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Still here..........

In case you were worried, I'm still here. I had a very rough night though. Just as when I did this the last time, I am finding it difficult to sleep. I think maybe I got an hour last night. That's one hour in the last 48 hours....... Not a great statistic.......

Something caused my blood pressure to go sailing through the roof. It may have been the nebulizer. It may have been something else. But I couldn't believe how long it took to level back out....... I know I need these treatments and I think it is a setback that I was without for so long. 

Even in spite of the breathing treatment, my blood oxygen went down which is the exact opposite of the effect that is desired. 

I had several rounds of coughing that were almost convulsive. That alone would almost certainly have been enough to give my blood pressure trouble. And it certainly was miserable. 

The visiting nurse will return today and sometime today I should have a "visiting doctor". I've got some questions for the doc......

I want to address the question of the antibiotics I'm on. I know from my last episode like this that the after effects/side effects of these particular meds--well, horrible side effects so I'll make a bid to get those changed.

Anyway, today my husband would have celebrated his 66th birthday. This is not a day I want much alone time, if you know what I mean.........

 

The craziness continues...........

So, before I decided to leave the hospital, I was assured by the "community liaison" for the home nursing company that when I arrived home, a  nebulizer would be waiting for me, along for the meds for in it. Well, I do have to admit that was a material factor in my decision to leave the hospital. 

I had antibiotics here. I don't want to take them, but they're here, and I'd rather take them than risk getting sicker. The only other thing that was happening at the hospital was the nebulizer treatment every 4 hours. So, it I could duplicate that at home, why would I stay there? 

No nebulizer, no meds. I called Ms. "Community Liaison" this AM and asked her to check into the problem. She called back to report that the company that would supply the nebulizer had not received all the necessary documentation from the hospital til this morning. They assured her they would be delivering the nebulizer and meds this morning. "This morning" turned into 3PM, and then only after a couple of follow up phone calls. And what arrived was a nebulizer but nothing to put in it! The guy who brought the nebulizer showed me how to use it with "make believe" meds and swore I'd have to get the real meds from the drugstore. Well, that was a problem. 

I don't dare drive til I can get my blood oxygen levels up. If I were to drive now, I would endanger not just myself but other drivers as well. So there is no question of me going to get the stuff. It has been a true challenge. I put out a few feelers to some friends, however, I've known for a long time that friends have lives of their own. They will help out within limits--when it doesn't inconvenience them too much or for too long a time period. I even made some phone calls to some unexpected places with no response. But, then there are "true" friends. The Bible says "Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friends". I don't think that means we are expected to hang on a cross for our friends--Jesus did that. But giving up an activity we want or think we need to pursue, well, maybe......

But, just moments ago, MOST of the drugs showed up on my doorstep. And I am not going to give you the slightest hint as to who dropped them there. Okay, one hint. I think this particular mission of mercy was undertaken out of love for Jesus, not out of love for me. So, I have had my first at-home nebulizer treatment, a full 24 hours after I expected it. Holy moley. I think, once I can get these going at regular intervals as they should be, and I can get plenty of the oral antibiotics into me to clear up any remaining infection, I should start to see quick and substantial progress. We shall see. 

The other thing I've been waiting for is prescription strength Mucinex. I didn't even know they made such a thing, but they do. That should help me get rid of more phlegm, faster. Please God.........

The only thing that didn't arrive was the antibiotics. I will see a doctor tomorrow and I have antibiotics to last me til then. The reason the antibiotics didn't arrive was that the pharmacy wanted $217 for the prescription. And it is Levaquin again--that frightful Fluoride compound that destroyed all thyroid function in my body for months last time we went down that road. I will ask the doc tomorrow to substitute Bactrim which is what finally did the trick last time. It is an OLD medicine, but it worked well and I am sure it is substantially cheaper! See, you do learn things, sometimes out of self defense, that serve you well when you have enough experience........

I think many people who are younger look at us gray hairs as if our brains have turned to mush. Our experience, even if coupled with education, is not of any value. They discount whatever we say. But, as I said, you DO learn things along the way, particularly when you research and ask a zillion questions. And, if you are not smart enough to observe how things effect your own body, that is a sorry shame.

