2/13/2013 A Trip to the Emergency Room

(Arizona, City, AZ)

Ok, this is getting ridiculous!  I had about the worst nights sleep anyone could ever think of.  If I moved a certain way or tried to turn over I woke myself up because the pain was intense and I yelled out.  I was up a good portion of the night and catnapped here and there.

Bob’s night wasn’t any better because he’s out of one of his medications so he spent the night awake because he was sitting nearly upright in his recliner and catnapping here and there also.  He has vowed to never run out of those purple pills again!

I laid in bed awake for a very short time and decided it was time to get up, besides my back was killing me and I had to get out of this too soft bed.  I tried to get up and couldn’t.  Oh no, I literally could not pull myself into an upright position to get out of bed.  So I rolled out, very slowly and it was extremely painful.

I took a step and felt my lower back, just go out, if you will.  Hanging on to the wall and doorways I walked the few steps to the pocket door which leads to the first floor, three steps down.

Bob was intently looking at his computer screen and wasn’t paying attention.  I tried to take that first step and couldn’t.  I tried again and just could not make myself go down the steps, it was much too painful.

I finally said to him, “Bob, I need to go to the hospital.”  I thought he was going to give himself whiplash when he turned to look at me.  I am so not a doctor person so he knew when I told him I needed an emergency room visit that it was serious business.  He got up and helped me get down the first step but that was as far as I could go.

It was decided that we would get dressed and head into Casa Grande.

Well, getting dressed was a joke for me.  There was just no way.  Bob ended up dressing me and getting me down the steps and into the truck.

I felt every single pothole between Arizona City and Casa Grande.  Every. Single. One.

Lucky for me there was no one in the waiting room when we arrived and I was taken right away.  Of course being taken right away and seeing a doctor are two different things.  Finally the doctor came in, read the chart and asked me four questions.  Did I fall?  Did I lift anything heavy?  Do I smoke?  Do I drink alcohol?  I answered no to all four questions and from across the room, announced I had a back strain and that the nurse would be bring me three prescriptions, a muscle relaxer, Ibuprofen and Vicodin if I didn’t think the Ibuprofen was enough.  He left me with, "If it isn’t better in a week, see your doctor."   And he left. 

He was with me absolutely no more than five minutes, never touched me and made a diagnosis based on four questions.  Then I waited an hour and ten minutes for him to write the prescriptions and for the nurse to bring them to me.

From there it was on to Walmart to get the scrip's filled and that was another hour’s wait.
I knew what was going to happen when I took these meds.  They say may cause drowsiness.  They put me to sleep.

I’m hoping they help with the pain pronto so I can move beyond this.