5 and 6, Pick Up Sticks

            With 3 days to go before it will be exactly 2 months since surgery day, i figured it was time to write another post on an update of what's been going on. (so much for trying to remain diligent to all the things happening to me concerning my neck!)


            So, the biggest new thing about my neck is that I've started physical therapy. Both Dr.Clayton (my general physician) and Dr. Schnittker (my simple neuro surgeon) are thoroughly impressed at the speed with which I've recovered. And since the last appointment with Dr. Schnittker, in which i got x-rayed, I've had a recurrence of the strange acne breakout which was an allergic reaction from the steroid i was on for surgery. It's not the only thing that's taking it's time in going away. The bit of impetigo i have on my left arm is still there, though now it just looks like a bit of reddish scar tissue in one spot and a barley there redness in the other spot. Mom tells me that the fact it's taking so long to go away is a pretty strong sign that it truly was a small case impetigo (which, again, is really weird to have gotten as a side effect from my stay in the hospital.)

          So after waiting a week or however long it took for Schnittker's office to set up my P.T., i went to my first session last Thursday (September 1st). After filling out the paperwork (which, before was given over to me, the nice woman behind the desk spent a lot of time looking at mom and explaining things to fill out, after which I took it instead of mom, which earned me a puzzled look from the woman. I then, because i had already assumed and guessed accurately why she was confused, i told Mom she could take care of the scheduling part while i took care of the paperwork because, after all, i am 20. The woman kinda gasped and laughed and then apologized to me, telling me she hadn't thought i was that old, that i  looked to be closer to 17 than 20.  I suppose we Jozwiak women hold the secret to eternal youth, not looking our age. ha ha ha)
             After that was all done, (and after i accidentally dated all the areas in need of a date in the month of August instead of September (give me a break, it was the 1st day of the month after all!)) i went around a corner to the rest of the therapy room and hopped up on a padded table and met with my therapist, Renee. She asked me what i wanted to accomplish from therapy (after, of course, we chatted a bit as to  what had led me to needed therapy in the first place) and i stated i wanted to get my full range of movement back in my neck. You really don't realize the importance of something until it's gone, and i have been getting so many tension headaches simply from looking downward to much or sleeping at slightly different angles (although God has been most gracious in blessing us with unconscious movements, because anytime i move in my sleep that causes my neck discomfort, I'm guessing, I've woken up with one of my hands or arms laying against my neck supporting it)
            So after lying back on the table and Renee manipulating my head around a bit, she gave me an exercise to do, in which I simply turn my head completely to the side, so my chin is over one shoulder, hold it for 5 seconds, then turn my head forward again, and then turn my head to the other shoulder.
          After so many reps of that, she gave me another exercise in which I now turn my head in such a way that I try and touch my ear to my shoulders (although only pushing so far that if I feel pain of any sort I back off) In this case, pain is NOT gain, so Renee has told me.
           The last exercise i was given was to, in a sitting position, shrug my shoulders back so that i was trying to, in a sense, touch my shoulder blades together.
           These exercises i am now required to do 3 times a day, 7 reps held for 5 seconds. In all honesty, i have not been extremely diligent in doing them, but maybe that's because the exercises involving my head give me a tension headache like you wouldn't believe. The pain travels up the right side of the back of my head, curves over behind my right ear, and stretches out across my forehead from there, and refuses to go away until a significant amount of time has passed in which i do not move my head that much. Ice and heat help relieve it, as does Advil, but it's still there. Ugh.
            I had my 2nd session of therapy yesterday, in which Renee started with, after i mentioned the headache, wrapping my neck in heat for 10 minutes, then removed it and told me to do some stretches (head turns and bends again) after a little bit she rubbed my neck, pulled it, bent it, all that jazz, and to finish it all up, she then wrapped my neck in ice for 10 minutes which was great because i couldn't feel any pain with ice. Ice, Renee tells me, is the best for when i feel pain.
         At home, i usually use a bag of frozen corn of peas as an ice pack (because it molds to an area it's placed on much  nicer) and i also use Icy/Hot ointment (conveniently found at your nearest pharmacy or general store such as Target.)

