Who Needs A Spine, Anyway?

Who wants a medical update? You do? Well here you go:

Scott hurt his back.

He's actually been having back pain for years. He's been to see several different doctors, but so far everyone has just given him some Flexeril and Lorotab and then sent him on his way. One doctor even went so far as to take an x-ray, but when nothing showed up they gave up. So for years now he's strained it by working too hard, or sometimes just from sitting for a while, and he's just had to suck it up and deal.

November 1st was the day our new insurance plan took effect. The last time we had to change insurance plans, both the new and the old insurance plans were supported by the clinic where we usually went, so we didn't have to switch doctors. But this time, we had to go to a completely different clinic. This turned out to be a really good thing.

Keep in mind that the events I am about to recount were expected to take, at minimum, two or three weeks. PLEASANT SURPRISE.

I called Monday morning to set an appointment for Scott to see someone at the new clinic. Surprisingly, they had an appointment open for 11:00 a.m. So Scott went to the old clinic, had them print out our medical records, and then went to the new clinic for his appointment. The next thing I know, he was calling me to say they were taking x-rays now and this afternoon there would be an MRI! THAT QUICKLY, YES I KNOW.

So after the MRI, I had to go pick him up, because they gave him Valium so he wouldn't get stressed out inside the MRI machine, and OH BOY WAS HE STONED. I mean, like giggly stoned. It was hilarious!

So then we expected to wait a few days for results, right? Ha! They called within a few hours and were like "Hey, you have a bulged disc!" From zero to diagnosis in three hours. SO GOOD. So they said they had a doctor there who specialized in back injuries, so they would have him give us a call and we would go from there. Less than an hour later, guess who called?

Major brownie points to Tanner Clinic!

So the back doctor called and Scott has an epidural steroid shot scheduled for the 28th, and then we'll see what happens. It's looking like there will probably be a back surgery at some point, although we don't know when.