Lynn and Her Leg - After The Shot

 

Our Spectacular Ancient Crabapple Tree

So a little over a week ago I finally had my cortisone shot. It was an interesting, and painful experience. But I'll cut through the suspense right now, it worked! Not 100%, I still have some pain, but I'm 80% better. I can walk, I don't need my walker except first thing in the morning, and most of the time I'm ok with just the cane or nothing at all. So it was definitely worth it, and I will do it again if I need to.

My appointment was last Friday at 1 pm. Lee came with me because I needed a driver (and emotional support too!). The whole experience involved mostly waiting, and then a very intense 15 minutes.

We waited in the waiting room for a little while and then pretty soon they had a cubicle available for us, so then we waited there. They took my blood pressure, checked my oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter, and checked my blood sugar levels as well. My blood pressure was relatively high but they weren't concerned, I think as long as it was under 200 (!) they didn't care. And when I'm nervous it is often high.

My blood glucose was 145, which is high for me (I'm pre-diabetic but I take meds and I'm usually close to 100). I have no idea why it was high, I had eaten but it had been several hours. The shot was going to make it spike again for a few days anyway; again they weren't concerned.

Then we waited again, probably for around 45 minutes. I get it; by that time of the afternoon he's probably running behind. And frankly I'd rather he take his time and do it right!

Finally it was my turn. They escorted me into a room across the hall. They had me lay on a table on my stomach with a pillow situated so that the place where the shot would go was a little elevated. It was a little awkward but not really uncomfortable. The shot was going into my lower spine (the nerve pathway between L3 and L4 to be precise). They cleaned that area on my back, put surgical cloth around the place where the shot would go. Then the doctor says the classic "now you're going to feel a little pressure". Pressure my ass! It felt weird, and it HURT! I was like "ow, ow, ow" and the nurse was like "deep breaths!" I was biting the pillow under my head trying not to yell!

So here's the cool thing about it. I knew the doctor was watching where to put the needle on a fluoroscope. I would have loved to have been able to see it, but it was out of my view. But I could feel the drugs going into my nerve pathways. I don't know how to describe it, except they went into my pelvis (very painful), around the inside of my upper thigh, then down the outside of my thigh until it got to my knee. Then it went around my knee and kind of skipped down to the inside of my foot and that was that.

I knew right as it was happening that it missed some places where I have pain, parts of my hip and the outside of my ankle. 

The shot contained an epidural and a steroid. Once it was over I kind of staggered back to the cubicle where Lee was still waiting. They explained to me that the epidural was diagnostic and would only last for 2-8 hours, but would give me immediate relief. The steroid would work more slowly, reaching its peak benefit in anywhere from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks.

We drove home with my leg feeling very tingly and strange. For the next 3 hours I was supposed to walk around and keep track of my pain levels and after the 3 hours were over I was to call them and report my pain level, which I did. 80% pain relief!

So over the next week I've slowly observed my leg improving. On Saturday I was able to go for a 13 minute walk. I started using my walker less and less. Each day I added 5 minutes to my walk, and yesterday I went on a 35 minute walk with very little pain.

I took a Chair Yoga class last Monday. It was a good experience, not too much, and a chance to move my body in ways I haven't moved it in over 2 months (I'm taking it again today). This week I'm going to try a Water Aerobics class. And I've made an appointment with my physical therapist. I want more exercises to help me get stronger safely.

The next big hurdle will be if I can ride a bike. I took the Sirrus in for a tuneup. I'm going to pick it up today and then sometime this week I will slowly and carefully try riding it. If it feels ok I might do a group ride the following week, with one of the Minnetonka Bike Club groups that do slower and shorter rides.

I'm so happy that the shot worked, even if it didn't work 100%. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make the shot last as long as possible. I've got a followup doctor's appointment in a week. I'll report back then!

Sophie Chilling By the Front Door

An Update on Lynn and Her Leg

Our Fabulous Northern Redbud is in Full Bloom

I keep putting off this blog post, waiting until I have some sort of resolution, a proper ending, if you will. But here we are, 2 months after this all started, and there’s no end in sight, or no definite end anyway.

So I’ll start this, and maybe post it, and probably write another one once I get a shot and know what kind of outcome, if any, I have from that.

The last time I wrote about my leg in this blog was February 28th while we were in California. This was all very new then. It still feels new, and a little endless to be honest.

When we got back from California I went to see my PT person, Casey. Casey was concerned. She said 30% of people with my condition improve with PT, 30% it makes no difference, and 30% get worse. So she was very cautious. She tried some things, and gave me some simple exercises, but she said that I needed an MRI, and I needed to see a pain and spine specialist.

