I said I was an adult, and I will say it again. I am an adult. But, there are some aspects of being an adult that I didn't understand until just recently.
In January my Father-in-law had a heart attack. It was right before my spinal surgery, so he didn't tell us. A few weeks later we found out, but he told us he was okay.
It wasn't until his massive stroke weeks later that we found out how much his health has declined. He was diagnosed with congestive heart failure; and we didn't know until about a month and half after. As soon as we found out we moved back to Oklahoma to take care of him.
When we left Oklahoma to go to Oregon nearly a year ago I spent the six months prior to that organizing. By the end of it I was a mess. I felt like I was completely unprepared. This time, we found out about his health crisis and three days later we had sold all of our stuff that wouldn't fit in our car, left the rest with a friend, and headed back to Oklahoma. Three days. I didn't know we could do that, until we did.
Since then we have moved in with my Father-in-law, changed his diet, taken over all of his bills, and changed our lives. I am so grateful we're able to be here for him. I am grateful we're able to do this.
I never knew we could until we did.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Monday, February 22, 2016
My Medical Journey
I am only 24 years old and although I have already had a major spinal surgery, I am blessed.
It started with something silly. We were playing Ultimate Frisbee for PT. The soldier of the year and I were both going for the frisbee at full speed. He was built like a tank. We hit and he just set my back on my feet like a Raggedy Ann doll. I felt good for being plowed over by a giant. An hour or so later my neck just locked up. I was taken to the hospital by a sergeant and the nurse took some X-Rays. Nothing was broken, they sent me home with narcotics.
I had headaches for months after this, but no neck pain. I started keeping a headache diary for my doctor, which isn't as much fun as it sounds. Five months later we were leaving a friend's house when we backed into a tree going about 3 miles an hour. I don't know what happened in that moment, but a couple days later I woke up with significant neck pain. A good friend of mine drove me to the doctor while my husband was at work. He sent me to get an MRI. This is when I met my favorite Orthopedic doctor. He told me that I had a bulging disc. He said that the injury wasn't new, but that it just recently got worse.
I was sent to Physical Therapy. I wasn't a fan. The guy was weird, it was expensive and pretty time consuming. But I did the therapy and I got better. No problems.
About a year later in July of 2013, I was in a car accident. I had been cleaning at our old apartment, and I was going to Taco Bell to grab lunch. I was crossing the East bound lanes on NE 23rd street in Midwest City when I was T-boned. It was not a good experience. I couldn't afford to get an MRI, so my doc just sent me to another round of Physical Therapy. Again, I wasn't a fan, but I wanted it to work so I tried hard. I did all the stretches and exercises, but the pain kept getting worse. I didn't know if I had a serious problem or not so I tried to ignore it. I tried to keep working out, I tried to keeping going to school and working full time and slowly it just got to be too much. The pain took more out of me. I was tired a lot and didn't always want to go out. In March of 2014, I got another MRI. I went to the doc shortly after and this is when I learned I had a herniated disc, C5-6, in my neck. It had already been nearly a year.
I asked my doctors what it meant and what my options were. He suggested massage, a third round of physical therapy, rest and maybe eventually surgery. He gave me a list of things I couldn't do. This is when I was disqualified from my job in the military. My last round of physical therapy went well. I had a great therapist that catered to my needs and tried to help me get stronger. I did get stronger. I felt okay and I hoped. But then I plateaued. The pain was still there in my neck and radiating down into my right hand. The muscle spams were still there. The disappointment was back. My doc told me I needed surgery. He asked me not to fuse my vertebrae together. He said I could do what I wished but that he wanted to see me able to go back to my recreational activities that I love. After my surgery for an Artificial Disc Replacement was denied seven times through three different insurance companies (because it is considered experimental) I started researching.
I joined groups on Facebook with people like me, I asked relatives, I looked up insurance policies and clinical trials. I researched for months. I learned that the fusion patients were four times to likely to need additional spinal surgeries within four years than the artificial disc replacement patients. I learned that people in other states were getting the surgery with certain insurance companies. I learned which states, too. When I realized that we could move to Oregon and do the traveling we wished to as well as get the surgery I needed with a certain insurance company I asked my husband what he thought and he was glad to support me.
Six month laters, we had $6,000 saved and we headed out for Oregon. The first job I found after being here for less than a month offered me the insurance I needed. After I met my new doctor and got my insurance set up, we sent the paperwork to the insurance and although it was last minute, they approved it on the first go. Imagine my excitement.
