A month ago, lying in bed minding my own business
the building alarm sounded.
It was loud.
Then all of a sudden, my back and right leg began to spasm and I couldn't move and was trying to find a position where the pain would stop.
I was unsuccessful.
Finally, I found a position that hurt less and even nodded off to sleep for a while.
Then the alarm sounded again.
Ouch!
This time, with help, I made it down to the floor (oh, both times the alarms were false alarms) and that's where I spent the night trying to maneuver my right leg into some formation where the pain stopped.
Well, it didn't work and only the call of nature was enough to get me to crawl across the floor to the bathroom and hoist myself up with some effort. From there, I could stand - electric bolts of pain shooting through my lower back and down the right leg - and the decision was made to go to ER since the pain really wasn't going away on its own.
The nurses and doctors were friendly and eager to help, and roughly six hours later it was back home again trying to rest and ingest enough pain killer to knock it (and me) out.
Thankfully, things are much better now. I've been back at work for three full weeks and the pain level is usually in the 2-3 range (down from 7+). I'm even sleeping most of the night. Thank God for that and for helping me through some painful days.
The moral, if there is one, is that episodes like this cause me to appreciate little things (getting dressed) a bit more. It's good to learn some humility in having to ask others for help. And, working in a Retirement Community, this major hitch in my get-a-long (getting passed in the halls by folks using walkers) is helping increase my empathy with those people I am honored to work with each day.
It will be a little while yet before I can resume a workout routine and even longer before I can run any distance... but sometimes victories are found in small steps and lately more and more of my small steps are coming free of pain.
That's a very good thing, praise to the Lord!
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