I had a follow-up visit to the doctor today and we are both pleased with the progress. The diagnosis last week was severe muscle strain. The treatment was pain management to allow the muscle time to relax itself. She gave me a prescription for vicodin that was 1/2 the strength that I had been taking, but I take it every 4 hours whether I am feeling particularly painful or not. She also gave me prescriptions for Flexeril (muscle relaxer) that I take 3 times a day and morphine patches (25 mg) that last for 3 days.
So my pain is being managed quite well. Today I will try going back to the exercise regemin that I got from the physical therapist and had been doing since February.
Rita and I stopped for breakfast after the doctor and the ham was so good, it made me think of Marcel and all the good breakfasts we have had together.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
How it came out
the trial run, that is.
I never should have left the house. First of all, because we didn't have reservations we ended up sitting way at the back of the bus. The motion back there around curves and through rough pavement was horrid on my back. They brought us a wheelchair right to the bus lobby and Jeannette was a trooper pushing me through the casino, but the motion of getting in and out of the chair took a huge toll. Then there was the whole bus ride back.
I have been pretty much bed ridden with pain ever since. Today is the earliest I could get a doctor's appointment and Rita is taking me at 11:00 am. The most I am looking for is stronger pain pills. I don't know if there will be any other remedy.
I wouldn't mind all the aches of aging if it didn't hurt so bad.
I never should have left the house. First of all, because we didn't have reservations we ended up sitting way at the back of the bus. The motion back there around curves and through rough pavement was horrid on my back. They brought us a wheelchair right to the bus lobby and Jeannette was a trooper pushing me through the casino, but the motion of getting in and out of the chair took a huge toll. Then there was the whole bus ride back.
I have been pretty much bed ridden with pain ever since. Today is the earliest I could get a doctor's appointment and Rita is taking me at 11:00 am. The most I am looking for is stronger pain pills. I don't know if there will be any other remedy.
I wouldn't mind all the aches of aging if it didn't hurt so bad.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Restless dreams
I dreamed that someone was chasing me with a 2 x 4. They caught me. It was that little green guy from the Ben Gay ads in the funnies years ago. I opened my eyes. My back was throbbing. BOOM boom, BOOM boom. It was throbbing in direct correlation to my breathing. BOOM boom, in; BOOM boom, out; BOOM boom, in; BOOM boom, BOOM, boom. I looked at the clock. It was two and one half hours since I had taken a pain pill. What was I going to do for the next three and a half hours till I could have another one.
While I was contemplating this, someone drove a nail into my left ankle. It really hurt and I tensed up. My right foot took that tensing motion as an invitation to cramp and my toes started to curl down. I quickly sat on the side on the bed to place my foot flat on the floor to stop the curling process. Another 15 minutes had gone by.
As I sat up I said "Hello, there" to the new pains. The rib cage that wouldn't let me take a deep breath. The neck and shoulder pain that made my head tilt funny. Another 5 minutes went by. All my pains were mocking me. "If," I said to myself, "I can stand up, I am going to take another pain pill, and a sleeping pill, and some quinine so that a cramp doesn't come back and wake me if I should happen to fall asleep."
I placed my hand on the corner of the dresser near my bed, and bracing myself, began to stand up. The tremor in my hand dropped it off the dresser and I was plunked back down onto the bed. What to do? I looked at my pillow and tilted to the right and laid my head back down. I could take a deep breath in that position and it didn't hurt. Also, if I tilted just so, my shoulder didn't hurt as much. Another 10 minutes went by. Now I only had to wait three hours for a pain pill.
I pulled my legs back up under the covers and they both seemed relaxed. Now it was just me and the BOOM, boom; BOOM, boom. I conciously changed the rhythm of my breathing so they wouldn't coincide. I closed my eyes and began a string of Hail Mary's.
When I opened my eyes, another 20 minutes had gone by. I didn't feel any pain. Another couple of Hail Mary's in gratitude. The World Series of Poker was on ESPN2. I had seen that episode but it didn't matter because I didn't have my glasses on. They were scrolling sport scores along the bottom of the screen. The Nations had beat the Martians. The Corinthians had beat the Philistines 5 to 3. I reached for my glasses to see who the teams really were.
Big mistake. Several twinges reminded me that I wasn't supposed to be moving. So I lay very still and closed my eyes. Next time I opened them there were only 20 minutes to wait till I could have my next pill. Maybe I won't need it.
So I drifted off to sleep anxiously awaiting a visit from my good friend Mrs. "I-need-to-pee", and her sisters "right-now", and "hurry-up".
While I was contemplating this, someone drove a nail into my left ankle. It really hurt and I tensed up. My right foot took that tensing motion as an invitation to cramp and my toes started to curl down. I quickly sat on the side on the bed to place my foot flat on the floor to stop the curling process. Another 15 minutes had gone by.
As I sat up I said "Hello, there" to the new pains. The rib cage that wouldn't let me take a deep breath. The neck and shoulder pain that made my head tilt funny. Another 5 minutes went by. All my pains were mocking me. "If," I said to myself, "I can stand up, I am going to take another pain pill, and a sleeping pill, and some quinine so that a cramp doesn't come back and wake me if I should happen to fall asleep."
