Mom Is Still Stoned

Well, Mom finally got her MRI. We had to try three times before I could get her comfortable enough to lay on the exam table. Normally she takes two Mepergans every four hours for pain relief. I gave her five. Plus a valium. She made it through the exam and then spent the rest of the day drooling on herself. This was Thursday. Friday morning I got a call asking if I could get her over to the neurosurgeon's office pronto. Once there, he proceeded to tell us that one of the discs in her back was ruptured. Normally he would have suggested some physical therapy first, but since her level of pain was so high and it took so long to get a diagnosis (thanks to the quacks she had been seeing) he recommended surgery. She goes in for the procedure Monday morning. The doc says that there is a one in five chance that she won't get any relief. I'm hoping for a positive outcome. Mom won't do well if she can't walk without pain. A funny thing though. I told her she couldn't smoke in my house. She still manages to make it outside to fire up. I guess nicotine addiction is stronger than intractable pain that makes you whimper every time you take a step.