SKI-er or Sk-ater. We know how to enjoy ourselves

Merrywidow

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Welcome back Merrywidow! Thinking of you at this sad time. Your mum had a good long life.

Thanks SDW - yes she was a tough one my Mum. It was all very peaceful and she slipped away in her sleep.

Glad to hear you are getting lots of House/dog sitting work. I have been forced to stick close to home for a few years now as Mum was in a Nursing home in Tunbridge Wells and as there was only me and her, I couldn't not visit her a few times a week. Now I can spread my wings a little. That goes for my house too. I would love to sell up and down size to somewhere near the sea. Taking it all one step at a time.:D
MW:cool:

pollypenny

MW, we went to Florida in Jan, just when baby was 4 weeks. I was windering who would keep me informed about gatwick closures in case of bad weather.

Thankfully all mild ( as I bought the most ugly snow boots ever from Cotton Traders)

margaretclare

Best wishes to all.

DH and I went to the NEC, Birmingham, yesterday, for the Focus on Imagining 2012 exhibition. As we're getting older we're determined to live our lives to the full. This was something he wanted to see. It was a new experience for me and we both walked a long way which means that today we're stiff and tired.

He went for a second MRI scan on his lumbar spine Monday morning, I sat and waited while listening to my iPod. It took ages, because the scanner broke down half-way through. However, these people are really on the ball. Phone call this morning from a consultant's secretary - appointment for him tomorrow afternoon. This is an orthopaedic surgeon specialising in spinal surgery.

He's very laid-back in attitude - don't think I would be!! - very 'che sera sera'. My view is: (1) these people are really on the ball once you actually get to the right experts and don't keep getting fobbed off with 'oh it's a muscle strain, go away and take anti-inflammatories until it settles down' (2) the service we've had from the NHS over a period of years is in direct opposition to what you hear and read about older people being neglected, ill-treated, talked down to and generally treated badly, and (3) will there ever be a year in our life together when one or the other of us isn't undergoing some form of surgical intervention?

Added to which, it's wet, cold and miserable out and the new energy I had last week from the spring weather and lengthening daylight seems to have evaporated.

We're meant to be going for a 4-night stay in Amiens, France, last week of this month. I hope it still happens.

pollypenny

Sorry to hear about your OH, MC. Hope you make it for your French break, as well as him having some good news as a result of the scan.

seven-day-weekend

pollypenny wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your OH, MC. Hope you make it for your French break, as well as him having some good news as a result of the scan.

Same sentiments from me too. xx

margaretclare

Thank you to both.

John_Pierpoint

Good luck with the surgery on OH's spine.

As someone crippled for several months by sciatica (inflammation of the spinal cord manifested as pains in the leg), as a general comment to the forum, I would say don't give up. For me those anti-inflammatory drugs simply would not work, and if you read the leaflet about side effects that comes with them, you will not want to take ever increasing dosages.

Congratulations on getting the MRI scan, I was turned down on the grounds of cost; even when there was a mobile scanner parked in the grounds of Orsett Hospital - however the invention has been a feather in the cap of Nottingham University (and a boost to the coffers).
MRI equipment is expensive. 1.5 tesla scanners often cost between US$1 million and US$1.5 million. 3.0 tesla scanners often cost between US$2 million and US$2.3 million. Construction of MRI suites can cost up to US$500,000, or more, depending on project scope.
an orthopedic surgery group in Illinois billed a charge of $1,116 for a knee MRI in 2007 but the Medicare reimbursement in 2007 was only $470.91.
In France, the cost of an MRI exam is approximately 150 Euros. This covers three basic scans including one with an intravenous contrast agent, as well as a consultation with the technician and a written report to the patient's physician.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging#MRI_versus_CT

Ah well a mixture of physiotherapy and osteopathy, plus a bit of faith, made it suddenly clear up, like "charming" warts.
I am now careful about "lumbar support" especially when driving.

Anyway good luck, I am sure all our thoughts are with you.

tanith

Haven't been here for ages , lots going on . margaretclare hope you get a speedy diagnosis from the Orthopod , spinal surgery cured my sciatica/back pain about 10yrs ago but a back is always fragile and I still have to be aware whatever I am doing. Lots to consider when you consent to undergo spinal surgery , ask lots of questions I took a pad with me so I wouldn't forget things...

margaretclare

Thank you to all for the good wishes. Thanks to John Pierpoint for the Wiki article. When DH had the first one a week or so back he was in and out in no time, he says - it was in an extra building at the side of the hospital. This week he had to go to the main MRI department within the hospital itself and I think from the way he described it, it must have been one of the 'older' machines as described in the article. He had to have the 'contrasting agent' injected intravenously - usual difficulty finding a vein! - then the machine broke down halfway through and had to start all over again. He did talk about the noise and the uncomfortable feelings, although he doesn't suffer from claustrophobia. I do! I get claustrophobia in crowded buildings, one of the reasons why I hate supermarkets, and in the NEC on Tuesday I started to feel it. So I hope I never have to have one of those MRI scans because I don't think I could do it. I was not invited to go and hold his hand, in fact I didn't think I was of any use at all, although he said it helped him just knowing I was there.

The repeat scan was ordered by the spinal orthopaedic surgeon, the man he's seeing later today. Originally they could see a 'protrusion' and thought it was 'escape of bone marrow'. I just don't see how bone marrow can escape, not without a serious traumatic injury or the like. This all started last summer, at first it was thought to be just a muscle strain, or to do with his uneven gait because of the painful left knee. Then blood tests to rule out kidney or other internal organ damage/disease. Eventually we got this far. He described a feeling of 'numbness' on one side of his spine just at the level of his kidneys - this, apparently, according to the man he saw in the physiotherapy clinic, is indicative of a trapped nerve.

It's the 8th today, on the 26th we are meant to be going to Amiens. Will see if it happens!

tanith

My MRI also said a protrusion which turned out to be a bulging disc which was pressing on nerves including the Sciatic Nerve, they tried physio, rest and meds but in the end they did a small surgery I think it was called a laminectomy which involved removing the protrusion .. took time to recover but it certainly helped with the pain but I do still have numbness in the smaller toes of my foot on the side I had the Sciatica... I hope all goes well for him and that you get to Amiens for your hols..