Primarily I use this blog as a way to chronicle Jude’s life. The past few posts (and likely a majority of the next few posts) have been very “me” heavy, and for those of you who just don’t care, I apologize. Some of you have expressed an interest in reading about my doctor’s appointments and my progress through PT. If you are one of the latter, here’s an update:
On Friday, while Jude and his babysitter played at Day Frog, Josh and I met with Kenji Muro, a fantastic neurosurgen at Northwestern. Dr. Muro squeezed us into his schedule with less than 24 hours notice, and for that, I am eternally grateful. So, the appointment went well and ended with Dr. Muro prescribing physical therapy for me (as well as some meds for my pain). At this point, I’m waiting to try the new medication that Dr. Muro prescribed until after I’ve tried PT for a few weeks. I dislike drugs. I dislike, nay, I HATE putting that shit into my body. I realize that there is a time and a place for pain pills, and that yes, this *is* probably one of those times and places when they are warranted, but still, I will wait and see how my body does without them.
This morning I had my PT evaluation at Athletico in Evanston. Overall, I thought it was a good session. The PT was personable, thoughtful, and knowledgeable. He put heat on my back and did some deep tissue massage and showed me a handful of back/core exercises that I’m to do 2-3 times per day, every day. I go back on Friday for my next session and will be going twice a week until my checking account runs dry. I’m really hopeful that the PT will be enough, that I won’t have to rely on pain pills or muscle relaxants to avoid or manage the pain for the rest of my life. I suppose only time will tell.
Through all of this, Josh and Jude have been wonderful. Whenever I leave to go somewhere, Jude asks, “Go doctor?” He has also been great about helping me around the house. If I drop something on the floor, Jude will pick it up for me without hesitation. He is also being really good about climbing onto the bed for me for diaper changes so that I don’t have to lift him.
Josh is a superstar of a husband. He has been taking care of Jude and the house and me, without complaint, for nearly two weeks now. He is such a source of strength for me. I’m not sure what I would do without him.
I imagine that the next few weeks are going to be tough for me–I’m going to have to learn what my limitations are and relearn the proper way to lift and bend and sit. Luckily for all of us, we have a friend coming to stay at our place for two weeks… I’m really glad to know we’re going to have an extra set of hands on deck.
book, got changed into jammies, brushed your teeth, and snuggled down into bed to listen to Papa read a story. After that you and I would lie down to talk about our day and go to sleep. We’re still following that same routine, though we’ve replaced the Advent wreath with a simple candle from Grandma Rhonda.
Does anyone have any experience with it?
