Monday, October 14, 2013

Lots going on, and none of it very good

Hey there peoples,

I've been updating my situation on Facebook and Twitter, but I finally have the time to sit down a write a post.  Here's what's going on, and it's fairly sucky.  

For those of you who don't know, I'm an embryologist.  I work in infertility, so basically I get women pregnant and they pay me for it.  Kinda sounds like pimpin but it's not.  

Anyhow, using a microscope is required for being an embryologist.  In fact, using a scope for hours a day is not uncommon.  Human embryos and sperm are too small to be seen with the naked eye, so basically every kind of analysis and procedure needs to be performed under a microscope.  

After seven years I developed neck pain and severe headaches. I went to the doc and he said that he thought it was related to the fact that when I look through a microscope with my head tilted forward, it strains my neck and over the years has led to headaches and neck strain.  

I had to fight Worker's Comp to get them to approve the injury and treatment.  The problem was that the treatment didn't fix the "sprain/strain".  The pain was much less during the eight weeks of treatment, but the pain came right back.  

As I was fighting for more treatment to control my pain and keep me working, I developed two bulging discs in my neck.  It got so bad that I was having brutal headaches, plus stabbing, shooting, intense pain down my right arm, as well as tingling and numbness in my arm and hand.  I tried to work through it, medicate through it, but eventually it was obvious that I couldn't work like that.  

So now I'm on medical leave, and won't get paid until I fight worker's comp to pay me.  The fact is that they don't want to pay for ANYTHING, and are going to make it as hard as possible for me to get paid or get any treatment paid for.  The whole thing just stinks because I like my job, I'm a hard worker, but my job hurt me, so I can't do it, but I can't get any compensation for it until I go to court and a bunch of medical exams.  It's the most frustrating thing ever.  

Here's another sucky part.  I haven't been on a horse since the middle of September.  I can't ride, not even Kaswyn, because I don't trust that my right arm will react like I want it to.  When it's numb it feel like it's filled with sand.  That's not very safe when on a horse.  So no riding until, well, I don't even know when. 

My fears are that I won't recover enough to do my job, so I won't be able to help support my family.  I'm also afraid that I won't recover enough to ride again. Sure, they say I can have surgery, but that scares the shit out of me.  What if the surgery doesn't fix it? What if there are complications?  

So I'm just sitting around, going to physical therapy, doctor's appointments, and court hearings.  Not working and not riding.  

Right now I'm sad and worried about the future.  I think I need chocolate. 

And bourbon. 

7 comments:

Mac said...

Oh dear, Sheri, this doesn't sound too good at all. =( I hope that you are at least getting pony visits with your boys to help keep your chin up.

You are such a fantastic writer; is that an activity you could do currently to take your mind off of things? If you wrote a little eBook, say, about your partnership with Kaswyn, and self-published through Amazon, your readers could purchase it. I would!

I had a three week migraine event in January. I couldn't get vertical for love or money as the migraine left me with severe vertigo. I could barely get through a quick dinner without feeling like I was on a Spin A Tron. So I had to lay horizontal for three weeks, and eventually crawled out to see my horses. I could only pick up their feet if I sat on the ground and held the hoof in my lap - very well trained horses.

Anyway, what I COULD do was use an iPad. Lying on my back, I could hold and use an iPad with ease as it was so light. It got me through. It's slow to use but perhaps a good tool for the time.

Hope you get better soon. Mel

Anonymous said...

You probably have a subluxation of the atlas bone in your neck. Look for a NUCCA chiropractor in your area and chances are, you'll be actually fixed (not just "treated") in a couple of months. Likely not covered by insurance though ...

Sandy Baur said...

Hi there. I just came across your blog today and wanted to say I know how you feel! I am in the military and injured my back and just now am getting back into riding :-) It still hurts some but it hurts even more not to be on a horse. Hang in there.

My name is Sandra and I ride a Swedish Warmblood x Arabian. It is a pleasure to "meet" you and I will stop back by often!

Scarlett said...

Please tell me you have looked into getting an attorney? OR talked to the state employment office about what your employer is required to do in this case?

Understand that your riding (and your blog) will be used against you in any type of proceedings - they will blame the headaches and bulges on a fall off a horse. You might consider trying to lock it down (or some posts) in case it proceeds to that level.

I am truly sorry for the agony and the worry you're going through. Not to mention the loss of your equine therapy. :(

Val said...

You have my sympathy and empathy. I worked through chronic headaches from Lyme disease. It was awful, but I can't imagine what you are going through. I hope things improve.

Anonymous said...

wow, I am so sorry. Neck pain and headaches are terrible, I have the exact same issue. These tiny little bones in your neck that are connected to the vertebraes get off and then I get pain in my arm to the point that no matter how I hold my arm it hurts, especially driving and I do a lot of driving for my kids' activities. This went on for three years and I just resigned myself to this pain but I found a wonderful doctor and he is slowly but surely returning me to normal with no surgery so take heart, there is hope!

Val said...

I hope things have improved for you since your last post.

 
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