Hi All…

I’m headed out in a few minutes for my appointment with the physiatrist for a second round of steroid injections for my tronchanteric bursitis. Nervous but determined. Wish me luck?

Also… decided over the weekend to once again give the blog a new look. I like it. Artsy, isn’t it? 🙂

Later…

I’m home. To my considerable relief, the injections were painless, done quickly and without fanfare or dramatics by my young, hyper-fit and very serious new physiatric doctor.  (He looks like he could easily pick me up with one hand while dribbling a basketball with the other.) Unfortunately, at the moment my hips are about 30 percent more sore than they were before the shots, but he warned me that might happen. It’s not unusual, he said, though quick relief is more common. He also told me (as did my rheumatologist when he injected me a couple of months ago) that if the steroids work, I should get relief from the pain in between 24 hours and a week. If the injections don’t work … well. No change.

Believe me, my fingers, toes and even eyes are crossed in the hopes that they’ll work.

But he’s not leaving my fate up to just steroid injections. He’s also setting me up for a couple of sessions of physical therapy, where I’ll learn gentle exercises that will stretch the long ligaments that lie over the bursae in both my hips. Dr Fit-n-Trim said that right now, those ligaments are shortened and very tight, which keeps the bursae constanty aggravated, inflamed and painful. Stretching them will relieve that pressure and, over time, allow the bursae to heal and go back to their normal state. And with luck, stretching the ligaments will also prevent a recurrence of the bursitis.

I’m all for that.

Other positive news: After the injections, Mom and I went out to breakfast. She was hungry! And not hurting very much! And after we ate, she wanted to go to Target and wander around a bit. She also got to talking about different recipe choices using the fresh salmon fillet I picked up at the grocery store the other day.

My friends, this is huge. Planning a meal ahead means she believes she has a future!

It’s the first time in two months that Mom has cared, even a little, about what she eats for supper or how it’s prepared. She’s still taking pain meds, but she’s getting stronger each day, and the pain has declined enough that she can think with hope about other things. I’m pretty sure that, given another two weeks of pain relief, more nutrition and a gentle, slow gain in strength, she’ll be just fine.

And I can go home.