My Five Days Off Work...

Let me digress...

After a doctor's visit that transpired on Wednesday, I was told to stay home and not work until Monday. It was totally unexpected from the doctor who preached Horacio about calling in sick from work. I was experiencing back pains that couldn't be relieved by any massage or Tylenol since the previous Friday. Plus, I also was experiencing this pinching pain that radiates from my buttocks down to my thigh. The pinching pains happened a couple months ago but went away as soon as it started. I just ignored it, although I had a feeling that it was a nerve. At first, I really wanted to call in sick Wednesday, to go to a friend's (from work) house and have some good Indian food (cutlets!!). I then decided to just go see the doctor, since the back pains wasn't really helping me with work and it's so annoying for it won't go away with any kind of remedy. He told me that the upper back pain was muscle pain and it was (probably) cause by my spinal column pinching around the L1 and L2 area (lower part of the spine), which also causes the pinching pain that I felt around my butt and leg. Anyways, after giving me a note to take five days off and four different prescriptions for pain, the doctor noticed that Horacio was sneezing non-stop. Horacio was off that day, so he just came with me, and although he was not feeling so great, he didn't intend to be seen by the doctor. Knowing the doctor that we have, he checked Horacio's throat, and auscultated his lungs... and wrote a note to take off work until today and a prescription for antibiotics. It turned out Horacio was having Strept Throat.

After the (weird) visit, we went to have our prescriptions filled and off we went to Kew Gardens to my friend's place. When they picked us up from the train station (thank God I listened to them and took the train instead of a cab!), I told Bency and Ashma of what happened. They both told me to really stay home and rest... since the three of us worked in the same unit, they knew that me coming to work with that prognosis will really just complicate things for me (we work in a geriatric floor -- a lot of total care patients!). So, off we went to Bency's and enjoyed great Indian food.

When we got home Wednesday, I took the pills that the doctor prescribed, and was knocked out (by the muscle relaxant pill). Thursday was spent inside the house the whole day with Horacio waking me up for the next dose. I took three doses of that pill hence, sleeping the whole day. Horacio has been the greatest, most patient of all... he was giving my medications, heating up food for me, making sure I am comfortable... all I did was sleep, take medications, go to bathroom and sleep.

Friday came, I decided to stop taking the muscle relaxant pill and just the pain killer (Naproxene). We did the laundry and I did some ironing. The back pain became more bearable but it was still there...

Saturday came, we had to wake up early morning for a seminar that Horacio signed us up for (more on that later...) which was from 9 o'clock in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. Then we hang around Borders on 34th Street, waiting for time until the David Crowder Band concert (more on that later too...).

So, now, Sunday, Horacio went back to work, and I am still here at home. The back pain is at it's minimum, I still took my pain killer med... I am still debating whether to call back my doctor and report to him how I am feeling or wait until I get back to work and see how it goes. I probably would wait.. since I am off on Wednesday, and will be reporting back to work on tomorrow... so, until then.. :)