Add an ER visit to the mix of my life...

Lots has happened since my last post...only 14 days have past but it has been eventful...baby girl's ear infection with lack of sleep, chest pains and an ER visit, a trip back to my main Dr for my neck, a surprise birthday dinner outing, a 40th birthday, both boys starting their football seasons, (one at high school JV and one at Jr. high) and more appointments scheduled.  I guess I'll go in order and tackle (smile) each event as it unfolded in several different posts.
The very night of the last neck update post (Aug 10), I was exhausted and finally falling into bed at 10:15.  I did devotions and had just shut out my light when I hear K-Bug screaming in her room.  I ran in to find her crying in pain because her ear hurt.  Poor thing was miserable and just cried and wimpered.  I rubbed her back for 1/2 hour after giving her Motrin and texting my mom to see if she could watch her the next day.  She slept until about 1:00 AM and then was up quite a bit needing us to rub her back and "be" there with her.  My mom arrived in the morning to watch her for the day and I was off to school with the promise of calling for an appointment for the pediatrician.  When I had woken up that morning, I sat up and had pains shooting in my chest right away, but I just figured I slept wrong or something.  As the morning went on and I got an appointment scheduled for K's ear, the pain in my chest seemed to get worse.  On my morning prep time I had the nurse take my blood pressure and it showed up as normal, but elevated from my "normal".  She told me I should call my doctor and see if I could get in for a check-up.  As I called the doctor to set something up, she asked what was prompting the call and I told her I was having some chest pains.  She immediately got the doctor and they asked me to go to the ER.  Now, until she told me this, I was SURE that there wasn't anything really wrong with me.  But someone telling you that you need to go the ER is a quick way to get the blood pumping and the anxiety flowing.  I went to find my principal and in the process had two sweet school friends swoop in and escort me to the ER.  One drove separate and one drove my car...I have to laugh now.  She was telling me to breathe in and out, lay my head back and relax but then went on to tell me that she was running stop signs and racing to get to the ER. Ha! 
As I walked into the ER, I sat down and started to get out my insurance cards when the lady (a student's mom) asked me what I was there for.  I told her chest pains, upon which immediately nurses raced out and took me straight back to a room, with the doctor hot on their heels.  After examining me, taking vitals and talking with me, the doctor felt that it was probably not heart related.  My sweet friend dropped everything and left work to come be with me at the hospital so my school friends could go back to work...To be sure and to try to figure out what was wrong, a chest x-ray, EKG, a TON of bloodwork, and a nasty drink was ordered to rule things out.  They literally did one test right after another (I've never had such quick service at the ER!!).  All tests came back clear and the heart looked good, along with my esophagus.  Phil came on his lunch and while we waited on bloodwork to come back, the three of us (friend, hubby and me) chatted and kept our minds busy.  Finally the all clear came on the blood work and the doctor shared that she believed that I had strained/pulled cartilage in my sternum area that was causing this pain.  It probably was initially injured during the summer and was dormant for a time before sleeping on it wrong or something else triggered the strain again.  So, she put me on a steroid and muscle relaxers to alleviate the pain.  At this point, I was exhausted from the stress.  In the meantime, my mom had taken Kiara to the doctor, been diagnosed with ear infections and had medicine started.  They had gone to my mom's house for the afternoon to rest, which worked out well, as I went home and went to bed for the entire afternoon.  I still have a little tenderness, but it is MUCH better than it was.  A big shout out to my school family that stepped in to help me, calm me, pray for me and cover my classes with NO sub plans at all...After it was all over, I felt a little silly for going to the ER, but yet I'm so glad that I went and found out that it was nothing...Very thankful for efficient doctors and friends who supported me! 
The rest for another night...

Just Telling the Facts

2 1/2 months since I posted.  So much time has passed that I don't really quite know where to start...
How about an excerpt from my last post:
"They are sending me to Chicago to meet with a specialist in osteopathic and acupuncture medicine (along with a few other things too).  I have done the osteopathic adjustments and acupuncture before with no relief, but I trust this team of doctors and if they want me to do it, I will."
I have now been to that doctor 4 times without relief.  I'm going to pull some snippets of emails that I have written about this process to help me better remember what happened....After the first appointment:
"He believes this is a muscular and ligament issue (which was one of the original diagnoses).  He then proceeded (after full body manipulation) to do Japanese scalp acupuncture, which is not a kind of acupuncture that I have had before. It is all done on the scalp area and the went from the top of my forehead--back even with the top of my ear and down to the ear and back to my face ( a big square). This acupuncture was very different and was quite uncomfortable for me. That whole area of my head is very sore and sensitive tonight. He thinks that he can make significant change in my pain in 4 visits. I feel pretty rough tonight. The drive went well and I felt decent for most of the way home. By the time I got home, I was ready to rest for awhile and I haven't moved much since then. Just really sore, sensitive and exhausted."
The second visit was in downtown Chicago and Phil was able to take me.  They "forgot" my records at their other office and the whole visit did not go well, including the doctor "cracking" my neck, which I am absolutely against, as it has ALWAYS had adverse affects.  My email that day:
" It was an interesting appointment and I'm not feeling great about this step, but we shall see."
I felt significantly worse after this appointment and feel it was due to the cracking.  There was acupuncture, but not in the scalp...this time around the neck area in question.
The 3rd visit...I began by telling his nurse and him that I would NOT be cracked again and my reasons behind it.  He was not on board with this and made it known that he could be doing so much more for me if I allowed it.  I held firm.  It is my body and my journey...I know after nearly 12 years what makes it worse and I'm not going to choose that for myself.  I went home feeling very frustrated.
The 4th visit was just two weeks ago now.  Remember he told me there should be significant improvement after four sessions? I talked to my other docs as I really wanted to cancel this appointment.  They were okay with me cancelling, but Phil and I decided to give it one last chance.  I feel like maybe my doctors had let him know where I was at in the process, because he spent more time with me and tried to explain more of the why's of the process than he did in any other appointment.  He did the Japanese scalp acupuncture again and it really hurt but was not sore after.
All that to say...I have not improved. This step has come to an end.  I have an appointment scheduled next week with this guy, but will cancel it as I don't see the point of continuing to go and pay for care that is not helping me. 
This Thursday, I head back to Dr. K, my main doc...we'll see what he has to say.  I'm tired and weary, but God has shown himself to me...he is leading me in a few things that are whole separate blog posts but He is faithful. He really is. So, I wait on Him and His timing and know that in the process, my story is being written and waiting to be told.
As I skim through this I see that it was a pretty blah, tell-the-facts kind of post.  Sorry for that. I'm in a bit of a low point and overly tired from starting back to school...But knew I couldn't put it off any longer.  If you want to pray...just pray for endurance and Christ's peace to pour over me and that I can be a blessing to others in the midst of my yuckiness.  Thanks for reading...