Our Week - The One with Quarantine, Week 24 (An Unexpected Back Surgery… Sigh)

Well, in keeping with the 2020 spirit, last week threw us yet another curveball.  Brian finally saw a neurologist about the back pain he’s been having these last few weeks, and he ended up having to have immediate back surgery… like in the same week he saw the doctor.  It was obviously not something we had planned for in advance, so that threw a bit of a wrench in our week to say the least. 

However, if there’s anything that these last couple of years have taught us, it’s that you have to roll with the punches, get back up every time you get knocked down, and all that.  We’re practically pros at this after all of the things 2019 and 2020 have thrown at us.  Fortunately, we received a lot of answered prayers this week and we’re feeling much better heading into the new week.

Here’s the recap.

Monday, August 24 (Day 164 of Quarantine)

I should have known on Monday that the week was going to be a tough one after we received several different pieces of bad news all back-to-back-to-back.  All of the news was about people who are very close to us, so it was just a lot to take in first thing on a Monday. 

The good news is that one of the things has since resolved with a happy ending, and we’re praying the other two do, as well.  I won’t go into details here for the privacy of others, but I will say that one of the pieces of news we received is that one of our close family members tested positive for Covid on Monday.  Thankfully, this person has been asymptomatic so far, so we are praying it stays that way.  And no, it’s not Brian, Jacob, Olivia, or myself.

I started the day getting in a quick shopping trip at Walmart right after I dropped off the kids.  We’d been needing a few items that are easiest to grab in the store, so I swung by there at 7:45 AM after I dropped off the kids.  I pretty much had the place to myself aside from the employees, and that’s always a relief in these Covid times.

One of my girlfriends from bible study just happened to be there the same time I was, so we stood outside chatting in the parking lot for a while catching up.  It was really nice to see her… I’ve literally seen none of my friends these last five months in person aside from seeing my girlfriend at curbside pickup at the library once.  I miss all of them so much.

I stopped by Publix after that to do our grocery shopping for the next two weeks, and then I headed back home to unload everything and do some work.

Brian had his appointment with the neurologist Monday morning, and the neurologist did not like what he was seeing, so he scheduled B for an MRI immediately (like, that same day).  He then told B he would see him back in his office first thing Wednesday morning to go over the results and then they would go from there.

While he was getting his MRI, I stopped by my friend, Amanda’s house, to grab the painting of Maui that she had done for us.  It turned out soooo good, and I just love it so much!

After that it was car line to grab the kids, and then home for snacks, homework, dishes, dinner prep, and putting away the remaining groceries that I hadn’t put away earlier that morning.  Jacob was supposed to have had baseball practice Monday evening, but it was canceled due to the rain, so we spent the rest of the evening in.

Once the kids were in bed, I was able to squeeze in some time on the stair stepper and also do some light weight-lifting while we watched a couple more episodes of Schitt’s Creek.

Tuesday, August 25 (Day 165 of Quarantine)

Tuesday morning after I dropped the kids at school, I went for a run.  I made it two miles before my SI joints started screaming at me, so it ended up being a quick workout, which was good anyway since I had to run to Fresh Market for chicken.

While I was there, I noticed that they had a big display with aaaallll the fall goodies, so I grabbed some maple cookies for me and candy corn gummies for the kids.  I was sad to see that they didn’t have any pumpkin stuff, but the maple cookies are almost as delicious as pumpkin ones!

The rest of the day was spent working, picking up the kids, and getting homework done, and then B took Jacob to baseball practice.  It ended up running late, so we didn’t sit down to eat dinner until almost 7:45 and then we were in a rush to get everything cleaned up, get the kids ready for bed, and get them into bed.

Tuesday evening, our city was moved to the yellow zone for Covid by the White House Covid Task Force, so that was great news considering we’ve been sitting in the red zone for so long.  Baby steps, y’all!  More people are wearing masks now, so I’m sure that probably has something to do with it.

