the feet makes them hurt even more. My only concern would be that both side need to be adjustable. While sleeping in a "sitting" position would help me, I don't think my wife would enjoy it very much.
I am not sure exactly what time the oldest will be home as they are going to drive him so it is tough to say when we might head out for the store. I am hoping they are here before 11:00 o we can eat before we head out. My guess is that with only one week left until Christmas the stores are going to be a zoo. Couple that with the mall we are going to is in a town where they have been out for Christmas break since Thursday.
12/17/2004
Not much going on today. The oldest is at a sleep over and my wife is at work so it is just the baby and I.
Last nights birthday dinner was nice. My family is a freaking riot to hang around and the night is usually spent ragging on someone about something we did when we were kids or the last time we were all together. Since we all live within an hour of each other we see each other pretty often.
The baby got some cool toys and books. We got him some stuff from gummylump and my mom & dad got him some things from a similar company. The got him these really neat music set with tambourine and cymbals and about 6 other instruments. It was a nice set too, not one of these cheesy $5.99 Wal-Mart specials that would get broken the second day.
We spent most of today just lounging around the house. I built another shelf in the rec room for all the boys games. They were in the map table but the baby was getting in there and pulling them all apart. I think I need to build one more for the toys and then the last one for all the DVD's so he will stay out of them as well. Putting up the shelf today was a pain in the butt though. I could not get it centered on the wall and I did not want to put in dry wall anchors or anything like that as when the shelf is full I was afraid it might tear out of the wall. It is not off center by much and if I put something on the bigger end I think it will be fine. The last thing to do will be to paint the room.
The boys also got some presents in the mail today so I think tomorrow we will head out and hit the store as they got a lot of gift certificates. The oldest wants the new Nintendo DS. He has the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance but you know kids, they want the newest thing. The nice thing is they are backwards compatible so all the old games work on the newer ones. This time though he has enough in gift cards, so if he wants it he is buying it himself.
For the baby we went out this afternoon and got some of his stuff. He loves Elmo, who I CANNOT STAND, so he got yet another Elmo that makes noise. This one sings and dances but he got a bigger kick out of the fact that it has a level of some sort in it and if in the middle of the dance it goes off balance it says, "whoops!" He sat there doing that for about an hour and was laughing his butt off. When a toddler laughs it is contagious, so pretty soon he had me cracking up at him laughing at the doll.
Anyway, the pain today was ok but by about an hour or so before it was time for the next dose the pain was starting to come back. I know that time release is supposed to be constant but I am curious as to for exactly how long. The numbness in my foot is back today and it feels like it has been asleep all day. Annoying more then anything as it makes it difficult to judge when my foot is on the ground when walking. When it gets bad enough and we are out I grab a cart to walk with but I try to not go out if I do not have too. Good thing my car is an automatic because pushing the clutch could prove to be a bitch and a half.
Last nights birthday dinner was nice. My family is a freaking riot to hang around and the night is usually spent ragging on someone about something we did when we were kids or the last time we were all together. Since we all live within an hour of each other we see each other pretty often.
The baby got some cool toys and books. We got him some stuff from gummylump and my mom & dad got him some things from a similar company. The got him these really neat music set with tambourine and cymbals and about 6 other instruments. It was a nice set too, not one of these cheesy $5.99 Wal-Mart specials that would get broken the second day.
We spent most of today just lounging around the house. I built another shelf in the rec room for all the boys games. They were in the map table but the baby was getting in there and pulling them all apart. I think I need to build one more for the toys and then the last one for all the DVD's so he will stay out of them as well. Putting up the shelf today was a pain in the butt though. I could not get it centered on the wall and I did not want to put in dry wall anchors or anything like that as when the shelf is full I was afraid it might tear out of the wall. It is not off center by much and if I put something on the bigger end I think it will be fine. The last thing to do will be to paint the room.
The boys also got some presents in the mail today so I think tomorrow we will head out and hit the store as they got a lot of gift certificates. The oldest wants the new Nintendo DS. He has the Game Boy Color and the Game Boy Advance but you know kids, they want the newest thing. The nice thing is they are backwards compatible so all the old games work on the newer ones. This time though he has enough in gift cards, so if he wants it he is buying it himself.
