You spent two hours at Beacon Orthopedics and have to pick up some meds, physical training to set up and an injection in the second lumbar region.
Late lunch at Olive Garden, you both had salad and lasagna. Presently mid-afternoon and you are at Kroger on Tylersville picking up a steroid pack for your lower back.
Lots of sunshine, another really warm and pleasant day with the trees coloring daily, a good mix of cool nights, warm days and lots of rain recently. Tomorrow we are heading down our yearly Fall trip along the Ohio River (heading east) past the locks and President Grant’s birthplace out to Ripley and beyond.
More errands. Carol just left the car at Pine Hill for her walk. You being tired out from those test exercises in the doctor’s office politely declined.
Dr. Ian Rodway and his personal assistant, Julie Homan, both whom I had in class at Mason, as well as Julie’s husband, Jeff. I saw Dr. Tim Kremchek, my former student from Indian Hill, from a distance but he was quickly gone before I could go down and say hello. Anyway, this is Dr. Rodway’s diagnosis: Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: neurogenic claudication: radiculopathy. Treatment: physical therapy; epidural steroid injections. Surgery: liminectomy.
The one good thing about the diagnosis is Ian said my legs should hurt when I walk which they do so the pain is not psychosomatic. He did ask if I ever walk differently than I do and I said sometimes I have shuffled like my cousin and Ian said he (cousin David) must have Parkinson’s which he does. Strange question and it bothers me a little in that my fingers twitch and/or slightly shake from time to time, as do my legs and feet. When I had my brain scan a couple of years ago the neurologist said I have occipital neuralgia, not quite what my Grandfather O. had (Tic dauloureux/Trigeminal Neuralgia – considered one of the most horrific pains known to medicine). The poor man suffered terribly until they cut the nerve and he no longer had feeling in at least half his face.
Local news has been on for a while and you are just getting home for the first time today, where you can sit down and relax.
After going over all this physical stuff I actually don’t feel so bad. I have no real complaints as most of this can be taken care of with a hot bath. No surgery for me, unless it is warranted, which it isn’t. I will try the physical therapy, take the meds, and do this epidural injection once. Otherwise I plan to let it go until I am in some really intense and consistent pain, which I am not. In fact, all this for the little pain I have once in a while is somewhat embarrassing. Growing up, when having pain, you were supposed to suck it up, that’s the way I remember it.
Boy, sometimes you have a mind while other times you don’t have a brain in your head, figuratively speaking. No wonder Carol has such a time putting up with you. Post. – Amorella.
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Thank you Steve Jobs for allowing me to write on your most wonderful computers from the Apple II on through my MacBook Air. You will be sorely missed.
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