Affirmation

I finally have a firm diagnosis of what went on with my right arm last summer at the time I had my decompression surgery.

The neurologist I saw in Toronto for the nerve study speculated that I might have brachial neuritis.  The NL I saw locally a couple weeks ago confirmed it.  At first she wasn't sure what was going on.  She reviewed my MRIs, x-rays and nerve study results.  Hmmm.... they all just left her with more questions.  She muttered out-loud to herself and ran a off a list of possible diagnosis.  Then she said something, of which I only caught "scapular winging".  I said "I had scapular winging!"  To which she replied, "but there's nothing here in any of the notes or reports.  Well, if you had scapular winging, then you have brachial neuritis!"  

EUREKA!!!!!!!!!!  We have an official diagnosis!

We chatted a bit more and she looked back at the nerve study.  If the NL suspected it was brachial neuritis, he didn't test the right nerves during the study! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I went through agony for NOTHING!!  Well. almost nothing.  There is also a superficial radial nerve issue in my right hand.  

So the local NL and I discussed where to go from here.  The average recovery is 2 years, meaning I have a year to go still.  Okay, I can live with that.  I am to continue massage, physio and acupuncture.  I should not ride my motorcycle until I regain the feeling in my hand. (bbbuuutttt, I wanna RIDE!!!!)

I move forward from here.  I had a return to work assessment to get back to full time this week on Tuesday.  My chair arrived yesterday and my cart (which is pretty useless in everyone's eyes at the office) arrived today.  The rehab manager who came Tuesday brought me the RinG pens and some monster paper clips to help me out too.  Just waiting on my headset for the phone.  The rehab company will be setting up a return to work schedule to increase my hours.  It's going to be gradual.  Very gradual.  Days like today I was exhausted by 9:30.  I was attempting to get my new chair comfy.  Wasn't happening as I can't get the tilt right.  I feel like I'm falling off the edge all the time.  I tried to contact the tech at the chair company, but didn't hear back before I left.  Monday, no wait, Monday is a US holiday, Tuesday, I'll have to call Texas and see what I can do.  I'm not strong enough to actually tilt the chair and then lock it in place at the same time... yep, I felt completely weak and inadequate.  My co-worker even tried to help!   I'll get it right in another couple day or so.

Until I'm up go snuff, I'll continue where I'm at.  Snuggling a puppy, working and getting on with my new "normal" life.                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                      

I'm SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!

I had the best email today from my very best friend in the whole wide world.  (And so you know, she now lives 1,600 km / 1,000 miles away).

The title of her email was "Tea".  We used to email each other at work all the time with "Tea" as our title.  Huh??  Tea, sweetheart, you are 1,000 miles away!  That has never stopped our desire for a teleport machine to whisk us off to a Tim's on a Tuesday night, but improbable.  Star Trek has not started marketing home teleport machines, yet. I'm waiting for an infomercial from William Shatner any time now.  

Intrigued?!  Heck yeah!! I opened the message.  She's coming to town TONIGHT!!! Extremely late, but still - TONIGHT!!!! Not for happy reasons though, very sadly, for a funeral.  But still, despite the loss of a family member, I get to see my bestest friend on Wednesday!!! That's just 2 sleeps away!!!!  And I haven't seen her since August 2009!!  And we're going for tea!!! We have a year of tea to catch up on! Plus she is staying just around the corner from our house, so I will also pop by and see her mom J who is also making the trip.  J reminds me so much of my dear grandma, she is truly a sweetheart!  And she kicked my butt at Scrabble - not bad for an 82 year old!

R and I have been friends for 8 years or so.  We met through work.  We worked in insurance claims.  (The racket I left behind nearly 3 years ago.)  We met each other to go to craft shows at Christmastime, tea now and again, and our friendship just grew from there.  R is like an older sister who I don't know well enough, but love every moment we spend together. I bought my motorcycle from her 4 years ago.  At the time she had 3, was buying a 4th, so needed to sell at least 2!  We then rode together, and started participating in craft shows together, and meeting for tea every second week, like clockwork.  Tim's on M Ave at 7:00, usually a Tuesday, unless something came up at work.  We've been through thick and thin.  Illnesses, men troubles, surgeries, kid troubles (her's, not mine, as we have none!), parent health issues, and her moving away to take care of her ailing mom 2 years ago. 

I have so much to tell her!! Our phone conversations and emails are just never enough.  She was supposed to come to Toronto when I had my brain surgery, but because of the G20 and the riots and the highway closures, she couldn't get into the city!  She was so upset she didn't make it there for me, but I understand.  And now she can see me all (well almost) all healed and feeling better than I did when I went to visit her and J last summer.  

Despite the sad reasons for the trip, I can't wait to see her!!

101 Things, Part Two

Shall I carry on??   

74.  I don’t eat beef, pork or dairy

73.  My favorite holiday is Halloween – you can be anything you want to be!

72.  The most influential person in my life was my grandma

71.  I went to a high school that had over 800 stairs, and the best cross-country and track teams because of it.

70.  My favorite drink is juice – Minute Maid punches, followed closely by peppermint tea with honey

69.  I don’t tolerate caffeine, hence the peppermint tea in 70

68.  I have driven across half of Canada – the Western half

67.  My husband and I were set-up by a mutual friend

66.  I love to read historical fiction – Colleen McCullough, Anne Rice are two of my favorites

65.  I love things ancient – Egyptian, Roman and Greek

64.  I visited the ruins in Rome and the outside of the Coliseum but everything was closed because it was a national holiday :P

