MRI revealed that I have cervical spine stenosis (stenosis meaning a narrowing) with nerve encroachment. Have to make an appointment with a neurosurgeon to get his opinion (I'll tell you right now no surgery for me unless it's a last resort issue which it isn't right now) for the best course of treatment. My symptoms are what I wrote about before so I"m thinking it'll be physical therapy or a watch and see what happens kind of thing. I'm just wondering if I'll be on the gabapentin for a long time and what will happen if I go off of it...like will some pain come back. Tis a quandary for sure.
Mom is still not taking to well to the home health aide but I must admit I like having her here and having a few hours a week where I don't have to worry about taking care of my mom. Still some guilt about that but if I want to be healthy and take good care of her I have to take care of myself and this requires some time to myself. With a few health issues of my own that I have to attend to this is important. After reading countless articles on the Internet about taking care of an ageing parent with dementia (or just an ageing parent) I learned that care giver burnout is a huge issue that thousands are dealing with. Somehow it just makes me feel better to know I'm not alone on this issue. There are rewards though. I find that my mom is a funny lady and there are more fun and happy moments then there are low disturbing ones. I wonder sometimes about my grandchildren's generation and what will happen to them since some studies have shown that they will live shorter lives than their parents. What will become of them?
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