So I had my doctor order an MRI. We put in a request for authorization with my insurance company. I have a Medicare Advantage Plan through Medica, a nonprofit here in Minnesota. Up until this year we had our insurance through Ucare, another nonprofit, but they dropped their Advantage Plan coverage and sent 150,000 people in Minnesota scrambling for coverage. We actually used a broker because it was so confusing. Medica picked up a lot of Ucare’s customers and we hoped they would be as good as Ucare had been.

After we returned from California I wasted no time acquiring things to make it easier to function, including a cane and a bath chair. I struggled to manage both my meds and my pain. Nothing I took really made a dent in the pain. It was very bad in the morning, and gradually eased during the day, although if I tried to walk too much it came back with a vengeance. This hasn’t changed that much; I think I have just learned to manage it better.

It wasn’t too long before I found out that insurance had denied the MRI, saying I needed 6 weeks of PT with no improvement first. Of course this was at complete cross-purposes with what Casey recommended, but we started going through the motions at least. I made an appointment with a spine specialist and hoped that maybe they could help get an MRI approved.

I requested that my doctor appeal the MRI decision. I went to Summit Orthopedics and they agreed with the original diagnosis but needed an MRI to go further. I requested that they also put in an order for an MRI. 

This is where things got interesting, in a terrible sort of way. On Friday, March 13th, I had a conversation with one of my doctor’s nurses. She suggested that I get an MRI and didn’t seem to know that the MRI had been denied or that I had requested an appeal. On Tuesday, March 17th, I talked to someone at Medica that said they could see the appeal. This turned out to be false; I don’t know what she saw, probably the original denial. I tried to call my doctor and see what was going on with the appeal. 

Around this time I also acquired my awesome walker. It’s a cheap Rollater off of Amazon, which means it has 4 big wheels that can turn 360 degrees so that gives it a lot of maneuverability. It really helps me get around, and I can manage it by myself, unlike the wheelchair.

On Friday, March 20th ,after many many phone calls I finally found out what happened with the order from Summit that was sent to Ridgeview on Wednesday, March 18th. Ridgeview did not submit it to Medica because of the denial of the previous order. You can’t submit a new request for authorization when there is already a denial for the same procedure in the system. You have to get the denial resolved first. Somehow most of the people I talked to either didn’t know or didn’t understand this rule. 

On Tuesday, March 24th, I spent an hour on the phone with Medica. I talked to a very nice, persistent person named Aaliah. I was asking about the status of the appeal. There was NO appeal in their system!!! Don’t know what happened. Aaliah helped me file a verbal appeal over the phone at 9:30 AM that day, but in order to make it a rapid appeal we’d need Dr. Kennedy to do that. Aaliah also filed a grievance on my behalf, because the original appeal appearsedto have been lost. I called Dr Kennedy’s office and left a message and asked for it to be tagged as urgent.

On Wednesday, March 25th, I called Ridgeview, since no one ever called me back. Apparently the message from the day before was not marked urgent after all. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. The person on the phone changed the message to urgent but Dr. Kennedy wasn’t in on Wednesdays. I did go ahead at Lee’s urging and sent a message in MyChart as well. At this point the whole situation sucked.

On Thursday, March 26th, I called Ridgeview again around 9:45 AM. I talked to someone named Merid at the nurses station. She said she would hand-walk a high priority message to Dr. Kennedy’s nurse to give me a call about filing a rapid appeal for an MRI. I said to her, “and when should I expect a call?” and she said “good question”. At least she was honest. 

At around 1:45 PM I called Ridgeview AGAIN. I was pretty pissed. They wanted me to leave a message with the Managed Care Team but I said no, I’m not leaving a message with someone, no one calls me back. YOU take a message to them!

Then at around 3:30 PM Dr Kennedy’s nurse called me. He was very apologetic, said the ball had been dropped (duh), told me that the info had been sent to the Managed Care Team, gave me a contact there. THEN the supervisor for the Managed Care Team called me. They filed a rapid appeal with Medica. Finally. They said it would take around 72 hours, so at that time I figured I would hear something early next week. I was relieved and still apprehensive. So many things had gone wrong by this point. This should NOT have been this hard!!

Little Grape Hyacinths

On Monday, March 31st I called Medica. I figured I would know the results of the rapid appeal by the end of the day but I wanted to make SURE it was really in their system. I did not trust my doctor’s office at all any more. Although it took close to 30 minutes just to get transferred to the right department I finally did. He looked it up, he found the appeal and said, “it’s been approved.” It was all I could do not to burst into tears right then. But I (sort of) calmly asked, what is the next step, can I go ahead and schedule the MRI? And he said yes.

