Great news! John and I officially own the Honda! We've officially paid it off and got the title in the mail. It feels so good to be getting our debt paid off (reasonable debt. Nothing crazy)! I've really loved that Honda too. It's been so reliable and pretty. I drove it the other day, though, and it felt so weird (John insists I drive the 4Runner, which I don't mind at all). It's so low compared to the Toyota!
Dentist
I finally got my last filling filled. But in doing so the dentist noticed that that tooth was cracking. He prescribed a cap, but I'm not on John's dental insurance plan, so I'll have to wait until January!. John had an appointment a couple days later. He has fillings he needs refilled. And he needs a $400 mouth guard to keep him from grinding his teeth at night (that's how he wore down his fillings). He's pretty bugged. This is going to be costly. -July 2016
The Shallows
John and I finally got to see The Shallows. It was really good. The whole movie is basically a girl trying to escape a shark at see. She almost doesn't make it, but miraculously....well, I won't give it away. -July 2016
Finding Dory
I went and saw Finding Dory by myself. John probably would have come with me but I don't think he would have enjoyed it very much. I went because I really liked Finding Nemo. Finding Dory scored very well with Rotten Tomatoes, but I didn't enjoy the movie very much. Not sure it was even worth the money. It wasn't bad though. -July 2016
Part-time
Due to the issues with my back and neck, John and I've decided it's best for me to go part time at work. Which is unfortunate for them because they are short staffed and have been for over the past year, due to the nursing shortage. I do feel so bad. I always want to give all I can to my employer and clients, but it's not possible right now. It's been so great though. My back and neck are getting the rest that they need. And it's been so nice to be able to schedule my spine related appointments easily. I think my recovery time will be shortened, partly due to the fact that I've gone part time. Things will be tighter, financially, but not too bad. Luckily our rent is cheap. -July 2016
Lucy's Death
July really has been quite the eventful month (and not in a good way). Sadly Lucy (Gordon and Britney's dog) has passed on. According to them, she wasn't herself for a few days. Britney assumed she had a virus. But after so many days of her refusing to eat, they took her into the vet (Kate). They found she had developed a tumor and that her stomach was filling with blood. About a week later her health had declined so significantly that they felt it was humane to put her down. Kate didn't do it though. Another vet did. Gordon held her in his arms as it happened. He said it went very fast and that she didn't seem to feel any pain at all. This news was very difficult for John and me to hear. Especially John. I wished that he was able to say "goodbye" to her but it never happened. We loved Lucy so much. She was so sweet. She was such a good companion to Charlie. She thought she was smaller than Charlie and always wanted to sit in people's laps like a little dog. -July 2016
Punched
The night after my appointment with Brad Davis, John came home very very late. He phoned me to let me know he'd be late because he had a lot of paper work to do with the police; a patient had punched him. Of course he gave me the details when he got home. The guy was a criminal. In fact he should have been in jail at the time, not the psyche ward. Apparently the guy had run off with some underage girl who was missing. When John saw the patient was angry (the guy was lying in bed when he was supposed to go to Yoga. John was simply instructing him to get up and attend Yoga class), he called for back up. Of course, back up couldn't get there fast enough. The guy knocked over a computer out of anger and then punched John. After he punched John, he tried strangling a female nurse. At this point back up had arrived and several men restrained him. This part was very satisfactory to John. I was so sad to hear he was punched and when he got home I had all kinds of questions for him. When I asked him if it hurt he seemed very offended that I'd ask that. He said "the guy was wimpy." . -July 2016
Spine Issues
After about a month of sleeping on the wedge pillow, thinking it was working wonders, and after I got my MRI results, I started getting intense muscle spasms and pain. My friend gave me a free massage which I was very grateful for and felt it helped break up some of the knots. Then she insisted I see her chiropractor. He went over the MRI results with me. He told me about the bulges in my neck, the degenerating discs, but he was most worried about the one of the bulges in my thoracic spine that was touching my spinal cord. He made it seem very serious and ominous; said that I could very likely experience paralysis soon, as a result. His demeanor was very serious. He had me soooooo scared. I was crying and wishing John was there with me. Then he did a physical exam. He refused to touch my affected area in my thoracic spine. He said my spine was crooked and that it would need to eventually be adjusted. He did adjust my neck. Then he did ultrasonic stimulation on my upper back and neck. I came home that evening and wanted John to come home asap. When he did I sat him down and explained the bad news. To be honest, I