Black Friday

We like to spend Black Friday in Milwaukee's third ward.  There are no big mobs of crazy shoppers, no getting up in the middle of the night to get the deals, just a nice, leisurely walk through the downtown shops where they offer cookies, cakes and even mimosas to customers while they shop.  This year we started our venture with a bloody mary at the Wicked Hop.  We went through many awesome shops where we found deals on ornaments, kitchen wares, accessories, and other little trinkets.  We ended our trip with a stop at Milwaukee Cupcake where we got these. 

I took this photo because this year was very different.  Jeff got up before 5 and headed out.  I didn't know what he was up to but when he got home, he handed me a Canon Rebel EOS.  Wow, what a surprise!  He didn't want to wait until Christmas to give it to me, he preferred that I had some time to figure it out before the big Christmas holiday. So this is my first time trying it out.

My Back Pain - Spinal Injections

I scheduled the spinal injection for as soon as possible.  Waiting three weeks was difficult.  I was nervous about the whole thing but I wanted to feel better. We got to the hospital and checked in.  I was surprised when I didn't even need a hospital gown. I just laid on a table that has an x-ray machine over it and the doctor injected by back with some local anesthesia and threaded her needle into my spine as she watched the image from the x-ray machine.  It was done from start to finish in less than 10 minutes.  I sat in an exam room afterwards for 30 minutes to ensure there were no complication and then I was ready to go. 

It was lunch time so we went over to Sobelman's and had a Bloody Mary and a burger.  It felt good to do something normal after the stress of the unknown from this morning.  We went home and I relaxed for the rest of the day.  In the morning I could already tell the numbness was going away. I could now feel the top of my foot and only two of my toes were numb instead of all of them.  By the following week, I felt numbness free. 

Too bad it didn't last.  The one thing the doctor did explain is that it doesn't always work the first time.  It can take up to three injections to work. It lasted about two and a half weeks so I called immediately to schedule another one.  I worried about getting on the schedule and sure enough, I have to wait until November 9.  This time I was much more prepared, no fear, no worry, just ready to get it done. Luckily it did work this time.  No more going back for a while. It's too bad the running season is over.

Trip to San Diego

BJ had an extra ticket to the Packer game in San Diego.  And on a whim, I took him up on the offer to use it.  I booked a flight and found us a room for the weekend.  He had to work in SD the day I flew in so it worked out really well.  He picked me up from the airport after his workday was done. 
It was raining when I got there but the temperature was nicer than home.  As I sat in the airport, it was incredible to see flight after flight full of people wearing the Packer green and gold.  So many fans. BJ made plans with his co-workers to head to the Gaslamp district for the evening.  We stopped at a really good restaurant called Lou and Mickey's for a nice dinner then headed over to Whiskey Girl where the place was hopping.

Saturday morning we went for a drive and stopped at a roadside bazaar where I did some shopping.  The view of the ocean was incredible and the weather was perfect, high 60s and sunny.  We drove the coast for a long time.  Since we had no real plans I talked BJ into stopping at a Harley dealer where I bought myself a souvenir shirt.  Then we did the most amazing thing, we went to Quilt in a Day.  Yes, he took me to a quilt shop! And not just any quilt shop, Eleanor Burns' shop!  I was in heaven.  BJ was incredibly gracious about the whole thing and I think he even got a little interested when he noticed that her television studio was in the room next to the store.

After that, we drove back to the hotel all the while in view of the Pacific Ocean.  What a great city.  We got to the hotel in Oceanside in time to watch some college football and hang out in the local bar which was also on the water.  The views were fantastic no matter where we were. 
Sunday was the best day ever. Perfect weather and a parking lot filled with Packer fans.  Qualcomm was impressive but not pretty, not like Lambeau at all. This place was all cement and little character, where Lambeau was all history.