I placed my hand on the corner of the dresser near my bed, and bracing myself, began to stand up. The tremor in my hand dropped it off the dresser and I was plunked back down onto the bed. What to do? I looked at my pillow and tilted to the right and laid my head back down. I could take a deep breath in that position and it didn't hurt. Also, if I tilted just so, my shoulder didn't hurt as much. Another 10 minutes went by. Now I only had to wait three hours for a pain pill.
I pulled my legs back up under the covers and they both seemed relaxed. Now it was just me and the BOOM, boom; BOOM, boom. I conciously changed the rhythm of my breathing so they wouldn't coincide. I closed my eyes and began a string of Hail Mary's.
When I opened my eyes, another 20 minutes had gone by. I didn't feel any pain. Another couple of Hail Mary's in gratitude. The World Series of Poker was on ESPN2. I had seen that episode but it didn't matter because I didn't have my glasses on. They were scrolling sport scores along the bottom of the screen. The Nations had beat the Martians. The Corinthians had beat the Philistines 5 to 3. I reached for my glasses to see who the teams really were.
Big mistake. Several twinges reminded me that I wasn't supposed to be moving. So I lay very still and closed my eyes. Next time I opened them there were only 20 minutes to wait till I could have my next pill. Maybe I won't need it.
So I drifted off to sleep anxiously awaiting a visit from my good friend Mrs. "I-need-to-pee", and her sisters "right-now", and "hurry-up".
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Trial Run
Jeannette and I are making a trial run at the Windsor Casino today. The last couple of times I have gone there I just had to walk as far as the bus lobby and Adrienne got a wheel chair for me and wheeled me wherever we had to go. Alas, Jeannette doesn't have the youth and strength to do that. She can push me over smooth surfaces but most of the casino is carpeted and that's harder.
Jeannette really enjoys our shared casino escapades and apparently stayed awake all night mapping out a plan of action that would require minimum carpeted pushing. So we are going to the bus this afternoon without reservations and if they have openings we will test out her theoretical plan.
Jeannette really enjoys our shared casino escapades and apparently stayed awake all night mapping out a plan of action that would require minimum carpeted pushing. So we are going to the bus this afternoon without reservations and if they have openings we will test out her theoretical plan.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
I have survived
Survived and thrived and it was probably the best trip of my entire life. Exceeding by far all the expectations.
The secret to enjoying travel in a wheelchair is to bring along at least two people who really love you. I don't think this trip would have been as doable with only one daughter.
I just re-read all of the cruise postings so I would know what I don't need to tell. They covered it pretty thoroughly. One nice thing we found at the very start was there were umbrella's provided with the room for our use. We hadn't thought to bring any.
Adrienne turned out to be a master at organization, navigation and procurement. We booked in advance only the St. Petersburg private car and the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. We figured we would book others when we felt the need. It turned out that by the time we felt the need some were no longer available. Adrienne kept checking the excursion desk and managed to pick up most of what we wanted. It was her perseverance that got us the Rivers and Canals tour in St. Petersburg that was one of my favorites.
Our trivia games on ship were so much fun. One of the last trivia's was a geography one and we only got 8 answers out of 20. Adrienne turned our paper over and said "I'm not telling anyone how bad we did." Usually people shout out their scores. Adrienne maintained her silence until it looked like the winner was going to be someone who had 7. She still wasn't proud of having only 8 but that turned out to be the winning score. It was a very difficult quiz.
The prizes we collected (pens, lanyards and luggage tags mostly) will be used by Adrienne on a turn-around bus trip she is helping to organize to State Line as prizes for their travel games on the bus.
The last couple days of rough seas were very hard on my back and I developed a whole new area of pain that made life a little more difficult. But after being home and doing nothing for a few days that part has subsided. All my current pains are old friends and we are back to normal.
The secret to enjoying travel in a wheelchair is to bring along at least two people who really love you. I don't think this trip would have been as doable with only one daughter.
I just re-read all of the cruise postings so I would know what I don't need to tell. They covered it pretty thoroughly. One nice thing we found at the very start was there were umbrella's provided with the room for our use. We hadn't thought to bring any.
Adrienne turned out to be a master at organization, navigation and procurement. We booked in advance only the St. Petersburg private car and the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. We figured we would book others when we felt the need. It turned out that by the time we felt the need some were no longer available. Adrienne kept checking the excursion desk and managed to pick up most of what we wanted. It was her perseverance that got us the Rivers and Canals tour in St. Petersburg that was one of my favorites.
Our trivia games on ship were so much fun. One of the last trivia's was a geography one and we only got 8 answers out of 20. Adrienne turned our paper over and said "I'm not telling anyone how bad we did." Usually people shout out their scores. Adrienne maintained her silence until it looked like the winner was going to be someone who had 7. She still wasn't proud of having only 8 but that turned out to be the winning score. It was a very difficult quiz.
The prizes we collected (pens, lanyards and luggage tags mostly) will be used by Adrienne on a turn-around bus trip she is helping to organize to State Line as prizes for their travel games on the bus.
The last couple days of rough seas were very hard on my back and I developed a whole new area of pain that made life a little more difficult. But after being home and doing nothing for a few days that part has subsided. All my current pains are old friends and we are back to normal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)