Well, I have a lot to write about and to update.
Exercise seems to be pretty much out of the question and my Heisley Racquet Club membership is going to waste right now. I may have to see what I need to do in order to suspend my membership for medical reasons until I can start going again. I did do a mile on the treadmill at work one day, pushed myself to do my normal speed (3.4mph, I think, but would have to check to make sure) and oh lordy, I paid for that in increased pain even though it didn't cause me any extra pain at the time. So I have suspended all workouts for the time being. I can already feel that I am losing the ground that I fought SO HARD to gain over the last year.
I spent a lot of time trying to reach Dr. Goraya last week. I think I made enough of a pest of myself that they remembered me and when someone cancelled an appointment they called and asked if I wanted it. Duh? Hell yes, I want it. So I saw her on Thursday, I believe. She listened to what had happened and told me that if there was a sternum injury such as a hairline fracture then the x-ray that Dr. Nazir had had me take was not the right diagnostic tool, so off I went for at CT Scan. Just what I need, more radiation, right? Fortunately, the test showed that nothing was broken. In the meantime, at the office visit, we talked about pain control. I told her of my concerns about the Advil and she agreed that almost two weeks was enough time to be on the maximum dosage. She brought up opiates but I told her that I didn't want them, that all they do is make me stupid and don't take care of the pain. So she suggested Voltaren gel, said it was an NSAID that was very strong and that you rub it into the area that needs it, which means that very little gets into your system and most of it stays localized. She also suggested taking a half of a muscle relaxer when I do the gel in order to help the muscles around the injury. (I do that after I get to work and only if I don't have to drive anywhere in the next four or so hours, and it does help somewhat. So she sent a prescription to Drug Mart and imagine my shock when I go to pick it up thinking that it will be the usual $15 to $20 and it's over $33!! Turns out that when I looked at the Medco site the next day that Medco paid NOTHING of the cost and I had to bear it all, so it must not be on their formulary list.
The Voltaren is messy and gives about the same pain relief as the Advil does, which means that after about an hour I get decent pain control (unless I laugh or sneeze or cough or sing or even clear my throat loud enough - anything that moves the ribcage too much breaks right through the medication.) and that decent control lasts for an hour or two and then rapidly leaves so that long before (about an hour) it's time to have another dose, I'm hurting.
Let's talk about sleep. Sleep is so important to people. Without sleep you simply do not function at your best. Sleep for me nowadays is very different than what it was two weeks ago. The ONLY position I can sleep in is on my back. Any time I try to turn over to my side it's either very uncomfortable (except for a couple nights when I was able to sleep on my right side but not my left) or downright painful, so back sleeping is the only real option to me. Rolling over to turn off the alarm produces pain. Getting out of bed is almost impossible and I have learned to grab the headboard post with one hand and sort of slide myself off the bed until my feet are on the floor and I'm sort of sideways. Then more pain as I use my arms to push myself up. OH... and every single night, I wake up in pain when the last dosage of meds has worn off. The first couple of nights I tried to just go back to sleep but ended up getting up and either taking Advil or the Voltaren.
I should probably get stronger pain relief medication but I couldn't function or go to work if I was on any sort of opiate. It's unfortunate that I don't feel that I can take the muscle relaxers as often as I possibly should, but maybe I should try anyway. I don't feel any different, mentally, taking a half a tablet, so maybe I would be okay to drive. Seems pretty risky to me but it may just have to happen.
So, let's see, we've talked about exercise and Dr. Goraya and pain medications. Let's talk for a minute of how this is affecting my daily life. I don't know if I can adequately explain but it feels like I have lost my abilities to do so many things. Dan takes my stuff in and out of the car and all I have to do is carry it into work and I have lightened the load so that only the essentials are going with me. He carries all the laundry down to the basement and back up for me. He carries in all the groceries. He helps me in and out of the car if we're in his car which is lower. He opens doors for me (and it was cute when the last time I was at the chiro he admonished the good man to open the door for me when I was done, lol!), he takes the dog out more often, he takes out the trash without complaint, when I cry out in pain he is always there to ask if I'm okay, he frequently asks me if there's anything he can do for me. He's been SO good about helping!
Chiropractor. My chiro visits have been very painful and very frustrating. I've seen him four times now since my accident and the first three times he could not get anything to adjust. And oh, the pain of having to lay face down... and he now has to help lay down and get up from the stim table. I feel so stupid.The fourth time I saw him I did an experiment with his knowledge. Before I came, I took 1.5 muscle relaxers and he did some massager work on me before attempting to adjust me. Nothing adjusted up top, as usual, but this time he was able to adjust the area just under my ribcage. I would like to say that this is a marvelous thing but I really don't feel any different and I consider it more of a first step. Thank goodness, though, that things are starting to move. I asked him if he wanted me to do that next time too and he said that it would probably be a good idea. BTW, I couldn't have done that without Dan. He drove me up there and waited and drove me back home. He's a good kid.
I talked to the chiro about an attorney and he also agreed that it might be time to consider it. He had a business card for Matt Lallo, who I believe was a law clerk for our Prosecutor's Department until he passed the bar. I knew him to be a friendly sort and seemed like he had the makings of a good attorney, so this last Thursday (today is Sunday) I telephoned him and left a voice mail. Got no reply so on Friday I sent him an email. I just checked my city email and there is no reply from him. I guess I will call the office on Monday and see if he is on vacation or something because it just seems odd to me that he hasn't contacted me back.
I reported the accident (well, tried to) to my insurance company because I know they would like to recover their funds. They would not open a case for me because I need either Target's insurance information or contact info for my attorney. Don't have an attorney (yet, although I'm planning on getting one) and don't know their insurance information, so they wouldn't open anything up.
Friday afternoon, Target called. The same woman who had called and left a message before. I told her that I wasn't doing well and that yes, I wanted to pursue a claim as the expenses are piling up. She told me that she's have to elevate it to the next level and that I'd be hearing from the company that does that sort of thing for them sometime next week. I asked her about the insurance information and she told me that they never pay insurance companies directly - that costs for that have to come out of any settlement that we might reach. Her tone was very defensive and I did not like the conversation at all and as soon as I hung up I said to myself that I now definitely need an attorney. She told me that this company would look at the video and do their own investigation and that they would come up with a settlement amount. I'm sure that whatever that settlement amount it, it will not be enough to compensate me for the true pain and suffering (sometimes agony, quite honestly) that I've been going through.
Okay, enough for now. I've been typing like crazy and I'm sure there's something or two or six that I have forgotten to write down but as I think of them I will try to write another post.
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