What a day!
Since my voice is gone (I’ll explain why in a minute ;), I decided to blog now cuz I have nothing else to do…just kidding. But really, I pretty much can’t eat or drink, and I’m so hungry since I haven’t eaten since yesterday.. Anyway , here’s the story of my day:
Once I arrived at the pain center, I got checked in and was able to see my favorite nurses.
They’re the sweetest! I also met a new fellow. He’s so kind and compassionate. It’s hard to believe that this is the third set of fellows that I’ve seen so far!! When my pain dr. came in, I asked him, “Are we ready?”
Procedures are nerve-wrecking. He laughed and told me he’s ready emotionally! Once I was on the procedure table in the “operating room,” my docs used ultrasound to locate all the structures and arteries for safety reasons and to try to find a good spot to block the pain. But they had to resort to fluoroscopy only because ultrasound wasn’t giving them a good view of where to inject the medications.. Saying it was painful is an understatement. And choosing to stay awake probably didn’t help.. They had to really dig their fingers deep into my neck to feel for the vertebrae.
It was hard to breathe cuz they were pushing so hard. I ended up having to get “poked” twice because the first area didn’t work to inject the medications…this meant they had to dig even more! Despite their painful probing, I’m so thankful for them. They were able to keep a light and fun attitude in the midst of a challenging procedure. They called me a “champ” and a “trouper,” and they kept telling me I’m doing great. My nurse held my hand and stroked it, haha. She’s the best. The procedure was pretty long, so once they pulled the needle back out and sat me up, I was so relieved! Soon after it was finished, I moved my hand and looked at it. The swelling reduced, and the color was better! Even the pain went from a 9 to a 1-3. Everyone was so happy. Within minutes, my left eye started drooping which is called Horner’s Syndrome. Thankfully, that’s only temporary because it’s a “good” side effect of the block. When I went down to the lobby, I suddenly lost my voice which is also another good side effect because it tells my doctors that they injected in the right place. All through physical therapy, I had to whisper to my therapist, and he kinda had to do all the talking, haha It was pretty humorous. After PT, I ran into my hand therapist. It was so nice to catch up a little bit. He jokingly told me I’m going to waste away since I haven’t been able to eat. I also can’t cough or yawn cuz my nerves are temporarily not able to control my vocal cords, trachea, etc.
So here I am, still not able to talk or eat well. If I try to swallow, I sometimes choke. My neck hurts really bad, too. I’m trying to wait patiently for all this to pass! I’m to keep a pain diary and record my pain level every hour for today, then once every day until I fill out the whole page. I’ll be seeing my pain dr. in a few weeks for follow-up.. I’m not sure what’s ahead…these blocks are temporary, but I really pray the severe pain stays away for at least a month!
Thank you for your prayers! God is good all the time! I’m so blessed.