So, hopefully, after a very frustrating 24 hours, I am on the way to some sort of recovery. Truthfully, right now, I don't know what in the world I would do if I got a rush potty call. Just walking slowly from one end of the house to the other causes me to gasp for air. 

I know they called this "pneumonia". Well, pneumonia can be as "simple" as an infection in the lungs. It doesn't have to have all the complications I experienced last time. However, I don't think that's where we're at this time. They say pneumonia can come back on you. Apparently the germ lurks somewhere in your system til a time when you are run down and then attacks. 

I have worked SO HARD these last few weeks. Perhaps I let myself get run down? I tried hard to make sure I was taking all the right supplements and getting a sufficient number of hours of sleep. And, at the store, they offer what they call "cart wipes", little antibacterial wipes for the cart handles. I have made sure I used those on my carts and my hands pretty much 99% of the time. So, where this came from, I don't know. Perhaps, it started as another allergic reaction to all the dust and caca that was in the air this past Saturday. It certainly attacked close enough in time to have been occasioned by that. Allergies yield mucus/phlegm and mucus/phlegm inside a warm moist environment like the lungs provide a lovely breeding ground. 

I am wrestling with what to do about the "job". I am scheduled to work short shifts--5-5.5 hours on both Friday and Saturday. Having lost a full day to the hunt for a nebulizer and the meds for in it, I am thinking I will not be recovered enough to do those short shifts. Certainly not unless God decides to do something supernatural. I think I should contact the supervisor at work and let her know I don't think I can get there for those days--at least give her fair warning so she can give my hours to someone else and not be short-handed. I do NOT want to do that, but it seems the right thing to do. 

Well, that's it for now. Other than a prayer request: Please pray that I will get some sleep tonight. I tried twice last night in the bed, using an extra pillow, and ended up in huge coughing fits. After that, I didn't even want to try sleeping in a chair. Again, short of the miraculous, I am not sure how you are supposed to recover without sleep since it is during sleep time that the body works on healing itself......

I know a few of you are watching here for special news.......

So, I ended up going to the hospital at 9AM yesterday. The ER was SO crowded. The last time I went to this ER (about 9 months ago), the ER was empty. I was "swarmed" by helpful people who saw to my needs very quickly. This time, they were reasonably efficient, but...........

Of course, last trip, I ended up in ER for 3 days. By about 6PM last night I actually had a bed in a "real" room. By now, they may well have me pegged for a Medicare patient so I did not get the fancy schmancy room I got last time but it was a private room and it worked fine. It also may just have been that this was the only room available. I didn't care! 

The diagnosis was hypoxia and pneumonia. They filled me full of IV antibiotics and I think they are fairly certain the pneumonia has been dealt with. They did not seem to be too concerned about fluid in the lungs. However, hypoxia, all by itself is a serious enough diagnosis since, by definition, it means an absence of oxygen getting to the tissues. I also had breathing treatments around the clock every 4 hours. 

THIS time they have written all the orders for me to get a nebulizer for here at the house. I think if I had had that a couple of days ago, the last couple of days would not have happened. I do have an inhaler, but that didn't seem to be sufficient to deal with the situation. Staff seemed to think this was probably because Saturday was a very windy day with dust, dirt, dried leaves, trash and only God knows what else swirling around in the air, pretty much all day.

Just like the last time, the best thing I can say, I think, was that the nursing staff in both the ER and on the floor was excellent--caring, helpful, and so on.......

I was told that the papers were being signed at 3 to let me come home. They tried to get me to stay one more day, but........... Anyway the estimate would be that all the t's would be crossed and all the i's dotted by 4PM. I had a friend who was willing to pick me up and bring me home. However, at 6PM she was no longer available to do that because she had promised her 4 grandchildren a sleepover at her house! 

So, I called a second friend, a person who more or less works in the neighborhood of the hospital. He, however, lives at the other end of the world, and by the time I finally got the papers in my hands and got out of there, he was halfway home.

I called for a taxi. I was promised a cab within 20-40 minutes. That was a lie. At 8:30, I was still sitting there.......

