Well it's been 2 weeks

Well it's been 2 weeks since I fell and hurt my leg. But it looks much better than it did 2 weeks ago- don't have a current picture, but the bruising is at the nasty yellow point and it red and kinda gross looking now. The swelling is also better, I actually have an ankle most days, but I still can't fit my foot into shoes- I can comfortably wear 1 pair of slippers, not real cool to wear out into public (although they are what I wore home on the plane, to the ED and to my last doc appt). Last night was my hubby's businesses open house so I didn't want to wear slippers there, which then the parents took us out to dinner afterwards, so I am glad I wasn't wearing them- I shoved my foot into a pair of crocs- that was so much fun- it has been 2 weeks already WTF- the ED says it isn't broken, there isn't a clot, it isn't even sprained- so why is it still so darn painful, swollen, why can't I bare full weight or have anyone touch it in certain places with crying?! Yes I admit it I am a baby! I am still using one crutch to get around most of the time- yes I know I should probably be re-seen but after the 7 hour nightmare I had in the ED I just don't want to deal with it anymore- I am banking on the stupid nurse philosophy of 'just ignore it and it will go away'. I believe I have said this before and if any particular future nurses are listening you might want to learn this phrase, but hopefully you won't have to use it as often as I have :blush: 'do as I say, NOT as I do.'

Seattle and other ramblings.......

Well, Seattle was awesome! We got to see Grace and Gaia Consort- they were amazing- went on the ferry to Bainbridge and then ended up driving up to Polsbou. Our flight on Sunday afternoon was cancelled so we ended up 'getting to stay' an extra night in Seattle, in a Holiday Inn Express- but in a Suite- very nice! Except no more rental car so we were stuck at the hotel until the next afternoon when the shuttle took us back to the SeaTac for another try at our flight. Which we were really tempting fate- the flight on Sunday was cancelled due to mechanical reasons- our new flight was the exact same flight number and time- but everything turned out okay this time. Every flight was sold out so there were LOTS of people waiting there at SeaTac for standby seats- so we got lucky and learned a HUGE lesson for the next time we travel that direction by plane- don't connect through Spokane- 1 usually has some type of delay or cancellation, 2 very small airport, and lastly 3 people waiting there were really rude due to limited restaurant choices- come on people it is an airport not a mall- get over it
Now for the adventures.....I per what I guess is my new normal is- I had a migraine all week before leaving on our trip- which got worse on Wednesday while trying to get pack- so I used one of my oh so fun new rescue migraine meds from the pain doc- then had to get really, really early Thursday- Happy Valentine's Day to me- not used the rest of the rescue lollipop on the way to the airport at 5:30am- along with all my other fun cocktail of crap that basically make me loopy- so didn't really care about the plane ride, which was a good thing- no panic attack except that because of the meds I couldn't figure out how to use the down escalator- people at the coffee bar found me quite amusing But it only gets better from there..... we get to our hotel- we are on the 2nd floor- no elevators- going up to the room, no problems- but for some reason after getting unpacked I decided that I needed to go back downstairs to get info about things to do in Seattle. I forgot one BIG major detail- I am highly medicated, and I mean highly medicated- because I also reacted to something back in Boise at the airport and so I had used my benadryl strips- I made it down the first 2 of the 7 stairs- the way that you are supposed to- the last 5, I fell down, yes that is correct! The first day of our vacation, I fell down the stairs- now remember I am medicated for pain already- so it didn't hurt all that much- Friday woke up with hideous looking bruising all over my left shin- not very pretty But not wanting to ruin our vacation I continued to walk around Seattle, or shall I say limp around. By Saturday- it was much worse- but still kept going- yes I knew better- but as I always used to tell my adult patients- 'do as I say, definitely NOT do as I do'. So by Sunday I was so ready to come home, I can barely put any weight on my left leg- the bruising is just nasty looking, it is swollen down to my toes my knee is red and hot- not good signs- not things that I should be getting on a plane with- but that is what we are getting ready to do....until the flight got cancelled. So at the hotel Sunday night spent the night with my leg elevated on pillows with a huge bag of ice on it- because oh yes the other hotel didn't have an ice maker.
Monday when we finally get to leave- my foot is so swollen it won't fit into either pair of shoes that I have with me- so I am wearing slippers. When I get on the plane in Spokane to Boise, another passenger hit my leg with my carry-on as I was sitting down; so now I am sitting in my seat crying, all of a sudden 3 flight attendants are hovering over us all concerned trying to find out what is wrong, what happened- so after Richard explains what is going on they bring me an ice bag.
So now we come to Tuesday the 20th- I started out at the walk-in clinic, because I just want an x-ray to be sure that it is fractured or something like that- but no, they decide I must go through the ED to rule out a blood clot- this is at 10 am- then I start having shortness of breath and chest pain- there are no rooms open- not even in the hallway! Finally about an hour later I get back into the ED- I am immediately taken for an u/s of my leg and a chest x-ray, then brought back to a room- nurse comes to start an IV and start O2- then I am not seen by a doctor for another 6 hours! Someone coded out in the lobby right after my IV got started- amongst other crap- and then the original doctor that ordered my tests left for the day and forgot to see me or go over any of my test results. Nothing was done until another patient had a seizure and the director of spiritual services came in to help calm down the family- my Dad asked him what needed to be done to be seen by a doctor- my original nurse came back in around 4:30pm and found out that I was still having chest pain and difficulty breathing and had NEVER been seen by a doctor yet. So the chaplain starts going around to other rooms to find out how many other patients have yet to be seen as well- so now at the end of this really, really long babble- my u/s was luckily negative, so no blood clot in my leg- so the doctor that eventually came in to see me decided to x-ray my leg to check for a fracture- that too was negative, my blood work according to the doctor was normal- other than the fact that they gave me nothing to drink the entire time that I was there- so now I am slightly dehydrated- and when we got copies of my charting and labs from the visit- the chemistry was showing borderline dehydration and my D-dimer (for blood clots) was high, not critical value, but 200+ over high normal, so have no clue what that means. I see my pain doctor in the morning- and he will have copies of everything, so I guess I will ask him to explain everything to me, since the ED doctor that finally came to see me didn't seem to excited to answer any of my questions.
Oh yes, last final bit of drama- employee health sent me a certified letter- they still hadn't received anything from my doctor regarding short term disability- which employee health and my department director and supervisor are the ones that told me that I couldn't work in the first place- but any way- if they don't get the paperwork by oh, today- just got the letter today because I have been out of town- all the work that I have missed would basically be without documentation (even though again, they were the ones that said that they didn't want me working for safety reasons) it could be considered job abandonment !!!!!!! Did finally get ahold of EH she so kindly is going to give me an extension since I have an appointment with them today.

