Back Pain

Written Wednesday September 24, 2008
I have been chatting away, tellin' y'all about how divine things are out here in Terlingua. I have also been leaving somethin' out. It's not so divine.
When we left home, I was havin' a few back twinges. I think helpin' Tip onto the bed, into the car, and generally increasing his elevation stressed a muscle or two. But I had decided it wasn't gonna delay this long needed “Desert Therapy.” I packed my “PainBustR II” and was good to go. Until Fort Davis.
Sunday, while taking pics of the CSA memorial on the Courthouse lawn in Fort Davis, I wrenched my back. Did a bang up job on it, too. I was backing up, to get a better shot. Instead of watching where my feet were, I was lookin' at the view finder on the camera to see if I had my shot, yet. When my right foot found nuthin' but air to land on...THAT'S when I noticed the curb to the sidewalk had ended and there was almost a foot drop-off to the street.
I did one of those herky-jerky motions like a marionette and grabbed for a sign pole. Pulled my self back to an upright and stable position by one arm. Thank Gawdess, the camera was on its strap around my neck or I'd have dropped it.
Of course, the body is VERY into instant Karma. It sayest unto me, “Oh NO you DINNIT!” There was searing pain from my low back in the center of my spine moving our to the right over my pelvis. Kinda like a red hot poker had skewered those muscles and then twisted 3 or 4 times.
I hung onto the pole, trying to “breathe through the pain” for the next few minutes. [Whenever I hurt myself, I bless those breathing techniques I learned in Childbirth Classes] Even breathing was painful. I finally just leaned my head against the pole and cried.
The Dearly Beloved and the Kobe Beef Tip were sittin' in the shade up by the Courthouse steps. DB had been lookin' at somethin' else, so he didn't see me stumble/recover/cling to the pole and cry. Or hear me cry out. Tip hear the cry and tilted his head. When I got Dearly Beloved's attention, I made a feeble gesture towards the Ford and started to try walking again.
Baby steps were all I could manage at that point. When we both reached the SUV, he had NO clue what was wrong. He just could tell I was in horrible pain.
Once we got to Terlingua, I asked around, found a massage therapist [Christina we WILL talk about this when I get back]. I've seen her twice. She gave me some gel that works better than the PainBustR and loaned me one of her cold packs. She also worked both spots on my back, and my neck, that I didn't even realize was so tight, for over an hour each time. Her fee? $50. Can you believe that?! 'sTruth. I was expecting twice that, but then I'm used to city prices, too.
Anyhoo, I've been very careful with my movements. I've been reminding myself to B-R-E-A-T-H-E. And using the gel and cold pack liberally. I've sat with care and support. Made sure I didn't sit too long without moving some to try and keep from stiffening up.
Our original plan was to be back in time to attend EMStock on Saturday so we could hear Ambulance Driver peddle some of his patented paramedic patter. Buddy, I don't think we're gonna make it. I plan to see Mindy, the massage therapist again on Friday, then we'll take a slow drive home. Just don't see how I can make EMStock after the combined 10 hours in the car for the trip home. I'm truly sorry. It's that DAHM curb's fault! Next year, I promise!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday

OK, I owe y'all three posts:

One about the Dearly Beloved's b'day party on Saturday;

One about Mother's Day;

Once about the Dearly Beloved's ACTUAL B'day and other stuff that happened today.

BUT it's already Tuesday, barely and I'm tired.
So you get "a lick and a promise." Come back later today.

OOPS! My BAD!

I got so busy Sunday.

I had to go to Kroger to get the rest of the stuff I needed to make Lasagna and the rest of the stuff I needed to take with me today.

Then I had to come home and start makin' Lasagna. Son was in town visiting the Angel Baby Girl... and was gonna come visit us. I decided to make his mostest favoritest dish in the whole entire universe.

I also needed to clear up the backlog of laundry I had failed to do last week. THEN I could wash the clothes I wanted to take on my trip. I'm leaving this morning to go down to Lake Conroe with the TipperBoy as my bodyguard for the week. At 108.2 pounds of muscle, he should be able to give me a chance to get away or get to my defensive devices, hunh?

So, the Lasagne got made and eaten. We had a great visit with Son. All the laundry got done. I'm ready to pack and load the car. Run my last minute errands and get on the road.

In all the busy-ness of yesterday, I didn't have the time or inclination to finish my "Friday Agave" story. But I will, I promise. Just not today. I'm meeting my Older Bro in Conroe for lunch, and then I'll unpack at the condo, so the earliest you'll get it will be Tuesday AM.

Gotta Run...packing to do, car to be loaded, dawg to be harnessed and belted in, top to be lowered. I'll find someplace to connect this laptop...and post a couple of times this week.

TTFN

Great Ideas

I have ideas running around in my head like squirrels on those little wheels. Run, run, run.

One of them is about the Baby Moses Law here in Texas. The others are still too amorphous to share, just yet.