A new visiting nurse has been assigned to me. She called to set up an appointment for tomorrow, only to find I was stranded at the hospital. She at least is on the north end of town (I am center-north) but she is a good bit further west than I am and had already arrived home. She tried to link me up with a ride from Uber. They promised a ride in 5-10 minutes. Unless they went to some entrance other than the ER entrance, they never showed up. 

I called another friend. Turns out he had just been released from the hospital himself yesterday. There was no way he could do anything..........

Finally, I had enough sense to begin to pray. (Good thing I had you guys praying for me in the background). There's an old chorus we used to sing in church. "God will make a way when it seems there is no way"......... Yeah, well..........

There was a man who came in with his "wife". He later told me she was not really his wife. None of my business, really. I just saw that he had a heart. He pushed an elderly black lady in her wheel chair when she asked and then hung around out there long enough to push her back in when she decided it was too cold to be out there. Somehow, I knew he was there for a reason besides his "wife"/girlfriend. I offered him $100 to bring me home. He, however, is apparently on a scooter. So, no way I could tolerate a ride on the back of that thing! He called a friend of his who came within 10 minutes or so, loaded me in the backseat of his Prius, and drove me to my door. The first guy, the one on the scooter, took off his jacket and gave me his heavy wool shirt he had layered on under the jacket. He insisted I wear it home.

The guy who drove me home marveled at how close I live to the hospital and how I couldn't find a ride. He walked me to the door. I ran inside, turned on the oxygen machine, plugged it into my nose, and returned guy #1's jacket to him along with $100 and my SINCERE thanks. 

I have no clue what I would have done but for "the way" God made. I know enough about the Las Vegas cab companies to have figured out they were not dispatching anyone to come out here. Instead, they were waiting for someone else somewhere else on the other side of town who would pay to come to the neighborhood near the hospital and then they were going to send that cab to the hospital. Utterly ludicrous, just so a cab wouldn't have to deadhead one way to get to me. 

I didn't have any choices, to my way of looking at things. I couldn't be without medication and I couldn't be without oxygen. I HAD to go home. There was no way they were going to let me go back up to the fifth floor and reclaim my bed. I am certain they turned that room around within 20 minutes of the time I left it. I truly believe man #1, Tim, was my way, made for me by God. He just so happened to have a friend who was willing to make the drive even though neither of these men knew me at all. So, I hereby declare "That's the favor of God."

The visiting nurse stayed in touch with me. She was really spooked when she found out how I intended to get home. She insisted I call her when I got home safely. And she is showing up tomorrow with some groceries. Amazing effort from her--she has never met me! 

So, anyway, I am home. I am supposed to be having a nebulizer delivered tonight. However, it's after 10 now and I have a feeling that isn't going to happen. But, I can survive on my inhaler til morning, one way or another. I am considerably better off than I was Sunday night this time. Just, please keep praying......

So, here I sit. Esconced in my chair. With a cup of good coffee next to me that was actually hot, unlike the hospital coffee which seems to have been delivered from 5 floors below, the long way around. It's going to be alright........ It really is a very good thing I had God to advocate for me! He is, after all, the best friend a person can have..........

 

Sunday morning..........

It's Sunday morning and the first Sunday I've had off in a good many weeks. What, pray tell, shall I do with my Sunday off? 

Well, there is laundry to be done. I still want to launder those bed linens. And I have a couple of days worth of work clothes that need to be washed to be ready for what comes next.

It is long past the time when I should be vacuuming the floors. So, I'd better work on that.

And, I need to do some kitchen/general clean up. The kitchen in particular needs some scrubbing down of countertops, etc. This living without running water makes for messiness. And it's not as though just the kitchen needs to be cleaned..........

But, before I do any of that, I will have to get some clothes on so I can go out to the sidewalk and turn the water on...........

I would like to get some church going in this house today as well. And, there's always working on this desk, unzipping and organizing files, deleting e-mails, and so on--the usual stuff. I'm also working on backups! I'll be busy today. YOU be blessed.

Not my usual workday........