My Back Pain - Spine Specialist

I went to see the spinal specialist on September 20th.  She was everything I liked in a doctor.  She talked to me like I had half a brain and answered my very pointed questions.  She did say exactly what my primary doctor said, that considering the extent of the arthritis in my back, I could have injured it doing anything. She also could hardly believe that I had no pain or symptoms before the injury.  I explained to her that I like to run every day and that my doctor told me I might have to give it up.  The artiritis wasn't going to go away.  I confessed that I was still running every day but only a mile a day and that I really wanted to get back up to three miles a day.  I never asked permission to start running again, I just did it when I thought I could.  I asked her if it was OK, she said that since I had no arthritis pain before the injury, there was no reason not to expect to go back to running and to how I was before the injury.  Yay!

After the exam, the spinal specialist said that there are a few options: live with it, get a cortisone injection in my spine which would ease the swelling in the nerve surrounding the bulging disc, or have spinal surgery to remove the bulging disc.  She also asked me what I thought about the chiropractic visits and I explained my mixed emotions - how they made my pain bearable then disappear and I was grateful for that but did nothing for the numbness in my foot even though they acted like they could fix it. She told me not to go back.  She said she felt that chiropractors do have a place in medicine, but with the severe spondylosis in my back, every adjustment was making room for more growth of the arthritis.  I totally agreed. 

Jeff came with me to the visit. He asked me if I wanted to take some time to think about the options.  I asked the doctor, based on her experience with other cases just like mine, what would she suggest.  She said the cortisone injection was the best route, although it doesn't last forever, it can bring relief for a very long time.  I told her to set it up.  Jeff was surprised that I didn't want to think about it more.  I told them both that I researched it since I got the news from my primary doc and based on what I read, this seemed like the best idea.  I just needed a professional to look at my situation and agree.  And I really wanted to make the numbness go away.  It was painful to have a sheet over my toes when I slept at night.  I hope it works.

My Back Pain - MRI

The nice thing about having a primary care doctor who know me well is that I can call for things and get them without a special visit.  Once I placed the call to request an MRI, my doctor asked me a few questions about what was going on, then she authorized it and wrote up the paperwork.  The MRI was scheduled for September 9 and I was a little freaked out about all the stories I heard about the enclosed space and staying still for so long and how terribly noisy it was in the tube. I didn't care, my foot was numb and I was worried.

When I got to the MRI unit at St. Mary's Hospital, the staff was so nice.  They explained everything well about staying as still as possible.  They gave me headphones to wear which would cut down on the noise and they would pump music in through them (I even had a choice of what I wanted to listen to).  The headphones also served as a vehicle for the staff to communicate to me.  It still was a little freaky to see the headphones and the cords all wrapped in thick plastic tubing because of the pull of the magnet in the MRI unit.  The staff then handed me a panic button (again, wrapped in thick plastic) if I couldn't handle the enclosure.  They told me it would take an hour and we were ready to start. 

I laid there afraid to even breathe in our out.  After I  realized that it wasn't that noisy (yes, there was this constant hammering noise but it was so muffled it wasn't that loud) and the music was starting to sound soothing, I took a deep breath.  They didn't freak out or reprimand me for breathing so I really relaxed after that.  As the table I was on started to gently and slowly move into the machine, I closed my eyes.  It didn't seem terribly long until the technician spoke through the headphones to let me know I was halfway done.  I opened my eyes to see that I was all the way in the machine.  This was really no big deal. 

After I finished I got dressed and went home.  Surprisingly an hour and a half later, my doctor was calling with the results and they were not good.  She didn't want me to go all weekend without knowing.  I had artiritis in my back and apparently it has been there for many years.  It was severe and wide spread.  She explained that back in June, I could have lifted something simple, like a gallon of milk and my back could have popped. That's how back the artiritis was.  Anything could set it off.  She also said that I have a bulging disc between two of my vertebrae which was pinching the nerve in my back making my foot numb.  She gave me the name of a spine specialist and said I should call right away.

Miller Park Front Row

We had tickets to the Brewers game in Section 119, Row 1, Seats 3 and 4.  What an incredible spot to see a game! Too bad the Brewers lost, but it sure was cool to see our team up close.