I took some oxycodon and tried to be patient. But I was afraid that something bad was happening in my spine. So Chris took a shower, then called the insurance company and we spoke with a nurse that triaged my symptoms. She recommended that I see a doctor. Since I could not get out of bed, Chris called 911 and they sent an ambulance. But first the fire department showed up and took my vital signs.
Then the Hemi showed up. But the stretcher would not fit in the bedroom, so they had it just inside the front door. I tried to get up but could not, so they rolled me onto a sheet and carried me to the stretcher. Yes, it hurt, but since the oxycodone had kicked in, the spasms weren't as bad as I feared. They put me on the stretcher , covered me with blankets because I was in my nightgown and it was raining. And rolled it to the ambulance, and slid me into it. I had a bad moment there. A man took my blood pressure again. We chatted all the way to the hospital. The ride wasn't too bumpy and he warned me each time. I had a white-knuckled hand on each side rail.
When we got to the hospital, he rolled me inside and we waited by a desk until the lady could tell us which room to go to. Then the two men rolled me there, and used the sheet to convey me to the hospital bed. It hurt more than the first time. There were two nurses, one male and one female, that took my vitals again, and tagged me. He asked a few questions and entered them in the computer. Then they left. After a while, a lady came to push me to the MRI room. Then I had to scoot myself from the bed to the MRI table. Luckily she was in no hurry. It took three passes of pictures of me. Then I had to scoot myself back to the hospital bed. I felt a little better afterward and wondered if I had pushed something back into place by accident.
When we got back to my room, Chris was sitting there. She left me with him. I passed the time by watching the monitor. It took my blood pressure every 15 minutes. It went down to 103 over 59 during the course of my stay.
A doctor came in finally. He wasn't Dr. Bombay 'cause he didn't come right away. He asked questions about my history and what the pain felt like and he examined my scar. He said the MRI did not show anything major, just the beginnings of arthritis and some degeneration. He said there was probably a micro tear in a disk and stuff was bulging out of it just a little. He discussed what mix of prescriptions I wanted. I did not want the steroid pack, so he ordered a steroid shot instead, plus one for pain and valium as a muscle relaxer. I asked him if I was staying overnight and he said I would be taken to the car in a wheelchair, although he could order an ambulance if I preferred. Then he left. Chris went home to get some street clothes for me.
Waiting... and watching the monitor.... and finally a woman came in. She had three shots for me. She said she was the best shot-giver in the hospital. She pinched some skin in my derriere and the first two shots were done before I had time to react. But then came the Vallium shot. It took longer and it stung for some time and left bruising on my skin. It hurt worse than my back, but then my back wasn't feeling as bad as before I took the oxycodone. She said she'd be back to check on me and thought I would be walking out of the hospital. Wow, such positivity here. More than I could imagine.
More waiting and hoping the shots would create the miracle she promised. The doctor came back with a prescription sheet for Percoset, Naprosyn and Skelaxin. We had a nice chat about keto diets, and the value of fat in food, and fasting and all sorts of health stuff. He recommended I read a book called The Back Mechanic, which could prevent me from having this happen again. He said only 48 hours of bedrest was helpful and after that one should get up and move around. He said he understood about the spasms, but I didn't get the feeling that he quite got that the spasms are dangerous because they can set back healing for days. He thought only the pain part was relevant and no damage occurred. H
e insisted that I get into a sitting position. It was quite painful. He raised the head of the bed to help me. Then I had to swing my legs over the edge. He did not understand how painful that was. But he did not leave until I was sitting on the edge of the bed, with a death grip on the mattress to support my back.
After he left, Chris helped me get dressed and move to the wheelchair. A man came to push me to the checkout station and we had to wait. If I had realized all the sitting that was involved, I would have asked for an ambulance. Chris said he thought I should have stayed overnight. But, as tiring as it was, I waited in the chair. There was more sitting time as a lady figured out which forms we needed. Chris signed them because I was still using my hands to support my upper body weight. Then a lady wheeled me out to the entrance as Chris went to get the car. I had a few bad moments getting into the car from the chair.
But then we went to Rite Aid to fill the prescriptions. Sadly the pharmacy was closed. I told Chris I just wanted to go home. So we did. He parked the car and brought out a rolling desk chair. I maneuvered onto it and he pushed me to the front door. There was a chair inside the door so I only had to walk a few feet before sitting down again. Then he put the chair away and helped me to the bathroom. I wanted to go lay down, so he helped me there and then he went out to another pharmacy. Three people were texting me, so I laid there and texted back. Then Chris returned, saying that pharmacy was closed as well.
He made me a bowl of hot soup. Then he helped me get to the dining room table to eat it. I walked back and forth a few times, gingerly. I took today's supplements. Then I sat down to post to my blog, looking forward to going back to bed, and hoping I would be able to get up in the morning.
* Chris took this pic of me just as the paramedics were taking me out. *
P.S.
I just remembered a few other things the doctor said. A- the valium may cause short term memory loss so Chris shouldn't be concerned if I don't remember a conversation we had under the influence. B - Stretching the spine is a bad idea. It will only take so many stretches before something breaks. Yoga is good for the rest of the body, but don't do the spinal stretches.
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