Tag Archives: health

Summer Is flying by but where have I been?

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Missing Summer

The summer is passing quickly and I’ve had nothing to share! This is so unusual. What is going on?

 

It’s not noteworthy

Life is still going on around me but my back and hip issues continue to worsen so my usual activities are severely curtailed. It’s enough to get through the work week. The weekends seem to be grocery shopping, laundry and resting. Throw in a weekly visit to the chiropractor and there isn’t much time left for adventures. I’m trying to get my body ready for another Hawaii trip. This one will include a trip on a Lava Boat tour. 

Lava Flows into ocean

Stock photo

Lava Boat Trip

Speaking of the Lava Boat Tour did you hear about the one that got too close to the lava and got hit by a lava bomb? One passenger broke her leg and 22 people were injured. Witnesses say the captain violated the Coast Guard’s 200 meter safety limit. Because of that incident the safety zone is now 300 meters (328 yards). At least they didn’t suspend them. Scientists say that Kilauea could continue erupting for another 2 years but I don’t want to take a chance of missing this. It’s a once in a lifetime event.

Accidents Happen

Speaking of accidents, I had the misfortune to be in one. A young lady ran a stop sign and blinking red light to run her SUV into the side of mine. My car was tied up for exactly 30 days while the body shop waited for parts. Eventually I did get me car back  good as new on the exact day that my rental allowance ran out! The police officers were super and even  gave me a ride from the accident scene to my work. 

What to do about my hip?

The hip problem is what is interfering with my posts. I just haven’t had the mobility to get out and do anything.  I may be a “senior citizen” but I’m not ready to throw in the towel. More information should be coming as I have an appointment with a knee and hip surgeon. we”ll see what he has to say and go from there. 

 

 

Just a quick Hi

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Hi everyone! Are you still waiting for me? Oh my, you are wonderful! I’m finally starting to mend, at least my legs and back. The shingles continue to hang on. I had to stop PT because it was only making me worse. I was ready for a wheel chair and the back pain had changed. It wasn’t an ache anymore, it was take your breathe away pain. So I stopped and called my doctor who was on vacation, She won’t be back until next week and then I won’t be available. In the meantime I have seen a big improvement. I can walk again, the back pain persists but much less intense. Yesterday I walked all around the mall without stopping! Before I was walking from bench to bench, to rest before going on and I am limping much less.

Butterflies cape Cod Canal 111 copy

Labor Day weekend I had company and we went on a cruise of the Cape Cod Canal. I have pictures and stories and promise I’ll share soon.  The next day we went to the Roger Williams Zoo. More Pics but I wasn’t walking too well then so my poor friend was held to a mere crawl around the zoo as he waited for me to keep up.

Open-Houses-in-Spring-Texas

This is the busy fall season for real estate and I’m am working long hours but it will be worth it. One of the agents I support asked me if I had adjusted to my new schedule. (It’s suppose to be 9-6 M-F) I said yes but I got to thinking how time is so precious.

white rabbit

On my old schedule I had too much time. Oh I had time to write my blog daily but  I was also bored a lot of the time. Now I scramble for every spare minute. There are days I pull laundry out with every good intention and never get a chance to look at it again until 8-9 pm. But I’m not bored!

I expect free time will be cyclical based on busy seasons and off seasons. So I expect I’ll be able to start posting more in another month – 6 weeks as we head into the holiday seasons.

So my blogging friends, you are never far from my thoughts. I always appreciate you and your support! Back soon 🙂

 

 

Physical Therapy and Cats

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Well I seem to be in a holding pattern with the shingles. I’d say about 3/4 of the rash is gone and the redness is fading but there’s still a stubborn spot right in the middle of my back. I’m also still getting those weird cramps in my right side. But it’s not getting any worse either.

How-Important-is-Physical-Therapy

The physical therapist for my left hip called and I started there this week. The first appointment was an intake appointment and was pretty easy. They determined that my hip/leg pain was not sciatica(Yay!) and is really just overly tight muscles. They sent me home with a card full of future appointments and a couple of basic stretching exercises.

physical-therapy

Back for my second PT session they tried to lull me by using heat therapy first followed by massage. It was a deep tissue massage and as always it hurt like crazy but it loosened up a ton of muscles. I should have made my escape then because the rest of the session was 45 minutes of stretching .  By the time they cut me loose my legs were like jello but I was moving better and the tingling had disappeared so maybe this is working.

heat lamp 002 copy

Back home my fuzzy roommates were happy to see me. They are used to me being around home most of the time so when I go out for awhile they gather at the door to wait for my return.

