I have listeners throughout all parts of the world. And wherever you are, I'm glad that you're listening. Welcome to the Only Child Diaries Podcast. I'm your host, Tracy Wallace. Have you ever felt like you didn't receive the how-to brochure on life? That you didn't get enough guidance about major life issues? So did I. You don't have to be an only child to feel this way. In my podcast, we'll explore some of the best ways to better navigate adulting while doing so with humor and light. Welcome everyone to the Only Child Diaries Podcast. Today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite subjects every day is a gift. And I'm going to tell you this story as it relates to my husband. Because the hashtag for this story would be frustration. Hashtag frustration. But it it it is every day is a gift. Because for those of you who are regular listeners, you know that back in October, my husband suffered a lot of pain. He had in his back, where he was really unable to do anything except lay flat in bed. And we went through two hospitalizations before he got a nerve block in mid-early to mid-November. And we didn't have any experience with nerve blocks. And so the doctors at the hospital told him that, you know, there's really no way to tell how long the nerve block would last. It could last forever. It could last for a week. So what he basically has done since that time is ask everyone that we've met that would have any uh even um you know a vague knowledge of nerve blocks, how long do they last? And uh it was really cute. I mean, it is somewhat annoying, but it was very, very cute because really the the the answer to that question is no one knows. Everybody's different. And so anyway, I just kept kept telling him, you know, every day is a gift that you don't have pain. We were supposed to start we had and we had PT at home. We had a great guy coming to the house, but we finally saw a doctor who you know takes the conservative route to fix these things, and he prescribed a special place that does physical therapy that he works with. And so we couldn't have home PT and outpatient PT where we go, you know, someplace to have the PT, right? So we were gonna do that in early January, except then he got sick, right, after New Year's, and then I got sick, I got COVID, so I had to cancel that appointment, and the next available appointment they had was the end of January, so that was you know another setback, right? And every time we'd ask somebody in the medical community, how long do these nerve blocks last, they would say, Well, nobody knows, but the the best thing to do is to keep moving, get stronger, and then hopefully you'll alleviate um, you know, the the pain, right? And you'll help you'll help not to have this problem again, right? So he's had two appointments at the physical therapy place, the new place, and uh they were only able to fit in him fit him, fit him in once a week. So he had one last week and he had one the week before. And this last time that he went, it was really fantastic. I felt like we were finally making progress because he came out from the I I didn't stay with him because there weren't a lot of places to sit back there. So um it's a much smaller place than the place we used to go to. So he came out and he was standing straight up. He wasn't all hunched over and whatnot. He was standing straight up and he just looked more energized. He said he felt better, and I thought, like, okay, we're finally making some progress, and we're, you know, get getting back to normal, right? And so I think it was like two days later. Um, and I I mean, I don't think it has anything to do with the physical therapy because he was just doing exercises, but uh, you know, he um he all of a sudden he had some pain sitting and and it was pretty bad. But then he stood up and he could walk, but again, then the next day he felt okay. So that's good, you know, he's able to walk, but he yesterday, so it's been three days, today's the fourth day. Um, today or yesterday, rather, he did walk in the house with his walker, but he said that he started to feel the the weakness in his one leg that he used to have. So we had some we had an inkling that this was happening on Thursday, but it was just a kind of a minor occurrence. And I guess I thought, like, well, you know, okay, he's all right, he feels better. He went to bed, he was okay. And I thought, well, okay, we'll see how he feels on Friday. But then he got up kind of late, and by the time I realized that, okay, this is this is a little bit worse today. It was late in the afternoon on Friday, and I called the doctor's office, and of course, they were gone already. I guess they leave early on Friday. So I I left a message, I left a voicemail, but I also wrote a message on the portal. So we'll see what happens. But, you know, based on what happened last time, he had when he was in the hospital, they wanted to do the nerve block. They said they can do more nerve blocks, so he has to go off the blood thinners. And so we stopped taking the blood thinners. I think it's a week. It's either seven days or nine days. So whatever he can't have a nerve block this week. So we have to get through this week. So he's not gonna be as independent as as I had hoped. He was just getting to that point, right? Honestly, I felt like crying, but I know that he's even more frustrated than I am. So I wasn't gonna go there. I was gonna be strong. I was, I have been strong. I mean, it's just our general frustration with the whole process. So we'll see what happens tomorrow with the doctor's office and what they say, and hopefully it's something that they can work out relatively quickly for us. Or maybe, I don't know, I don't think that they would want to keep it or wait until it gets really bad. We'll see. But uh, yeah, every day is a gift, and and now it's like, well, every period of time, every hour that he's not in pain, is a gift because we have very minimal pain meds. Um, the way that the medical community, the medical profession wants to handle pain medication now is so different than what it was. And I know that if I try to speak up for him, that they'll think that I'm some sort of pain med addict. Uh, I'm not. I just advocate for my husband. But there's a point when you need pain meds. I just that's the bottom line, right? And it's so much harder to get pain meds from any kind of doctor. Um you basically have to put your body, you know, through a chipper or something. I I don't know. It's very frustrating. Or have torn your arm off or something before they'll give you even a norko. Um we'll see what happens. Um and the Winter Olympics started, and we've been watching that, and I'm just reminded it's a little bittersweet because I'm reminded that it is really all about the sports. But for us, we were watching last night, and it feels like, you know, we used to be the leader of the free world. Um, I think it's all about bringing different countries together and showing that we're all we're more alike than we think we are. But I think that everything that's been happening with the United States and trying to take over different countries and show our lack of support for different countries and pulling away from different things internationally, I I think it it it casts a shadow over us and it's not the same that it used to be. So I I we feel differently about it, but but anyway, we're watching and and it's just it's so great to see these athletes that have worked so hard to compete and so hard to to just to be there, and so we support we support that, of course. So um the Olympics are always great to watch, right? If you haven't watched them, I'm I hope you at least catch some of it. I think the the Olympics also remind me that I have listeners throughout all parts of the world, and wherever you are, I'm glad that you're listening. And I hope that I'm able to share something with you that you're able to relate to as well. Um, and I'd love to hear from you. Thank you for being here and thank you for listening. And that's what I have to share today. Next week, well, we'll tackle another topic together. I hope you'll join me. If you like this episode, please follow the Only Child Diaries Podcast on Apple Podcasts or other platforms you might listen on. And consider rating Only Child Diaries and writing a review. It helps others to find us. Please share it with a friend you think might like it as well. Visit my Instagram page, Only Child Diaries, or Facebook, Only Child Diaries Podcast. Thanks for listening. I'm Tracy Wallace, and these are the Only Child Diaries.