Friday, October 23, 2009

...how I REALLY spent my birthday

the day before my birthday, I went to the church...
did some work, posted my birthday post...
then went home to ready the trash for pick-up the next day...

that's when everything went terribly wrong...

I was bent over, reaching out to lift a bag of trash...
up & out of my kitchen trash can [it wasn't at all heavy...]
and suddenly, I was hit with a wave of pressure & pain in my lower back...
as I tried to straighten up, it hit my lower abdominals...

it was like being in a vise, with pressure & pain on both sides...
I was frozen, I couldn't stand up, or move at all...



this has occasionally happened before...
so I tried to relax & catch my breath...
then s-l-o-w-l-y, I straightened up...

there was extreme pressure & pain in my lower back...
caused by a nerve pinch of some sort...
creating major muscle spasms & rigidity...
all resulting in pain & a frightening lack of mobility...



I managed to get relaxed enough to walk, which was quite difficult...
and since I had NO choice, had to finish doing the cat boxes & trash...
bending over was OK, once I got there...
straightening up again... quite another issue...

I knew that I had at least one pinched nerve...
so I called my chiropractor for an appointment...
I had to wait about an hour...
and remained seated on my bed until time to leave...
because I knew if I laid down, I might not be able to get up...

after he un-pinched the nerves, I came home to lay down...
[I'm guessing they were the S1, L5, L3 & L4 nerves...]
he also did some work relaxing muscles that had been spasming...
and sent me home to...



REST...the main remedy...

laying on my side, then on my back [on my air bed]...
initially on my heating pad...
plus some very moderate walking, hot showers and Excedrin...
are the only other things to do...
[this is not the first time this has happened...]

so I spent the rest of Wednesday & most of my birthday, resting...
doing some easy walking around, cleaning & watering plants...
though I did go to a rehearsal in the evening...
where helping me down the steps...
became the comic relief for the end of the evening...
[sitting for any period of time requires a great effort to re mobilize...]

today, I am quite sore, but feel much better after I get moving...

now, I just have to get past that first step...
'cause it's a doozy...

God is good, all the time...

2 comments:

The Calico Quilter said...

Oh, so sorry to hear this! Hope you're better now. I have had one back episode - triggered by trying to get my car keys out of my pants pocket after sitting down in the car; I raised my bum in the air better to slip my hand in my pocket and wham!. I almost couldn't get out of the car. So, you see, I have a little bit of experience in this and can relate. Take it easy, and cats make very good heating pads.

catsinger said...

...the soreness was pretty much gone by Monday...and Piglet is quite good as a heating pad...now if I could get her to lay where it hurts...
BTW...she also provides acupuncture treatments...