Warning.....long post ahead.

You may not care about these details, but since this is my journal and I want this recorded, here goes. Last Wednesday Don was in a ton of pain, so we decided to get an epidural cortisone injection. It would've cost $2000 to have it done at Lakeview but it was only $750 in Logan. After talking to the doctor who would be doing the injection, and realizing that we were probably causing permanent nerve damage in his foot by waiting, he told us to come first thing the following morning. So, bright and early Thursday we took the beautiful drive to Logan. Don didn't notice it was beautiful because he was in so much pain. By the time we got there he really couldn't even walk. We had to get a wheelchair to get him inside. He was having muscle cramps (like a charley horse) in his thigh and calve muscles. The nurse came and put in an IV and instantly Don's blood pressure skyrocketed, he was pale, shaking, his hands were numb, his fingers rigid, and he was feeling very nauseated. The nurses and the doctor were running around, getting him oxygen and warm blankets, anti-nausea medication, and anything else they could think of. They thought maybe he was going into shock. It took about an hour before they could stabilize him enough to do the injection. It was so scary!!!! The injection was really quick and they brought Don back in the room. The anesthesiologist came in to check on him, and when we mentioned his symptoms she knew immediately what had happened. It's something called a Vagal response that happens when you are tense when an IV is inserted. Well, Don was having a charley horse. Of course he was tense! What's scary is that the doctor and the 10 nurses running around had no idea what this was. Our aunt later informed us of the very simple solution to a vagal response. You clinch your fists and hold your breath for a few seconds. This knowledge would have come in handy.


The rest of Thursday and all of Friday were horrible. Don tried to work, but couldn't. He couldn't even have a conversation through his pain. It really was like he was in labor. :) I joke about it now, but it really was horrible. By Friday afternoon I kept telling him, we need to just do whatever it takes. Let's go to the emergency room, let's do the $50,000 surgery even though we don't have insurance. Let's just do something! We can't live like this. They had said that it can take up to 48 hours for the injection to kick in, but he wasn't feeling any relief at all. He reminded me that he'd had several blessings and they all counseled us to be patient. So, I went to work (this was REALLY hard. To leave him in so much pain to take care of the kids while I went to work. But he wasn't able to work, so I figured I had to. Thank heavens for a wonderful RS president who brought dinner!!!). A few hours later, Don emailed me at work and said........, "I feel awesome!" I wasn't sure it was for real until the next day, and the next day, and the next day....and he still felt awesome!!! Yay!!!

So, here we are. Out of pain, Don's going to decompression treatments that will hopefully solve the problem so that this doesn't happen again. The injection only lasts 3-6 months normally. Don's herniated disc is so bad that the doctor didn't think that he'd get more than 50% pain relief and he also said that it probably wouldn't last very long. However, he can get up to 4 in a year, so if we need to, we'll get another one. We have some pretty intense medical bills now, but in the last year we've learned how to chill a bit and just trust in the Lord and know that somehow things will work out. How? Well, here comes another blessing......

Don got a phone call a few days ago from his former boss. She has some contract work for Don to do. It pays double what he makes at his current job. He'll do an 8 week contract for them. He worked it out with his current boss to cut back his hours while he fulfills the other contract. It means that he'll be working at least 50 hours/week, along with going to school, doing homework, fulfilling his calling, going to his treatments (each one takes about 1 hr and 15 minutes/3 times a week), and finding time to spend with the kids. It's going to get really crazy, but I just keep thinking that if I can just survive until Christmas, things should calm down a little. And it truly is a blessing. This contract job will pay enough to cover the medical expenses. What a miracle. I feel truly blessed to have my husband back and to feel at peace. What more could I ask for?

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