Making It Up As I Go Along #290

MONDAY...
— Not feeling all that well today. I drop mom and dad at the airport but have a headache and some congestion in the nose. I guess I can’t blame this on the office.
— I decide to take the day off. Just feeling run down and shivery and achy this afternoon so why push it?
— Sleep off and on through the day and watch some playoff baseball.

TUESDAY...
— Still feeling sick. Drag myself into the office and keep fighting to stay. First I say I’ll leave at supper... than at 8:00 break. In the end, I stay for the night.

WEDNESDAY...
— Through the day thinking of going to work or not. Then one move with my arm and my back spasms from between my shoulder blades up to the neck. Mind made up there. It sounds like others are dealing with similar stuff too. Our office is becoming the nemesis of good health.
— Drugs and lots of heat finish out my day. Haven’t done any walks in a while... between bad weather, travel and health, it’s just not happening.

THURSDAY...
— As the day goes my back and neck improve. By the time I get home from work it’s a mild tightness... as compared to the tender roll out of bed that occurred when I awoke this morning.
— Hour and ten minute walk tonight. First long walk in a couple of weeks. It’s pretty good.

FRIDAY...
— Back is worse today than it was yesterday. Maybe I shouldn’t have done the walk last night. Work is okay... groceries are bought on the way home... and I plan for a quiet day tomorrow to hopefully cure the woes.

SATURDAY...
— Quiet house day to try to get the back... well... back. Watch a few movies and flip back and forth between hockey and baseball games in the evening. Do some laundry as I go.


The Problem With Backs
Wimpy in the back. That’s what I am when I’m sick. Wimpy in the back.

I actually blame it on big, manly shoulders. All tight with muscles that ripple when I move. Sometimes, when you have so many muscles all jammed together back there, tucked in with shoulder blades, ribs and a spine, something’s going to slip.

The truth of the matter is, about twice a year, I run into muscle problems in my upper back and neck region. If I get sick and muscle aches and pains are part of the symptoms, I really need to watch what I do, because those upper back muscles are often the first ones to give up the ghost.

This week, I got sick. Last Sunday, I started feeling quite run down. I assumed it to be from driving to Montreal and back with the parents. And that I hadn’t had much down time in the previous week. But I woke on Monday feeling even more run down.

I mention it to the parents as we get ready to bring them to the airport. And, on the drive there, I’m just feeling it more and more.

Coming home alone, it’s like I allow myself to relax... and with that relaxation, comes the sickness. A bit of a cough, headache, tired muscles... even a touch light headed. I drive home along the farm roads, away from the bustle of the city, and by the time I make it back, I’ve decided... I’m sick.

Staying home on the Monday is the plan and I wake on the Tuesday not feeling much different. Still, I go in and fight through the day. By the end of the shift, my back is tight and I crash at home.

Wednesday, the symptoms are fading. I’m thinking of work again, and I go to toss the comforter back on my bed. With the flick of my left hand, the spasm hits. From the base of my left shoulder blade up to the base of my neck, it all wrenches. With that, I go for another sick day.

A microwave, magic bag accompanies me for much of the rest of the day. My aunt actually made this bag for me and I think she put beans or peas or something in there... cause after one bout of the microwave, it smelt like I was cooking something.

Along with the bag, propped between my shoulders and giving me the imagined image of a clock tower recluse in France, I take to popping some of that Robax Platinum. You know the drug I’m talking about. All those computer generated marionettes are dancing through life on the TV commercials. It started out as a neat idea. Having a marionette with needles in it’s back... all hunched over... you could feel it’s pain. But now it’s gotten ridiculous. I’m waiting for the Robax Marionette sitcom. We’re getting to a point where we know these things intimately. They walk the dog... the dance... they play with their kids... all the while with the needle of Damocles hanging over them.

Well let me say something else about the Robax people and their silly adds. Robax does nothing! I popped that stuff every four or five hours, two at a time, and no needles ever came out of my back. Perhaps you need to be made of wood... or maybe just computer generated wood... for the drugs to have any effect.

Anyway, we all have our weaknesses. Those muscles and joints that are hit hardest during times when we’re worn down. But at least I’m improving. Yesterday I made my bed again... this time taking sheets straight out of the laundry and putting them all on the bed, and there was no further spasms to knock me over. And I haven’t used the magic bag in a couple of days.

I wonder does Arnold Schwarzenegger deal with back issues like this? Seeing that we have the same build and all.