For the baby we went out this afternoon and got some of his stuff. He loves Elmo, who I CANNOT STAND, so he got yet another Elmo that makes noise. This one sings and dances but he got a bigger kick out of the fact that it has a level of some sort in it and if in the middle of the dance it goes off balance it says, "whoops!" He sat there doing that for about an hour and was laughing his butt off. When a toddler laughs it is contagious, so pretty soon he had me cracking up at him laughing at the doll.
Anyway, the pain today was ok but by about an hour or so before it was time for the next dose the pain was starting to come back. I know that time release is supposed to be constant but I am curious as to for exactly how long. The numbness in my foot is back today and it feels like it has been asleep all day. Annoying more then anything as it makes it difficult to judge when my foot is on the ground when walking. When it gets bad enough and we are out I grab a cart to walk with but I try to not go out if I do not have too. Good thing my car is an automatic because pushing the clutch could prove to be a bitch and a half.
12/16/2004
Saw the doctor and the doctor said...
No more Monkey's jumping on the bed!
I saw the Doc this morning and she was pleased to here that the route we chose to go has so far been a good one. We talked about breakthrough and she said that I could take the darvocet when needed since I have it already. We also talked about the headaches that I was getting and how they seemed to have gone away. I thought it might be the NSAID I am taking in conjunction with everything else but she mentioned that Elavil, which I am on, is something they do use for migraines and her thoughts were that it is doing most of the work there. Which ever it is I do not care as long as it keeps doing it!!!
She did not approve the disabled placard yet. She said she had some reservations about it as I do not meet all the criteria but she does understand my concerns of the midwest winters. She is going to discuss it with the head doctor in the office and see what he thinks. While it would be a good thing for me to have in the winter I do not want them to do something that can cause them some trouble down the road.
Tonight we are having a Birthday dinner for my youngest son. He will be 2 on the 21st but everyone's schedules are pretty hectic that day so we are doing it tonight. My parents live fairly central to all of us so they let us do these things at their house. Nothing big, my brother and sister and their families then us. My brother and sister each have a 2 year old as well so I am really looking forward to the holidays this year.
I saw the Doc this morning and she was pleased to here that the route we chose to go has so far been a good one. We talked about breakthrough and she said that I could take the darvocet when needed since I have it already. We also talked about the headaches that I was getting and how they seemed to have gone away. I thought it might be the NSAID I am taking in conjunction with everything else but she mentioned that Elavil, which I am on, is something they do use for migraines and her thoughts were that it is doing most of the work there. Which ever it is I do not care as long as it keeps doing it!!!
She did not approve the disabled placard yet. She said she had some reservations about it as I do not meet all the criteria but she does understand my concerns of the midwest winters. She is going to discuss it with the head doctor in the office and see what he thinks. While it would be a good thing for me to have in the winter I do not want them to do something that can cause them some trouble down the road.
Tonight we are having a Birthday dinner for my youngest son. He will be 2 on the 21st but everyone's schedules are pretty hectic that day so we are doing it tonight. My parents live fairly central to all of us so they let us do these things at their house. Nothing big, my brother and sister and their families then us. My brother and sister each have a 2 year old as well so I am really looking forward to the holidays this year.
12/15/2004
I am not sure why but the pain this evening sucks. The knot in the small of my back is still there and I took the max dose of robaxin hoping it was just a muscle, but I would have thought it would be working by now and it is not. I took the oxy about 9 hours ago which means I have 3 hours to go before I can take it again. I am hoping they will give me something tomorrow for the breakthrough on days like this. I mean not even my recliner is comfortable right now and that sucks.
I spent the evening burning some CD's for my wife, a total of twelve of the suckers. I also downloaded a template for Word that will allow you to make a jewel case insert. It works ok but it is designed for the old style jewel cases not the new slim ones. I just cut out the pieces I needed and tossed the rest. It took me about an hour or so because I just used the desk top. I should have brought the laptop in there and the used the other desktop and I would have been done in about 20 minutes. We have 3 burners and I just used one. I could have had 3 going at a time...Oh well, lesson learned.
I spent the evening burning some CD's for my wife, a total of twelve of the suckers. I also downloaded a template for Word that will allow you to make a jewel case insert. It works ok but it is designed for the old style jewel cases not the new slim ones. I just cut out the pieces I needed and tossed the rest. It took me about an hour or so because I just used the desk top. I should have brought the laptop in there and the used the other desktop and I would have been done in about 20 minutes. We have 3 burners and I just used one. I could have had 3 going at a time...Oh well, lesson learned.
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