Valentine's Day

We celebrated Valentine's day this year by staying in and making heart-shaped pizzas.  They turned out pretty cute and were soooooo good! 

Grandma Linda bought these dresses for the girls for Valentine's Day.  So adorable!  They love to twirl around in them.

Surgeon Says...

Last Wednesday I had a Myelogram and CT scan on my back.  The CT scan was specifically done for the surgeon.  After my procedure, I had two hours of bed rest in the clinic.  Brad sat with me during my bed rest.  After my two hours were up, the nurse came and told me to get dressed and said that she would bring me a CD of my CT scan so that I could bring it with to my appointment to see the surgeon the next morning.  

The clinic was having problems with the CD burner...we waited another two hours and then were told to leave and that they would courier a CD over to the surgeon.  

To make a long story short, the surgeon's office said that they never received the CD.  Basically he had nothing to look at except my MRI & EMG tests.  He sat with me for about three minutes, went over history, etc and then told me I wasn't a candidate for surgery, I didn't show signs of nerve pain, and he recommended that I go back to doing physical therapy.  Can you say FRUSTRATED!!!

I have made a few phone calls to all of the clinics I have dealt with.  They located the CD at the surgeon's office.  It just never made it to my chart apparently.  Now, I go back to my neurologist this week to see what's next.  I'm not going to do more physical therapy.

I have developed a spinal headache from the Myelogram that I got last Wednesday.  The only remedy is flat bed rest for 24-36 hours.  The nurse told me that nothing over the counter will get rid of it.  Bed rest is not likely when you have two small children to take care of.  On top of that, we were getting ready for Erin's birthday party on Saturday.  No time for laying down.   

A spinal headache is pretty much the equivalent to a migraine times ten.  On Friday I ended up calling Brad to come home from work because my headache was so bad. 

Yesterday I spent all afternoon and evening laying down.  I layed in bed until noon today and my headache is still lingering.  

The nurse told me that I may have to get an epidural blood patch to get rid of the headache.   Just my luck. 

 

Lower Back Update

I received my MRI & EMG results yesterday.  The MRI showed that my disc had retracted, but my symptoms have gotten worse.  The EMG test confirmed my leg/nerve pain.  So the next step is to have a Myelogram which is scheduled for tomorrow.  I'm not looking forward to this risky procedure. 
I have to be on strict bed rest all day. 
On Thursday I have an appointment with the Neurosurgeon.

Erin's Words

Erin is putting more words together lately.  Just this morning she was saying, "Bye Bye Fishies"  and waving at the fish tank.

She will usually repeat anything we ask her to say or at least try to say it.  Although, you really have to be around her a lot to understand what she's saying sometimes.  I think she just wanted to wait to talk until she could start saying things right.  She's staring to sing her ABCs too. 

These are some of the words she says often:

• Emmy
• Hi & Bye
• Oh & Uh Oh
• Princess
• Isis (friend at daycare)
• Eat
• All done
• Mommy / Daddy
• Kitty
• Puppy
• Dar
• Hold me
• Woobie
• Ball
• Ducky
• Bath Time
• I want some too
• Dora (more like Doda)
• Night Night
• Momma Look (when she finds her bankie & woobie when we get home from daycare)
• No!
• Milk
• Gramma
• Mine
• ME
• Juice
• More
• Elmo
• Baby
• Out
• Down
• Go
• Cheese
• And Cheese (mac-n-cheese)
• Doll
• Please

Lower Back Update

I'm still continuing to have lower back pain issues along with major knee pain.  I had a flare up in my back a couple of weeks ago which led me to take immediate action towards finding a cure for this.  I'm sick and tired of putting up with daily pain and I'm too young to feel this way.  I don't want to have to put up with this pain for the next 40 years. 

I made an appointment to see my Chiropractor last week.  After talking to him about the procedures I've had in the last two years, he referred me to a Neurosurgeon at the UofM.  Before I can be seen by this Neurosurgeon, they have requested a more recent MRI.  My last MRI was a little over a year ago.  The surgeon wants to see one that is no later than six months old. 

I scheduled an appointment with my Neurologist and went to see him yesterday.  He agreed that with all of the alternative treatments I have tried, nothing is working.  He was able to get me in for an MRI last night and he also wants to do another EMG (poking needles into my legs to test the nerves).

Having a second MRI & EMG will be beneficial because they will be able to compare the two from last year and see if there have been any changes. 

I'm experiencing more nerve pain on my right and left side which runs all the way down my leg.  More so on my left side now. 

A few months ago I got a Cortisone shot in my right knee from the Orthopedic Surgeon.  That did not relieve any of my knee pain. 

After the Neurologist reviews my MRI & EMG, he will schedule an appointment with the Neurosurgeon at the UofM for a consultation.  However, it's ultimately up to the Neurosurgeon if I'm a candidate for surgery at this point. 

Super Bowl "Fun Day!"

I feel very lucky that I have a husband who doesn't care to watch sports on TV.  I know we're probably in the minority here but the Super Bowl is not something that we enjoy watching.  Maybe if the Vikings were playing in the Super Bowl some day, we might watch.  But until then we will probably do something else to pass the time.  We haven't watched one football game in a very long time. 

I know some people who have two TVs (in the same room) with different sports channels going at the same time.  It drives me nuts. 

I know...I work for a sports publishing company, but I don't think I could handle watching sports 24/7.

Yesterday was our Super Bowl Fun Day!  We ended up rewarding the girls with a trip to Nickelodeon Universe.  They have done so well on their reward boards lately.   Emmy's been getting lots of stickers on her board for good behavior, eating all her food on her plate, sleeping in her own bed at night, picking up toys and helping mommy and daddy with chores around the house. 

They were so excited when they saw the rides.  Erin even got to go on most of the rides with us.  She wasn't too sure about going up and down in the bus though.  She was most excited to see the giant Dora & Boots on the Ferris Wheel.
Emmy just squeaked by in height and was able to ride the BIG swings with daddy.  It was the cutest thing.  She kept yelling, "WWWWEEEEEE!" 

We went on the merry-go-round twice.  Both Brad and I got really dizzy, but the girls loved it! 

Gymnastics Photos 2012

Emmy had pictures taken at Gymnastics last week.  Her class was split up into two groups a few weeks ago due to the fact that I think the initial instructor had a hard time keeping all 10 kids in line.  She wasn't very patient with them...so they added a second instructor.  Emmy loves her! 
Some of the things that she is learning are:  tumbling, balance beam, rope climbing/swinging, monkey bars, the parachute, and the trampoline (her favorite).   In addition to all of the physical activity, she is also learning confidence, self-esteem, listening, and problem solving skills.

These are pictures taken from my phone...not the best quality.

YUUUP!

If any of you have watched Storage Wars on A&E, you know the famous phrase "YUUUP!" from Dave Hester.  Well, Erin has been saying YUUUP around the house lately. 
She has more and more words forming each day!