Monday morning, around 4:30, I woke up in excruciating pain, I'm talking 9-10. Took every pill I could (ibuprofen, hydrocodone, muscle relaxer) and it didn't touch it. I could feel myself slipping into shock, wife dialled 911. Paramedics arrived and the first blood pressure reading was 167/97!! I usually sit at 12x/7x!!
So we get to Northside Cherokee and they go through normal trauma triage, but because I could still move my leg and I wasn't pissing myself, they dismiss my writhing in pain and they give me a hydrocodone, as if that's going to do a damn thing! I swear they must have thought I was faking it! They just wanted to get me out of there. My wife took me to GA Pain Management, they were able to prescribe Dilaudid which actually put a dent in the pain. Still couldn't walk and could barely sit. Somehow, she also got me an emergency visit with Polaris Spine and Neuro in Cumming at 1:00. They usually don't take walk-ins...
Wound up getting an MRI at 4:30 at the Northside in Cumming. They gave me a HUGE IM steroid shot which gave me some relief (pain around a 4-5) and I was able to make it through Tuesday, couldn't walk or sit without pain though.
Wednesday, at 7am, I was laying on a table, face down with a Dr sticking needles in my spine between L4-L5 and L5-S1! Epidural Steroid injections are NO FUN! Holy CRAP did that hurt!
So, right now, I'm more or less pain free. The big lingering effect is severe numbness and weakness in my right calf and toes. Definite nerve damage. I had a follow up with GA Pain and the Dr called me into his office to show me the MRI. The disc was encroaching all of the way into the nerve (that was the Monday from hell). He turned and looked at me and said "You shouldn't be able to walk!". Some of you saw me "walking" around at the swap meet with my daughter, looking back, that was a miracle!!
So, now I'm going to Georgia Physical Therapy, which coincidentally is run by a friend and baseball coach that I've know for years. They looked at the MRI and had the same reaction. How are you standing? I vowed this is never going to happen again. I am going to do anything and everything I can to strengthen my core and stay physically active. To say this is a life altering event is an understatement.
So we get to Northside Cherokee and they go through normal trauma triage, but because I could still move my leg and I wasn't pissing myself, they dismiss my writhing in pain and they give me a hydrocodone, as if that's going to do a damn thing! I swear they must have thought I was faking it! They just wanted to get me out of there. My wife took me to GA Pain Management, they were able to prescribe Dilaudid which actually put a dent in the pain. Still couldn't walk and could barely sit. Somehow, she also got me an emergency visit with Polaris Spine and Neuro in Cumming at 1:00. They usually don't take walk-ins...
Wound up getting an MRI at 4:30 at the Northside in Cumming. They gave me a HUGE IM steroid shot which gave me some relief (pain around a 4-5) and I was able to make it through Tuesday, couldn't walk or sit without pain though.
Wednesday, at 7am, I was laying on a table, face down with a Dr sticking needles in my spine between L4-L5 and L5-S1! Epidural Steroid injections are NO FUN! Holy CRAP did that hurt!
So, right now, I'm more or less pain free. The big lingering effect is severe numbness and weakness in my right calf and toes. Definite nerve damage. I had a follow up with GA Pain and the Dr called me into his office to show me the MRI. The disc was encroaching all of the way into the nerve (that was the Monday from hell). He turned and looked at me and said "You shouldn't be able to walk!". Some of you saw me "walking" around at the swap meet with my daughter, looking back, that was a miracle!!
So, now I'm going to Georgia Physical Therapy, which coincidentally is run by a friend and baseball coach that I've know for years. They looked at the MRI and had the same reaction. How are you standing? I vowed this is never going to happen again. I am going to do anything and everything I can to strengthen my core and stay physically active. To say this is a life altering event is an understatement.