I went to work at 11AM with my system well-medicated. You can imagine I was shocked to experience 2 minor muscle spasms within a couple of hours of getting there. How in the world did those sneak past the muscle relaxer and pain mends? I don't know.........

I figured out something that may be contributing to the whole spasm thing, or at least to the everyday part of the pain. What is odd about it is that, if I'm right, the pain seems to originate from a "safety measure" I tried to put in place for myself early on. I mentioned to you that very quickly after starting this job, I adopted the idea of pushing a shopping cart from place to place. This facilitates me transporting giant armloads of stuff that needs to go back on racks or tables. And, as I roll from one place to another, I find odd things that have been dropped in whatever department I'm in. I gather those up and drop them in a separate section of the cart--ready to be rolled back to the fitting room to be sorted or repackaged or trashed or sent off to another department, whatever is appropriate.

I have been leaning forward just a little, placing my arms on the handle of the cart, and pushing on. My reasoning in doing this was that this allowed me to displace a little of my weight onto my arms, thus saving my feet, ankles, hips, etc. But I do tend to move a bit more slowly in this position. I was rolling along today and realized I was not moving very quickly. I straightened up and pushed that cart like you would. And, the ache in my back reduced significantly once I got my back straight and my weight centered where it belonged. So my "preventive measure" may well be part of the problem. I will be working on retraining myself to push that cart "normally"..........

It was "cold" and windy today. I have no way of knowing at what speed that wind was blowing, but it was substantial. I usually take my breaks in the van and I could feel that van rockin' when the wind blew. That cold, windy air made me a little less enthusiastic than usual to be going outside for breaks and lunch.

For the first time in all these weeks, I actually sat down for about 10 minutes of my shift today. It was strange. I can't go into much detail, but I'll share what I can. Security caught a couple of shoplifters. They were going to "arrest" both of them and write them a ticket. They were also going to give them a "tresspass" notice that they are not welcome on any store property anywhere in the USA. They were going to process the guy first, send him out, and then process the female. I was asked to just sit in there as a witness, kind of a safeguard for the security guys. My being there made me an independent witness who could verify they behaved properly toward her in case she tried to charge some sort of misconduct later. There is a sort of inter-store communication system that allowed our guys to identify these two before they actually even entered the store. Then, I suppose, they just let the 2 of them do their thing and arrested them. That's all I know, and that is what I've deduced. I don't actually KNOW but it was certainly not an expected part of my day. I was instructed to say nuthin' to nobody about it. And that would be why you are getting so little detail--to be sure no one could identify any of the players from what I've said.........

A couple of additional hinky things about my day..........I got my kit uploaded onto the store's server. And that's absolutely all I could accomplish. The store's software just absolutely refused to allow me to input the kit so that it would show up in the store. I did e-mail the owner and ask for help, but haven't heard back from her........ She is in Europe and our clocks don't match up too well, LOL.

Also, I ran across something I thought was interesting and useful enough to print out. I could NOT get my printer to print it. Initially, I thought that problem was caused by an extremely low supply of colored ink--all 3 cartridges were low. But, I replaced all 3 and I still couldn't get that stuff to print. Tomorrow I will try rebooting the computer to see if that might help. My thinking here is that the printer software may actually function to prohibit a printer command if it registers low ink. And, it may not process fully to release whatever part of the software is prohibiting the printer from working until I reboot. It's worth a try before I let myself get frustrated, LOL. 

I checked and I'm scheduled for far fewer hours this coming week. And, the week after that the total of my hours is even less. One of the girls told me today that she has so few hours that she will be looking for another job. She is trying to live on what she earns and she says she simply can't on those few hours. I understand. I would never wish her anything but well, but if she leaves, I assume all who are left will get a few more hours. I doubt any of us will complain about that! This week, for me is livable. Next week is pretty darned iffy. It is below what I would consider to be the minimum of what I'd like to earn on a weekly basis....... 

Many of these "girls" are exactly that--girls. Several are still living at home with Mom and Dad. But a few are out on their own and they will be hurting from the cut in hours......

