My Mom.

My mom has had bad luck these past few months.  I know that some of you may know bits and pieces of this, but I wanted to blog about everything going on just so everyone is informed.  Blogging the facts one time is much more accurate than me repeating everything a thousand times while messing up the proper medical terms. 

When my parent’s house flooded back in April, the bad luck came with it.  Since April, my mom has been diagnosed with arthritis and fibromyalgia.  Her hands seemed to be what bothered her the most.  Do you ever get sympathy pain?  Your child has an ear infection and all of a sudden your own ear starts to hurt so you understand their pain more?  I remember one day I was driving and my hands started to cramp up in an abnormal way.  My hands really hurt, but I still had to drive.  It lasted maybe an hour 5 minutes, but it was painful and annoying.  It made me realize what my mom was going through day after day, while still accomplishing daily tasks. 

Then my mom found a spot on her face, which turned out to be skin cancer, her 4th skin cancer.  It was a basal cell carcinoma which required mohs surgery and 15 stitches on her face.  Her face is healing great, but like anyone would be, she was down in the dumps while worrying about how her face would heal. 

Five shorts weeks after her mohs surgery, she was in a car accident and rear ended twice.  Yes, twice…..by the same truck.  Mom was sitting at a red light, was rear ended, apparently the mans foot slipped and he rear ended her a second time. 

After the accident, my mom insisted she would be okay.  My sister, Dad, and I felt differently, so I took her to the doctor.  As a few hours went by, her pain increased.  Overall, everything checked out okay when her doctor examined her, but her doctor ordered an x-ray.

Long story short – x-ray and MRI later….here are the results (with some medical terms)-

Back Issues:

• Scoliosis
• Disc bulge at L4 & L5
• Disc protrusion on L5 & S1 that is the worst spot, as it is pinching a nerve
• Cyst about a centimeter in size, which normally wouldn’t be too much to worry about, but it is pressing on her sciatic nerve
• A lot of arthritis and degenerative stuff

Neck Issues:

• 2 bulging discs

Of course, some of this has been there for a while and some was exasperated in the accident.  Regardless, whatever was there before the accident, wasn’t painful or an issue.  Mom is on several medications, yet her pain is getting worse each day.  Some days her pain brings her to tears. 

She went to a specialist Wednesday, and is now going to a pain management doctor for epidural steroid injections and to physical therapy.  They’ll try to avoid surgery if possible.

So that’s that!  Luckily (probably not the best word choice) that’s the end of the news.  Just pray that the pain management will make her pain go away.  Yes, we know things could be worse.  There are many other horrible diseases and illnesses people face, however that doesn’t make her pain go away.  It’s there and it needs to go away, so my mom can be back to herself again.

Things will get better.  They have to.