hand eye crafts

Today, I have been SO uncomfortable.  Weird, I know.  My arm feels like it's cramping.  Constantly.  It's making me fidgety.

When your rotator cuff is the problem, of course the forearm is where you need the lidocaine patch today. The top of my hand isn't bruised, by the way.  That's a combination of veins and poor lighting. An upside to having all the headaches I do means there's a bunch of pain relievers in the kitchen medicine cabinet.  Not that any of them have proved to be effective.  Then I realized that one of the most super-effective panaceas of them all was in my refrigerator. I may occasionally take more than the prescribed/recommended dose...

I'm working with a doctor at Athens Orthopedic Clinic, or "AOC" stands in stark contrast to Fox News blaring from the TV in the waiting room. Then, in the exam room, this: Now, what caught my attention first was the golf swing analysis.  That just seems like something you can have done at a pro shop or a sporting goods store or a driving range. Next, "Dry Needling."  I suspect any knitter is going to see the word "needle" quickly, so that's no shocker.  I do, though, wonder what differentiates dry needling from acupuncture.  The needles themselves?  Theoretical underpinnings? The star here, though, at least for me, is "Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy."  Don't get me wrong;  I am an advocate for pelvic floor health.  It just seems a bit out of place, though, doesn't it?  Along with the ACL tears and ruptured Achilles tendons and various dislocations --- Kegels. Take care of the entire patient.

Rotator cuff.  All this stuff through my arm is likely caused by something there.  A strain?  A tear? I chose this visual because of the little lightning bolts.  Accuracy. There's actually a lot of painless movement in my arm.  I can even move my shoulder fairly easily.  If it hits "that" spot, though,  The doctor ordered an MRI.  Big, immediate, forceful "NO" from your girl here.  I cannot go into that tube.  I spent most of yesterday trying to find an open MRI --- if I have to do it on my own, I will.  For an MRI on a shoulder, you have to go at least halfway into the machine. NOPE. So...  A closed MRI is out.  If there's an open one somewhere nearer than Downtown Atlanta, I can make a drive.  Forget Valium or Xanax;  I've taken both in the past (under different circumstances, obviously), and neither did anything.  Maybe physical therapy alone is headed my way.  We'll see.  My next appointment wi...

I'm gonna cry all the way to the doctor.  And probably a bit while I'm there.

There was a therapy session today, marking the first time I've driven since I fell.  It was surprisingly uncomfortable.  However, I have an appointment with an orthopedist tomorrow afternoon, and if all that comes from that is a prescription for a serious painkiller, it will be worth it.

Stepped out to walk Tap a bit, and found this fantastically sweet gift bag, from the family of one of Briton's podcast mates: Only one thing was better --- the note: Nothing, nothing better than the artwork of little ones.

Yesterday, there were times --- 2 or 3 minutes at the way, way most --- that the pain from my shoulder down through my fingers felt reasonably manageable.  So I did a little sweeping, changed the quilts on the bed, light things like that. THEN... there was no position I could put myself into when I went to bed that was bearable.  Even getting into bed was a nightmare.  Sleeping was impossible.  Some sort of lesson, I guess... Each month, Tap receives a box of treats and toys from  Woof Pack .  All I have to do is say, "Your TapBox is here!," and he goes to the chair I sit in to open the mail and starts sniffing with vigor, we'll say.  Look what came this month: Now, I kept Tap busy with the pork liver treats that were in the box while I put this aside for, let's face it, myself.    He got a squeezy/crinkly cowboy hat, so don't feel bad for him.  🤠

For the past several days, heavy thunderstorms have rolled through at about dinnertime, making for cozy listening.  I've needed the storms to distract me a little today, because.  .  . PAIN. Really, I don't want to only talk about my fall, but that's all that's going on here.  Literally.  I can't do anything for more than a minute or a minute and a half without having to find a comfortable position and some ice.  The orthopedist said the tingling and numbness could last a while;  weeks even. Believe it or not, there is improvement.  My whole hand was numb, but now it's only my middle finger. Still, this morning, as I changed clothes, I mis-held or mis-folded my shirt or something, and a jolt of pain went down my arm that made me see stars.  Nothing like that has ever happened to me before;  thankfully, I was near the bed and could fall on it.  It took a while to get back on my feet.  An unpleasant day has followed. I do need to...

Happy Birthday to my daughter, Hannah, and Happy Anniversary to my Twinnie and her husband. Feel free to celebrate on their behalf.  

This has been the worst day yet.

Y'all, I'm having big, nasty, Technicolor bruises show up in places I didn't even know hit the stairs as I fell.  I do believe an ordeal is stretching out before me.

When your arm, from your elbow to your hand (but mostly your hand) is all numb, yet tingly, trying to put your glasses on top of your head is an adventure. Your hand just flop-lands on your forehead, and the glasses are at the mercy of gravity.

I slid down the steps from the kitchen to the garage this afternoon, and as I was tumbling I was thinking, "This is going to be bad." A hospital visit later, I'm home with nothing broken (though I would have bet any amount of money on a cracked scapula), but intense pain.  My right trapezius is everything a muscle can be, injury-wise.  Even a tiny movement can trigger excruciating pain.  My right forearm aches from the elbow to the wrist, and my hand feels like it has been deeply, deeply asleep. All the worse pain is on the right side, but all the scrapes and blood are on the left.  So I'm limping on one side, wincing on the other. It's been an afternoon/night.

 We've all seen this: Another angle: Crazy.

Last night, Tap, all of a sudden, started making these really concerning noises.  As in, "Am I going to have to make another trip to UGA?"  It sounded like he was clogged up deep  into his snout.  Also, it was like there was something right at the top of his throat --- you know how phlegm finds the doggonedest places to sit?  That. I was about to look up an online vet when he let out an enormous sneeze, and walked under the coffee table breathing as free and easy as you please.  Problem solved.

Tap and I are on a bit of a roller coaster with regard to our health.  A little one. Yeah, kind of like that. Congestion, sneezing, lethargy (a legitimate symptom, trust me) are going round and round between us.  Today has been his day to SLEEEEEP.  Me, I've been blowing my nose and trying to clear my throat with coughs.