So here's the short of it, 
Today I took a sick day to take Mom to the doctor and go to the doctor myself.

And here's the long. 

Mom had a good report.  Her tests on her brain - both MRI (brain tissue) and MRA (brain circulation) were fine and showed no evidence of stroke.  Her carotid artery and her heart echo tests were fine as well, so that was a great report. Dr. Cannon cautioned us all to make sure that we stay on alert for any changes and call 911 if any occur.  So we'll be watching out for all that.

Russ, Mom, and I had a nice breakfast at Wally's and then spent the morning talking about getting a medical alert in place.  I think all of us will have more peace of mind when that happens.

Then this afternoon, I had an appointment.  We talked back pain.  I'm going to have an MRI and then a referral to a surgeon just to talk about what's going on.  In the meantime, I'm getting a muscle relaxer and a lidocaine patch. I'm also continuing massage and stretching.  As a matter of fact, I had a massage right after my doctor appointment.  Kelly found a spot right on top of my pelvis where my muscles were just tied up in knots!  She said she can't really even work on that until she gets some of the periphery muscles loosened up.  So she began to work on them. She also worked over my right shoulder.  I feel so much more lengthened - standing taller.  I can't believe that massage helps so much and that insurance doesn't pay for it because -- well I guess I really don't know why they choose not to pay for it.