Saturday, December 22, 2007

Weakerthan (insert item here)

I'm going to see one of my favorite bands here in Winnipeg tonight.
They are known as The Weakerthans, and the happen to be local talent.
It's a good way to kick off Christmas week, although I only have a few days off...

Have a Merry Christmas everyone, and I'll write you after the big turkey feast.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

OUCH!!! Son of a .....

I went for my steroid injection today. I decided that if an injection was going to give me 3-6 months relief at a time, let's do it.

I arrived early to check in, and go put on my fashionable gown.
After a few minutes, the Doctor, his Fellow, 1 resident, and 1 nurse led me into the procedure room.
I was placed face down on an x-ray table, as placement is very precise during this injection.
They started with a little freezing. Everything was going o.k. After a few minutes, I told the Doctor that my left leg was starting to hurt.
His Fellow (a Doctor which has finished his residency, and is taking further education) stepped in to inset the stylet and the IV contrast to again check placement. At this point, my leg was slowly starting to hurt more and more.
He said "you'll feel a little pressure here." Boy, did I. It was such a different feeling, one that only a pregnant woman opting for an epidural or a person getting a spinal tap would appreciate.

After a few more pokes, prods, and episodes of "pressure", he looked at the attending Doctor.
He explained that they were having difficulty putting the contrast into the right space, as I had quite a bit of scar tissue around the "bad" vertebrae.
They took the time to set up two TV monitors beside me, where "I could watch what they were doing-for my viewing pleasure."
I could stand watching for a few minutes, but then the pain took over, and it took all I had not to roll onto my side into a comfortable position.
By the time this supposed 10 minute procedure was almost done, we were going on minute 50.
During one of the final shots, I told the Doctor I was feeling nauseated and very flushed.
The Doctor told me that was normal, what was happening was called a "vagal response" where too much stimulation of the Vagus nerve caused a brief moment of lowered blood pressure.
I know from Nursing experience that when inserting a suppository, or disimpacting somebody can give a person a similar response. Thankfully, they weren't anywhere near my ......area.
I went white as a sheet, and felt as if I had the flu. I sat around for a minute, drinking some water and making small talk, but to be honest, I don't remember much of what I was saying.
After I got my color back, I was led back into the office where I got dressed and went to go greet Ali. She said I was still pale. The Doctor said I was looking waaaay better.

So, here I sit four hours later, still a little stiff, and with a slight headache. The good news is, I get to see Butterbean tonight, and see if the bean has beans or no beans.

Overall, I say this was worth the pain. They now know where to go the first time next time, so no hour long procedure for me. I can only compare it to chewing on a mouthful of tin foil, while getting bitten by a dog. Good night.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

In need of a holiday

It seems that Ali and I are very swamped at work lately. I'd like to say that we're both busy due to the holiday rush, but I think it's just a build up of a lot of crap that just seems to hit the fan all at the same time.

The weekend can't come fast enough. Ali has her Christmas party this weekend, then it's my ward Christmas debacle, er, party the following weekend. This is the only time in my life I've seen a room full of professionals go crazy, doing shooters like it's last call, and drinking other various drinks form some questionable containers such as tube feed bags, and foley catheter bags....
Don't worry though, they're straight from the packages.

On Thursday evening, we're going to a private ultrasound clinic to look at Butterbean. I'm excited to see how he/she has grown since his/her first photograph at age 8 weeks.

I managed to get the TV of my dreams after all. My parents went to Bemidji Minnesota with my aunt and uncle for Black Friday.
I ended up getting a 46" LCD Sharp Aquos for the low low price of $999. That's no typo, I saved over $1000 by buying during the sale. After the baby is born, we'll introduce them to a great TV show called Nanalan. The puppets on there are hilarious, and the mailman is constantly flirting with the old granny, so there's some adult humor in it too. It's my second favorite kid's show....my favorite kid's show mentions me and a guy named Paul a lot. Take note Mike, maybe Chris and Paul can be a good influence for once? ;)

Wow, look at the time. It's almost 9 O'clock.....bedtime.