Voted Yesterday. . .

We have early voting here in Texas at limited locations, that is not at all polling locations.  Ours was the county courthouse and they had about 25 or so voting machines in operation.  The voting procedure is the same as it one is voting on the basic election day, show your registration card, a proper ID and sign the register.  Then you are given an "approval slip" and you go over to the clerk who issues you a number.

The number has to be entered in the voting machine and allows you to cast your ballot.  You can vote strait ticket or individuals.  In my case I chose individuals and the machine led me through the extensive ballot.  The clerks, sheriff, constable, judges as well as our famous national candidates.  I did it that way because I purposely did not vote for one candidate.  So I had to go through the whole enchilada.  My wife, on the other hand, voted the strait ticket.  Even so I finished before her because she had to figure out what was going first.

What impressed me was there was a very long line of voters.  I had never seen that many before and the last 13 years of voting here.  And the clerk handing out the control numbers commented she had not seen that number either before.  In simple terms there must have been 40 or 50 voters in the line waiting their turn to vote.  On our way out, we noted the basic length of line had not changed, so more and more folks were pouring to vote.

This was not the first day of voting, it was the second day.  We could tell things were booming because is was virtually impossible to get a car parking slot outside the building.  We had to wait for one and when we left there was someone waiting for our slot.  The people were exercising the right to vote!

I do not know it that is  good omen or a bad omen.  I do know we are in the middle of the bible belt and the county is largely Republican.  There are not a lot of Democrats left and the ballot had very few Democrats listed for local elected positions.  In the national area all four national candidates were listed and one was able to select the one of his or her choice. 

My sense of things is that Trump was getting most of the votes here.  I do know in national elections, the candidates do get their fair share so to speak.  While being heavily Republican, the voters often deviate from the party of their choice.  So it could go either way but not likely a win for the Democratic party.

People were very sober in the line, little chit chat going on, they were intent to vote.  Again I do not know how to sense that as good or bad.  But they were packing them in.

Back Surgery . . .

Judie has endured through back surgery.  The Neurosurgeon said in his pre op visit is that she has the worst back he has seen and he could not guarantee any great success but felt he could relieve some pain.

The operation went off and we had a terrible day.  Late to start the surgery but that was understandable as the Neurosurgeon had a brain operation before her.  After the surgery he said it was tough, he could see the nerves react as he remove bone to east the stenosis.  Stenosis is the narrowing space inside the spine.  This is caused by age, shrinking discs, etc.  She has lost two inches in height and that literally compresses the spinal cord in a fixed area.

So he opened the area up, and there in started the problems.  She now had tremendous pain and we learned that hematoma (blood clot) had formed inside the spinal area and was putting pressure on her nerves, more specifically the Sciatica nerves.    She was in terrible pain.

So they had to go back in the next day and removed the hematoma and cleaned out the area.  They put in a drain and that prevent a return of the hematoma.  She was out the hospital after a day and half stay.  Got her home and the next day she was moving around all over the place.

And then the pain struck, again.  So bad we had to go to the Emergency Room and she got a Morphine shot.  And then was give a prescription for 120 Hydrocodone 5/325 tablets.  It means 5 milligrams of Hydrocodone and 325 milligrams of Tylenol.  She said that stuff did not work.

We went to an Urgent Care Clinic the doctor gave her Hydromorphone, 8 milligrams.  That literally knocked her out for hours at a time.  We got rid of that stuff as being to powerful and it too did not relieve her pain.

The Neurosurgeon was out of town, and his on call fellow handed her off the pain doctor.  Saw him and prescribed Cymbalta and Percocet, yet another opiate.  The Cymbalta takes three weeks to begin to effect the nerves, so that is yet to happen if it happens.  She is also take Lyrica that is supposed to do the same thing.

We had yet another MRI after seeing the Neurosurgeon last Friday.  He said he was mystified, he did not understand what was going on.  Her cousin's husband is a retired surgeon and opined it could be Piriformis Syndrome. I'll leave that to you to look up on Google but it is possibly an explanation to the pain.  Neither of the doctors has mentioned it though I mentioned it to the pain doctor and he blew it off.  I personally think he is worthless, just pumps more and more opiates out as a solution.

Her Neurosurgeon is at least interested and is trying to arrive at something.  We will learn today what he thinks.  If he continues with the unknowing position, I will think it is indeed Piriformis Syndrome.  There are exercises to take care of that and we will peruse it.

She has sort of turned the corner this weekend.  The pain is grow less, perhaps the nerves are beginning to settle down.    It was rare for her to have two days in a row that were good, and we have had that now.

We shall press on.