Never know what the day will bring..

Today we spent the whole day in the emergency department of one of our hospitals..

H came down with a bug or something late last night; threw up about three times, and then had an excruiciatingly sore tummy…Nothing we tried would work, so first thing this morning(6 am, to be exact) off we went to the ER.

We have been having a heat wave and it might be for that reason that we learned …

It was one THAT departments most busy EVER days(not that we were to know this in advance) and although H was treated with great kindness, competance and concern, it still took from 6 am to 4PM to get him looked at, helped with pain killers and IV replenishing fluids, then an ultrasound and THEN to have it all analyzed and outcome decided.

He felt better after about an hour on the drips and managed catch some rest, while the ER seethed all around us.

To put into perspective of HOW busy it was, there was NO stretcher available for H(luckily they had ONE lounger type chair that we managed to open upi so he could stretch out) and in fact there were no extra stretchers at all, and constantly, on the loudspeakers were pleas for the ER stretchers on any of the wards to be returned…

So now he is sleeping comfortably after eating a well deserved dinner(no food or drink all day so he could have the ultrasound)

The diagnosis is vague..probably a virus..(thankfully they were able to rule out everything including gall stones)

He will go to his GP in about 10 days and have blood tests identical to the ones the ones he had today so they can make sure he is really ok….

PHEW…

yikes, the dentist

I have blogged before about my fear of the dentist(not dentists personally, well except for the sadist I had to go to when I was a child, but I digress)

I have quite soft teeth and always have had a sweet tooth so I guess that I was predestined to pay the price, many times over.
I have had more than my share of root canal procedures(even with todays’ advanced dental equipment such events are very traumatic, and seemingly endless in duration)
I have similarly had my share of extractions and dental surgeries(only one and once only, respectively but it was MY share, and I shouldn’t have to endure such things again)

So on Wednesday, imagine my chagrin to have tooth break while I was eating(of all things) some bing cherries. I bit and felt something hard, but in my innocence, assumed that it was part of the pit. This was during my break at work, and when we got up to resume work, I felt something odd about the tooth; sure enough something was missing!
Arg.
I phoned the dentist but wouldn’t you know, he had ALREADY left for the day(1pm) and wouldn’t be back until this coming MONDAY.
(Thursday being our Canada day, MOST professionals took off 5 days..)
My only hope was the fellow who fills in for him in emergencies, but guess what!? He is in another CITY, a good half hour drive or more away…

thankfully, there is a dental clinic which takes emergency casual patients(but one still needs an appointment) near us, so I spent my Saturday morning(after Tai Chi) in the dentist’s chair.

Joy.

Back (pun intended) to work…

I slogged off to work this morning with SOME trepidition…I know that this time of year is notoriously slow so the casual staff is laid off and we regular workers are expected to pick up the slack and work twice as hard…

I had gone to my chiropractor yesterday; he was concerned about my return and urged me to find out if I could be assigned “light duties”.

I was pleased to learn that I COULD but would require a note from him(to be expected and indeed no trouble to obtain) and since our “Big Boss” is away until Monday, the light duty,”setup”, would have to wait until then.

The day was ok but good heavens I was glad to come home, do some stretches and then put the kettle on for some good tea..

Oh yes, I meant to mention..I BROKE my lovely Bodum tea pot about a week ago. I THINK it was probably already suffering from a hairline crack.

On the fateful day I had just poured the water in, when a small piece of the side simply caved in and the resultant deluge of scalding water/tea was EVERYWHERE..on the counter, cascading over the counter fronts and down onto the floor below.

LUCKLILY none of it went on me, but I was VERY sad, none-the-less.

SOOO, back to my old brown betty(which is actually a pretty dark green) It  at least makes very good tea by which fact, I am comforted  and can ALMOST forget my lovely Bodum pot.

(I googled about it breaking so easily and found that mANY others pots had suffered the same fate. The Bodum borosilicate glass simply isn’t very strong.(yet it is reputedly stronger than regular glass..go figure!)

It ‘s rather criminal when one sees the price that they charge. )

Acupuncture part 2

I had a second appointment for acupuncture this week and this time my TCD added electric current to the needles…

• “Electro-acupuncture: needles are electrically stimulated by various frequencies and voltages by attachment to a battery-powered machine using wires with small clips on the ends. Low frequency stimulation (2-4 Hz) results in a slow onset of pain relief that outlasts the treatment for hours to days and is often cumulative by repeating treatments. High frequency stimulation (80-200 Hz) results in a pain-blocking effect that is fast in onset but does not usually outlast the stimulation. “

Yowza!

It was a bit sore during and after, but NOW my back is starting to feel pretty good!

More information?

Progress report

My back is improving; but it feels like it is taking FOREVER!

I have my old foam bolster on the living room floor and a stack of library books beside it (PLUS it is in front of the TV so I have lots to occupy me)

Oh and I am not just languishing upon the floor. Obviously I am doing small chores and going out and about on a limited basis. Plus I am doing Tai Chi, stretching, exercises to strengthen ad infinitum.

(I don’t have a laptop but it isn’t part of this post, so we will move gracefully away pausing to mention that I do know how cheap they are, etc etc…)

Back to the bolster(pun intended)………………………..

It is boring lying there, in spite of the fact that things could be far worse. I could have a slipped disc(don’t ) or worse.

Instead, I have “strained muscles”..but BOY are they STRAINED. In spite of all the manipulations from various kind healthcare providers, the muscles remain LOCKED,TIGHT and IRRITATED(the last word is what the HCP’s call it)

BUT I only have two more days of sicktime left .