4/4/14. The post where I talk about the fourth and final (I hope) nerve block.

4/4/14: sorry I've gotten behind on posting again.  I'm still playing catch up and the last few days have been a whirlwind of activity.

My brief business trip was not as brief as I intended and I ended up staying an extra day.  It was worth it, as I got some important things accomplished.  But note to self: always pack one more pair of clothes than you think you will need.  (I know, you are shocked that packing additional clothes is not part of this prepared girl's routine. However, my packing philosophy is an exception: pack as light and economically as possible for ease of travel. I don't always succeed, but my ideal packing job involves coming home with every single thing in my bag dirty, which means I didn't bring anything that was unnecessary.) Fortunately, I was meeting with a group of people who generally wear uniforms every day and therefore did not appear to notice that I wore the same suit two days in a row.  

The last time I posted, I was optimistic that things were turning around after the most recent nerve block.  Unfortunately, the improvement didn't continue like I'd hoped and the balance started to turn back to the usual pain.  Advantage: evil.  The second night of my business trip was pretty rough and I saw 8 and then 8.5 for the first time in awhile.  It eased up enough yesterday for me to competently conduct my business and make it back home.  

This morning I woke up closer to a 7 with my foot a little discolored and swollen, again for the first time in awhile.  I put in a morning at the office and then went for my fourth nerve block. It had been postponed from yesterday to today, which means my patient, long-suffering husband was out of town rehearsing for a gig and missed out on one of his favorite activities: sitting in the waiting room while I have the nerve block. A very sweet friend acted as a last-minute stand-in and made sure I got home and in bed safely afterward.  I think she deserves one of my now-famous fried egg sandwiches.  (She deserves more than that, but it's a start.)

I took my standard post-nerve block nap and am now resting as the fog slowly lifts.  I feel like I'm lucid enough to write a coherent post, but I'll let you be the judge of that.  (Friends don't let friends post while under the influence of sedatives.)  I hope this will be the last nerve block for awhile.  Either it will be the one that tips the scales in favor of good over evil, in which case I won't need another one, or it won't, in which case I don't want another one.  

In fact, I boldly declared as much (in much more emphatic terms) this morning to my patient, long-suffering husband, who tactfully suggested that perhaps this should be a decision I make in consultation with my doctor.  He and Dad are probably ready to form a support group for spouses of stubborn, self-diagnosing and self-treating women.  (While Mom and I prefer to think of ourselves as endearingly determined and self-reliant, we are willing to concede that we might sometimes benefit from the advice of competent medical professionals who have dedicated their lives to health care. The first step on the road to recovery, you know...)

It is way too early to know whether this nerve block will be "the one", so in the meantime, I will settle in for what I hope will be a restful weekend.  I promise to do a better job of checking in the next few days.  I'll leave you with a clip from a movie I have referenced in previous posts that does a pretty good job of summing up where I hope this is leading.

Spoiler alert - pause the clip at the 15 second mark if:
a. you have "Stand Up Guys" on your Netflix list, because the last few seconds give away a fairly major plot point, or
b. you object to seeing a bad guy get shot in a fairly quick but graphic manner.

Ed. note - if you can't see the video, it is probably because you are on a smartphone or device that doesn't have flash player.  I will refrain from any incendiary comments regarding the major provider of smartphones and tablets that has determined individuals do not need flash player.