Buddy 004a

My cats are weird, no doubt about that.  You know how Rocky has to have a heat lamp but Buddy does something even stranger than sleep in a sun spot. Buddy climbs to the top of the cat tree and drapes himself over the edge. Pretty soon you hear coughing, gagging and wheezing. Silly cat is choking himself. He does that to get my attention and he’ll only sit up if I bring him the tube of hairball gel. He loves that and when he sees me coming with that tube in my hand, well, lets just say, he has a miraculous recovery.

Buddy 003 copy

I’ve got some more “Cat Tails” but I’m out of room for now.

Health Update

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2014 will have to go down in my personal history book as the worst heath year ever! I still haven’t kicked the shingles. They itch like crazy. To top it off I developed a pinched nerve in my left hip/ leg. It appears to be the sciatic nerve. It was bad enough that I couldn’t stand for more than 5 minutes and forget walking. Very painful.

I had my normal doctor’s appointment ans she gave me a topical ointment for the shingles but so far I don’t see any improvement. She also gave me a muscle relaxant for the pinched nerve and that has been a life saver. The only problem with that is that you can’t drive when taking it. It makes me sleepy but the label warns of dizziness. As a result I haven'[t been anywhere or done anything worth talking about.

I did have to go to a customer appreciation event for work. It was a very painful experience between the shingles and the pinched nerve. It was held at a restaurant in Harvard Square. As I was driving there I thought it was like driving in 3rd world country! Tons of bicyclists darting every which way and pedestrians that paid no attention to the lights.  I hadn’t been to Harvard Square in a long time and when I used to go I took the “T”.

I think it’s been about 3 weeks with the shingles so I hope they clear up soon! I’m ready to get back out and about!

 

Of Furniture, Shingles and Life

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I feel like I’m neglecting this page. 🙁 I’ve so little time/energy during the week. I felt much better this week than last. I had much more energy. I wonder if the crushing tiredness was more from the meds they had me on for shingles than the disease itself. It hasn’t been too painful. The nasty rash reminded me of poison ivy. It blistered and oozed but it didn’t really hurt like I expected it to. I had one bad day when my right side from my toes to my head throbbed like a toothache. I even had an earache in my right ear. But it was just one day and some extra  strength Aleve took care of that in short order. Now the rash has scabbed over but I’m tormented by a strange kind of itchy feeling; like I have little creatures running around just under the skin. Can’t wait for my check up on Tuesday!

One thing I did decide was that I needed more comfortable furniture. My old sectional couch was just too lumpy and uncomfortable. So after almost 20 years it was consigned to the trash. Getting rid of furniture in the city is an adventure. You can’t leave it in the dumpster. You can put it by the road and the city will give you 24 hours to remove it. Cross your fingers a “picker” will grab it or you’re in big trouble.

I didn’t have those options because I couldn’t move the pieces out of the apartment by myself anyway. I felt like the moving commercial that Comcast runs where the guy calls all his friends for help and no one steps up. My friends and friends with trucks all managed to disappear this week. So I called “Got Junk” and they arrived right on time to take my old furniture and my money. But at least it was done. Now I had an empty living room until Saturday when my delivery would arrive.

furniture 003a

I had some concerns when I was told my delivery was scheduled for  6:30 AM Saturday…I live in a condo. I’m sure my neighbors would be thrilled with the bumping and banging and loud voices from the movers at 6:30 in the morning on a weekend! Arguing, begging and threatening to cancel my order didn’t have any effect. My delivery time was still 6:30 am – 9:30 am.

On Saturday  I rolled out of bed at 6:15 am and waited and waited and waited. At exactly 8 AM my doorbell rang. There were 4 movers and they had my love seat and chair in the unit in less than 10 minutes! Yes they banged and yes their voices were loud, but it was 8 am not 6:30 and it was quick!

I didn’t measure the room. I just figured a love seat was smaller than my old sectional. I was about to be surprised.

My new love seat turned out to be much larger than I planned but even though the furniture takes up more room than I expected, I love it and its sooooo comfy. I should have replaced that old sofa years ago! (PS Ignore the messy “office” in the background)