I am strong, I am woman! I am....simply walking across the sales floor at my new job when there was this little ping feeling and my back was out of commission!
So, what to do..... well nothing is what I've found works best. Unfortunately. Of course that meant loosing some work time to say nothing of what couldn't get done at home! The end result was 2 and a half days of just lying down, most of it flat on my back. Drifting in and out of the world in a lovely relaxed haze..oh did I forget to mention the open scrip for muscle relaxants? Can you tell this is far from my first time ?
The very first time my back went out was on a Thanksgiving day about 28 years ago. It was a truly humbling moment. I would inwardly roll my eyes whenever my mother would say something about her back. She wasn't the only one I knew, but hers seemed spectacular in it's ability to go out of whack, resulting in me having to lift and tote, etc. I, in my youthful ignorance, thought this was really just a load of crap to get others to do things. Until...that tiny moment, with about 15 guests coming for dinner, I bent to put a 20 lb. turkey in the oven, and heard/felt that little pop or ping sound. I nearly went down on my knees! The rest of the day was spent sitting on a very straight hard chair, giving directions on anything and everything. It hurt to even pick up a fork to eat! Hmmmm so they weren't kidding when they complained about a bad back!
Since then the back has been a fairly regular issue, enough so that I truly have an open ended scrip with the pharmacy. I usually only take it once or so per year, but it's such a relief to know it's there.
SO...this does leave me thinking...what will I do on the Camino?? Guess I'm going to have to build in a few days. A few just in case days! And make doubly sure that I take the meds with me. One small piece of good fortune is that wearing the pack keeps your posture very upright. I've actually found my acts as a brace of sorts.
Guess this was just a little reality check from the universe...things can go wrong. Unexpected things can happen at unanticipated moments. What will I do? Shoulder on I guess! Learn a few more phrases in Spanish to try and deal with it. And be ready to be humbled.
Hope you feel better soon Karin!! We went hiking yesterday and I think I became somewhat de-hydrated, despite all the fluids I drank. It was HOT out there - so today I'm pretty much out of action as well, nursing a huge migraine...
ReplyDeleteMaybe we should forget about the camino and just book hammocks on a beach somewhere!!
LOL!! Books and beach are another fave of mine!! With a big umbrella!!
ReplyDeleteDon't let your back discourage you from the Camino. Susan has had similar back issues for twenty plus years. We have done long hikes every year, and have found that the walking makes the back better. She does carry ibuprofen and for emergencies some of those high powered muscle relaxants. The only regular concession we make to her back is keeping her pack weight under twenty pounds.
ReplyDeleteOnce in all this time we had to bail out from a trip because of a back problem. We encountered gusting side winds of fifty to sixty miles per hour, and her pack acted like a sail, twisting her back and causing those stabbing pains. After a night's rest, we exited, more out of safety concerns than her inability to hike. The next day and a half would been total wilderness with no exit, and most likely, no other hikers encountered.