Today was a rough day, and I am worn out - both emotionally and physically.
First, the good news. The real estate agent called back. She had to leave her vacation early on account of Hurricane Matthew coming into the Bahamas. She said the bank (that owns the house) had finally gotten the other lady to sign off on backing out of the contract, and it was officially back on the market as of yesterday. Our offer was on their desk already. They contacted the real estate agent today with a counter-offer, just barely higher than what we'd offered already (still lower than the asking price). Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I called Tony at work. On his break he called our bank to get updated information - are we still able to qualify for a home loan since we just bought a vehicle? Yes - a little less than originally approved for, but still well within the price range of this house. I called the agent back and told her we would accept the counter offer. She congratulated me on my new home, and said she would let us know when she had papers for us to sign. I got off the phone and I felt a bizarre combination of excitement, sick to my stomach, and wanting to cry (and yes, I did shed some tears). It looks like we will be planning to start moving in December if everything else falls into place. Little #5 can already identify the room that he and #2 will share in the new house (we have the real estate listing photos). I had to print him off a copy of "his room" tonight to get him to give up scrolling through the photos on my phone and go to bed. The kids (especially #1) are more concerned that they will have to change schools in the middle of the year. It's hard for a few of them to make friends in the first place, so it is cruel to have them make friends and then have to tear them away and make them start all over in the middle of the school year when everyone has made friends already.
A few hours later, my emotional roller-coaster turned into a physical roller-coaster ride. My back has started to hurt again since I ran out of prednisone. The chiropractor I was referred to never bothered to get back to me to make an appointment. I felt so much better on the prednisone that I didn't really worry about it. Today the pain came back full throttle, pushing me to a pain extreme I was unaware was possible (and I've had five babies!)... As I writhed in bed, literally sobbing and incoherent, I yelled for one of the kids to bring an ice pack - the heat pack was sending shooting pain down my left leg instead of offering any relief. A child (#3) appeared with a plastic baggy of ice and a washcloth (to wrap it in). I remember wrapping it haphazardly and stuffing it underneath my hip, and I remember asking for a cold damp cloth and the light to be turned off in broken gasps between mind-numbing stabs of pain, which #4 promptly prepared and brought in. She turned the light off and I blacked out. Now, let me be clear, I didn't drift off, or get drowsy, I literally blacked out and remember nothing of the next three hours. I awoke in the same position I was in before, but my ice was melted into cold water, and the wet washcloth I had draped over my forehead was drying out. I am so relieved that the kids were home and took care of #5 while I was out. I'm also incredibly thankful that I had already made my way into the bed before I passed out. I'm now planning to piggy back acetaminophen and ibuprofen every two hours until my Thursday appointment with a chiropractor (not the one I was referred to). I'm hoping and praying that this chiropractor can work miracles and at least get the pain level down to a 6-7 where I can manage it at home. No more of this 9.5-10 agony. I've had three babies with no pain medications and they hurt less than this... I've never blacked out in my entire life. I'm honestly scared that it will happen during the day when I don't have the girls home to help. And this was all precipitated by me sweeping out the new bunny kennel cage. I thought it was light enough work that I'd be fine. I was wrong.
On the plus side, yesterday when my back started to hurt enough that I couldn't fall asleep, I found that 3-cups of dry rice in a sock, then tied in a knot at the ankle and folded over itself makes a fantastic heat pack - one minute in the microwave. The same sock is now in the freezer for use tomorrow morning when I have to be up and about to get girls ready for school.