Yesterday, I sat down with my 2011 and 2012 calendars side-by-side. Every year I like to go through my old calendar and record any important dates from the old into the new. There are way to many birthdays and anniversaries among my family and friends to try and remember it all! During this process it's always interesting to see what has taken place over the last year. As I was going back through 2011, it was amusing to me to see what mood I was in by my handwriting for that month or weeks events. Sometimes it was nice and light and happy. Other times, I had that pen pressed so hard onto that page that marks were left on the next. Some days were filled with multiple exclamation points and others just plan matter of fact doctors appointments. This past year seemed to have a little of everything.
In January, I was undergoing some nerve cauterization in my back. I remember being nervous and excited all at the same time. There was hope that I wouldn't be dealing with most of my spinal pain at that point once the procedures were complete. Three days after the procedure I wrote "NO MORE PAIN!!!!" on the calendar. Having dealt with pinched nerves and having the feeling of a never ending electrical shock down my leg, I was ecstatic that after all the numbing wore off I felt fairly normal and was walking without a limp any more. 11 months later some of that pain has returned along with worsening of other complications in my spine. Someone asked me the other day if I regretted the cauterization of those 5 nerves back in January. When I looked back and saw the joy in my penmanship on that third day, I knew there were no regrets. The pain was almost completely gone for 9 months. I knew when I had the procedure done that there was always a possibility that my body would regenerate those nerves and they would probably get pinched from time to time, but it was still worth it.
February brought the celebration of our first anniversary of marriage. We brought out the top of our cake from the wedding and let it thaw out. All our friends had mixed reviews of their wedding cake a year later so we were excited to see how it turned out. We cut into our first slice and began laughing. For some reason they covered our top layer in, no lie, an INCH THICK layer of icing! There was only a small amount of cake under all that icing. We enjoyed a few slices and then threw it away. It was fun to look back at our wedding photos and honeymoon pics.
In March, I left a job for a new dental office with a steady schedule and better pay. Things were great at first until May came around and the doctor called me into her office. Apparently the office manager didn't like the fact that I was a jack of all trades and made her look bad. As she was crying and telling me it was the worst and most wrong decision she had ever made, the doctor released me from my job. I was a whirlwind spring and summer trying to collect unemployment and find a new job.
June came and with it the celebration of my 25th and gram's 66th birthdays. It's an amazing, indescribable thing to share your birthday with your grandmother. This year we decided to celebrate with the mouse! Mom, gram, Tracie and I all met down in Orlando and spent the weekend together. We spent our actual birthday at Disney World and what a joy it was to see the delight on my grandmother's face as we enjoyed all the rides. Don't think for a second that 66 slowed my grandmother down one bit! She kept up with us and was going strong from 9am until midnight when we left. Somehow, we even convinced her to go on splash mountain. As we got closer to the front, you could tell how worried she was getting about the big drop. All my mother could think about was my grandmother having a heart attack on her birthday, but gram went on the ride like a champ. Once we were done and soaking wet, you couldn't get gram to stop talking about how much she loved it and it was her new favorite ride. The fireworks show was an amazing end to the beginning of my 25th year.
July and August came and went and I was still looking for a job. To cheer me up, Isaac and took me back to see Mickey and then mom and I flew up to Bristol for the night race. It was Friday afternoon and mom and I were headed into town to see the Nascar Hauler Parade (a must see at least once in your life) when my phone rang. The number came from FSU, but wasn't my husband's. I answered and was asked to come in for a job interview the next week. I had my job interview on Tuesday and by Friday was starting my new job! August turned out to be a great month.
Around October, I noticed that my back pain was becoming more frequent and getting stronger. My doctors and I tried a few new things and saw a rheumatologist. The rheumatology tests showed nothing on their end and all of my docs agreed on sending me down to Shands next year. There is no reason that a 25 year old should be having multiple tears in the discs, a bulging disc, multiple herniations, along with the spinabifida, scoliosis, and arthritis in my lower back. I was tired of treating the symptoms and having to take stronger and stronger drugs to be able to attempt to live a normal life. We all agreed that Shands should (hopefully) be able to determine why my body is degenerating and possibly come up with ways to slow down the process and better control the pain. It hasn't been a really fun fall or winter to say the least, but things will get better.
We just got back from our Christmas vacation a few days ago. It was a great week visiting with our families and shopping with my mom. We got great gifts and the pups are stocked up on treats and rawhides for the foreseeable future (Spoiled grand pups!). Now it's time to take down the Christmas tree and pack away all of the Tinks for the year. This year, like may more to come, has had it's ups and downs. There are good days and down right crappy days. On the bright side, if the past is any indication of things to come; we know that no matter how blah life becomes, things will eventually begin to turn around.
Wishing you and yours a safe New Years Eve and blessed 2012!
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