On the Road Again
After a very productive day of Jennifer walking up and down the stairs in the suite and walking around the unit multiple times she awoke with quite some pain the next morning. In fact it was quite some significant pain.
Over night we also received about 3-4 inches of snow in the St. Louis area. Thankfully the roads were clear and the road to the south and east were clear so we decided to try and get started on our trip back to Charleston. We called the front office and told them we wanted a late checkout. After about 2.5 hours of packing and loading the cars we were finally able to get on the road.
I had given Jennifer her normal pain medicine and tried to increase the frequency by altering the time of her doses to the maximum rates without going over the every 4 or 6 hours for each of the meds. On top of this she is getting, as the doctor recommended, a dose of Dramamine, which helps people who are on narcotics deal with car rides. It also makes them drowsy. Jennifer did really well for the first three hours reclined in the passenger seat but when we went to stop for a bite to eat she was in tremendous pain and also extremely stiff. She had on the WORST pain faces that I think I have every seen when she was walking through the restaurant. Regular stops will be needed as recommended to let her walk around every 1.5 to 2 hours just so she will not freeze up again.
We made it as far as Clarksville, TN which is a pretty close to what we had hoped to accomplish today given our late start. Jennifer was close to her wits end by the time we finally got to the hotel and she could not take riding in the car any longer. She would say that she has had one of her worst days so far pain wise and was wishing to God that we had flown.
When we got the hotel she was able to lie down and it was time for a few more of her pain pills. About an hour later with some dinner in her stomach and the pain meds taking effect, I think she was starting to feel a little better. Riding in the car is extremely stressful and a 13 hour car ride 9 days after having 13 vertebrae fused is a daunting task to say the least. I am still amazed that she is doing so well and only wish she was not in so much pain for several periods in the day.
Hopefully we will be able to make it back home tomorrow but only time will tell.
Jonathan
Over night we also received about 3-4 inches of snow in the St. Louis area. Thankfully the roads were clear and the road to the south and east were clear so we decided to try and get started on our trip back to Charleston. We called the front office and told them we wanted a late checkout. After about 2.5 hours of packing and loading the cars we were finally able to get on the road.
I had given Jennifer her normal pain medicine and tried to increase the frequency by altering the time of her doses to the maximum rates without going over the every 4 or 6 hours for each of the meds. On top of this she is getting, as the doctor recommended, a dose of Dramamine, which helps people who are on narcotics deal with car rides. It also makes them drowsy. Jennifer did really well for the first three hours reclined in the passenger seat but when we went to stop for a bite to eat she was in tremendous pain and also extremely stiff. She had on the WORST pain faces that I think I have every seen when she was walking through the restaurant. Regular stops will be needed as recommended to let her walk around every 1.5 to 2 hours just so she will not freeze up again.
We made it as far as Clarksville, TN which is a pretty close to what we had hoped to accomplish today given our late start. Jennifer was close to her wits end by the time we finally got to the hotel and she could not take riding in the car any longer. She would say that she has had one of her worst days so far pain wise and was wishing to God that we had flown.
When we got the hotel she was able to lie down and it was time for a few more of her pain pills. About an hour later with some dinner in her stomach and the pain meds taking effect, I think she was starting to feel a little better. Riding in the car is extremely stressful and a 13 hour car ride 9 days after having 13 vertebrae fused is a daunting task to say the least. I am still amazed that she is doing so well and only wish she was not in so much pain for several periods in the day.
Hopefully we will be able to make it back home tomorrow but only time will tell.
Jonathan
posted by Jennifer | 10:36 PM
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