Ok, so maybe our insurance doesn't suck so bad

Well just heard back from the pain clinic- and to all of our shock and amazement Riverside Benefits has decided to approve the Botox therapy for my migraines. I am kind of torn about it- originally when we talked about the possibility of all of this it would be something like a month a way- but since I have an appointment scheduled for the 21st- they are going to go ahead and order the medication and we will start the treatments at that appointment. Okay, so I will admit it- with as many times as I have been poked and prodded over my lifetime for the numerous medical procedures that I have had done between the various medical issues that I have and the infertility nightmare- I don't like needles and I am nervous about the whole Botox thing. I guess this is what we could call adventures through better living through science- I am just hoping that it works even just a little bit.

STD sucks...and no it isn't even a fun one!

Well been to the pain doc again today- that clinic is quickly seeming to become a second home, and I am not very happy about that. I have been there 4 times since I became a patient back on the 24th of January- and I still feel like crap, I still have almost daily headaches. Yes, I know they don't have the magic cure, there is no magic pill- I am just frustrated- I just want my life back, or some small semblance of my former life- you know the life where I was working- that thing that I spent a really long stressful time going to nursing school for to get that degree for- that life- I want that back- because oh yes, I am now off of work until the 21st- that is when my next appointment is- employee health won't let me come back before then- my STD will be out right around then- so if they won't let me come back after that I have no idea what we are going to do- we are going to be screwed- big time! The next plan that the doc has for me is to try botox injections, there has been lots of research that shows that it has some benefit with helping with headaches- only problem is that my insurance is most likely going to deny it- the office will then turn in an appeal- in the mean time I have to pay for the treatments out of pocket ($500) and if insurance finally figures out that I am not having cosmetic procedures done and they decide to cover it, then I might get reimbursed- but I still have to figure out how to pay for this on top of all of the other medical bills that we are already trying to pay while I am not working. The cat had to get pneumonia last week- so there was $200+, my dear husband went and got an abscess- he has another appointment for that on Friday- this will be appointment #4 for this- haven't seen any bills for this yet- still trying to pay off his hernia repair- then we are still paying on my last 2 ER visits- CT from July- just got the statement from the last visit- all I can say is that my insurance deductible has been met for the year already- And everyone wonders why I am depressed- that is a really stupid question- I think it is pretty self explanatory myself- but hey I guess maybe that is because I am the one who is being realistic and everyone else around me are the ones being delusional in thinking that everything is just fine- maybe I should be taking their drugs- because obviously theirs are a hell of lot better than mine.

No work for me

Well it is official- I am on short term disability (STD- hopefully it's at least one of the exiting ones ;) ) until February 12th- or basically until after I come back from vacation- employee health says that I can't work until all of my new meds are titrated to an appropriate dose and I am no longer having side effects- are they actually serious?! That could take forever! I have not been this frustrated with my headaches or my medications in such a long time- I hate this- I want my life back- is that really so much to ask for?