2020 Life Logs, Day 147: Fighting the Pain
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Weather: Sun, Sandwiched Between Fog, Early and Late; High 72, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I spent more of my day than I’d like fighting the pain in my butt. There’s no nice way to say that, so I’m just putting it out there. Something in my spine is sitting on a nerve that results in pain in my lower hip area. As I move, the pain moves from one side to the other, and is sometimes intense and sometimes not. The major problem is that the pain is getting worse instead of better. I had a physical therapy session this afternoon and did quite an aggressive work out. Afterwards, things went downhill. The back extension press ups that the therapist thinks are going to solve my problem seems to be aggravating the situation. I am going to consult with my chiropractor tomorrow morning and make a decision on what to do next. I have lived with this problem for six weeks now, but today was the first day that walking was problematic. Maybe things just have to get worse before they get better, but I’m thinking maybe taking a day off the exercises to see what happens might be a good idea.
While I was having my Zoom PT session this afternoon, I missed the drama happening next door. After my session, I got a call from Shirley next door explaining the reason for the fire rescue vehicle that had been in the drive-way. I said, “What fire rescue vehicle?” While I was on the floor doing the exercises under the direction of the physical therapist, Doris, the 101-year-old auntie next door, fell in the bathroom which resulted in a nasty cut on her head. Shirley, the 94-year-old auntie called 911 and they came and took Doris to the hospital. I missed the whole thing and Shadow didn’t even bark. These ladies are called the ‘aunties’ because they are the aunts of my good friend Karen Baranowski. Shirley had tried to call Karen, but she couldn’t reach her. I have not been visiting next door during this coronavirus time, but I decided that I needed to go over to check on Shirley and make sure she was okay. She was fine, but she really appreciated having me check on her. I texted Karen while I was there and soon got a call back from her and she headed immediately to the hospital to check on Doris. A couple of hours later, Karen and Peter brought Doris home. They had to put in 9 staples to close the cut, but otherwise, she seems to be fine.
I also missed another visitor this morning, and again, Shadow didn’t bark . . . which is a good thing because I try to keep her from barking. But it means I don’t know when someone has come to my door. Someone from the public library delivered a book I had put on hold back in March just before the lockdown. They are now delivering books to your doorstep. Fantastic. Otherwise, I spent my day working on gardening and I plan to continue with that tomorrow.
I end with a moment of silence for the 100,000 plus Americans we have lost to COVID-19. We knew this day was coming, but it is sobering to know that we have reached that number and that there are still people out there not social distancing, not wearing a mask, not doing their part to make sure they are doing everything they can to keep the number of deaths as low as possible.
