Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Are On The Way

Changes are on the way for my family yet again.

Since the day after Christmas my family has gone from one roller coaster ride to the next. Starting with hubby’s work related back injury, we found ourselves navigating Minnesota’s worker’s compensation system. Couple this with endless piles of WC paperwork with a variety of physical therapies and constantly evolving prognosis, things became frustrated and complicated to say the least. FINALLY, the general consensus was lower back surgery was necessary to give my husband the best shot at life with minimal pain.

Springtime Fun plus a Dazzling Fruit Salad

We've had an excellent week here on the Front Porch! Early this week, we were blessed with news from hubby's doctor. He's doing well and is "officially" released to go back to work. Recovery after the Microdiscectopy was slow but he's made steady progress and now he's healed enough to go back to work without restrictions. This being said, he is under strict instructions to immediately go back to the doctor if he experiences any more back pain but with any luck he will be permanently free from this injury! Next on his agenda is to find work since his former employer laid him off shortly after his 2008 injury. He already has a few options so things are looking positive on that front! You can read more about hubby's back injury here.

The weather's been gorgeous this week so we've been outside most of the week. I've been busy in the garden while hubster broke out the grill. There's just something about the rich nutty aroma of grilling food over an open flame that says "Springtime" to me! It simply intoxicating. While the kids played outside and hubby grilled dinner (pork ribs in the photo above), I made a fantastically delicious fruit salad that dazzles your pallette as well as your eyes!

Days after the Microdiscectopy

Hubby had a microdiscectopy on his lower back last Wednesday. Dr Zellum cut a small 2" incision on Rick's back and with the help of tiny surgical tools, shaved off the protruding part of the disc pressing on the nerve in his back. The surgery took a little longer than expected but the doctor said it's likely due to the length of time it took to get the surgery scheduled and approved by the insurance company. The outlook is cautiously positive. Of course we're all hoping for full recovery without any nerve damage but it'll be a week or so before we'll know for certain. Right now healing from the surgery is priority number one.

The post surgical pain has slightly improved over the past few days but we were hoping for a bigger improvement by now. Rick does everything in short bursts. Sitting. Standing. Walking. Lying down. He avoids stairs, driving, and lifting anything over 15 pounds. His appetite isn't as robust as it was prior to surgery but the meds may have something to do with that.

My two step sons are in town from Indianna so this has put a slight damper on their time with dad. All four boys are cautioned to be careful around dad. No sudden movements around him. All it takes is one careless elbow in the back or him tripping over one of their toys to set back his recovery. All things considered, the kids have done well. They help around the house with laundry, dishes, and other various chores. Shockingly, griping and complaining is at an all time minimum! Of course, boys will be boys so when tempers flair they're sent to their corners to cool off. Then it's off for more play time. ;) It's been quite tough on all of us helping Rick covalesce but the kids have been fabulous through doctor's visits, the four hour surgery, and the long road trips.

Rick's post surgical follow up appointment is this Thursday. Yet another 150 mile trip to Fargo. J-Man has swimming classes this week and next so the jury's still out on staying overnight in Fargo or if we'll drive the 150 miles back home immediately after the doctor's visit. I suppose it'll depend on how hubby's doing. Every time we've gone to the doctor in Fargo, we've had to stay overnight because of the length of the drive plus the pullin and poking during the exam leaves him extremely sore.

For now, we're looking at the sunny side of life. The kids are healthy, surgery went well, Rick's recovering, my garden's looking good, the weather is heating up after a cool snap and we just came off the Spongebob Bash weekend! (Hard to believe the little yellow sponge has been around 10 YEARS!!!)

SpongeBob - Spongebob Videos - Spongebob Games

WHEW!

Where did the time go? It seems like the other day was the Ethnic Food's Festival where I made my Mason Jar Peach Cobbler and now it's a week after Independence Day! We've had lots of things going on which has forced my blogging to slow down quite a bit...regrettably.

My step sons arrived from Indiana three weeks ago. I've now got four super active boys running amuck! If it's not the 2 year old biting the 6 year old it's the 10 year old arguing with my 8 year old over the best video game! I love having them here but it gets very tiring refereeing four boys on a daily basis!

We've been traveling to Fargo quite a bit lately for hubby's doctor's appointments. Thankfully the end is in sight. We leave first thing in the morning for some pre-op Xrays and another MRI. Then it's microscopic back surgery on Wednesday morning. Barring any permanent nerve damage (which is a possibility) he should be released and home from the hospital Wednesday afternoon!

The county fair was last week but it wasn't planned very well so we opted to camp at the lake with some of our friends from Lancaster. There was tons of food, fellowship, swimming, fishing, and sadly even rain! The boys LOVED it! The great thing is we were close enough to come home when hubby's back started hurting. He rested a bit and we were back at the lake for the duration.