            And here i sit, another day later, and only half my head hurts, most likely from the few moments i spent picking up sticks in the yard blown off the trees from the rain and wind of last night. The little twigs i collect make the absolute best tinder for starting fires, in my opinion :)

Knight and Day

                      So why Knight and Day? Because that's the movie i'm currently watching as i sit here typing.
            So i forgot to write a post after the event, but Friday was the day of my check-up with Dr. Schnittker (my surgeon, infamosly referred to as Dr. Snicker in several of my past posts). After dropping the boys off at Kathy's (which turned out to be fun for them because there was another boy there who they like and play with often)

     So after a quick drive to Elkhart hospital, i went to radiology first to get some x-rays (rather than an MRI becuase this was more of a progress report check-up). It was my first time getting x-rays too, so it was another fun, new experience. It was like getting a mug-shot more than anything. I first stood with my left shoulder up against this flat screen which had several squares and intersecting lines (kinda like a target. Sure glad that the lens they were pointing at me didn't have bullets or darts in it!) and faced the wall (so the enormous machine was shooting my profile (which reminds me of the smaller verson of the machine that is used in dentist's office when they're taking x-rays of your teeth and have to put that uncomfortable little plastic square in your mouth so you hold your jaw in such a way) )

        First i was asked to just stare at the far wall, the woman who was operating the machine put a finger under my chin and tilted it a little more up, which made me think of how i used to hold my head in marching band (make an 'L' with your thumb and index finger and put your thumb to your throat and your index finger under your chin). She took one shot of my head straight, then asked me to bend my chin down as far as i could (not too far but decent considering how long i've been recovering) and then another shot with my head bent back as far as i could (that kinda hurt). Then one more shot with me facing the giant machine, and i was done.

          After spending over an hour (maybe) in Dr. Schnittker's waiting room at the hospital, Mom and I were taken to one of the rooms (ironically the same one i was in last i came which was to get my staples removed) and after a short wait, Dr. Schnittker came in and ran me through some tests (walk around, on heels, on tip toe, squeeze his fingers, close your eyes with your feet together and arms out to test my balance, walk heel to toe - i won't be passing the drunk driving test any time soon - touch a finger to my nose with my eyes closed and when he taps the finger...)
       The results? I'm going to live! I've learned that the bit of tumor on my artery may, in time, just erase itself, that i'll be starting physical therapy in order to get full range of motion back in my neck (i don't know when, he's gonna set that up for me), and i'll be getting another MRI in 6 months to see how the area of my cervical spine is doing.
    Did i have any questions? Yes, and that was simply if it was possible for me to get a copy of the pictures of my MRI, and the answer to that question is yes, too. I may  have to call the hospital or the place where i got my MRI for the cd of pictures, but it's possible, which is way cool! (Dr. Schnittker also told me that i could've gotten the pictures of the MRI when i got them done, that, had i just requested it at the places i got my MRI, i could've walked out of the place with a cd with the pictures on it. Unfortunatly no one told me i could do that at the time so it never occured to me that i could ask)
      Oh, and one other thing to add because i did write about it and that is about the strange bumpy rash on my left arm. Whether or not it's impetigo is still unknown, but after a few weeks of using the steroid cream, it's finally ALMOST gone, which isn't to weird because i read up on impetigo and learned it can take weeks for it to fully go away.

          Oh, and i suppose i should also mention that Thursday, the day before the Elkhart appointment, i had a brief visit with Dr. Clayton (but this was about needing another perscription i was getting low on), and i know i commented about the irritating gas pain in my chest, which still hasn't completely relieved, and i've been diagnosed with having GERD. (AKA- Reflux Esophagitis / Gastroesophagael Reflux Disease). He prescribed a med, which takes a little time to take full effect but i've already been taken note of the ease in breathing and eating, so as far as the gas pain problem, it's doing a lot better.

My neighbor's lovely Koi, Shubunkin, and other goldfish

   On another small note i start classes the 29th of August, and on a 2nd note, i thought i'd explain why the title of my last post was 'bugs and butane'. I mention this because i was chatting with my neighbor (the one with the Koi) and i happened to note that there was a bee hovering around his lighter (he smokes) and he made the comment that bugs do that often after he lights up, that it has something to do with the smell of butane, and i thought that would be an interesting title of something 'bugs and butane'.

After surgery

After staples removed

After a month healing