Somewhat better.
August 25, 2010
If you’ve ever had a needle injected pretty much into your spine, you’ll know that it’s not a pleasant process. I showed up yesterday at the Pain Management Center at the Bringham and Women’s offsite location expecting a pretty quick procedure though honestly I didn’t know how to feel.
It was rather quick but it was also pretty uncomfortable. Not necessarily painful per se. After cleaning the area on my upper back they covered the area with some sort of gauze type material; more like a big patch (not really sure). They then injected me with some type of local anesthetic to get me ready for the fun ahead. Once numb they injected 80MG of Depomedrol and 3 cc’s of Lidocaine into what I think was the epidural space of the spine.
While this was all going on I was trying to focus on anything but the uncomfortable feeling I was having. I began to really try and focus on my breathing while feeling sick to my stomach and thinking that I was about to pass out. Luckily it was all over in :10-:15 or so? I then lay down for about :15 and I was better.
The only feeling I really have today is the soreness in my back where the injection went in. The numbness and tingling I’ve mentioned before is pretty much gone although they did say I wouldn’t feel the effects of the drugs for about 48 hours or more. We’ll see. I have to do this again in 30 days unless of course the problem goes away.
The first real test comes this Sunday when I race the Cranberry Country Olympic Triathlon. I’m hoping to be pain free throughout the 2 to 2.5 hour race. Fingers crossed!
Put a needle on the record.
August 24, 2010
Okay it was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of a needle and the short “procedure” I’ll have to endure later this morning.
Going back to June when I first noticed the numbness and tingling in my right arm I have since seen my primary care doctor, had an mri, a massage therapist, a neuro surgeon, had an emg, a hand surgeon, a neurologist and a chiropractor. While the chiro has helped it’s pretty much been a bandaid to the problem.
The conclusion is that I have swelling around the c7 disc which is causing a bit of compression on my disc. Other than some physical therapy or completely refraining from the sport of triathlon which I love and have been doing for twenty years now, I was told to try this option or surgery. As surgery really isn’t an option I have decided to go this route. And so later on this morning (after my run of course 
), I will head over to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Pain Management Center in Brookline, MA to have an injection of what I believe is a mixture of steroids and cortisone. 
I’m pretty sure this will only take about :15 and they say that this is a pretty routine procedure. It’s been so long now since I’ve felt completely normal, however, that I’ll take whatever pain is coming. Keep in mind that I’ve never been a big fan of needles, particularly when they’re jabbed into your neck.
Anyway, all for now.
Plaques Returning to Commonwealth Ave. Mall
August 2, 2010
If you have ever been to Boston you most likely have driven up and down Commonwealth Ave. in the Back Bay neighborhood. Having this tree-lined mall between the East and West bound lanes is one of this city’s treasures. During the summer it shades those walking along it’s central path from the hot sun. During the winter it is lit up with white lights from Arlington Street to Hereford Street. It is in most instances the most recognizable and desired street for real estate in the whole city.
Along the “mall” area sit nearly 60 public benches that have over time been sponsored through the Back Bay neighborhood association at $4,000 a pop. To honor those people who had donated or sponsored these benches the association had installed bronze plaques with the donor’s name, etc.
Well, this past March as sometimes happens in large cities, some low-life thief decided to pry off of the ground these plaques for his own benefit. A total of sixteen of these plaques had been removed not only from the ground but also from trees in the area, as well as one large plaque that had been in honor of Argentinean politician Domingo Sarmiento, though perhaps not all by this one thief.
Thanks to a joint committee of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) and Friends of the Public Garden, all sixteen of the stolen plaques will be replaced though not all will be originals. 
Six of the plaques that had been pried up off of the ground by Vincent Cedrone of Newton, MA were recovered by police which will be reinstalled while the remaining six will be remade.
Each cast bronzed plaque on the benches and trees will cost between $350 and $400, and the large plaque of Domingo Sarmiento around $3,000 to re-fabricate.
To prevent this from occurring again, the tree and bench plaques will be re-installed with four brass pins, instead of two, and will have a stronger adhesive backing.
