"Back" In Action!

I saw the specialist back in March, and this past Friday was my follow-up appointment. He had given me three options at my first appointment with him...1) have the surgery. It would have meant immediate pain relief, but there was an increased possibility the injury would recur. 2) get epidural pain blocks, which would help with the pain for a week or two at a time while I waited for my back to heal on its own. 3) just wait it out, staying on the pain meds that make me feel yucky. Apparently this type of back injury is fairly common, and 90% of them heal on their own with no surgical intervention...thank goodness!

So at my appointment on Friday, the doctor basically told me that according to my remaining symptoms and the walking test he gave me, I'm on the mend. Not 100% yet, but that might take a few more weeks or a month still. I am relieved, because if I had gone through three extra weeks of pain and then needed surgery, I would have been very disappointed. The pain meds made me feel so muddy that I finally just stopped taking them about a week and a half ago...they weren't actually "helping" me heal, especially since they made my head foggy. And the pain was minimal compared to what I had gone through just a month ago.

I am going to continue to be careful, since the last thing I want is to put my back out again anytime soon. For example, I'm learning to just let the kids climb into their carseats instead of lifting them in all the time (which is a much quicker and more efficient way, but I need to let go of that!). It's sometimes difficult to look at them and not think of them as still being "babies," since to me that's what they'll always be. I am so glad I'm a photography nut and that I have hundreds (if not thousands) of photos of them from birth til now. That way I can always look back and remember all those "little" moments. :)

Well, time to get lunch made and get some cleaning done around the house. Time flies, especially on a Monday when there's so much to do and no motivation to get it all done!