felt like my life was over. Looking back, I see now that it's a shame we went through all of that drama that night, when in reality, my condition was not as bad as the chiropractor said it was.. A couple nights later, when I was trying to lay flat on my back cause the wedge pillow was hurting my middle back so bad, I found myself in a very sticky and painful situation. I could not lie flat, as it caused severe burning (inflammation) in my neck, upper back and shoulders. But standing up felt like it was crushing the disc in my mid back. Whatever position I took was extremely painful. I'm talking a level 10 kind of pain. So, at 2am John and I made yet another trip to the U of U ER. And I have to tell you- it was one of the best experiences for us. The resident and doctor there explained to me that my spine curve was natural. They gave me some much needed medication, and t looked over my MRI and said none of it was anything I needed to be worried about. I didn't know if I might be pregnant at the time and they said that if I was, it would be totally fine and that I could get pregnant whenever I wanted to (the chiropractor told me I SHOULD NOT get pregnant). The meds they gave me made me feel lots and lots of love for John. Ha ha! I kept telling him I loved him over and over and over again. Then I set up appointments to meet with a physical therapist and a spinal specialist. the spinal specialist was Brad Davis, PA, at TOSH. Mom came with me cause John had to work. It was one of the worst appointments ever. He didn't listen to me at all. He literally refused to let me speak. Several times Mom and I almost stood up and left. We should have. He said he thought I had some kind of crazy serious disease and that my bulges would never heal. I was bawling. It scared the heck out of me. I decided to see a different spine specialist- Ryan Church. He's an NP with a doctrite. Been practicing for over 15 years. He did an assessment on me and went over the MRI results with me and John. He basically said the same thing that the ER docs told us. That it wasn't serious, that I didn't need surgery, that the bulges could heal. I mentioned the crazy disease that Brad Davis thought I had and Ryan thought it was ridiculous since I had literally none of the symptoms of that disease. He said it was fine if I was pregnant and that I could get pregnant whenever I wanted. I was relieved. Again. He recommended that I get a steroid shot. Will do that soon! After the assessment he said that I was very strong and had a "beautiful body." He meant beautiful, as in healthy. I was glad to hear that. What a roller coaster ride this was! I have to say this has been one of the most difficult months of my life. Side note- when you are diagnosed with something, don't do research on google. It puts all kinds of false ideas into your head. Most of what I read, I came to find out, didn't apply to me. After the Brad Davis appointment, John ordered me to stop reading up on my condition via google and that if I had a question, he would look it up for me. And get second opinions! This has been a crazy few weeks. I am so glad it's over! July 2016
Another Mouse!
We have another mouse. John has seen him a few times. I've seen proof that he's with us. For starters- I keep tootsie rolls (which are specifically for the traps. And for visitors who like them) in the second to bottom drawer in the kitchen. The other day, I saw a hole chewed through the bag, and a couple of individual wrappers chewed through. And then, little mouse poop all throughout that drawer! Proof that mice really do like tootsie rolls. More than cheese. Then I went to the fireplace trap. The tootsie roll piece had actually been removed from the trap with out triggering it! The little sneak! Hopefully we get him soon. -July 2016
Cous Cous Mediterranean
I happened upon this restaurant. So I then I took John. He, of course, got pasta, and he loved it! He was skeptical but after his first bite, he was a believer. We will, of course, return! -July 2016
Hatch's Visit
Unfortunately, Sarah's Grandpa is not doing too well and they are expecting him to pass within upcoming days. Fortunately, this allowed Brent to take some time off of work to come out to Utah. They came and visited me and John at home, and I laid down the whole time because this was the period of time that my back was hurting so bad. And then we got together a little while later (after Brent had flown home) at Mom's and had a dinner/get together. I can't believe how quickly the Hatch kids are growing and maturing. They all seem so happy! I think they are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of grad school. During clinical rotations Sarah and the kids will live in Mom's basement for a bit, but then they will ultimately make the move to Oregon. So sad they aren't moving back here for good! I've heard lots of good things about Oregon though. John and I are looking forward to visiting. -July 2016
Help
People have been so nice and so helpful through this time. My visiting teachers came over and brought us a delicious Market Street Grill Meal. And they sat and talked with me for like an hour. It was so nice to get the help with meals and to just sit and talk with them. Mom brought over an enchilada meal that Christa cooked for us and some smoked meats that Nate had smoked. Mom and Simon brought over some incredible Chinese food. We were set.