Remember Wednesday, today, is the Haiku contest over at Sparrow's All Atwitter. The winner get to designate a recipient of a deluxe care package. So get your mind set to creative mode and think of your favorite person in uniform in case you win. Don't personally know anyone currently serving in the Armed Forces? Well, then, hie thyself over to AnyMarine.com or AnyAirman.com or whatever branch floats your balloon and you can choose someone based on where they are from or where they are serving.
***** I got this next from a clerk at the post office. If you are sending a care package on your own, and you get to the part of the Customs Declaration Form that asks what you want them to do with the pkg. if it cannot be delivered to the addressee...might I suggest that you fill that area with the words: "Deliver to Nearest Clergy". The Chaplain will know of someone in need of some cheering up or more than one person and will see that the contents of your package do not go to waste if s/he cannot track down your intended recipient.

Oh, and I just put up another blog over on the No BS from a BSW blog. Go read if you're considering a career change to Parole work in Texas. Today the negative side, tomorrow or Friday the positive side.

Been Too Busy to Post, Gonna Stay that Way...

...'til Sunday. Y'all see, I had to go to the Dr. yesterday. I was supposed to go on the 18th of this month, but since my knee was still hurting from Thanksgiving and all the stress [it was cold, rainy, and I stood/walked/bent it more than usual for 3 days in a row] of that event, I figured I'd call and see if they could get me in earlier. They could.

Doc and I talked it over. He's going to go in Monday morning and perform "Right knee arthroscopy with lateral release and patella chondroplasty". That last was for my medically savvy readers, or those of you've who've already had this surgery yourownselves. For those of you who are sittin' there shakin' your heads and sayin', "Huh?", I'll translate: he's gonna make a small [maybe 3/4"] incision, just outside each corner of my right knee; then he'll use his super neat-o instruments to go in and clean out all the arthritic "junk" that has built up in my knee since my 1st injury at age 15 [I'm 52 now]; then he'll loosen the ligament that runs along the outside of the knee, and if he sees any tears in the cartilage, he'll fix those, too.

Then the fun REALLY starts! They will wrap my leg in a compression bandage [to keep the swelling down] from 6" below to 6" above the knee; and then wrap it with another Ace bandage from hip to ankle. For the next 24 hours I have to ice it for 15 minutes at a time as much as possible. For the next four days, I have to keep it elevated for as much time as possible. Because of the compression bandage, I will not be able to bathe or shower for those four days.

I bought a huge bag of unscented Huggies wipes at CVS yesterday. I figured that would be better than trying to wash with a wet, soapy washcloth because they drip, and are messy and they you have to rinse and dry. With the Huggies, all you have to do is pull it out of the pack, swipe and toss. No muss, no fuss, no drips, no rinsing. Or I could just let the dawgs bathe me with their tongues. After all they consider me the Alpha Bitch of the pack and the love me, a LOT!

In between now and Monday, though, I have to finish up my Christmas shopping. There's not a lot left to buy, but there is some and I had planned to stretch it out. Oh, well.

If the Dearly Beloved gets the router connected, I'll be able to post in my pain medicine altered state from the couch with the laptop, if he doesn't...oh well.

There IS a bright side to all this, though. Hopefully, after I heal from the surgery, I won't be in as much pain and will no longer be able to predict changes in the weather from the pain in my knee. And then there's the post-op morphine... go back to June 8th or so in the archives and read about me and morphine.

Oh, and for all of you who are always gently raggin' on me about smokin'...my O2 sats y'day when I had my ECG was 98 and my ECG was completely normal as was my Chest X-Ray! :)~

Correlations

It is my firm belief that there are correlations between many things in our lives. Now some would call these coincidences, but I think it's much more that a mere coincidence.

I think that there is a direct correlation between the fact that I have had an URI for the last week and the fact that it has become progressively more difficult to produce something significantly intelligent/witty/entertaining for y'all to read about Veteran's and their one Day a year to be recognized, or the other topics I have lined up in the Blog Fodder file.

I broke down y'day and called the Doc y'day afternoon and got worked into the schedule for today. After I see him and get some medicine for this new infection [or maybe it's just a resurgence of the one I had at the end of September-beginning of October] I will try to make my brain work at a higher level of functioning than I've managed for the last week or so.

I really hate it when I have all these incredible inspirations to riff on...and I just can't get around the congestion, coughin', and fatigue. It's hell when you're not getting enough oxygen to those little grey cells. Kelly [and GBro and Megan and Doris and all the rest of y'all], I can hear you just fine. And I'm thinkin' about it.

BUT, how many of y'all have talked to heroin and cocaine users and been told that kickin' those drugs was easier than givin' up the coffin nails? The Chantix, which is supposed to be this frickin' wonder drug that makes it easy cheesy to quit, gives me psychotic dreams! I tried it for 2 months last Spring. Those of you who were here in Person will remember, it was NOT a pretty sight. I had all the nasty side effects and didn't feel ANY decrease in desire.

Doris and GBro were around in '84 when I had pneumonia and quit. I quit for 2 months. Then I started again. I have quit for varying periods numerous times in the 23 years since then. Maybe I will get tired enough of these chronic sinus infections to co back to the Nicotrol Inhalers. They were pretty effective. Maybe between them and NicoDermCQ I can kick 'em this next time.

Veteran's Day Post

Edit Added: Monday 10 pm
The ideas for what I want to say about Vaterans and their "Day" are still percolating through my "little gray cells" so just hang in there another day or so.


will be up tomorrow.
By the time I got in from Killeen, caught my breath, read some email and a couple of blogs, fixed supper and thought about what I wanted to say...now it's 10:30 and I'm too tired.
Yeah, that's right. I am being a Wuss.