Our friend, Sid, drove in from Dickinson ND for the weekend. We haven't seen him in several months. It was great to visit with him and have him stay with us. We certainly missed him and hated seeing him go but I'm sure he'll be back for a visit soon enough!

Well, that about recaps most of our activities the past few weeks. If all things go well with Rick's surgery, I'll be back to normal posting later this week. In the meantime, tell me what have you been doing???

Hurt Hubby Update

He's still about the same. Pain all the time some worse than others. Not able to walk long distances or sit for extended periods of time. Doc has restricted him to lifting no more than 5lbs. She gave special exemption to picking up Wild Man. She's never had a parent turn away their child no matter how hurt they are! He's suppose to avoid stairs and any strenuous activity to his back. He can fish so long as the fish isn't a big fighter but like hubby says-Then what's the point? ;)

As far as routine daily activities, if his body will allow him to do it with minimum pain then he's cleared for it. Biking, vacuuming, swimming, etc are all okay. Unfortunately his body isn't cooperating. He's tried biking but couldn't make it out of the yard. Vacuuming doesn't bother him if it's done in short spurts. He'll load/unload the dishwasher. He even folds laundry but I have to haul it up and down the stairs.

Some days are good while other's aren't so good. Some days he can walk around our block while other's require assistance getting up from a chair. It's all quite the roller coaster ride but he's taking it like a champ! He hasn't been terribly moody about it and tries to find joy in the little things he's still able to do. He reads A LOT, helps with house chores, plays video games, and has recently taken over the laptop perusing Craigslist-which is why my blog updates have slowed! With any luck, he can find a hobby that will keep him busy and give me back the laptop! lol

We're keeping our fingers crossed and praying something will work to heal his back. I'm holding on the the knowledge we're going through this for a reason. At some point we may understand why we're on this path but, for now we're just living in the moment. Finding the good things in life to focus on. Trying not to worry too much about the future nor dwelling on the past. By God's grace and will, he'll be healed and we'll come through this. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Thankful for the New Doc

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day and all the dads out there got exactly what they wanted for their big day. As for mine, he got to lay around the house and watch the NASCAR race! No chores, no cleaning, no thrifting, and no running errands! lol We admired the garden, walked around the yard for a while, and enjoyed a pork roast with Au Gratin sweet potatoes for dinner. He had a good day which is great after last week.

Hubby had an epidural shot scheduled for 9am Thursday in Fargo to help relieve the pain caused by the crushed nerve and bulging disc in his lower back. It was either get up at 5am to hit the road or head down the day before. I'm not a morning person so we left Wednesday afternoon. He also had a brief meeting with the Neurosurgeon at 2pm Thursday to discuss any positive or negative changes with his back since the last appointment a couple weeks ago.

Knowing the possible side effects of the epidural shot (severe migraines to more severe reactions to no reaction at all) we opted to stay in Fargo Thursday night-JUST IN CASE! I'm glad we played it safe. He was in no shape to ride in the car for 3 hours to get from Fargo to our house. The injection site was extremely sore till the next day and the migraine set in-I TOTALLY sympathize as a fellow migraine sufferer! Four days later and there has been no change in his condition. According to the doctor, if the shot was going to work then it should have started working anywhere from a few hours to three days of getting it. At this point, we're looking at another appointment after the Fourth of July holiday to determine if surgery will work and when it can be done.

Even though it's quite a distance to the new doctor, we are grateful. Dr Cossette seems competent and has been straight forward about his injury and recovery outlook. It's such a relief to finally get some answers on hubby's situation...even if they aren't the answers we were hoping for! I'll post an update on hubby's condition later!

Surviving Worker's Compensation

Some of you may remember how my husband injured his back the day after Christmas. Well, he hasn't been back to work since due to the injury. I've shuttled him from doctor to doctor. He's following all the recommendations, taking all the prescribed medications, and completing all the suggested therapies but we haven't seem much forward progress with his injury. June 4th is the next date with the Neurosurgeon. Why is it booked a month from now? Because this was his EARLIEST available appointment! WOW!!!

If you know anyone thinking about going into medicine, tell them Neurosurgery is THE area for a lucrative practice. Apparently there's a never ending list of people with back injuries! lol

Keeping everything organized is the biggest challenge with Worker's Compensation. Every state has different laws and worker's comp requirements but, they all are have some basics guidelines in common.