Wednesday, August 26 (Day 166 of Quarantine)

Wednesday morning, after I dropped the kids at school, I headed straight to Starbucks to get my first pumpkin spice latte of the season!  They were actually released on Tuesday, but somehow, I missed the memo, so Wednesday it was.  It was pure bliss and it got me totally pumped up for fall!

Wednesday morning, B had his follow-up with the neurologist and the doctor told him that the MRI showed that he had a ruptured disc and that he needed surgery.  Without the surgery, there was a 99% chance that Brian would eventually have a dead foot, so the doctor told B he needed to have the surgery the next day.  Sigh.  Obviously, we weren’t prepared for back surgery last week, but we did what we had to do to make it work. 

B spent the rest of the day doing pre-op at the hospital while I took care of the kids and called everyone in our “village” to ask for their prayers and to be on standby in case we needed help with school drop-off or pickup.  Then we had a taco night at home complete with margaritas because we both needed a drink.  Lol.  Goodness gracious, 2020.

In other GOOD news, though, my brother who works for NASA aced his engineering exam and is now officially a NASA Flight Controller.  We are so proud of him!

Thursday, August 27 (Day 167 of Quarantine)

Because of Covid, I wasn’t allowed to go with Brian to the hospital, and we also didn’t want to risk having any of the grandparents take care of the kids (because potential Covid germs since they’re in school) so he just drove himself there.  He had to be there at 5:30 AM and he was third in line which meant his surgery would start around 9:30 AM as long as everything went well.

I got the kids up and dressed and off to school and then I spent the morning working on blog posts and listening to my favorite morning show to take my mind off of things.  Brian had to turn his phone off and hand it over to the nurse to be locked up around 7:30 AM so I was completely in the dark after that.

It was tough not being able to be there with him at the hospital and not being able to know what was going on every step of the way, but thankfully, the doctor called me himself just after 10 AM to let me know that everything had gone perfectly.  He told me that Brian’s rupture was “huge,” and he even joked around that Brian must’ve not been very fun to live with these past few weeks because of the pain he was probably in.  Haha.

Just for the record, Brian hasn’t complained at all.  He never complains about anything.  It’s just not in his nature.  So, while I could tell some of the time that he’s been in pain, he never once actually complained about it. 

Also, for the record, I complain all the time about everything.  I can’t believe he actually puts up with me.  Lol.

The nurse called me just after noon to tell me he was being released, so I picked him up and got him home.  The drive home for me was nerve-wracking… I was driving like a little old lady to ensure I didn’t jostle him too much.  It reminded me of both times B and I had to take the kids home from the hospital when they were newborns.  Terrifying.  Haha. 

I got him settled in on the couch at home and then I stepped back out to drop off his painkiller prescription.  They weren’t able to fill it right away, so I ran back home to hang out with him for a bit longer before it was time to leave again and grab the kids from school.  We swung by and picked up the prescription on the way back home, and then we were able to be settled in for the rest of the evening.  I didn’t really like leaving B home alone even though he insisted he was fine.  Check out those sexy compression socks!

B was up and moving about throughout the afternoon, and he even sat at the table with us for dinner.  My parents were kind enough to go to the hospital and pick up our car to bring back to our house since B had to leave it there after his surgery.  And Maui stayed right by his side because she was mad at him for taking over her spot on the couch.  Lol.

We were all exhausted from the day, so after the kids got into the bed, B and I watched one episode of Schitt’s Creek and then we were in the bed, lights out by nine.  That might be the earliest ever.  Haha.

Friday, August 28 (Day 168 of Quarantine)

Friday morning, I got the kids up and off to school and then squeezed in a two-mile walk.  B was up and moving about before the kids and I ever left for school, and he woke up virtually pain-free.

My daddy came over around 9 to mow our yard to help out since B won’t be able to do it for a while.  I don’t know what we’d do without our village right now!  We are so thankful for them.

