Humor is the key. But apparently some people can't handle it.

I had the strangest nightmares last night. It was a welcomed change from reliving the accident, but I swear, the nightmares I had were something Stephen King would come up with while on an acid trip. The first one featured me and my coworkers on floor 72 of an 80+ story building in Columbia. There was a flash flood, and the news showed what looked like the movie scenes during a tsunami, with the water white capping and rushing around corners of buildings. A few of my coworkers were in the parking lot of the building trying to get in, but there were security guards who were not letting them in. I was trying to get down to the floor level to let them in, but I couldn't. Then I was awoken to take my scheduled pain meds. When I went back to sleep, there was something about being in an old house with my grandparents and a few friends, and there was a murderous ghost that was killing everyone off one by one. It ended up coming down to Mimi, Pepaw, and I, and we were the only ones still alive. I killed a gnat between my thumb and pointer finger, while somehow sucked the power out of the ghost, so we were trying to pack the bare essentials of our stuff and get out of the house before he built his power back up, but I dropped the gnat, and he regained his power before we could get out. Then Mimi woke me up to go to the doctor's appointment. I'm telling you guys, it was insane. I wish I could remember more details, but it was the kind of nightmare that leaves you with that feeling of dread long after you wake up.

Anyways, to flash forward. We headed to Columbia to finally see my orthopedic surgeon. As we were in the waiting room, my worker's comp case manager came in. I'd forgotten she was supposed to be attending all doctor's visits with me. While we were waiting to be called back, I was just talking, and everyone was cracking up. She asked how physical therapy was going, and I said, "Well, she's nice enough, but I'm pretty sure she's the antichrist." She looked at me like I was crazy. Long story short, she told me and Mimi that she was used to dealing exclusively with my mother, and was completely unprepared for us. It's true, my mom is nothing like Mimi and I. But, oh well. So, the nurse came and got us, and took us back, and the case manager asked if I wanted her to wait outside until they took the staples out, and I said, "No! If you have to be here, you might as well enjoy the gory show." She looked pretty uncomfortable again. After a visit full of laughs, we asked her if she was coming to my other appointment Thursday, and she said no, that she was a little overwhelmed by us and didn't think she could handle two appointments with us in one week. Problem = solved. I guess we traumatized her enough that she won't be coming back. Works for me. The doctor pretty much gave me a clean report, said that my incision looks great and there are no signs of infection. I have another appointment in 4 weeks, and he said they'll be doing X-rays, and I may be able to start partial weight bearing on my left leg. I've been having some severe pain in my left knee, and when I told him about it, he said I'm just having referred pain from my hip. I call bullshit, because the hip hurts, too. I know the difference in referred pain and actual pain. My knee hurts. How hard is that to understand? I wouldn't be surprised if when they do X-rays, they find something wrong in that knee. But, hey, what do I know. I mean, it's only my body, you know? I'm so glad the staples are out though. It feels slightly better since I no longer have pieces of metal pulling my skin every time I move. The sites of the staples were pretty red and rough looking, but the orthosurgeon insisted, "They look great!" I'm pretty sure he was crazy. Or at least halfway ignorant. He wouldn't listen to anything I said. He wants me to change pain medications, because it apparently offended him to know that I've been taking phenergan every 4 hours. He wasn't happy when I told him that, and when he asked why, I informed him it's because of the pain medications making me so nauseated. He then insisted that the side effects from my current pain medication (Roxycodone and Percocet) were not healthy, so he wrote a prescription for Nucynta, a new pain medication that hasn't been around too long, so that I wouldn't have to deal with the side effects from the current meds. Funny, after some research upon arriving at home, Nucynta has the same side effects. The man has obviously never heard the saying, "If it aint broke, don't fix it." I'll give it a try, but I will not be a happy camper if I have to deal with all of the same things. He did inform me that it will be another 3 months or so before I'll be at full weight bearing status with my left leg, then I'll be starting my outpatient rehab.

After leaving the doctor's office, we went to Hobby Lobby. I got a few more things to work on project wise, including things to make greeting cards, wedding invitations, baby shower invitations, christening announcements, etc. Just something else to add to my little business page. I'm truly enjoying getting to do these things. It's so much more rewarding than just sitting around. But I have to admit, so far, the most rewarding thing of all has been chasing off the case manager. I'm quite proud of being able to shock her so badly. She said she's used to her patients being whiny and miserable, and was thoroughly unprepared for our method of dealing with things. In all honesty, humor is what gets me through things. Laughter truly is the best medicine.

It's been a long day, and I'm exhausted. Thanks for reading, and good night!