Today I am two weeks post op. I have a lovely incision that will soon turn into a fading scar. What's more exciting, I have no nerve pain and very little spinal pain at all. I am a new woman. I am not strong yet, but I will be. I will not take my body for granted again. We made the right decision and I will make it worth it.
It started with something silly. We were playing Ultimate Frisbee for PT. The soldier of the year and I were both going for the frisbee at full speed. He was built like a tank. We hit and he just set my back on my feet like a Raggedy Ann doll. I felt good for being plowed over by a giant. An hour or so later my neck just locked up. I was taken to the hospital by a sergeant and the nurse took some X-Rays. Nothing was broken, they sent me home with narcotics.
I had headaches for months after this, but no neck pain. I started keeping a headache diary for my doctor, which isn't as much fun as it sounds. Five months later we were leaving a friend's house when we backed into a tree going about 3 miles an hour. I don't know what happened in that moment, but a couple days later I woke up with significant neck pain. A good friend of mine drove me to the doctor while my husband was at work. He sent me to get an MRI. This is when I met my favorite Orthopedic doctor. He told me that I had a bulging disc. He said that the injury wasn't new, but that it just recently got worse.
I was sent to Physical Therapy. I wasn't a fan. The guy was weird, it was expensive and pretty time consuming. But I did the therapy and I got better. No problems.
About a year later in July of 2013, I was in a car accident. I had been cleaning at our old apartment, and I was going to Taco Bell to grab lunch. I was crossing the East bound lanes on NE 23rd street in Midwest City when I was T-boned. It was not a good experience. I couldn't afford to get an MRI, so my doc just sent me to another round of Physical Therapy. Again, I wasn't a fan, but I wanted it to work so I tried hard. I did all the stretches and exercises, but the pain kept getting worse. I didn't know if I had a serious problem or not so I tried to ignore it. I tried to keep working out, I tried to keeping going to school and working full time and slowly it just got to be too much. The pain took more out of me. I was tired a lot and didn't always want to go out. In March of 2014, I got another MRI. I went to the doc shortly after and this is when I learned I had a herniated disc, C5-6, in my neck. It had already been nearly a year.
I asked my doctors what it meant and what my options were. He suggested massage, a third round of physical therapy, rest and maybe eventually surgery. He gave me a list of things I couldn't do. This is when I was disqualified from my job in the military. My last round of physical therapy went well. I had a great therapist that catered to my needs and tried to help me get stronger. I did get stronger. I felt okay and I hoped. But then I plateaued. The pain was still there in my neck and radiating down into my right hand. The muscle spams were still there. The disappointment was back. My doc told me I needed surgery. He asked me not to fuse my vertebrae together. He said I could do what I wished but that he wanted to see me able to go back to my recreational activities that I love. After my surgery for an Artificial Disc Replacement was denied seven times through three different insurance companies (because it is considered experimental) I started researching.
I joined groups on Facebook with people like me, I asked relatives, I looked up insurance policies and clinical trials. I researched for months. I learned that the fusion patients were four times to likely to need additional spinal surgeries within four years than the artificial disc replacement patients. I learned that people in other states were getting the surgery with certain insurance companies. I learned which states, too. When I realized that we could move to Oregon and do the traveling we wished to as well as get the surgery I needed with a certain insurance company I asked my husband what he thought and he was glad to support me.
Six month laters, we had $6,000 saved and we headed out for Oregon. The first job I found after being here for less than a month offered me the insurance I needed. After I met my new doctor and got my insurance set up, we sent the paperwork to the insurance and although it was last minute, they approved it on the first go. Imagine my excitement.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Home sweet 'Homa
I am 24 and there are still loads of things to experience.
I love my life. Maybe I had to take some time off of school, and maybe I have a pretty crappy spinal injury that has put my life on hold but all in all I have a pretty good one.
About a year ago my really hot husband and I decided that we needed to move to Oregon from Oklahoma. We had a lot of different reason, the biggest one being that my spinal surgery wouldn't be covered by the insurance in Oklahoma. We tried multiple times to get the surgery covered under various insurance companies but we just couldn't make it work. They called the surgery experimental for someone my age. I researched night after night to find more information. I was tired of being in pain all the time. We learned that we could move to Oregon and the surgery was extremely more likely to be covered under insurance. We took six months to scrape together a few grand, sell nearly everything we owned, and say good bye to our loved ones. At the end of June 2015, we hit the road.