B did really well all day, alternating between laying on the couch and walking around the house.  I alternated between working in my office and spending time with him downstairs, and later in the afternoon, I pulled out all of the fall decorations and started putting them out!!!!  WOOOOT.

Friday afternoon, we got some fantastic news from our school… as of the end of the third week of in-person school, they are reporting ZERO known positive Covid cases for all students, faculty, and staff.  GREAT NEWS!  We are praying every single day that it stays this way. 

The rest of the day was spent picking up the kids, doing some more decorating, and picking up Five Guys for dinner, and then we watched Dennis the Menace for Friday family movie night.  Did y’all ever see that version that came out in 1993??  It is so dang cute and funny, and it was always one of my faves growing up.  That was the first time we’ve shown it to the kids, and they loved it.  It had been a long time since I’d seen it, but I still remembered numerous quotes from it because I watched it so much as a child.

After the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched the new Netflix movie, Desperados.  Just like most of the movies we’ve watched recently, it was cute and had some funny parts, but it wasn’t great.  I thought a lot of the humor fell flat, but if you’re looking for some mindless entertainment, it’s watchable.

Saturday, August 29 (Day 169 of Quarantine)

Saturday, I made homemade waffles for breakfast as always, but this time I busted out the Halloween sprinkles for the kids!  They were soooo excited.  They get it from their momma!  ‘Tis the season!

After breakfast, I emptied the dishwasher that I’d neglected on Friday, emptied the kids’ bookbags and lunchboxes and got them in the washing machine (because germs), did some laundry, and tidied up the house for a bit before squeezing in a cardio workout.  Jacob had to be at baseball practice at 12:30, so we ate a super early lunch and then he and I headed to the park.

They’re not allowing spectators at practices right now to help prevent the spread of germs, so I sat in the car and read for an hour and a half while he played.  It was cloudy and only about 86 degrees, plus the awful humidity that’s been hanging around the last couple of weeks finally subsided to 60%, so I was able to sit in there with the windows rolled down and the engine off.  There was a nice breeze and it was quite pleasant.

The rest of the day was spent video gaming, working, grabbing pizza to-go from our favorite place, and catching up on AGT.  B and I also watched some of the first college football game of the season even though it was two tiny teams who aren’t even in our conference.  #DesperateTimes  Our conference delayed the start of the season by a few weeks, so it’s just something to hold us over until our season (hopefully) begins.

Sunday, August 30 (Day 170 of Quarantine)

Sunday morning was cinnamon rolls and church, and then I spent the rest of the morning decorating the house for fall while the kids played and did homework.  After lunch, it was more decorating, and then I finally sat down and did some work later in the afternoon.  I thought about posting a couple of pictures of the décor today, but I didn’t want to spoil it… the full house tour will be on the blog in September so stay tuned!

Sunday evening, we had another #SundayCharcuterie, and it was an extra delicious one since I’d just loaded up on goodies from Fresh Market.  I found some Maple Bacon Onion jam, and oh my gosh, it was pure heaven.  Just look at that beautiful board!

B and I opened a bottle of wine to accompany our board, and then after dinner, we got out for a short walk… B’s first one outside since his surgery.

As of this morning he’s still doing wonderfully, and we’re praying that the surgery has fixed his issues for good… we probably won’t know for a few more weeks as he continues to heal, so only time will tell.

On another note, please continue to pray for my cousin who has been struggling with Covid for two and a half weeks now.  This weekend she was rushed to the emergency room via ambulance again, this time because her leg stopped functioning and her foot turned purple.  They found multiple blood clots in her leg, and we are grateful that the clots were caught before any serious damage was done.  She is also still suffering from vertigo, nausea and vomiting, and terrible headaches, and she has lost a ton of weight, so she still has a long road of healing ahead of her.  She is young, only a couple of years older than me, so this has been scary for our family.  We would truly appreciate all of your prayers.

Happy Monday, y’all.  I wish you the best start to your week!

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