This and that

*I truly believed after having this cat for 2 week that surly the excitement would have worn off by now. The kids fight to snuggle her and carry her around like she is a handbag. Asher will wiggle and pull himself all the way under the bed just to be near little Miss Pepper.

* Speaking of Pepper, and a little hindsight. Braden was being pretty possessive of kitty the other morning and was trying to hoard that cat on his bed. Well the cat got spooked with a loud noise and she jumped off the bed and landed on Molly. The cats back claws caught her skin under neath her eye and ripped it open. It came way to close to her eye ball and I was livid with Braden. I know he didn't do this on purpose but I was irritated at the lack of responsibility and forethought, probably 2 things that most 11 year olds lack still.

* I was finally able to get into a Dr at the pain management center this past week. Over the past 1 1/2 years I have been to the ER twice unable to move my neck and several other occasions where the Dr just ordered my steroids, muscle relaxers and pain meds. I had an episode a few weeks before Christmas and expired steroids got me moving again. Well at the pain clinic. I received 8 Trigger point injections into my neck and shoulder muscles. It is basically lidocaine injected directly into the muscles and the muscle is forced to relax. It was a pretty painful event but one that has brought immediate pain relief. I was so flooded with emotions and gratitude that I was finally being released from a constant chronic pain. This is a permanent fix and can be repeated if the muscles decide to spasm again in the future.

* Yesterday I finally had the rest of my kidney stone removed. Back in November I had Lithotripsy done to break a stone down. After multiple x-rays revealed the stone was stuck and not moving we moved on to plan B. Going in through the urethra and pull the stone out in a basket. Well it was not that simple. The stone was 10mm and shaped like a triangle. The doctor had to break it down with a laser and pull small pieces out at a time. He placed a stint in the ureter to keep it from swelling shut. I'm extremely thankful that this kidney stone chapter is almost closed. Will still need the stint removed in 2 weeks. I'm hoping that the burning back pain from my kidney to my bladder goes away in the next few days.