My husband, hadn't been very far out of Oklahoma and I hadn't been farther northwest than Colorado in my adult life. Needless to say, it was a new experience for both of us. Kansas wasn't very different. Way more windmills. Colorado wasn't either, really. We saw the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. That was exciting. It was pretty, but I had seen most of it before.
The second day caught me off guard. I had never been to Utah. I had always heard or read that it was desolate and full of Mormons. I didn't know any better. At the time, Utah was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The cliffs hanging over the highway and the abounded towns being taken over by nature took my breath away. But it was painful, it involved way too many hours driving in separate cars with little contact. Most of Idaho we drove through the middle of the night. Idaho does have some very high speed limits though. We stopped in Boise and passed out, we didn't even know there were still mountains around us in the distance until we woke up.
Once we made it to the Columbia Gorge in Oregon on the state line on our third day, I was floored. Being near such a wide river, large mountains, and sparkling waterfalls was the perfect end to the trip. We were both in love with the scenery. Once we made it to Portland, we thought we may never leave.
Fast forward six months to today and I still think Oregon is beautiful and I still love driving over the city, but the city life has lost it's splendor. While I acknowledge the obvious beauty of this state, I miss the subtle beauty of my home state. I long for the wide open spaces and the great big Oklahoma sky. But most of all, I miss the Okies. I miss my Okies. Not just my family and friends, but also just the kind Southern people of my youth. It is so easy to feel crowded, claustrophobic and lost in the big city. Back home, even if you're lost someone will make sure you're pointed in the right direction and give you the kick in the ass you need.
I know that one day we will be home again with our families and enjoying our small town life, but until then we will appreciate what we have and try not to squander the opportunities we have been offered. Don't squander yours.
I love my life. Maybe I had to take some time off of school, and maybe I have a pretty crappy spinal injury that has put my life on hold but all in all I have a pretty good one.
About a year ago my really hot husband and I decided that we needed to move to Oregon from Oklahoma. We had a lot of different reason, the biggest one being that my spinal surgery wouldn't be covered by the insurance in Oklahoma. We tried multiple times to get the surgery covered under various insurance companies but we just couldn't make it work. They called the surgery experimental for someone my age. I researched night after night to find more information. I was tired of being in pain all the time. We learned that we could move to Oregon and the surgery was extremely more likely to be covered under insurance. We took six months to scrape together a few grand, sell nearly everything we owned, and say good bye to our loved ones. At the end of June 2015, we hit the road.
My husband, hadn't been very far out of Oklahoma and I hadn't been farther northwest than Colorado in my adult life. Needless to say, it was a new experience for both of us. Kansas wasn't very different. Way more windmills. Colorado wasn't either, really. We saw the Rocky Mountains off in the distance. That was exciting. It was pretty, but I had seen most of it before.
The second day caught me off guard. I had never been to Utah. I had always heard or read that it was desolate and full of Mormons. I didn't know any better. At the time, Utah was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The cliffs hanging over the highway and the abounded towns being taken over by nature took my breath away. But it was painful, it involved way too many hours driving in separate cars with little contact. Most of Idaho we drove through the middle of the night. Idaho does have some very high speed limits though. We stopped in Boise and passed out, we didn't even know there were still mountains around us in the distance until we woke up.
Once we made it to the Columbia Gorge in Oregon on the state line on our third day, I was floored. Being near such a wide river, large mountains, and sparkling waterfalls was the perfect end to the trip. We were both in love with the scenery. Once we made it to Portland, we thought we may never leave.
Fast forward six months to today and I still think Oregon is beautiful and I still love driving over the city, but the city life has lost it's splendor. While I acknowledge the obvious beauty of this state, I miss the subtle beauty of my home state. I long for the wide open spaces and the great big Oklahoma sky. But most of all, I miss the Okies. I miss my Okies. Not just my family and friends, but also just the kind Southern people of my youth. It is so easy to feel crowded, claustrophobic and lost in the big city. Back home, even if you're lost someone will make sure you're pointed in the right direction and give you the kick in the ass you need.
I know that one day we will be home again with our families and enjoying our small town life, but until then we will appreciate what we have and try not to squander the opportunities we have been offered. Don't squander yours.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)