Fadedwords

It has been good being home, minus two small things. One I will write about and the other I won’t.

I managed to score an appointment with one of the PAs at the orthopedic surgeon’s office. This is a lovely fringe benefit of having my mother work there. My back problems are ever continuing, and I thought it might be a good idea to have someone take a gander at it. I was poked and prodded and x-rayed. The x-rays came back normal, which I expected. They only show something when my back has gone fully out. The PA ordered an MRI though; given my symptoms she was concerned about a disc issue.

I went that same day for the MRI. There were several reasons this procedure sucked. First off, I was expecting an open MRI. I did not get that. I am horribly claustrophobic, and being shoved into a narrow tube head first and having to lay there for nearly 40 minutes was totally not OK with me. Second, I wasn’t aware before this, but it really frigging hurts to lay on my back. Not so much in my back, but in my right leg. I knew before this that I had radiculopathy (pain that radiates!), but I was not aware that laying on my back would incite such horrific pain. I wanted to gnaw off my leg after about 5 minutes. By the time the tech came back in I was near tears. It was burning, searing, awful pain. To top it off, I also have paresthesia in my leg from it too. It’s loads of fun. These are symptoms that have existed since I first hurt my back, but I just got names for them Thursday. I like names for things.

I won’t have the results until Monday at the earliest. I’m still experiencing some serious discomfort, and I’m fully expecting my back to go out completely at some point. A day spent traveling isn’t going to help matters. My radiculopathy is really acting up. (I like that word… sue me). My Mom, Dad, and even the MRI tech are under the impression I have a herniated disc in my back, which is 100% on my list of things to never do… so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s something else entirely.

Radiculopathy is ridiculous. So is having back problems at age 26. Three cheers for my last job where I hurt myself.

My plane will leave Albany International at 11ish. I will then fly for an hour to D.C. where I will wait for two hours for my plane to Raleigh. I spend more time waiting for planes than actually flying on them. It will be very good to be home. I have missed Jake and Merlin immensely.