Tomorrow I start the new year by driving down to Nebraska to visit a friend from pain rehab. The trip is gonna take 7+ hours, which I am really not looking forward to. At least I get to use my mom's awesome car.
Wish me luck!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
It's Christmas Eve...And A String of Bad Luck
It's Christmas Eve, and is the general deal for holidays with my family, the bad luck has begun.
It started with the stranding of my little brother's most wanted gift. He loves legos, and my mom had ordered him a Lego Harry Potter set, #4840, The Burrow (The Weasley's Home). That gift has been in Newark, NJ for three days, even though my mom had 2 day shipping. My little brother is devastated.
My bad luck started this afternoon. I was walking back to my parents' bedroom to check on my brother and sister, who are watching a Star Wars marathon, and I stepped wrong, dislocating my big toe. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal, but the pain was so much more intense than usual. I currently have a lidocaine patch wrapped around it, covered in gauze and taped on, and an ice pack over top.
Then, as I was making lunch, I dropped a plate, that shattered all over the floor. As I was cleaning the mess up, I got glass slivers in my feet.
I hope Christmas is better!
It started with the stranding of my little brother's most wanted gift. He loves legos, and my mom had ordered him a Lego Harry Potter set, #4840, The Burrow (The Weasley's Home). That gift has been in Newark, NJ for three days, even though my mom had 2 day shipping. My little brother is devastated.
My bad luck started this afternoon. I was walking back to my parents' bedroom to check on my brother and sister, who are watching a Star Wars marathon, and I stepped wrong, dislocating my big toe. Normally this wouldn't be a huge deal, but the pain was so much more intense than usual. I currently have a lidocaine patch wrapped around it, covered in gauze and taped on, and an ice pack over top.
Then, as I was making lunch, I dropped a plate, that shattered all over the floor. As I was cleaning the mess up, I got glass slivers in my feet.
I hope Christmas is better!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Birthday Party Called on Account of... Blizzard?!
Last week I turned the big 22. Normally I wouldn't make much of a fuss about it, but being as I'm living in an apartment with my awesome friend/roommate (totally a no-no, but so far we're coexisting very well) I decided that I could throw myself a party. So I hop on the Facebook, and set up an event. Put in all the details, invite everyone I want. People start responding, lots of maybes, a couple for sure. Then comes the day....
And the biggest friggin' blizzard in almost 20 years hits!
Just my luck.
The storm was so bad that MNDOT pulled all the plows OFF the roads!
And so the party was cancelled. This was in the top 5 of my list of crappy birthdays, and the second official time my birthday has been snowed out. Normally I don't whine about presents, I always get a few, it's not so huge of a deal to me, but I only got two this year. One from my roommate, and another from a friend of ours. Sad, indeed. Either way, makes for an interesting story. Hope everyone is well!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sick again, oh joy!
Wednesday my roommate, myself, and a friend of ours went to the Mall of America. We had a pretty good time, then went to Old Country Buffet for dinner. I went to bed content.
Thursday morning I wake up early to work on a project, and upon waking, I realize I have a sore throat and no voice. Emailed my professor that I couldn't do my speech, then went back to bed. I slept on and off for a good 36 hours.
Friday I missed class, slept more. That night I was feeling super crappy, so I went to my parents' house for the weekend. I was running a fever, totally out of it, with a laundry list of symptoms.
This morning I went to the doc. Verdict? Sinus infection. Since I've only been sick two days, he said it was probably viral, then gave me a list of over the counter crap to take. So far I haven't slept in almost 24 hours due to the fever hot/cold issue, plus my arthritis acting up on top of it all. I'm hoping this goes away soon :/ I'm already super behind on schoolwork, I don't need to get any further behind!
Also, in my previous post I linked to some wishlists. Don't worry, I'm not soliciting anything from anyone, I just thought it'd be fun to put them up, thinking maybe a friend would surprise me with something. Sorry if I offended anyone!
Thursday morning I wake up early to work on a project, and upon waking, I realize I have a sore throat and no voice. Emailed my professor that I couldn't do my speech, then went back to bed. I slept on and off for a good 36 hours.
Friday I missed class, slept more. That night I was feeling super crappy, so I went to my parents' house for the weekend. I was running a fever, totally out of it, with a laundry list of symptoms.