Swimming
John and I haven't been able to swim as much as we wanted to this summer because of my back issues. We have gone a few times though. My physical therapist told me how to do some traction at the pool. I bought some 5 pound ankle weights and took them to the pool. John helped me. I put them on and dangle from the side of the pool and let the weights pull my body down and therefore decompress my spine. Seemed to help. I challenged John to tread with the weights on his ankles. So he did it. He can normally tread for hours but with the weights he lasted a couple minutes. -July 2016
Dave's Wedding
Despite my back pain, I conquered the showering, doing hair, putting on makeup, and attending a wedding! All in one day! I really wanted to go though. John and I are so so happy for Dave and Kate. I just can't get over how sweet Kate is. Dave is a very lucky man. We got to meet Ashley, Chad's new girlfriend and we all caught up on each other's lives. The ceremony was beautiful. They brought their dogs up the aisle with them. Then we had an incredible dinner! So good! Incredible dessert! Kate came over to our table and thanked us for coming. And she said "stay for dancing!" A little later, Dave came over to the table, thanked us for coming and said "feel free to go when ever you want. You don't have to stay and dance or anything." It was so funny! Such a fun evening. I'm so glad that I've become friends with John's friends. 7-30-16
Cervical Epidural Steroid Injection
I got my steroid injection scheduled. I was very nervous for this but very ready for it at the same time. I had heard good and bad things about steroid injections and their effectiveness. John came with me, but he wasn't allowed into the actual room, unfortunately. I notified the assistant that I had had UTI symptoms all night long the previous night. But since I didn't have a fever, they agreed to do the procedure. They had me lay in a prone position, so I couldn't really see what they were doing. The poke stung, but what really hurt was the recovery time that night and the day after. Felt like I was recovering from a steak knife stabbing to my neck! Could barely move my neck at all! Hopefully it works! Oh yeah- this steroid inection cost $6,000!! Couldn't believe it. Luckily we have good insurance and they covered a majority of it. So glad I got put on John's insurance when I did. 8-3-16
This is the injection site after ripping the bandaid off. I was pretty sore the night of and the day after!
Parks and Rec
Since it's been my goal to give my back and neck a rest, John and I have decided to watch the TV series Parks and Recreation. I had already seen them all, but loved them so much, I insisted John watch them. And I didn't mind re-watching the episodes at all. I had forgotten a lot of the specifics anyway. John had heard that the first season was horrible, but I insisted he watch it anyway, as it would provide necessary background information. And, let me tell you, he was glad he did. We got through all of the seasons pretty fast. John said that he initially thought he would be giving it a 75% rating, however that value crept up to 80, then 85, then 90. And then when we finished the final episode last night, it was at 95%! That's saying a lot, for John. That's the value he gave arrested development and he really liked that series. I'm so glad he loved it! And I of course, I can't help but tell him over and over, "I told you so!" Not in those words, of course. I just find it interesting that he was so opposed to it at the beginning and then by last night, when the final episode ended, he was basically crying! Not really. It takes a lot to get John to cry (like the end of the movie "Safe Haven.") Anyways- such a good show! So fun watching it with him! Even for the second time! It was actually funnier and more enjoyable watching it with John. It's fun to see your spouse laugh at the same things you do. And I found things that he thought were funny actually were really funny! We highly recommend it. 8-4-16
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