Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Big changes...

Theres been a lot going on the past few weeks.  If you haven't heard or seen on Facebook yet, my wonderful husband Harrison started a new job and is in Oklahoma for 2 months for training.  He got a job with Barnhart Renewables, a crane and rigging company, as an assistant project manager.  This is a career field he is really interested in and very well qualified for.  He is in a very, very small town  of Hobart, Oklahoma, population 3700.  He left last Sunday morning and drove, yes drove the 16 hour trip to Hobart.  The first four weeks he is out there, he will be training underneath someone else and learning the ropes. His job out there is quality assurance manager at a wind farm called Rocky Ridge.  They are putting up over 90 wind turbines. Fortunately, he will get to come home after the first 4 weeks for "R&R" (rest and relaxation) and then will return for 4 more weeks when he will be supervising the rest of the project. He is working EXTREMELY hard, usually 10 or 11 hours a day and even works on Saturdays.  He is staying in a little motel with a small refrigerator and a microwave about 15 minutes from the job site.

I miss him terribly and am literally counting down the days till he gets to come home for R&R.  It gets so quiet and lonely, especially at night.  I haven't been sleeping well because I wake up very frequently missing him and looking for him laying next to me.  The weekdays tend to go by fast but nights and weekends are harder.  Reese also misses her daddy very very much.  She stares at his side of the bed looking for him and even lost some of her appetite the first few days, but that didn't last too long.

Harrison has started a new blog to document his adventure and experience.  You can read all about what he is doing and life in the booming metropolis of Hobart at It's a Windy Adventure, OK?.  While the 2 months of him being away won't be easy or fun, I am so proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone, accepting the challenge, and working so so hard.

As far as my pain, I have actually been feeling fairly decent the past 6 weeks or so since my radio frequency procedure.  I have had about 5 or 6 really bad days since the procedure which is much less than normal.  I went to Vanderbilt yesterday for an appointment at the pain clinic and got about 20 trigger point injects with Botox  from the base of my skull down into my neck and shoulders and down through my mid-back to help relieve some of the intense muscle tightness and spasms.  I have had them done before, about 3 years ago before the wedding, and had pretty good success. The doctor said that they usually last 3 to 6 months so I'm hopeful I will get some long term relief.

My medication regimen is still the same. I haven't weaned down any more on my breakthrough medication but I'm still off the fentanyl patch.  My pain doctor thinks I'm probably about as low as I'm going to get on my medication and are comfortable with my dosages right now, and even though its not ideal, it is actually relatively safe for me to get pregnant.  I've worked very hard the past year or so to really get off a lot of medication and wean down as low as possible and my doctors are very impressed with my progress and I'm pretty proud of myself to be honest.

Please pray for Harrison and I over these next several weeks as we are apart. Pray especially for Harrison to stay safe and healthy while he is out there. Pray for physical and mental strength and perseverance.

Thanks for reading!