Best Day Ever!

I went to Huntsman today for some acupuncture with Annie.  She's amazing, I came away relaxed and feeling great!  But the potentially life changing information she gave me today is this.  She said that when there's a sudden change in activity level, it can cause a condition called Radiculopathy.  At first I thought she was kidding, like nerve pain is ridiculous.  But there is a real condition!  When I started chemo last October, I stopped going to the gym and haven't been back.  Here's what wikipedia says about it.

Radiculopathy, also commonly referred to as pinched nerve, refers to a set of conditions in which one or more nerves are affected and do not work properly (a neuropathy). This can result in pain (radicular pain), weakness, numbness, or difficulty controlling specific muscles.^[1]

In a radiculopathy, the problem occurs at or near the root of the nerve, shortly after its exit from the spinal cord. However, the pain or other symptoms often radiate to the part of the body served by that nerve. For example, a nerve root impingement in the neck can produce pain and weakness in the forearm. Likewise, an impingement in the lower back or lumbar-sacral spine can be manifested with symptoms in the foot.

This makes perfect sense now, because the itching and pain in my neck and arms could be caused by this.  She explained neuropathy is in the extremities (feet, hands), and this is nerve pain closer to the source of the problem.  So if the cervical spine is out of whack, it can cause symptoms in the neck and down the arms.  If your spine down lower is out of whack, it can cause problems down your legs.  

She gave me a card for an musculoskeletal doctor to determine if this is, in fact, the source of my pain and itching.  And she gave me information about a program they do at Huntsman called POWER (Personal Optimism and Exercise Recovery).  You know when you need something and it just drops in your lap?  The story of my life.

The other GREAT news I got today is that this years entire out of pocket maximum ($5000) was paid with a pharmaceutical co-pay program.  Our insurance year runs from Sept. 1 to August 31.  So, my first procedure this year was an infusion of Herceptin on Sept. 7th.  We got the bill from Huntsman for $4,970.  Because the whole out of pocket max was the Herceptin and no other procedures, this co-pay program covered it all.  If the first procedure of the year had been a CT scan, or the hormone shots, or anything else, we'd have to pay toward the out of pocket max.  So, once again, things fell into place exactly like they needed to for our blessing and financial reprieve.  I'm so SO GRATEFUL for my friend Kolleen who gave me information last year about the assistance programs at Huntsman and for Amber who walked me through applying for the co-pay assistance. 

DON'T TELL BROOKLYN!  Its a surprise!

The third great thing today is that Brooklyn's baby book came.  She has no idea and is getting it for Christmas!  She's felt bad for several years because she sees Maddie and Isaac's baby books and she doesn't have one.  Theirs were "scrapped" in those big 12x12 Creative Memories books.  I've got no time for that anymore!  So it's a digital book, but so cute.  She's going to LOVE it!