So I called Ridgeview Imaging and told them I wanted their earliest possible appointment. I was able to get one for the very next day!

Then I went to my scheduled appointment with Casey. Really we mostly talked. She tried a little bit of stuff but that morning the pain was really bad so even trying something that helped a few weeks ago made no difference that day. She told me what to expect after the MRI depending on what they see. That’s good to know.

So I had the MRI, and then I had the consult at Summit on Tuesday, April 7th. We went over the MRI together. I’ve got nerve compression and spinal stenosis at L2, L3 and L4. I was scheduled for a cortisone shot on April 20th and then a surgery consult 2 weeks after that. But most of you know what happened then…

Sarah had strep, and so did Emi, and I had had a sore throat for a couple of days. I kept trying to ignore it but finally went to Urgent Care and got a test. It was positive, I went on antibiotics. End of story? No. When they called for my pre-shot health check I found out that now I couldn’t have the shot until at least 2 days after I finished the course of antibiotics. 

So now the shot is scheduled for May 1st.

Of course this isn’t the end, but what will the end look like? Will the shot work? Will it work for a day, a week, a month, 3 months, forever? I don’t know. Will I eventually have to think about surgery? Will the surgery work? So many questions.

In the meantime it’s beautiful early spring in Minnesota. Our yard looks great, and thank goodness for Sara our gardener, otherwise we would have a big problem. I try to get out and about as much as possible without overdoing it.

As I look back on the notes I’ve kept I know I’m better. It’s so incremental that it’s hard to tell but over a couple of months I’ve definitely improved. I get sad sometimes, I wish I could at least go for a walk and ride my bike but oh well. 

Soon enough time will do its work and I’ll have more to add to this saga. I’ve certainly learned more about the working of insurance than I ever really wanted to know! Before I get the cortisone shot I need to educate myself a little about the workings of my spine. Professionals start spewing out all these terms, L3, L4, compression, spinal stenosis, and I only have a vague idea what they’re talking about. Before they stick a needle in me I need to become more knowledgeable about this area of my body!

Sophie is Unfazed by it all

Costa Rica 2026 - Punta Leona Resort, the Pacific, and Home

Monkeys Looking for Breakfast

2/3/26 Tuesday 

We were supposed to do an outrigger canoe activity today but it’s too windy and the water is too choppy so it was cancelled. I don’t mind; we’ve done that before in the Philippines and it’s interesting but nbd.

They’ve got an alternative activity involving an aerial tram and a hike but we’re going to pass. The resort has a pool and a beach so we’ll just enjoy the sun and the Pacific for a day instead.

At least two more people in our group have come down with this cold. That makes four officially, plus Lee has had it without admitting it, another woman has symptoms but thinks it’s allergies (like I did at first), and we think our tour guide has it too, but just says she “felt a little chilled” (she was wearing a jacket in 86F yesterday!) That makes seven people out of twelve, so obviously Roads Scholar “protocols” are a joke. By the time people have symptoms it’s too late. Anyway I’m over being forced to wear a mask on the bus for 5 days.

2/4/26 Wednesday

After breakfast yesterday there were a bunch of capuchin monkeys outside the restaurant. The restaurant is outside but covered by steel fencing so the monkeys can’t get in.

One of the women in our group said a monkey peed on her lat night!!. It’s fun to watch them from a distance, but I don’t want them getting too close! If they think you might have food they can get very aggressive!

Monkey on the Roof of the Restaurant

Around 10 we headed down to the pool. It was nice, right on the ocean. We hung out there until 2 when it started to get pretty warm. Lee went back to the room but I wanted to see the beach so I took a little walk. By the time I got back to the room I was REALLY warm! It took a while to cool off so that I could take a shower.

The Pool

The Beach

In the evening we had a short lecture that recapped everything we had experienced. Like every other lecture on this trip it was great. It helped refresh our collective memories about everything we have seen and experienced, and most importantly reminded us of the names of all the people we’ve met along the way.

Our trip home went very smoothly, even without club access (we flew economy home) and a shorter layover in Houston. We got home pretty late but it only took a day or two to get back to normal.

In retrospect, I really enjoyed most things about this trip. Roads Scholar accomodations are pretty basic, but I knew that going in. The food wasn't wonderful or terrible, but that also is pretty standard for travel in a third world country if you are trying to experience the local culture. We were both very tired of rice and beans by the end of the trip! It was great that our group was only 12 people, and we traveled in a small bus. I enjoyed all of our lectures, our guides at various activities, and our tour leader, Rebeca. The only thing I did NOT enjoy was self-isolating after I came down with a cold, and having to wear a mask on the bus for the remainder of the trip. Roads Scholar needs to update their protocols, and sooner rather than later. The protocols were ineffective and put a damper on the end of the trip.

