Crazy Days.... and back updates!

Hello to all of my faithful readers, and those who might stumble across my ramblings,

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, but things have gotten even crazier around here, if you can imagine that!! LOL !!

Anna was invited to the AHA "Heart Ball" again this year, and of course her dad and I get to "escort" her. She makes sure we remember that she's the only reason we get to go :O) !

So, that has meant tuxedo fittings. The first one they ordered was all wrong with the sizing, so that had to be done in 3 visits. I decided to wear the dress I wore last year, and just gave it a little "updating" with some new shoes, a dressy jacket (because I nearly froze to death last year) and jewelry. Anna couldn't wear her dress from last year, so that meant a hunt for a new appropriate cocktail dress for a 12 year old, we couldn't find a full length formal, which is what I would have preferred. Man is that kid growing!! My mom keeps saying we need to "put a brick on her head". If only that would work. LOL !!!

We've also been looking to do a little updating around our house, getting it good and ready for selling whenever the real estate market around here rebounds. That may be several years, so we decided we'd might as well go ahead and make the upgrades now so that we can enjoy them while we wait. That includes upgrading the kitchen countertops from formica to granite, the plumbing fixtures from chrome to stainless steel, and a few light fixtures that have a brassy finish to a nickel finish. Some time ago, we added the screened in porch which we have SO enjoyed! It was money very well spent, we spend a lot of time out there as a family. And, we updated our door knobs from brass to satin nickle, which was only available by special order when we built this house.

Lucky for us, being in and around the home building business, we do have some "connections" and can save a bit of money here and there with some bartering and "you send me some work, I'll send you some" kind of deals. So, the granite will come at a very reasonable price, will match our current backsplash, and be a fantastic update to our home. Todd's got a Danze rep who owes him a faucet, so we're going to get the stainless kitchen faucet for FREE!! And, of course the labor is free too. :O)

In the midst of all of that, I had a nerve conduction and muscle study done today to try to explain the continued pain I'm having in my back. The best way to describe this particular round of tests would be to say that I was poked like a pin cushion and shocked (240 Volts) with a miniature "cattle prod" type contraption for about an hour. It was great fun, as you can imagine. After the study, the doctor (this is a new one I was referred to) has concluded that the problem is in my C5 vertebrae, which is the one above the one that was removed.

His "prescription" is physical therapy, including traction (at the Physical Therapist's and at home), a change in some of the medications and the timing of taking them, and then a check back in about 2 weeks. So, we'll see how the next two weeks go. About 12 weeks after surgery I began having numbness in the middle three fingers on both hands, which I did not have before the surgery and is common in cervical herniations. So, he checked me for carpal tunnel first, and I DO NOT have that. Thank the LORD!!!! So, it's still a cervical spine issue, and hopefully we are going to get it fixed through therapy before it gets any worse. If the therapy doesn't work, we will go back to spinal blocks, this time of the C5 region, using a little different technique.

Please continue to pray for me and my family as we work through all of this.

So, that's the update from our house to yours,
Lori