Shooting a Pain in the Neck

Hick has been having some pains ever since he installed his surveillance cameras up at his Storage Unit Store. I'm sure it must be coincidental, but that's when his gallbladder pain started and also a pain in his shoulder. You may recall that Hick had his gallbladder removed, and that pain has abated. He has been thinking the arm pain is due to his neck vertebrae. He had that problem before, and had surgery to put titanium plates in to hold the vertebrae in place.

After a test and a specialist or two, Hick learned some good news and some bad news. The good news is that his titaniumed vertebrae are fine. That surgery held up. But he has degenerative disc disease in some OTHER vertebrae. 

The problem has gotten worse. Not only the pain that was keeping Hick from sleeping, forcing him to get up at night and sit in the recliner. But also a loss of strength in his left arm and hand. So much that he couldn't bring his fingers together to grip anything. He couldn't pull on his boots. Couldn't lift much of anything.

A neurologist told Hick that me might need surgery, but that first he was sending him to another doctor. Hick says he's just a general practitioner. I don't know if he specializes in pain management or what. Hick's quest was to get his strength back, not just get rid of the pain. I'm not sure how many Advils he's been popping, but they do nothing to solve the problem. 

The GOOD news is that the second doctor said he would try a shot in Hick's neck. Hick wasn't sure what it would be, but I assumed a steroid. I used to watch ER! I know that they used steroids to stop swelling, and maybe reverse paralysis in some of their injured characters. 

Anyhoo... Hick had his appointment on Tuesday. He had to lie very still while the doctor stuck his flexible needle in under instructions from a radiologist looking at an x-ray. Hick THOUGHT it was a needle, but it might have been a long tube. It was on his blind-eye side, so Hick isn't sure. He said it hurt while it was going on. They told him it would take about 10 minutes, but it only took 5 minutes. By the time Hick sat up, he could bend his fingers across his palm and touch fingertips together again. He had more strength to grip. 

Hick said he was a bit dizzy from sitting up, and they asked if he was okay to walk out. He was. He said his arm tingles a little like when a limb goes to sleep and gets feeling back. But most of the pain is gone for now. He is scheduled to get one more shot. I'm not sure when. If this doesn't solve the problem, the neurologist wants to do surgery.

So... Hick got shot on Tuesday, and it made him feel better.