Friday, January 10, 2014

Nerve Conduction Torture Test

Yesterday was the dreaded nerve conduction test that I have been worried, well scared is a better word, about for the past few weeks. I had one done two years ago next month and it was just as painful as I remember. I wasn't able to sleep at all the night before.

It started out with a little electrode being placed on my arms and zapping me with electricity. My hands curled on their own with each touch. All I pictured was Frankenstein lying on the slab, covered with the sheet and his hand starting to jerk after being zapped with lightning. Once the doctor got the information he needed from that torture, out came the needles. He put them in at certain points and then even more electricity. It has changed my thoughts on the death penalty. While I completely believe in the death penalty, electricity as a way of death, I feel, is now cruel and unusual punishment. When a person is sentenced to death, it should be painless or it should be done in the exact same way as the person they murdered died, that should be the rule for anything who kills an innocent child.

Dr. Baker is a nice man and we spent the time talking about old-time movies like Casablanca, Frankenstein (with Boris Karloff), The Wolfman (Lon Cheney), The Invisible Man (Claude Raines) and of course The Rocky Horror Picture Show. By the time we were done, he was actually singing The Time Warp!

He said I was a good patient and didn't even fight. What use is it to fight? I had to have the tests to see what's wrong with my arm. He said he'll have the results sent to my doctor on Monday. I'm worried that it's carpel tunnel syndrome for sure. I'll need a MRI to see if my rotator cuff is torn, the muscle damaged and my elbow messed up. He even laughed that I'd be a terrible poker player because all my feelings show on my face. He could see how badly my arm hurt and what the test was doing to me. I was wearing my red contacts and it took him about 20 minutes for him to decide to ask about them. He thought they were like the Frost Giants in Thor. I had to explain they were really vampire eyes. That's when our talk about monsters, Gods, the paranormal and movies really started.

Like most doctors know, I'm a different type of patient and even he admitted it when I explained what migraines feel like. I think the person who wrote about the birth of Athena was experiencing a migraine. Zeus was feeling stabbing and banging in his head and it was so bad he couldn't take it anymore. He had his head cracked open and Athena sprang out, fully dressed in battle gear with a sword and shield. The stabbing was her sword and the banging was her shield hitting his brain. That's exactly how I feel during the level 10+ migraines I get constantly. I spend so much time around doctors and nurses, that I no longer have even a bit of "awe" for them. I realize they are just people with a little more education. Some doctors appreciate that I treat them like equals, while others get very furious that I don't bow down to their God complex.

I asked him about a bionic arm transplant, but again, he can't help with that. They don't have them available. Maybe someday? My next doctor visit is at the end of the month to an orthopedic surgeon to check out my knee and now my arm. I'm sure he'll want MRI's of off them to make sure he can see if there are any tears, rips, etc.. I'm not thrilled at the thought of having another surgery or three, but I can't keep going on with the pain. I'm use to living in constant pain, but this is even worse than ever and I'm not sure I can tolerate it much longer. I cry myself to sleep every night and quite often through the day as well.

As a treat, we stopped at Four Sons' Texas Hotdogs. Trevor loves their slovaki dinner and I always get their fish dinner and share it with Arielle. They are beyond delicious and it's a HUGE piece of fish. Last night, Randy tried a tiny bit, then he wanted a little more. I think he'll order the fish next time. :) He and Arielle took hotdogs in their lunchboxes for their lunches today.

Until next time

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