Little tidbits

Matt to me last week at the beach:
"Mum, want to play?"
Me: "Sure! What do you want to play?"
Matt: "Let's pretend... I can be Matthew, and you can be Mumma!"

Jill in the car after day two of her new glasses: "MUMMA! I can see now!"
Me: "What can you see?"
Jill: "The cars and trees!"

Matt's been telling everyone who'll listen when they comment on Jill's glasses: "I don't need glasses because I eat all my carrots and I have good eyesight."

She's already broken her glasses, by the way. Yeah, four days after getting them, she must have gotten curious or something because she pulled one of the rubber/plastic nose pad thingys off. Just so happened that it happened on a Sunday and the optical shop we go to is closed on Monday's. So at my mother-in-law's suggestion, I stopped at Lenscrafters to see if they could fix it. Apparently, "just this once" they replaced the pad for free, but normally they charge (gasp!) $10.00!! Jillian and I had a very serious conversation about not playing with her glasses after that visit. In spite of that, when I was cleaning her glasses for the one billionth time yesterday, I noticed chew marks on the ends of one of the ear pieces. *sigh*

When Meema (Mark's mom) asked Jillian if she was getting excited for school, Jillian replied, "Yup! And I'm not going to say poopy! I promise!"

Speaking of which... thanks to April telling Jill that it's alright to "go in the ocean" - ahem - Jillian misunderstood slightly and left a floater in the tide pool last weekend. We had to have a conversation about that, as well.

And on a lower note... I finally got a diagnosis on all the back problems I've been having. It started when Matt was about six months old, if any of you remember that. I was a mess... literally looked like a pretzel. They diagnosed a bulging disk in my lower back, prescribed muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories and physical therapy. Things got better for a time, but they never really returned to "normal."

Ever since Jill was born it's been bad again. I can't bend over, cough, sneeze or pick anything up without my back spasming, and I wake up several times each night in pain from lying down. I'd get adjustments at the doctor's office, things would improve slightly, but I can honestly say that I have been in almost constant pain for almost four years now. I'm not saying to to complain or be over-dramatic, just painting a picture for you about what it's been like for me. I was hoping that by getting a gym membership and working on my back muscles and stretching would help, but I've noticed no change. So at my yearly physical back in June, I mentioned it to the doctor and he ordered up a bunch of tests: an X-ray (which showed mild arthritis), an EMG (tests for nerve damage - which was "within normal range") and finally, last Thursday, I had an MRI.

I received the results this morning. Apparently I have:

• Herniated disk with a tear in L4/L5
• In addition, a Bulge in L5/S1
• Straightening in the lumbar region - indicates constant spasm

The nurse I spoke with said that the office was recommending that I see a neurosurgeon. They recommended New England Neurological and along with the recommendations of family members, I called and asked for an appointment with Dr. Cook. He had a cancellation tomorrow at 2:00, otherwise I would have had to wait until October for an appointment, so of course I snatched that right up and spent the better part of this afternoon making arrangements (referrals, etc) for tomorrow.

Soooo... very long story short, I'm happy that it's not *just* "mild arthritis" because I was starting to worry that 1) I had very low pain tolerance for the amount of pain I was in, or 2) That this is something I'd have to get used to for the rest of my life. In other words, I'm glad that it's more serious than that and that I wasn't imagining things. Sounds perverse, I know, but that's how I feel. I also am almost hoping that the doctor recommends surgery. I am tired of being in constant pain and just want the problem fixed. For good.