Well, I am about to give it up and crawl into bed. I'll be so glad when I have running water again--hopefully, Tuesday--so I can do a thorough job of cleaning the makeup off my face before bedtime. It'd be nice to be able to brush my teeth, too! But, at almost 1AM, I am not going out to the curb, in the dark, to feel around inside the water meter area to try to turn the water on, only to go back out 5 minutes later to turn it off again.......... So, I'll go to bed with a not quite clean face and teeth that haven't been brushed! So be it............

It's going to be a cold day.......

Right now outside it is 39 degrees. Our predicted high is just 47, with frosty gusting winds. Now, I know it's lots colder than that somewhere else in the world, but when your blood is thin from living in Nevada and then you take blood thinners as well, 39 is plenty cold, thankyouverymuch!

I need a new thermostat. But I will put off that purchase just as long as I possibly can. In the meantime, I have been turning off the heat at night and when I go to work. And, do you remember how I was telling you that my desk seems to be in the coldest corner in the house? It was down to 65 in the house this morning, the coldest it's been in here yet. In fact, being cold was what woke me up. I wasn't using the down comforter, just my deliciously soft and cuddly blanket from Costco, affectionately known as the "wubbie". The entire bed is a mess because bending over to remove the sheets and put them back on is taboo right now and washing the bed linens is what needs to be done. 

So, I go to bed wrapped in the "wubbie", and it's been fine...............'til this morning. This morning I was cold, no matter how I arranged and tucked that "wubbie" in around me......

But I have the heat on right now and the space heater next to me is fired up and my hands will thaw soon, LOL. 

I am uploading a new kit to the store right now. It is the last of my Christmas kits for the year. I created it in honor of the cookie baking tradition we often indulge in this time of year. Something DD and I used to do when she was small and something I'd love to be doing with my DGD these days........ 

I am thinking about goals for 2016. Are you doing that too? I know some things I'd like to accomplish this year. But I need to change those thoughts into something I put on paper and write them in such a way that they are measurable when achieved. I also need to figure out how I am going to break them down into daily tasks that will be bite-sized so they will get done. And, finally how I am going to remind myself every day of what I want to achieve so that I know I need to keep those goals in mind as I set about to plan each individual day. 

I am always tempted by new planners. And I'd love a fresh, new, shiny planner for 2016. To me, all those empty pages full of blank task lists, daily schedule slots, and phone calls to return--well they add up to a thing of beauty. But the new planner is a waste of money if I don't use it........... And, frequently, I don't. My to do list gets scribbled on the back of an envelope and becomes lost in the jungle that is my desk. And that just does not bode well for getting those lofty goals done. 

So, I want to do better this year. I do not want to be a victim of IHAD disease--"I Have All Day". I don't have all day. I am not even sure I have tomorrow......... I need to be more conscious of the passage of time because, whether or not I am conscious of it, it passes relentlessly. 

Last year, I looked back over my year about this time of year and I felt like I had really accomplished some things that needed done. This year, not so much. I lost so much time with those 2 successive cases of pneumonia........ And, I lost my little job which was helping financially. And I gained many new bills to pay--doctors, hospital, and pharmacy. 

I certainly want to be in a better position this time next year! And that is certainly not going to happen on auto-pilot! 

Well, I need to get back to thinking about goals and I need to get back to this kit that is uploading. I work at 11AM and I'm there til 7PM so I'd better put some action into that! YOU be BLESSED today!

Quiet Day........

It's been quiet around here. I've continued with my up and down thing, working for a while, then resting my back. I still hurt some but it's definitely getting better.

If you weren't here for dinner, you definitely missed out. I made my almost famous pasta with white clam sauce and it was fabulous. It was so good that I actually ate more than I should have. I guess having that for dinner was my answer to the Italian custom of eating 7 fishes on Christmas Eve. Anyway, it was cheap and not too expensive--just the cost of the canned clams. And, best of all it was delicious. Only problem now is that I'm out of canned clams! 

Allergies have been the bane of my existence today. I don't know what happened, but my right eye has burned and watered like you wouldn't believe. Even benedryl didn't stop it. 

I've been having a major leak under the master bath toilet whenever I turned the water on and flushed. I found the source of the leak and it's now fixed. Yay, me!

