You all are my HERO's:
A hero is somebody who is selfless, who is generous in spirit, who just tries to give back as much as possible and help people. A hero to me is someone who saves people and who really deeply cares.

This last week would have been so much harder without all of your support.. from the bottom of my heart thank you and now it's....

Wow its been a long week.. 6 days of trial and error with medications but, it paid off we have finally found the correct dose!! YIPPEE YAHOO. It was definitely more difficult than I thought it would be.. for instance 24 hours ago they changed the medication that was in the epidural and 12 hours later, not only was I back in agony but, I was also so numb again that I couldn't walk. We had to try a few different medications so that we would have a plan B,C,D & E... just in case for some reason the one that had been working no longer did. Making these adjustments and trying new meds was obviously much better and safer to do while I was here in the hospital. The plan now is to send me home with this epidural catheter while we await insurance approval & OR room for the final and permanent implant. This means a home health nurse will need be visiting me daily while I have this unit in place. The hospital will make all those arrangements - thankfully one less thing for me to worry about.

How do I feel? I feel great - like I could run a marathon! Pain levels at the moment are 1-2 - simply amazing!! The only pain that is breaking through the epidural is the lightning bolt pain that occurs down my leg with every single step I take. This was excruciating and now.. tolerable. There is still the tenderness (like a permanent fresh bruise under the skin) but that is also tolerable. The sensitivity is gone, the burning gone, the bone crushing gone.. etc., GONE!

What medications are in the epidural? Ropivacaine (same family as lidocaine) and a very small amount of fentanyl.

So far the only additional medications I need is Baclofen for the muscle spasms/jerks everything else we discontinued the day I was admitted. Yippee Yahoo !

Do I think others would benefit from this? YES absolutely!!

Now... let's hope I get to go home today.

Wishing everyone the best day possible,
Tessa