Housebound
Rob's post talks about our little foray out into the world tonight. It was really nice to get out since my back has had me pretty much housebound for quite some time. You see, back on the 3rd of January I was getting ready for work and was walking out of the bathroom when I felt pain in my lower back, similar to what had happened the month before and the month before that, but much, much worse this time. The doctor said the symptoms indicated a probable herniated disk and referred me to a physical therapist. The physical therapist agreed with the diagnosis. It would take an MRI to confirm, but both of them decided I could be spared that expense since even if it wasn't herniated, the physical therapy would be the same. The physical therapist was also curious if I had ever been told that I had scoliosis. Well, yes I was aware of it since I was diagnosed with it as a child, but I was told it was not enough to need a brace or cause problems down the road. Apparently that was somewhat incorrect, at least by today's standards, but I'm sure at the time (well over 30 years ago) it was right in line with standard medical advice. Unfortunately the combination of scoliosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lack of exercise and the job I've had for the last three years which involves sitting all day long have all added up to a pretty messed up lower back. The good news was that specific exercises could actually help to push things back into place which could prevent future nerve damage and eliminate the need for surgery. The bad news was that it wasn't going to be easy, I wasn't going to be pain-free any time soon and there was no guarantee that it would do the trick. I did have to take some time off work, not just because sitting is pure agony and that's what I do all day at work, but because sitting was the worst thing I could do and I also wouldn't be able to do the exercises if I was working. And it's true what I've heard about physical therapy. It does make you feel worse at first, then just about the time you start feeling better they add an exercise or two or three that makes you feel worse all over again. But the thought of avoiding surgery is a good motivator for me so when I want to give up on that 15th repetition and not make it to twenty I just think of that and manage to eek out five more. I go back to work on Tuesday by which time I should be able to tolerate sitting for an hour or so at a time (I figure I'll just take a "restroom break" every hour to get in some stretching and walking.) I haven't figured out how I'll work in the amount of exercises I have to do, but maybe if I do them before work, during my lunch hour, after work and before bed... well, something like that ought to do it. But I do have to go back to work since I've been spending lots of money on doctor visits and not earning anything for two weeks. It's pretty ironic that all those years where I had jobs that provided sick leave, I never used it and now when I *do* need it, here I am working at a job that provides no such benefit. But even as a "victim" of the hardship of this lack of benefit, I'm still not convinced that an employer should be the one to provide it. But that's a topic for another post someday.