Okay, I've had about all I can take. I work at 11AM tomorrow so I need to get to bed so I can get up early enough to take my time getting ready. It's all become more complicated since I need to carry 4 different kinds of meds with me, LOL, plus lunch, plus snack, plus water bottle, plus coffee cup........... Some days when I come home, I'm not sure how I'm going to get it all into the house in one trip! 

I made it through..........more or less.........

Tuesday morning, after running a register for 3 hours the night before, I was in a lot of pain. My back was really behaving badly. I did what I usually do on such occasions. I took Ibuprofen for the inflammation and Soma to relax the muscles. And I spent most of the day in and out of bed. 3 hours up, 3 hours down. Normally that will break the muscle spasm within 24 hours. I got up Wednesday in even worse condition.

I ended up having to call in sick. I didn't want to do it. I really didn't. Then I went to Urgent Care. I ended up getting a provider who was willing to go after the thing with a barrage of meds. Steroids for the swelling, Ibuprofen to back up the steroids, a muscle relaxer, and tramadol for the pain. Again, I spent Wednesday either at Urgent Care or doing my up and down thing.

Yesterday evening I went to work. I was afraid I'd have to leave before my shift ended, but I stuck it out. They DID let us go home early which was nice. Only 15 minutes, though. And I did the infants department, again, by myself. I hurt but not bad at all. Today, I am continuing the meds, mostly as a preventive measure. I want to keep those muscles loose, relaxed, not stressed. Why? Because I'm on the clock tomorrow for 8 hours! I think it will be okay. 

I took a note in from the doc. I hope that will buy me some cred with the supervisors. I was told very early on that the worst thing a person could do was call in sick........... So, if I get to keep this job, it will probably be only by the grace of God.

With all the pain I've had, I look around me at work and I feel ancient. However last night, I caught one young lady trying to stretch out her back muscles and another holding her aching back. I didn't feel quite so old after that! These were both girls in their 20's!

I had one very nice experience last night. When I came on, I was told that infants was a mess. Of course, I went to work straightening it. I've gotten smarter since I've been there. The department is bounded by 4 main aisles. They call those aisles "the racetrack". I've learned to start with whatever is on those aisles, folding shirts and putting hanging racks in order. Then I work my way toward the interior of the department. That means that any coworker or supervisor who casually cruises by on "the racetrack" sees as much order as I can possibly create. The interior of the department may not be so good, but along the aisles, it looks good. 

Last night we didn't have a supervisor on duty. There is an older lady, probably a bit younger than I am, who kinda takes command when there is no "official" supervisor around. She is the one who told me the infants area was a mess. At the end of our shifts, she cruised around and even walked through the department, not just on "the racetrack", and told me several times how nice everything looked. I sure hope she tells the supervisors that......... It couldn't hurt, right? 

So, anyway, I still feel that I need to take it easy today. I am still having the occasional twinge. But I can tell you I will not hesitate to head right over to Urgent Care again if it gets this bad. Wednesday, I could barely walk without significant pain. Today, an occasional twinge. That's real progress. 

As I was driving home last night, I saw what I thought was rain hitting the windshield. I stopped up the street and got some donuts. That is my Christmas treat. (And honestly I am not enjoying them as they seem terribly sweet.) The guy who works there announced to all that it was snowing. This guy must be from Key West or Southern California--You might talk me into "sleet", but that was NOT snow. Of course it was in the 40's so nothing stuck, whatever you want to call it, LOL. Would have been fun to wake up to a White Christmas but, I've been here 35 years now and I haven't seen a White Christmas here yet. One year we did get snow about 3 days before Christmas, but that's as close to Christmas as it's ever come. 

So, that's about it for now. Except to tell you that living without running water is no fun! I am anxious for Tuesday to arrive even if it IS going to cost me a tremendous amount of money! 

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas!

Well, it's 4:30ish,

and I'm awake. I'm awake because I hurt. I did sleep solidly for about 3 hours. I'm guessing the meds have worn off because you could bounce quarters off my lower back 'bout now. So, I had a choice, to lie there or to get up and take more meds. Since my objective is to get as much medication into me before 6PM tonight, I decided my best move was to get up and take another round of medication. I have learned over the years that the more my back spasms, the more it will spasm. One spasm seems to prime the muscles to spasm again. 

