Ah....Summer

I can't even begin to describe how busy I've been lately. My husband just got a new job. I'm so excited for him!

I've been busy with work. There's a lot going on at the company I work for.

We've also been in the process of moving. We finally have our own apartment! It's been a long time in coming and I'm so glad it's finally here.

Because of the move leg has been in a lot of pain. I've been moving things in and setting them up. Sometimes it's a few hours before I can finally sit down and just relax for a few minutes. Even then I need to get right back up and back to work.

It's times like these I'm glad I have the stimulator. The last time we moved I was completely useless. I was still in recovery from the implantation so I couldn't bend, lift, or twist. All I was allowed to do was sit on the couch (I also couldn't sit or stand for more then 20 minutes at a time) and direct people. I'm so glad I can actually be useful this time.

This was a big week for me. Not only did my husband start working last week, and we got an apartment, but it was also my birthday this week. My husband planned such a great couple of days for us. The night before my birthday we met some friends at the hibachi grill. It was so much fun and the food was delicious. I even managed to escape embarrassment because no one called birthday on me :D

On my actual birthday my husband brought me to an amusement park. It rained the whole time we were there, but that actually ended up being for the better. The rain wasn't heavy, but since it was raining the park was pretty much empty. We got to do everything we wanted to and only had to wait in 2 lines the whole day!

I will say that ever since then, though, my leg has been screaming at me. I've spent way too much time on my feet in the last week. Hopefully this weekend the move will be over and my husband and I can just relax for a while.

Florida

My husband and I recently travelled to Florida with my family. We had a great time. We went to Universal Studios, 3 of the Disney Parks, and we saw the Blue Man Group. It was so much fun.

Each day that we went to the amusement parks we were walking around all day. This is the first time in years I've gone to an amusement park and didn't have to rent a wheelchair. Although I was in some pain by the end of each day, it was so much easier to cope with than it has bene in the past (even when I had the wheelchair). It was incredible.

Again way too long....

Wow, I never seem to have time to update this blog now. My husband and I are always on the move. We've been so busy lately doing things I never could have done before the SCS was implanted.

On April 21 we went to see the remaining members of the Grateful Dead perform live in Buffalo. It was a great show! They played a bunch of songs I know and love, and then they played a few songs I had never heard, which I also loved! I didn't think I was a dead fan until I saw them live.

Last weekend I worked an 8 hour convention for my company. It was 8 straight hours of standing on concrete floors. I won't lie, my leg was killing me afterwards, but I wouldn't have made it through even an hour before I got the SCS.

Very soon my husband and I will be starting our search for our first house. It's so exciting! I can't wait, because I know that now I'll be able to walk through the house and not be in terrible pain the whole time. So I guess you can all take that to mean that my updates will still be fairly rare. Hopefully once things settle down a bit I'll be able to devote a little more time to my blogging.

Oh the stress...

I realize it's been a very long time since I last posted. I've been meaning to update this, but haven't had much time lately. I'm happy to report that my stimulator is still helping a great deal with my pain. Now on to the bad news... the stress:

My coworker left today. He's going to live out his dream and I couldn't be happier for him. A few weeks ago I offered to take over his job, as it's a much needed position in the company. Today they tell me I'll be doing it temporarily until they can find a suitable replacement for him. I got all of 15 minutes of training. The job that he does really required about 3 full weeks of training in order to do it properly.

The job is in technical support. I'm supposed to be dealing with emails more than phones, which is a good thing, because I have a fear of phones. I used to work as a telemarketer and ever since I've had serious anxiety surrounding phones. I rarely even answer my own phone.

I'll be doing this job on top of my regular work, which also has gotten more complicated recently. I really hope they find a good replacement soon.

On top of all of this, I have barely been sleeping. Our cat has been keeping me up at night. I also have been dealing with tension headaches recently.

Yesterday was my mother in law's birthday. My husband and I made dinner for her and I could barely even eat because I had a headache. I made dinner, picked at it a bit and then got in bed around 7:00. I took some muscle relaxants and slept a bit, so that was good.

Although the stimulator is helping with my pain, it's not getting rid of it entirely when I am this stressed out and sleeping so poorly.

I'll try to update again soon, and hopefully will have better news.

Headaches

UGH! I've had a headache now for 2.5 weeks. It's terrible. I went to my doctor, thinking it might have something to do with some medications I am taking and they put me on Ultram for it. She said this should get rid of the headache. It's been about 5 days and nothing yet :-( I'm getting really sick of this. I'm calling her again this week if it still hurts.

I had an appointment with the pain clinic doctor yesterday. I've been so out of it because of the headache that I completely forgot. We were sitting in Friendly's when my phone's alarm went off. I called the doctor's office, and sure enough I had an appointment about 10 minutes later. I told the receptionist that I might be late, but I was leaving right then. She told me not to rush and rescheduled for Tuesday.

I feel like such an idiot. The appointment was only a checkup before I go back to work full time, which I start doing on Monday. I just can't believe I forgot.

UGH! No sleep

I've been really stressed about work lately. There have been some not so cool things going on. So last night the stress was really getting to me and I couldn't sleep. My stupid leg hurts again :( It's not as bad as it has been in the past. My pain level is about a 5/6 instead of being a 10, but it still sucks.

It was rainy/windy yesterday and there's a layer of snow on the ground this morning, so I'm sure that's not helping to much, but hey that's what I get for living in NY.

So yeah, that's my update for the day.

An awesome, yet emotional weekend

My husband and I went on a wine and chocolate tasting tour this weekend. It was at a wine trail about an hour from where we live. The wine and chocolate were both awesome at every winery we went to. It was a 3-day event, but we only went on Saturday and Sunday. We were too busy on Friday to attend.

I have to say I had tons of fun, and now I truly know how much the SCS has changed my life. 4 months ago, I would have been able to go to one or two wineries before I had to call it quits. My CRPS just would not have allowed me to stand for that period of time. The first day we hit 5 wineries. As we were leaving the 5th winery, my husband turned to me and said "I'm tired. Are you okay with going home now?" This was the first time since we met that I wasn't the one who had to call it quits first. It meant so much to me!

Day 2 we hit 6 wineries. By the end of the 6th we were both ready to go home, but it wasn't my leg telling me I was done. We were both in tears on the way home because of how much it meant to both of us for me to be able to do these things and not be held back. Although my back was sore, it wasn't enough to make me stop.

In the last 7 years I've never been able to just enjoy myself. It was a huge weekend for me. I know there will be many more to come. I'm so excited!