• Most treatments need to be approved BEFOREHAND.
• Various documents are generally required to process and close a claim (usually a First Report of Injury, doctor's restrictions, and releases)
• Each case is issued a Case Number and a Case Worker
• A drug test is usually done shortly after the First Report of Injury is filed
• Witness statements are normally taken to corroborate the reported injury
• Compensation kicks in after a certain time of off duty status

A few tips to help you survive Worker's Compensation:

1. Keep a copy of all documents.
2. Take plenty of notes (especially when discussing things over the phone)
3. Take your case number, case worker's name, phone number, and billing address to ALL appointments (even if you've given it to them before-it's best to be prepared than not have it and have to pay out of pocket)
4. Keep a list of your medications or bring your prescriptions with you to each doctor's appointment (this will ensure the proper medications and doses are prescribed avoiding further complications...especially if you've been referred to a specialist who's new to your case)
5. Get a business card for each new person that has a hand in your case. (This will make contacting the right person much easier.)
6. Keep a daily journal. Using the pain scale 1 t 10, write down the pain number, location of pain, what you're doing at the time, if you couldn't do something due to the pain, etc complete with dates, times, and any witnesses or other details. Jot down any reactions to medications or anything else that's impacted by your injury. This will help when you go to the doctor or should you end up in court to settle the details of your case.
   
7. Familiarize yourself with your state's laws and requirements early on in the case. You may be entitled for reimbursement for your mileage traveled for medical treatment, compensation cut off dates vary, and each state compensates injured workers with a different formula. It pays to be an informed employee.
   
8. Ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask your case worker, doctor, Department of Labor, or even an Worker's Compensation attorney questions about your case.

After six weeks, it became apparent I needed to organize this particular situation better. I chose to keep all of hubby's worker's comp papers in a binder. I keep notebook paper in the front with several clear sheet pockets behind the notebook paper. All handwritten notes are maintained on the notebook paper while the clear pockets are use as portable file folders. I drop business cards in one pocket, pay stubs in another, doctor's appointment cards in another, correspondence in yet another pocket and so on.

This helps tremendously when we need to refer back to a specific item. For instance, tomorrow I'm creating a spreadsheet to calculate our medical travel for reimbursement. I'll pull all his appointment cards from that particular pocket. A few keystrokes later and my spreadsheet should be done, printed and ready to send to our case worker. The binder also transports easily to the doctor or pharmacy so all the details are readily available. This has made surviving the paper pushing aspect of worker's compensation MUCH EASIER!

Finally, be prepared for a long drawn out process if your injury is serious but not critical (such as a back injury versus a severed limb). Try to keep your spirits up and don't take your frustrations out on your doctors or case workers. They are genuinely trying to help you even though it may seem like you're lost in a sea of red tape! Remember the saying, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar". This is true! Keeping a friendly rapport with your doctors and the case worker will help your worker compensation claim move along more smoothly!

Foto Friday...Sort Of

I normally post a picture of something I find interesting, funny, heart warming, or about the people I love but today was unique. Today was the day hurt hubby went to the Orthopedic surgeon to determine the next course of treatment: surgery or more therapy.

For those of you who aren't familiar, hubby got hurt on the job the day after Christmas. It was his lower back. A sick cow went down so he and the manager were trying to help her up to move her to a sick area. She went one way and he went the other when something in his lower back went wickedly wrong! Ever since then, it's been constant pain and misery. He's been on Temporary Total Disability since he can barely walk much less work. MRI revealed bulging discs (plural meaining more than one-yikes!) and the disc is pinching nerves causing frequent numbness in his left leg, constant "white hot" pain in his lower back, headaches, even occassional numbness in his left arm and fingers. He sees the Chiropractor at least three times a week for a variety of therapies. So far his treatment has included:

1. Computerized adjustments to avoid any further damage a manual adjustment may cause
   
2. Graston Therapy which is a similar to deep tissue massage only deeper with using specialized metal bars. It's VERY painful and leaves bruises.
   
3. Spinal Traction
4. Home TENS unit-neat little gadget with four leads that causes your muscles to spasm with low voltage electricity to increase strength.
5. Home Head Traction which a funny looking when you're all hooked up. See this post for a visual!
6. Heat/cold pack therapy
7. Pain medication which makes him drowsy and does NOT relieve any pain so he doesn't take it.

Hubby's had Xrays and MRI's. Now three months later, we're off to see the Orthopedic surgeon. The good news is he's not suggesting surgery...YET! We're on to the next phase which will include out-patient physical therapy three times a week, nerve block shots, ultra sounds and different pain meds for the next three weeks. This is IN ADDITION to the three weekly visit to the Chiropractor. When the three weeks is up, we'll go back to see what the next step is...more physical therapy, different drugs, more gizmos, surgery???? Who knows but at least surgery's not on the table at the moment. The combination of nerve block shots and pain meds seem to be working, at least for now since hubs is sleeping more soundly than I've seen in quite a while. Cross your fingers, toes, and anything else you can for a positive outcome! Until then, I'll leave you with this photo (i couldn't get that image to work from the MRI disc-program issue???)