This morning I went to the doc. Verdict? Sinus infection. Since I've only been sick two days, he said it was probably viral, then gave me a list of over the counter crap to take. So far I haven't slept in almost 24 hours due to the fever hot/cold issue, plus my arthritis acting up on top of it all. I'm hoping this goes away soon :/ I'm already super behind on schoolwork, I don't need to get any further behind!
Also, in my previous post I linked to some wishlists. Don't worry, I'm not soliciting anything from anyone, I just thought it'd be fun to put them up, thinking maybe a friend would surprise me with something. Sorry if I offended anyone!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Record breaking low pressure system in the Midwest...Help!
I feel like I'm being ripped apart.
Since last night, the weather has been getting progressively worse. The temperature has dropped from near 70°F over the weekend, to 39°F this afternoon. It's raining with the occasional ice crystals. The wind is insane, and we are under a high wind warning until 7pm tomorrow. The lowest pressure point in this system is currently over Minnesota...Where I happen to reside. Crap.
I guess it's time to cuddle up under a pile of blankets and avoid the outdoors.
Oh, and if anyone is interested in enhancing my warm, comfort time, feel free to check out:
My ThinkGeek.com MN weather wishlist
And in case I don't post again before it, Happy Halloween :)
Since last night, the weather has been getting progressively worse. The temperature has dropped from near 70°F over the weekend, to 39°F this afternoon. It's raining with the occasional ice crystals. The wind is insane, and we are under a high wind warning until 7pm tomorrow. The lowest pressure point in this system is currently over Minnesota...Where I happen to reside. Crap.
I guess it's time to cuddle up under a pile of blankets and avoid the outdoors.
Oh, and if anyone is interested in enhancing my warm, comfort time, feel free to check out:
My ThinkGeek.com MN weather wishlist
And in case I don't post again before it, Happy Halloween :)
Thursday, August 12, 2010
An update on life, and how you can find friends in odd places - like pain rehab
Pain Rehab kicked my butt. It chewed me up, spit me out, and had me not quite sure which way was up...But I survived, and gained some things. Obviously I gained knowledge of how to deal with the pain. I gained strength from PT. The best part, however, was the fact that I gained a friend. She's 23, and basically me...With a few differences. It was so great just to have someone my age to talk to, who wholly understands the pain issues, and is also living with the same, and wanting some of the same things, mainly some semblance of normality. She doesn't live near here, but the wonders of the internet let me keep in contact with her, and for this I am grateful.
My first activity post-rehab was the Warped Tour. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it's a summer concert tour, of mostly rock, pop-rock, screamo, electronica, punk, and ska music. It's outdoors, and has upwards of 50 bands playing on about 6 different stages. I've been going every year since 2004. A friend of mine, who also went, told me she was glad that I came, because July was a very difficult month for me, and I needed something fun. Oh, and it was fun! Despite the 90+ degree weather, I met up with and hung out with friends, saw my little cousin enjoying her very first Warped Tour, and saw/heard some amazing bands. It really did start August on a high note.
August 3 I had surgery to remove the plate in my left leg. My surgeon, whom we'd begun to dislike following my first surgery after he took over for my previous surgeon, proved that his ego is more developed than his bedside manner. After beginning to backtrack on plans we'd made months prior about this surgery while I was in pre-surg, I knew this was going to suck. Post-op in the PACU, they could not get the pain under control. They started with Dilaudid, 5mg doses, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. They maxed me out, and I was still extremely uncomfortable. So, again, 5mg, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. When they finally got the pain under control, I had received a FULL GRAM of Dilaudid. Keep in mind that I am a 144 pound female with no history of drug use/abuse. My surgeon then didn't decide for several hours whether or not to admit me (it was supposed to be a same-day surgery, but it never is for me, because I have complications). When I finally was admitted, it was 6:30pm, and the hospital kitchen was CLOSED. I couldn't get anything more than a turkey sandwich, and when you haven't eaten since 12am, a sandwich isn't gonna cut it. Thankfully, me being a resourceful college student, who attended school in the area last year, I knew of a good order online Chinese/Cambodian place, and we got food from there. The rest of my stay in the hospital included talking with many of the nurses who remembered me from my previous surgeries, and getting increasingly angry with my surgeon. He doesn't know it, but at my 6week follow-up appointment. He's getting fired. If I ever have to see a doc at that hospital again, it will not be him.
