Set backs

For those of you playing the "how is John's sciatica today?" game, I'm sad to report that he's actually doing worse. While he was able to at least find a comfortable position to be in on Thursday, by Sunday he could find nothing that made the pain really retreat. Today has been his worst day, spent mostly writhing on the floor and taking Percocet and Flexeril and a bunch of other drugs that don't seem to make the leg pain dissipate for very long.

We called the nurse this morning and let her know the change in symptoms, but she simply said he needed to take the full prescribed dosage (2 pills, not one) and didn't think he needed to move his appointment we've already scheduled for tomorrow. I've decided to just continue to work from home until further notice. I have a nanny here for the children while I alternate between trying to get a report finished for work and tending to John. It feels sort of weird to have the nanny here while we are here, but I don't want them to spend the entire day watching TV nor watch mommy stress and daddy be miserable when they could be doing a fun craft (like they are doing right now).

As if the fun can NEVER end in my house, last week we had a torrential driving rain that managed to soak the basement under our new (not 6 months old) Marvin French doors. We called the office and they sent a service guy and he suggested caulking it. This won't work for a number of reasons, not least of which is that I have sill pans and caulking them shut does little good, oh and caulk is not a waterproofing means. I paid for sill pans that drain but NOT INTO my house. This begs the question about what else is leaking under the other doors (which I cannot see).

Oh and there's still the odd smell I have had since April in some rooms, which the Mold Guy said isn't mold (thanks Mold Guy for showing up in a truck emblazoned with "GOT MOLD?" on the side). $385 and two air samplings later showed no trace of mold but still that odd smell. I bought air fresheners. They tell me this is out gassing of insulation and will go away. I don't believe them. They told me their sill pans could NOT POSSIBLY LEAK. 

I hate my house.

We have a trip to Paris this August and right now I'm not certain if John is even going to be able to go. I'm not certain if John is going to be able to get up the basement stairs into the first floor today. 

Some days I want to cry and some days I cry all day. There's a lot of stress right here in my little corner of Suburbia.