63.  I stand 5’1” tall

62.  I was born during a heat wave and kept my mum up all night

61.  I intensely dislike the take off and landing while flying

60.  My husband does most of the heavy housework.  I do the cooking

59. If I could go anywhere in the world, no budget, no conflict, no terrorism – I’d go to Egypt and tour the pyramids of Giza, Luxor and the Temples of Carnak

58.  I love music.  All kinds of music – 30s and 40s, classic rock, current pop and rock, country, classical, broadway.  I don’t like jazz, hip hop or rap

57.  There are days when I can really relate to Eeyore

56.  I married my husband exactly 8 years to the day I met him

55.  I cannot grow house plants.  I can kill a cactus. 

54.  I took piano lessons for 5 years

53.  Instead of having a day-after party for our wedding my husband and I went riding on our motorcycles

52.  I believe chocolate should be it’s own food group

51.  I learned to write left-handed in high school when I chipped my elbow bone of my right arm

50.  I’m petrified of being sick to my stomach.  I cannot discuss it, I cannot hear others talk about it, watch it on tv including on Southpark.  And no, I don’t know how to get over it

49.  I am allergic to most man-made painkillers.  Give me morphine or see me suffer the side affects of most everything else

48.  My wedding ring is size 4 ¹/₂, my pinky is under a 3. Yes, I have small hands

47.  I ran into a bird while driving 90 km (55 mph) on my motorcycle.  I did not stop to see how the sparrow was.  It hit me square in the forehead.  THANK HEAVENS for full face helmets!

46.  I have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).  During a flare in 2006 I lost over 40 lbs in 4 months because I couldn’t digest anything I was able to eat.  Great for the waist line, bad for my immune system.  Hence 74.

45.  Re: 81 – my orthopaedic surgeon for my 2 foot surgeries always knew there was something wrong with me more than he could diagnose.  Turns out he was right – Chiari!!  I should sent him a thank you card for not giving up on me (even if he didn’t lead me to the diagnosis)

44.  I’m learning to enjoy Christmas – I used to hate the holidays

43.  My grandparents were married for 60 years.  I can only dream my husband and I live long enough to enjoy the same

42.  I love to cook, but I’m always worried that what I make isn’t good, especially if I can’t test it because of ingredients I can’t consume due to 46

41.  My favorite artist is Michelangelo

40.  I screen my phone calls and have talking call display so if I’m not in the room my phone tells me who is calling

39.  I’m a huge arachnophobic.  That and 50 could put me in the mental ward.  If a spider is near I’ll grab the vacuum.  In my logic, they can't crawl back out the hose

38.  If I had to chose a time of day, it would be morning, I function my best and usually my pain is the least at that time

37.  I wear a size 5 US, 36 UK shoe

36.  I used be afraid of the dentist to the point I would be physically ill.  Now I have a new dentist and it is much less tramatic

35.  I love Angel, Bones, CSI and CSI New York.  I’ve seen every episode of all 4 shows and have most of the DVD box sets

34.  My favorite food would have to be chocolate.  Followed closely by anything made for Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner except turnips

I'm working on the rest!! Watch for it!  (If you're not already bored to tears that is!)

Stuff

I love history, ancient history - Egyptian and Roman especially.  If  it's not 3000 years old, I'm not that interested.  I read about it, watch documentaries, and google for new discoveries found in Egypt.  While in TO we walked past the Art Gallery of Ontario.  We were 19 days too early to see Tut, so I took pictures of me with his poster instead.  Cheesy, I know.  But if I was there on Nov 24 when he is, I'd be foregoing shopping to see his treasures for sure!!!

Outside the AGO was a great status of Anubis.  I was in heaven, for an entire city block!

Other than history, I enjoy a wide variety of things:  riding motorcycles, reading, crafts, cooking, baking, taking and teaching aquabics, and being with my family and friends.  There is no one more important in my life than my family.  I'm blessed with a loving husband, great mum, my brother and his family, my grandma and papa and my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and brothers-in-law.  (God bless my father-in-law, we miss and love you!)  My best friend Ruth lives 1,600 km away, but when we're on the phone together and when I traveled to visit this summer, it was as though we haven't been apart a day.  My husband and best friend share my love of motorcycles and are part of the reason I ride.  In fact my bike was bought from Ruth.  Unfortunately this summer I found it harder and harder to get out on my bike.  Some days just getting it off of the patio was enough to drain me and then to ride, I was exhausted.  It was disheartening.  I may only ride a hundred km at a time, but this summer I even found that hard.  I noticed the strain in the back of my neck, my shoulders were tighter than usual, my hands went numb quicker than normal, and after riding I was a limp dishrag.

My other activities are somewhat affected as well.  Work, crafts, aquabics, cooking, baking, even housework depend on how I'm feeling that day. There are plenty of days I'm fine, I can do everything.  But if I overdo it, I'm often in pain, or in bed, the end of that day or the next.  And I hate it.  I'm very independent and to not be able to do the 101 things I'm used to doing by myself is taking it's toll on me.

I still haven't made up my mind about surgery.  I've been reviewing my journals from 2006 through now and I'm trying to make a list showing how many headaches I had per month, whether they were induced from exercise or activity, and whether or not I had to miss work or an activity.  I didn't keep as detailed a journal about my headaches as I do now, but there are lots of references to migraines but at the back of my head, pressure and pain after working out or working in the garden.  So it is there.  Some details of the Chiari even before my diagnosis this summer.  Unfortunately, I don't have journals prior to February 2006. Or I could have had a larger data pool.

On days like today, where I had to leave work at 1:30 and crawl into bed at home with an ice pack, I want to have the surgery and make it all go away (hopefully, God willing!!).  But when I had such good pain free days on Monday and Tuesday, I don't want the surgery because I don't want to have any complications or be any worse thereafter.

I'm still weighing my options... Think...think...think...