Hey, sometimes meds Work!

Yesterday the pain in the leg was Just Too Much. Appointments with surgeons to view and discuss the x-rays were weeks, even months away. Something had to be done.

So I called my doctor and asked for a cortisone shot. My doc wasn't in and wouldn't be until mid week so saw another dr in the practice. When I told her why I was there, she said she didn't give cortisone shots to the hip. My whole being Sank. Why was I there then??? *Deep Sigh*

She went through all the same things with me - asked all the same questions - did all the same checks - all without the x-ray because no one could find them (my first dr having sent them to radiology). *Deep Sigh*

She asked about the level of pain on a scale of one to ten. I had said a 7 but had no idea really because I had never had a lot of pain in my life. Had I given birth? Yes. Labor is a 10. I laughed out loud. Not my labor ~ three back twinges and a baby. Hardly time for the doctor to arrive or husband to get up from admitting. Glad to have made it to the hospital. The leg's a 7!

Then she said, "OK - we have to get you feeling better." Yes. Please. Thank you.

One shot of a Huge, Powerful anti-inflammatory drug that went to work in Minutes. Yay!!

Two Advil every six to eight hours for a "while" - we will work out what that means.

Vicodin "as needed". So far No Vicodin -- even though it scares me a little, I am willing to take it "as needed" under the watchful, careful care of my own good sense plus Dean and the doctor watching out for me. I have seen folks addicted - and last week Grandson took it Exactly as ordered for pain after dental surgery and was fine - is fine - and had a great time telling me how to take it exactly as ordered. :)

This morning the world looks a Whole Lot brighter. There will be more to talk and write about than my pain. (Phew - as there is nothing worse than someone who can talk Only of their pain - and yet I understand why now. It can be all consuming.) I can wait more patiently for the appointments with the surgeons. And I can face my day without dreading every step - and yes, I did dread walking. Now I don't.

With blessings and gratitude for good doctors, good meds, and a brighter day - plus, summer has returned after two days of late fall weather in August - :D :D :D

Things that make for Peace

Some very interesting things make for peace ~ especially this morning.

1) Meditation

2) Quiet ~ whether because the windows are shut or the weather is keeping people indoors or for whatever reason, it is Quiet. No breeze, no traffic sound, even the fridge seems to be extra quiet this morning. And so it penetrates the soul and helps create peace.

3) Researching cortisone to discover it is a naturally produced element in our bodies and is a very good thing with very few side effects to reduces swelling ergo pain in joints. Interesting isn't it, that finding out it is good makes me more at peace about asking for the shot.

4) Sitting in the window seat and just being.

5) Dean's building a fire. It is the 29th of August and Dean is going to build a fire. I am going to find a book - sort of wish I had a new one, and a re-read will be fine - and snuggle down in front of it and again be ~ in the quiet and peace of the house and my soul.

6) Being rooted, grounded and centered.

Peace ~ found in lots of ways all coming together this morning to make for a good day in my soul ~ with blessings and the hope that you too may find peace ~ like a river . . .

Checking off the list

Three things that we needed to get done: write an article, change over car insurance, check one more thing with the insurance company. Having been inundated this last week, it was after lunch and even a bit of a nap that Dean sat down and reminded me of these three things.

Ta-dah! They are Done! Yes!

The article is written and looks good. I have been trying to write it for about a month and it finally came together in my head this afternoon and it is Done.

Found what I needed and whom I needed to contact about the insurance and will finish up that on Monday. There is still the sense of Done.

That feels really good on a Friday afternoon. I have had a good week: cared for grandchildren, hosted a meeting, made sure everyone ate well and the extra-meeting times ran smoothly, went to Tai Chi class, and finished up my list of three. A good week indeed.

Continuing Tai Chi

That first class in so long was wonderful. The second one was too. :) I am glad to be back.

I had x-rays taken and in spite of Tai Chi, massage, chiropractic, physical therapy and acupuncture, it looks like I will be having some sort of surgery on my hip. There is no space between the leg and hip bone. None. On the left hip you can see the space and whatever fills it to soften the walking and being. On the right - none. No wonder all those good practitioners were becoming frustrated because their methods weren't working.

Now their jobs (and mine) will be to have my body in the best shape it can be before and after surgery.

Meantime, I am doing my research: showing the xrays to all the aforementioned folk; getting recommendations for surgeons from both my doctor And my friends who have had hip surgery; checking out all sorts of information on line and anywhere else I can get it. There is even a presentation in Reno Wednesday night that I may attend. Might as well have All the information possible. We do have lots of ski injuries up here and so our little hospital has some of the best orthopedic surgeons around. It would be nice to stay close to home. The highest "friend" recommendations are for a surgeon about 4 hours away. We will see. It is nice to have a choice.

For now, I keep on keeping on - it is another beautiful, coolish day at the lake. Family will come up tomorrow probably. Good food in the fridge from the farmers' market and a great meat sale at the grocery store. It will be a yummy weekend. :D ~ with blessings

Back to Tai Chi

I Love Tai Chi. The first time I ever did it, years ago, I realized I could move energy in those patterns easier and with more grace than any other way. And then I quit.

I have dabbled a couple of times over the years but never seriously.

Today, I am back! I am tired of hurting so I took my very sore leg and went to a Tai Chi class taught by my acupuncturist, Mark. I hurt so badly there were moves I couldn't do. That didn't seem to bother Mark or anyone else in the class. He just set me to doing something I could do and off I went. When I could join in I did. There were 6 of us and we were all over the map in terms of experience and ability. I still hurt . . . and I feel So Much Better than when I forced myself to go to class earlier this morning.

