@chichimcgee Welcome back! 4am is better than nothing but there’s no denying that it can be a bit rough for handling the days. 
@Tallisimo Oh gosh, you do sound just like each other @Coroico97 - I remember Coroico saying the exact same about never taking being pain-free for granted again as well. It’s a really terrible way to discover a new, previously invisible world. I’ve mentioned lidocaine patches on a previous thread, there are 5% ones available by prescription but I looked and it seems they may now have 4% ones over the counter, made by Salon Pas, so maybe check online to see if your local Boots or someone has them, to try? Also, if Naproxen isn’t working by mouth, they do make patches with anti-inflammatories in them. Over here, they’re called Flector and the active ingredient is the same as Voltarol but the patches sink in differently than just trying to rub a gel on or something. It still may not be enough to get “deeply” enough to reach the nerves, so you may need a medication combination, but it sounds like it’s worth trying absolutely everything at least once when you’re suffering so much. Maybe if one of you has great success with the surgery, the other of you can consider it. Stranger things have happened.
@jowly This is so completely 100% true - time doesn’t exactly heal. What it does is make the wound not so fresh, maybe the pain not quite so sharp. But no, it won’t erase the pain for you, because it can’t erase the connection you had or the love you felt, and those are part of the grief you feel. And there are definitely days that the memories cling to you more, and feel closer, like you could walk back inside of them. I do hope, like I think I maybe told another user, not that you deny your grief or rush yourself through it, but just that you reach the end of the “sleeplessness” phase of it soon. There are still quite a few phases after that, since sleeplessness is usually one of the first phases, I’ve found. But getting through them is just a very, very tiny bit easier with some rest. So, may you come out of your sleeplessness soon, and your grief whenever you’re ready. And of course, I’m so, SO sorry for your loss. (And glad you’re still COVID negative!)
@CatDogMonkeyPOW Oh, that’s difficult, and I’m sure you’re worried, as 6 is still quite small. You know, it’s tough to say - even if her PCR is negative, if she has all the same symptoms as if she had COVID, then she’s still plenty ill (and may be more ill than a lot of Omicron cases) and might as well have it, so all you can really do is treat it like any other illness and just keep her home and safe anyway. Good luck, and I hope she feels better soon and you can get some rest!