I should emphasize that the pain is nowhere near the level it was at yesterday. The meds are working. 

Years ago, more years than I will admit, my doctor was (I kid you not) Phyllis Diller's sister. She was an Osteopath. She used to do what she called a "saddle block". She would actually take a very fine bore needle and stick it in wherever there was a bundle of nerves. That "interrupted" the pain. Of course, I did look like a flock of chickens had been dancing on my back--from all the little pin pricks. However, it was pretty effective and it was non-chemical. I think, since Osteopaths and MDs more or less buried the hatchet, they don't do that sort of thing anymore. Makes me sad.......

The pills are making me nauseous. Not over the top nauseous, but....... I resorted to eating crackers and that helped. 

I had planned to spend Christmas Day cleaning. The store is not open so I'm home all day. Between design, errands and emergencies, and just plain old exhaustion, this place has deteriorated the last couple of weeks. And a good cleaning is called for. However, it now looks as though I will not be doing anything too strenuous tomorrow............. Well, as Scarlett said, "tomorrow is another day". I can clean the next time I am off......... And I'm sure I can still get a little something done tomorrow, as long as I move carefully.

Alright, I'm going to watch something on Netflix and then probably go back to bed. Sitting is NOT good for the back............

 

This was not the right time............

Well, I spent most of yesterday, praying, rebuking, commanding, begging, pleading for the pain to go away. It didn't happen. Don't ask me why............

It is my mother's theory that God is "after" me for something. I don't believe that. The Word says that "every good and perfect gift comes from above". It does not say the really bad stuff comes from Him. Anyway, I can't imagine what He could be "after" me for. I have very few visible "sins" in my life, and I am quick to repent if I feel I've strayed across the line. That seems to be mostly in the area of unloving thoughts. I don't murder people, steal, etc. 

Anyway, by 8AM this morning, I knew I was NOT going to be able to go to work. I also knew I couldn't take much more pain. I called in to work and told them I couldn't come in. I felt really bad about that. Now we know, if I get to keep this job, it will be the favor of God. I was told the one thing that would get you let go was to call "out". So, we shall see.........

I headed to Urgent Care where, thankfully, they decided to hit this thing with an arsenal of chemicals. First, they gave me a shot for the pain. It took about an hour to actually do what I needed it to do, but life was tolerable after that. They also gave me prescriptions for muscle relaxers, pain pills, anti-inflammatories, and for steroids. The lady I saw claimed I would feel like a new woman in 24 hours. So far, I do not feel like a new woman, but I definitely feel better.........

I am not being stupid with this. For example, I have not gone outside to turn on the water in the house. I should turn it on for a short time--long enough to flush, shower, and maybe make some ice cubes. Thankfully, I ran the dishwasher and did up all the laundry yesterday. I also need to get a bottle of water into the house. I'm trying to think of how to do that with the least strain. I slept about 3 hours after I got home. And, I did stop at Wendy's and get myself something to eat because I had not eaten today and I sure wasn't going to stand around and cook.........

Pretty much, nothing else has been accomplished today. I have either been in bed or on my way to Urgent Care, on my way to the pharmacy or on my way home from those places. I remember years ago I bought a little standard transmission Honda. It was a good little car, but the little bit of force needed to use the clutch peddle was almost impossible at times like this. I am thankful I don't have to face that now.

I don't know what I am going to do about tomorrow. I am supposed to work 5.75 hours. I am thinking that I will show up with a warning to whatever supervisor is around that I may have to leave if I can't handle the pain.......... Besides I want to be sure I turn in the note from the doctor which I took care to get today.

That's it for my exciting day! Tomorrow will be better. Primarily because I will have multiple doses of that steroid in my system by then. That should be a big help with the swelling. And a new and different kind of muscle relaxer............. I don't have to show up til 6PM so that gives me about 22 more hours to "heal". Later, all. I hope YOUR day was BLESSED.