Anyways, I'm still healing, and my body likes to shoot my temp up to 99° and sap my energy, so it's off to bed with me. Hope you're all well!
My first activity post-rehab was the Warped Tour. For those of you unfamiliar with this event, it's a summer concert tour, of mostly rock, pop-rock, screamo, electronica, punk, and ska music. It's outdoors, and has upwards of 50 bands playing on about 6 different stages. I've been going every year since 2004. A friend of mine, who also went, told me she was glad that I came, because July was a very difficult month for me, and I needed something fun. Oh, and it was fun! Despite the 90+ degree weather, I met up with and hung out with friends, saw my little cousin enjoying her very first Warped Tour, and saw/heard some amazing bands. It really did start August on a high note.
August 3 I had surgery to remove the plate in my left leg. My surgeon, whom we'd begun to dislike following my first surgery after he took over for my previous surgeon, proved that his ego is more developed than his bedside manner. After beginning to backtrack on plans we'd made months prior about this surgery while I was in pre-surg, I knew this was going to suck. Post-op in the PACU, they could not get the pain under control. They started with Dilaudid, 5mg doses, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. They maxed me out, and I was still extremely uncomfortable. So, again, 5mg, every 5 minutes, with a max of 500mg. When they finally got the pain under control, I had received a FULL GRAM of Dilaudid. Keep in mind that I am a 144 pound female with no history of drug use/abuse. My surgeon then didn't decide for several hours whether or not to admit me (it was supposed to be a same-day surgery, but it never is for me, because I have complications). When I finally was admitted, it was 6:30pm, and the hospital kitchen was CLOSED. I couldn't get anything more than a turkey sandwich, and when you haven't eaten since 12am, a sandwich isn't gonna cut it. Thankfully, me being a resourceful college student, who attended school in the area last year, I knew of a good order online Chinese/Cambodian place, and we got food from there. The rest of my stay in the hospital included talking with many of the nurses who remembered me from my previous surgeries, and getting increasingly angry with my surgeon. He doesn't know it, but at my 6week follow-up appointment. He's getting fired. If I ever have to see a doc at that hospital again, it will not be him.
Anyways, I'm still healing, and my body likes to shoot my temp up to 99° and sap my energy, so it's off to bed with me. Hope you're all well!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Mayo Clinic Pain Rehab Center 3 week program, Unofficial Day 3, Official First Day
Thursday
Day 1: Evaluation
Friday
Day 2: More eval, then testing the waters by going to group.
-Weekend spent at home-
Monday
Day 3 (Official Day 1): Day starts with team meeting. We set our goals for the day. After only 2 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, my goal for the day was to stay awake. Follow meeting by morning stretching. OT afterwards. At 10am I had my Biofeedback appointment, it went well. 11am was group again, the topic was okay. Lunch was at 12, had a pretty good time just sitting around talking with everyone. After lunch was group 2. After group 2 was group therapy. Last event of the day was hearing from some program graduates.
Honestly, so far, my favorite part of this program is being completely understood. Not having to explain everything. Being in a room full of people who know what I'm going through.
Still recovering from my crash, not 100%, but getting there.
Thank you all for your well wishes and support!
Day 1: Evaluation
Friday
Day 2: More eval, then testing the waters by going to group.
-Weekend spent at home-
Monday
Day 3 (Official Day 1): Day starts with team meeting. We set our goals for the day. After only 2 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, my goal for the day was to stay awake. Follow meeting by morning stretching. OT afterwards. At 10am I had my Biofeedback appointment, it went well. 11am was group again, the topic was okay. Lunch was at 12, had a pretty good time just sitting around talking with everyone. After lunch was group 2. After group 2 was group therapy. Last event of the day was hearing from some program graduates.
Honestly, so far, my favorite part of this program is being completely understood. Not having to explain everything. Being in a room full of people who know what I'm going through.
Still recovering from my crash, not 100%, but getting there.
Thank you all for your well wishes and support!
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