My procedure and other updates

Happy Monday evening,

How are you doing this wonderful Monday evening? Amazing I hope and I do pray the rest of your week is smooth sailing.

All is well here. It was a super busy day as usual. I’ve been trying to get my house clean, the laundry done and of course, I had to wash my car. I’m so glad I did. The soot was starting to settle a little to much and I’ve been told that the ash from the local fires could ruin my paint.

Speaking of the fires, I promised to keep you updated on what’s happening. According to ABC10.com, “ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. — The Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside counties is 31% contained Monday as the blaze has burned 23,519 acres in Southern California.” I think the cooler weather has really helped our dedicated firefighters in their plight to save as many homes, buildings and land as they possibly can.

ABC10.com said this regarding the Line Fire, “SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. — The Line Fire in San Bernardino County is 42% contained Monday as crews work to control the 38,804-acre blaze. Some evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings on Sunday. Damage inspection is ongoing in the area. According to Cal Fire, about four structures were damaged and one was destroyed based on the assessments so far.”

FoxLa.com says this about the Bridge fire, “The latest numbers indicate the Bridge Fire, burning in LA and San Bernardino counties, is now 11% contained. It has torched over 54,000 acres.”

It saddens me to think of how much damage there is due to the fires, how many homes have been lost and how many lives have been affected. The sky with it’s haze is still a reminder every day of what people are dealing with, what the firefighters and first responders are having to battle. I know it’s their jobs and all, yet every day these brave hero’s go out and risk their own lives to save the lives, homes and livelihoods’ for others.

Even though I was and am safe from the horrific damage due to the various fires, others haven’t been so lucky and my heart breaks for them and my continued prayers go out to each and everyone who is in the midst of these blazes.

When I think about the homes lost and those hurt it makes me sad. I tried to see if there have been any lives lost in any of the fires and I haven’t seen any confirmed deaths, thank goodness. Continued prayers for all those affected by the wild fires, not only here in Southern California, but everywhere that is currently dealing with such terrible circumstances.

I found this quote about prayer and I wanted to share it with you.

“Prayer is how we press our hands into the invisible and find the hand of Christ reaching back.”-James K.A. Smith.

I found this to be so comforting. I love to visualize Christ reaching his hands out to embrace mine and help me through troubles times. I imagine God too, holding His hands out and saying, “I’ve got you. No need to take on undo worry. Give it to me, I’ll handle it. Just have faith.”

I just finished I Can See Clearly Now by Wayne Dyer and he was saying in his concluding chapter that once we truly stop and surrender to the hand of God or spirit, and if we absolutely open our hearts to being led by Him, He will lead us, thus, we will become our true and authentic self.

I’ve thought so much about Wayne Dyers words and his life path and while Linda is so right, I don’t need to be the next Wayne Dyer because I am Dawna, I can still follow some of his examples in the way he opened his heart and allowed God to enter his every being. So, I’m praying more and asking God to direct me and keep me on the path of doing His will.

Today I’ve spent much of my quiet moments, which haven’t been many, asking God to please calm my heart and take away my anxiety.

Tomorrow I’m having a procedure done and I’ve got myself a little worked up. I’m having a Caudal Epidural Steroid Injection and Nerve Block for my back and leg pain. I’m praying it works. I would love to have just a single day with no pain in my leg. To be able to sleep one night, all night without waking up in major pain with what feels like a knife stabbing me from the bottom of my foot all the way up to my hip. I can deal more with the back pain, but the leg and neck pain, I welcome any kind of relief.

I’m hoping to be able to chime in tomorrow and update you all on how things went, but in the event I don’t, I promise to do my best to be back on Wednesday. I am being sedated a tad bit for this procedure, so I’m not exactly sure how awake I’ll be.

My son Kevin is taking me to the outpatient surgery center at UCSD in the morning, then he’ll bring me home. I’m sure grateful to him for taking the day off work to go with me. John has to pick up the slack on the home front tomorrow, so I needed to get one of my kiddos to take me.

The entire procedure shouldn’t take more then 30 minutes and I’m supposed be released within an hour afterwards which I’m happy about since the drive is a little over an hour.

The procedure is a “Caudal epidural steroid injection and nerve blocks are steroid injections that are given in the coccyx, also known as the tailbone or caudal region to treat chronic lower back pain and chronic pain in the legs. Although both injections aim to relieve pain using a steroid solution, each one is administered differently.

An epidural is injected into the epidural space, the area that surrounds the dura san, the protective tube of the nerve roots. A caudal nerve block is injected into a specific nerve root in the tailbone region. Caudal epidural and caudal nerve block help to reduce inflammation and relieve pain in the lower back and legs.”-Medstarhealth.org.

I am to expect the following: before the procedure, patients are asked to lie face down on an X-ray table with a pillow underneath the abdomen. The pain specialist (in my case I have a neurologist doing my procedure) cleans and then numbs the area of the lower back located just above the buttocks with a topical anesthetic before inserting a needle and injecting contrast dye into the caudal area. The contrast dye is visible in the X-ray images and allows the pain specialist to see exactly where the dye is being delivered. Finally, the medication is injected into the caudal space.

The risks are low, but may include:

Headache

Bleeding at the site of the injection

Infection at the site of injection.”-Medstarhealth.org.

So my dear readers, I am hoping tomorrow goes off without a hitch. I know being tense isn’t good for having a procedure done, so I’ll be taking a valium to help ease the nerves. I just want it done so I can come home and crawl in my nice comfy bed and enjoy my lake views.

Wish me luck my dear friends. I’ll update you once I’m home and feeling a little better.

Sleep well and don’t forget until next time, Love Life++ Hugs.