Plus ~ I have an appointment for x-rays tomorrow so that we can look inside the lumbar, hip and knee and be sure what is going on -- or if not sure, at least get an idea. If there is nothing there that isn't supposed to be, even that tells us something.

Oh - and I have started a little "step" program for myself. Dean had the Perfect board in the shop - big enough for both feet, about 4 inches high. And I am stepping up -- 10 at a time so far. Once my leg lets me do that without pain or at least with very little pain, I graduate to stairs. :) I am on my way.

This has gotten almost silly. I have complained, been stoic, expected things to get better - and now I feel like I am actually doing something about it and things Will get better! Yes! ~ with blessings

This, That and the Other Thing

1) I have a date today with my Sweetie. :) Last night he said he really wanted the two of us to take the boat to West Shore Cafe for lunch. Of course I said yes. Actually, I suggested another place and he said West Shore was classier ~ and I was a classy lady. How can a gal resist? It's nice to have a little romance in your life no matter what your age.

2) Watched John Stossell last night. His program was on all the nit picking little laws that can get us into real trouble, that have been eating away at our freedoms, especially our freedoms to try. Although I am neither young nor an entrepreneur, it scared me. Makes me think I just may stay in bed, except I might get arrested for sloth.

3) On the other hand, I know at least two families who have filed for bankruptcy. Written into our Constitution is the ability to fail, start over and get a second chance at making it. One couple said they raised a glass to this country for that possibility. No debtors' prison, no harsh penalties ~ just folks saying, let's help get you back on track and on your way again.

4) Planning ahead: Dean's son has emailed and asked if we were willing to host "the Whole Gang" next July 4th! This is the old neighborhood gang from his childhood who used to come to Tahoe almost every summer. They haven't done that in a long while and the time seems right. So the calendar is already filling up for Next summer and this one isn't over yet. :D

5) And when did summer get busier than fall? My friend and I are trying to get together for lunch. Last week was Packed for me. This week is Packed for her. Next week is Packed for both of us! Maybe in September????

6) Being made aware of the problems of others heightens your awareness of how fortunate you are. Dean and I are Incredibly blessed. I live in gratitude for that every single day. May you too be in gratitude for the good things in your lives ~ with blessings

Positive networking

I'm beginning to really enjoy Facebook. If I don't have time to read all the comments on other friends' sites, that's ok. If I don't post my own updates very often, that's ok too. I like it.

Just the last couple of days I have: supported a friend whose mother died; celebrated two birthdays; sent an update about a long time friend to my daughter; and created an Amazing salad dressing recipe based on ideas from a FB friend's friends. Now how nice is all that? Pretty nice.

I understand there are folks who have real rants on their FB sites. Not mine. My friends - and their friends - seem to be respectful, funny, serious is good ways and a delight to be in touch with. No, I Do Not do games or farms or fuzzy animals. Just not my thing. So I ignore those posts. I read what they have to say about their lives. They are all over the map politically, racially and in age. Sometimes they disagree with each other if I make a political comment ~ and that's ok. They do it with respect.

And I get to be in touch with my grandkids. :) We will even chat occasionally and that is So Good. So I am having fun with it without letting it take over my life. I like the networking. Be with your friends however you can ~ with blessings

Amazing Storm

Rainbow out the front window last night as the storm arrived. You can see the rain on the window. Shortly afterwards the storm hit in full force: rain, hail, thunder, lightning. Absolutely amazing. Then the rainbow appeared again ~ so we were blessed twice with a wonderful storm in the middle (which I think of as a blessing too). I sat on the window seat and watched and listened and breathed.

This morning the air is so fresh you can smell it. It is clean and clear and chilly and smells of wet pines. Reminds me of sleeping on the porch of my aunt's cabin in North Carolina when I was a child.

Lovely, lovely morning ~ it will be a good day ~ and summer will return. I'm not ready for fall yet. For a brief break, however, it is Delightful!

Post Production Let Down

In theatre we have a phrase "post production let down" that was very descriptive of what happened after the high of rehearsing, performing and striking a show. All the adrenaline went - whoosh - like the air from a balloon. Even if you went right into another show, there was a little ppld left over from the last show until the present show built up.

So - we had 13 people around the house for almost a week. Occasionally we had 18 when Daughter and her family could be with us. Everyone left yesterday. Whoosh! Both of us are Tired - although better this morning with yesterday behind us. I even took a nap. Today is cleaning day and I am grateful beyond measure that I have the Amazing M ___ who comes once every two weeks and helps. Today we are working All Day - floors need to be washed and/or vacuumed; all sheets and towels need to be washed, folded and put away (although thanks to one daughter, I found a stack of folded clean towels on the counter this morning!). Objects and toys need to be returned to their regular places. Beds need to be made (found out we may have two folks spending the night early next week). Another thing to be grateful for: my leg doesn't hurt as much if I keep moving. Today, I am moving. Except of course when I sit to record this.

Tomorrow is catch up on other things day: massage, acupuncture and haircut. And tomorrow will come tomorrow. For now, I am pleased to be working through the cleaning, remembering all the fun and being grateful for a wonderful, amazing family who helped cook and clean and provide Lots of Fun! Life is gearing up again and post production let down is sliding away ~ with blessings

Delightful Chaos

Oh my - 13 folks - grandkids galore - adults being helpful, cooking, cleaning and providing fun times. We have spent a day resting from travel and the next swimming, water skiing, knee boarding, hanging out on the beach. We have driven around the lake, eating fun food, shopping at the outlets and taking amazing pictures from vista points. Today is wide-open with time on the boat with Grandpa, visiting with friends who will come to us and more eating and visiting. We just keep talking. Wonderful!! Everyone leaves tomorrow and peace and quiet will descend -- and the delightful chaos will be missed. This has been and is still being a wonderful week!!