Thank Heavens!!

Thank heavens Lit class is now done (is what Matt is thinking)! He had his final tonight, and this class is now behind him! Now, he has a little break before his next class begins on Sept. 6. That class is called Oceans and Atmospheres (his required science class). I told him that he should take Human Biology, and I would help him study. He didn't like that idea. The science class will be every other Saturday morning.

We're having fun watching the Olympics. We've been watching beach volleyball, synchronized diving/springboard, swimming, and gymnastics. Shawn Johnson is awesome!! I've had to tape Swingtown and Ice Road Truckers. Don't know when I will watch them with all these Olympics on TV!

I worked for a few hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Bleh. Actually, it wasn't that bad. Matt studied and did some stuff around the house while I was gone. Then Saturday, we went west and had lunch at Panera and went to Costco, Target, and Eddie Bauer. Came home and went to church then watched the Olympics.

Sunday after work, we went to the Iowa State Fair. Matt got two free tickets at work, so we decided we might as well go. If we didn't have the free tickets, we probably wouldn't go. We parked at SE Polk High School, and thank goodness we did! The fair was VERY crowded since it was a weekend and the weather was beautiful. We only stayed a few hours, but that was enough. Ate a pork chop on a stick, a fountain cherry Coke, and I had a chocolate shake while Matt had a peppermint bar.

I spent the entire weekend with my back taped. Let's back up and get the whole story. I started to have some back pain a few months ago but didn't think much of it and thought it would resolve on its own (duh Desi. You should know better!). Well, needless to say I still have this pain.

(I'm gonna get technical now for anyone who understands or cares). I had my boss look at my back, and he found an ERS left (I think) at T12-L1, a definite step-off at the spinous processes, and a true leg length discrepency (left shorter than right) along with some swelling at the thoracolumbar jct. I only really get an increase in pain when I flex at that segment. He did some MET, thrust manips, myofascial release, gave me a heel lift for my shoe, and recommended ibuprofen and exercises. He has been working on me for a few weeks with no improvement. I think I have him stumped, and he is a REALLY good PT! Since mobs into flexion weren't working, he thought he would try taping me into extension at the lower thoracic and entire lumbar regions. So I walked around all weekend with tape on my back and could barely flex. Made it difficult to get in and out of the car and do the laundry! Of course this area felt better for the weekend since I couldn't flex it, but all the muscles in my back were SORE from holding me in extension all weekend.

Since none of this has really worked, he suggested I see a physician and maybe get an x-ray to see what may be going on. Ugh. What a pain! The pain isn't really limiting me, as it only hurts when I flex at that segment. Well, I can't get in to the physician until next Monday, so I will just wait until then I guess.

Oliver Update: Oliver is still eating really well and even ate some pellets today while we were at work. He weights 1.88#, so he is holding steady.

(I've listened to Disturbed's "Inside the Fire" like five times while typing this!! Loser!)

~Desi