Sep 23 Pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional. ~Buddhist Proverb

Round 8 of prolotherapy.  Check!

Because yesterday was a half-day for elementary students in our district, Brad and I decided to go to Mishawaka for my appointment the night before.  Brad is from Canton and has been going to the same dentist all of his life.  He needed dental work done so he made an appointment for yesterday afternoon.  Therefore, our plan was to get out of school, drive to Canton for Brad’s dentist appointment, and then drive to Indiana for my prolo appointment (which was this morning).

We were thinking that since it was a Thursday (our usual date night) it would be a good excuse to go to dinner, visit the Grotto at Notre Dame, stay in a hotel, and just relax.

Well, as we were planning, we apparently were not thinking about how the timing would work to fit in all of our “plans”.

This is how it ended up going~

Brad’s Dentist appointment: 3:30

Brad done at his appointment: 5:30

We get to Mishawaka: 9:00

We are grumpy.  We are hungry.  We are exhausted.

Therefore, there was no nice dinner and no trip to the Grotto.  We instead inhaled a sandwich at Jimmy John’s because we could not wait to get to the hotel and just relax.

We arrived at the hotel at about 9:20, and let’s just say it was not the cleanest place we have ever seen.  The place was the kind of dirty where our feet would turn black every time we walked across the carpet.

At this point, we were just laughing at the ridiculousness of how our “relaxing, romantic” night turned out.  But we were just too tired to care anymore.  I think I was out cold by 10:00.  Brad said he was fast asleep by 11:00.

Thankfully, the morning was better than our night before.  It was gorgeous weather, and we were both in much better moods after a full night’s sleep. We were cracking each other up about our EPIC FAIL of the night before.  We got up slowwwlllyyy, and after Brad showered he went and got us Starbucks while I got ready for the appointment.

Wow.  That latte was some heaven in my mouth.

From there, we went to Meijers to get…Yup, you guessed it.  Fat Tire Beer.  It’s just part of the trip now.  I get a hundred shots.  Brad gets a hundred beers.

After our beer run, we were at the Life is Good Store at 10:00 when it opened.  I found a t-shirt and Brad found two shirts.  The best part was they were all 50% off.  As we were leaving, I started to dream about opening up a Life is Good Store in Lansing, which I’ve decided to add to my bucket list.

As Brad and I talked about it, I had to laugh because I really understood at that moment why Dr. Rosen often tells me, “Usually I tell my patients one thing at a time.  But for you, I tell you 10 things at a time.”  It hit me that it was only 10 am and I had already talked about becoming a personal trainer, opening a Life is Good store, traveling with Dr. Cantieri and speaking about prolotherapy, and having children.

Anyways, it ended up being a nice, slow morning of getting ready while listening to the Today Show and Regis and Kelly, running errands, and enjoying our coffee and each other.

At 11, we got to Corrective Care.   I filled out the usual paperwork, and in the “Any Other Comments Section,” I wrote, “I am back to work half-time.”  Saying that, and writing that sentence still makes me smile to myself every time.

I was taken back to a room and my vitals and weight were taken.  Then, Dr. Cantieri came to get me.  We chatted like old friends.  I told him about my family and going back to work.  He said he had to give me credit that I did all of the work to be able to go back to work.  I told him, (and I will always believe), that it has been a major team effort, and thanked him for being part of the team.

Then we got down to business.  He had me do some of the exercises I have been working on, and was pleased with my scap firing.  Whew!  I’ve been working on those stubborn scaps.

After checking me out some more, it was clear that Dr. Cantieri was going to focus on my left ribs, whole neck, and jaw.  As he examined my ribs more, he thought that some of my problems could be coming from my abdominal wall.  Therefore, he started with injections in that area first.  After the injections in the front, I turned over, and he did the lower ribs, my neck, and then my jaw.

By now, the novelty of counting the injections has worn off.  All I know is I had somewhere between 60 and 80 injections this time.  When the treatment was over, we talked about the plan for the next visit(s).  Dr. Cantieri told me he wants me back in 6 weeks, and that basically, the plan is that I will continue to have prolotherapy as long as I need areas treated, and as long as I continue to improve.  Dr. Cantieri also wants me to stay on the Testosterone cream for these next 6 weeks, and we will talk about having me come off of it at my next visit.

So at the beginning of November, it will be back to Mishawaka.

I am thinking Brad and I will have to try for a redo.

Hopefully, the Grotto, a nice dinner, and time away in a cleaner hotel.