Wonders never cease - I'm updating this blog on a Tuesday!!
I thought I'd jump on here and give a (hopefully) quick update. Tomorrow, it will be two weeks since I got Botox. It's been an eventful two weeks. One of my nieces turned 6 and had an epic birthday party including blowing sleet and snow - ha! I've driven the tractor train at my church's Easter Fest and I celebrated Easter at church and with my family. Oh, and I also fell three times and might have sprained my hand. :)
The good news about the falls is that I don't think they had anything to do with the Botox working/not working. Two of the falls came 3 days after getting the Botox and one fall came a week after I got it. Two falls happened within an hour or so of each other. One was caused by me accidentally stepping backwards and catching my foot on a sign. I lost my balance and basically just sat down on my butt. The second fall happened because I was rushing, the wind was blowing hard and blowing sleet and snow in my face and I wasn't paying attention. That was the fall that I might have sprained my hand on. This is when having a brother who's an ER doctor comes in handy! My hand was killing me, but I could move it, so I knew it probably wasn't broken, but he checked it out and made sure. It hurt for a couple of days, but then was fine. The third fall I took was in the grocery store parking lot and it was caused by being completely startled by barking dogs in a neighboring car. I was holding on to a cart at the time and just went down on my knees, which wouldn't have been a problem had I not just bloodied those knees (actually, just one knee, my left) four days earlier. I can tell that I'm a professional Band-Aid applier though because I literally grabbed one out of my purse, wiped the blood from my knee and applied it to my knee all while walking into the store. The reason I don't think any of these falls were caused by the Botox is because my neurologist said not to expect to see anything for the first week or so. Plus, I probably would have fallen - Botox or not - anyway in those circumstances. So, I'm no worse for the wear.
As for the Botox, I can't tell if it's working for or against me just yet. Some days I think I can tell it's negatively affecting me and other days I think it's helping and still other days I remind myself it hasn't been at least 2 weeks yet. I'm not really sure what to expect or what to feel/not feel if it's working. So, I'm just (still) waiting.
As of, April 4, I have returned to in-person work. My company has us working three days in the office and two at home now. Returning to in-person has been nothing short of AMAZING!!!! I knew I missed it, what I didn't know was how much I missed it until I went back. In-person work has meant that I've had to do more walking. I've been using the walker to get in and out of the building and for long distance walking but using the cane while walking short distances in the building. Of course, my second day back, the fire alarms went off. I sit on the second floor. Although I knew it was probably a false alarm, I made my way precariously down the stairs. A co-worker was kind enough to walk slowly with me. I was half walking slowly because I didn't want to have to walk all the way outside just to return back to the building if it truly was a false alarm, but the other half of me was walking slow and precariously because that's literally all I could do. Halfway down the steps, we got the word that it was indeed a false alarm, and we could return to our desks. Today, when I walked in the building there was an "out of order" sign on the elevator. Now, there is another elevator in the building, but it's towards the back of the building and I was in the front of the building. I could have (probably should have) gone and used that elevator, but I did not. There's not that many steps up to the second story of the building, so I decided to fold my walker up and just walk them and I made it. I stopped once to let two people by but didn't ask for their help because I only had a few more steps to go. By the time I left work, the elevator was fixed - yay!
The more I walk, the better I'll get at it. I have to get those neuropathways dug again! I just have to get over the fear of falling. I am convinced though that I'll be able to sideline the cane again someday. :) I may not necessarily sideline the walker though. I wasn't 100% when I didn't use either the cane or the walker - I was just stubborn. Now, I think I may continue using the walker when I'm in parking lots or when I have to walk long distances purely for safety's sake. If I don't need it when I reach my destination then I'll sideline it, but at least I won't get "stuck" somewhere and not be able to walk without falling.
OK, so this didn't turn out to be a quick update after all, but you probably already knew that it wasn't going to be. I'll update again when there's something to update about. Until then, always remember...God's Got This!