Would I do another Roads Scholar trip? It depends. Right now there's nothing on our bucket list where Roads Scholar would be the best way to go, but never say never! It was a great way to see a very diverse country like Costa Rica. We'll keep that in mind as we plan future trips.

Costa Rica 2026 - Selve Verde Lodge, The Rainforest, Over the Mountains and Ziplining

 

1/31/26 Saturday 

This lodge is pretty cool. Its called the Selve Verde Lodge. Verde is right! We're in the rainforest and its very green! Outside the restaurant they feed the birds and you can watch them. I’ve decided it’s best that I skip the rain forest hike this morning so I told Rebeca. Unfortunately because of Roads Scholar protocols (mainly left over from Covid probably) I now have to self isolate for 24 hrs. Unfortunately for everyone else  they’ve already been exposed to whatever I have. On the other hand this is a pretty cool place to hang out and be lazy for a day. I don’t mind that much missing the kayaking this afternoon. Really the only thing remaining that I would be really sad to miss is the zip lining.

In the afternoon I did a self guided hike around the lodge. Trees and flowers mostly. I also walked across the creepy suspension bridge over the river. 

 2/1/26 Sunday

On our way to the Pacific Coast. We have a long drive today., but its broken up with activities. I’m out of the 24 hr quarantine but I have to wear a mask on the bus. Other people are wearing masks too out of an abundance of caution I think. At least one other person on the tour was in quarantine yesterday too. 

Grey and rainy today. If it doesn’t change I may have to dig my poncho out of my suitcase for the hike this afternoon.

Today is Election Day in Costa Rica. Everyone has to go to the town where they were born to vote. We’re passing through small towns and can see people lining up! There are 23 candidates for president so they may need a runoff election which would be held in April.

Note: one of the candidates (the more conservative one I believe) got a majority of the votes, so no run off was needed).

We stop for bathrooms and snacks. Its Cold! (50F); we are up in the mountains. Rebeca treats us, I get hot chocolate, very good! We crest the mountains, start down the other side and the sun comes out and it stops raining and the temperature starts to rise. Amazing!

We stop at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Very touristy. Bought some Tshirts for the boys and a dress for Emi. Now its suddenly very warm, in the upper 80’s!

Our hike is at Cara National Park. iI’s a dry forest so there weren’t a lot of animals but we did see some howler monkeys, two of them way up in a tree.

The last place we are staying is the Punta Leona Resort, on the Pacific Coast.  Its a very big place, very spread out. We run into a hassle getting a room key that works but eventually they figure it out and the room is fine. The food at the resort restaurant is very good.

2/2/26

On to zip lining! The place we go has 10 lines, 12 platforms. I had been so excited for this activity but it has gradually dawned on me that it’s been at least 14 years since I did this in the White Mountains with the Westie people and we became friends.

I’m older (that's my excuse) and at first I couldn’t hold the cable with one hand properly so they had me hold the cable with both hands for the first 3 or 4 lines. They said it was because I was “too light“ but I think they were just being nice.

It took me about 5 lines before I felt confident enough (and they trusted me enough) to put one hand behind me on the cable. With each line I enjoyed it more and had more fun. By the end I had a great time!!

Lee decided not to do it and that was probably a wise choice; he hates heights. I just didn’t look down.

We went to a place on a river for lunch and then went on a boat ride to see crocodiles and birds. So many birds!! They gave us a guide or I would never be able to remember what we saw! Highlights were the crocodiles, prehistoric looking beasts, and by the mouth of the river as it drained into the Pacific the flocks of frigate birds and pelicans circling in the sky.

After While Crocodile

Frigate birds

Pelicans in a tree

At the very end as we were docking we saw two scarlet macaws; such beautiful birds!

We drove back to the lodge and took a shower and relaxed for a bit. Lee walked down to reception early to see if he could get some cash (no). I followed at 5:45. I had some basic directions but because I missed the orientation because I was waiting for our room key I got lost and missed the turn to reception. I was with Mark, one of the other guests, but he got confused as well. It’s a big place! Fortunately Mark wasn’t afraid to ask for directions so eventually we figured it out. 

The lecture on the scarlet macaws was great! There has been a massive push to stop poaching and bring back their natural population. It’s working because they are providing economic alternatives to poaching for the local population. 

A few tidbits, from the lecture: Scarlet Macaws mate for life so you usually see them in pairs. If you see 3 or 4 of them the extras are chicks. Scientists know their flight paths and habits so they can count them and keep track of their population. And as poaching has decreased they have become less afraid of humans and don’t hide as much.