We don't have a whole lot going on, and until last night, didn't have snow that lasted for more than a few hours. Well, we finally have some snow on the ground and it's starting to feel like winter has come. Oh well, it had to happen sooner or later and I'm grateful it took as long as it did!
As some of you might know from Facebook, I had a rough week with my back. I've had some back problems before in the past, and since I've been working out and doing yoga, they have stayed, more or less, at bay. But last week was a first for me. It was the worst pain I've been in and what is frustrating is that I am not 100% what even happened. Last weekend I had a busy few nights at work. Nothing out of the ordinary, just some big parties and running around busing and cleaning, etc. Just like I always do. When I got off Saturday night, I went to hang out with Zak for the last 30 minutes of his shift before closing. I remember he rubbed my back and shoulders a little bit. Then we came home, and I noted that my shoulder area on my right side hurt a bit, so I had him pop my back and rub it a little more. He had some plans to start networking for a job he wants this summer (more on that in a minute), so he went over to a friend's house for the night. I didn't mind, and decided to read on the couch for a few hours.
The bad part came when I tried to get up. I could barely move. And the pain was so bad I was taken aback. I had never felt like that before. It was like my entire right side of my back, and some of my side, has frozen up. It took me awhile, but I finally willed myself upstairs. And of course, Zak had forgotten his phone at work so I was on my own. I tried to brush my teeth, and even that was an ordeal. I took some pain killers, painfully and slowly change into my pajamas and crawled into bed. I remember a lot of crying, praying and wondering what had happened to make me some immobile, so defenseless. It was awful. I couldn't think of anything and started to worry that I had maybe done something that was irreversible. I don't know how, but I eventually fell asleep, half paralyzed and rigid on the bed. When Zak came to bed a few hours later, I woke up and told him how scared I was and he rubbed my back, put some icy-hot on it and helped me get into a less painful position to sleep in.
When I woke up the next day, he suggested I take a hot shower to relax my muscles. It helped immensely! I hobbled downstairs and found the Tylenol and Zak put some more icy-hot on my back and I tried to sit in a position that wouldn't hurt. The next few days showed slight improvement. I took a hot shower before bed and in the morning, went through almost a whole bottle of ibuprofen, and a lot of icy-hot. When I could bare it, I did several types of stretches. All throughout the week I talked to my dad about my insurance predicament. Since we live where we do, there isn't really anything Kaiser can do for me, short of treating me at the ER or urgent care. By the time we got it sorted, my back was considerably better and I was so frustrated I decided to not even bother. This is why we need simple, universal health care, people! But he sent me some of his pain killers to help me out, and they really improved the state of my back. It was a really rough week and now I am almost back to normal. I can move and do almost everything I used to do without it hurting. So I am thankful I didn't ruin my back, and that it eventually healed.
So that was my week.
Zak's week was more interesting. Well, like I said, he wants to get on one of the local fire crews for the summer. His co-workers have a brother and friends that are on the crew, so Zak has been networking with them lately, hanging out and the like. If he got the job, it would be a life changer for us: at least 2 times more money than he makes now, it would help with future job placement and for his major, and he would be doing something that interests him. We're crossing our fingers. He has to make an appointment for mid-February, when they start hiring. It looks like he'll have some of the guys' recommendations, which will be very helpful. He's really excited about it, and we both hope he gets it. It'll be nice for him to be out in the forest instead of behind a jewelry counter.
He also started school this week. He is taking: biology, economics of natural resources, forest conservation and physics this semester. So far, his classes seem interesting and comprehensible enough. His MWFs are stacked, and he has one of his two labs on T and TH. His friend from last semester's chemistry class is in a few of his classes, so that's nice for him, too.
That's been our life for now.
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