A pain in the back...

So, I haven't done an update on the status on my back condition or Rob's due to our fun car accidents over a year ago. First, we are so ever grateful for an irresponsible 19 year old girl in a giant SUV who rammed into Rob in his little Honda. She was going over 60 mph and Rob was at a complete stop. We also want to thank the selfish idiot who rammed into my front end of my car in his giant ugly white work van. At least in Rob's case, it's a no-brainer that he wasn't at fault and everything for him will be covered. Unfortunately, because of the circumstances of my accident, and frankly the dishonesty of said idiot who hit me, we may have to hire a lawyer and hope for the best.

So, first an update on Rob. I must say that I am grateful every time I think of his accident and realize what a true miracle it is that he wasn't hurt or even killed. Logic would say that he should have been horribly injured due to the circumstances of his accident. But thankfully, he came away from it relatively okay. Unfortunately, he is still having nagging pain in his neck and the back of his shoulders. Rob doesn't complain of pain and rarely sees a doctor, so when he complains, I know he is hurting. He still has numbness in his arm and loses sensation completely at times. His profession, sitting at a computer all day, only makes it worse. He finally saw a pain specialist and unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot that can be done. Basically he had SEVERE whiplash which fried the nerves and there isn't anything to fix that. He is looking at a lifelong problem with this. Great. Bring on the lawyers please. He gave him some meds to help and we'll hope for the best.

My issues are a bit more complicated. Not at all shocking. When I got in my accident, I didn't know it, but I was pregnant with our fifth baby. Fortunately, he was fine and is healthy and happy. I didn't fair quite as well. After the accident, an MRI showed 2 herniated discs - 1 in my lower neck and 1 in my lower spine. Going into a pregnancy with 2 active back injuries was stressful to say the least. It was a very difficult pregnancy and I was in pain with my back for the whole 9 months. But I "willed" myself through it and we made it okay. After Jaxson was born in July, my back seemed to be doing a little better. I would have moments where it would hurt and days where it caused me a lot of pain, but it was managable and again, I "willed" myself through it.

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, I started having horrible pain again in my back. It radiated all down my left leg and as each day came, the pain and numbness went further and further down my leg to the point that it was really killing me. I tried to "will" myself through it again, but it didn't work. It also doesn't help that I have a chubby little baby boy who I am lugging around all day, as well as a 2 year old. Another MRI was ordered and it showed all sorts of fun new things.

So, as of now, I have an addition herniated disc in my back. The lower back herniations are between L4-L5 and L5-S1. In addition to that, I also have osteoarthritis in the facet joints of these same vertebrae. Basically I have bone hitting bone. OUCH. In addition, my joint next to my sacrum is a mess. My pelvis basically was "torqued" due to pregnancy and the accident and cannot be "un-torqued". I am currently working with a great pain clinic and last week went in for my first injection. Because it is in the spine, they have to do it while looking through an X-ray to make sure they get it in the right space. I am not a fan of needles in my back, and this was no exception. It is a little better on some days, but mostly still the same. We are kind of on a search mission right now trying to find out which back issue is causing the pain and numbness.

Like Rob, I am most likely looking at a lifelong issue with this. I am not happy about that.

I am trying to stay positive as I hobble around like an 85 year old granny. There are times that I can't even walk and I have spent more than a few nights on the couch because I can't lay flat in bed. I am trying to "will" myself through it again, but it just isn't working. I have had to call Rob on more than one occasion to come home from work because I literally cannot even stand up. It basically sucks.

So, that is the update. I wish it were better news, but we are dealing with it the best we can and we'll go from there.