Monday 22 February 2021

Time. A Week?

A week ago (I'm writing this on Sunday to post on Monday) we were having our second day of snow.  I was, of course, thrilled with this, in part because last Monday was a holiday so it felt like good timing, as not SO many folks would have to try to make it through the snow to work.  

(Funny though, as I type that a small part of my brain went "well people are working at home anyway because of the pandemic and the same folks who didn't go into lockdown initially probably still had to work during a snow day and a stat holiday... sigh.")

A week ago I was starting to feel some relief from whatever had gone on with my upper back/neck/shoulder.  And a week ago I guess was Valentine's day although honestly the snow made that kind of a low priority for me... and combined with Covid it really felt like a non day, which was nice rather than the occasional "woe is me cuz I'm single on Valentine's day" I've sometimes felt.  Like, yeah, it was literally a Sunday that had snow.  Awesome.

I did manage to get an appointment to see someone about the neck issue and their best guess is that I put a rib (an upper rib) out.  By sleeping.  Like by sleeping too well and too deeply I pulled something or something that yanked the rib into a not so good position which then upset all the muscles and nerves and other science-y things in the area and well, ok.  I can believe it.  

I don't think I talked about the pain thing other than telling you that it had happened and I was non functional but I literally woke up two Wednesdays ago and thought "oh, I slept funny, my neck is a little sore" (because that happens from time to time, usually if I sleep in but anyway...)  I lay in bed thinking my neck was a little off but no big deal but by the time I got up and got my day going it was a very big deal.

I do not remember the last time I was in that much pain, honestly.  I couldn't tell where it was coming from.  It sort of seemed to almost migrate?  Right-sided though, until the other muscles tensed up from me "guarding" against the intense pain.  So it was like is this my neck?  My shoulder?  My back?  And my only guess was that it had something to do with sleep as I'd not done anything physical of note in the day or days before.

I tried heat.  I tried ice.  I tried Robaxacet (over the counter muscle relaxant) and Advil and Tylenol, I tried alllll the rubs and lotions in my house.  Nothing worked.  Nothing even seemed to touch it.  It was really bad you guys.

There was a moment (sorry, TMI!) where I went to pee and I couldn't because the pain of sitting was too intense and so I sat there and cried trying to just... pee!  (I did, eventually, somehow... putting my head into my lap or something weird like that, I know!!!)

I did go for a walk, figured it was worth some fresh air and it was a genuine surprise that doing that actually gave some relief.  I felt fine on the walk and for a little while after.  It was heaven.  But as I said to C-Dawg when I called her, I can't just walk forever!

I thought sleeping would give some relief and I threw on my old foam neck "brace" (which I've done for years when my neck gets funky... post car accident and all) and I took whatever pain relievers but I wasn't able to sleep.  Every move, every motion woke me all the way up with the pain.  I'd try to wedge my head between the two pillows straight and flat on my bed but I'd drift off and try to roll/move and the pain would wake me up again.  It was awful.

I had about three nights like that... very little sleep.  I'd manage to get a couple of straight hours in the morning in that "flat on back" position and some mornings I'd wake up feeling like, ok, it got better!  And then as my day went on it proved it still wasn't happy. 

I saw Jason on Friday, just before the snow started and he made us dinner (food is good for helping the body) and then gave me a gentle back rub sort of thing and that did help, even if it was just relaxing the angry muscles around the area/injury...

The snow over that weekend meant I couldn't really go for a walk properly, but I did bundle up and get out into the snow a little so that was nice.  And good.  And really cheered me up.  And it's not that I was judging the people who got stuck.... but I maybe did pat myself on the back for choosing not to drive... ahem.!

OH, and on Thursday, so the second day of "neck" pain but the day before the snow, we had our second day, or maybe third?  I forget, of serious cold and wind chill and I even went for a walk in that (something at the post office had to get picked up...) and the irony is I didn't wear my mask but if I had it would have kept my damn face warm in like whatever it was minus ten?  The rest of my gear did great, but yeah, my face was cold, and damn red when I got home.  And that was maybe 10 minutes there and 10 minutes back.  Go figure.  

So, yeah, a week ago, we'd had serious wind chill and a drop in temperature and then snow that no one really believed would happen but it totally seriously did and my neck had gotten better but still wasn't great and I'd made an appointment to have someone figure it out and help but it was still a bunch of days away and now it's a week later and it feels like it happened so long ago.

I mean I can still go see snow piles if I want.  Piles made by machines are the only ones really left at this point.  I did, however, find a pile of carrots and I felt sad for the former snowman!  But the snow feels like so long ago now and the small piles still around at the edges of driveways are kind of weird to see.

So this week was kind of a time warp I guess.  I explained to someone that pain is seriously awful and kind of all consuming so maybe that's why the time went extra weird for me.... I don't know.

My neck/rib/shoulder/whatever does seem to be continuing to improve although it's sore from the treatment on Friday (as they said it would be) and I think I sort of... un-did some of the fixing by accident and so this weekend wasn't the most physically comfortable...

So yeah.  Last week feels like way longer ago than just a week.  It's weird. 

2 comments:

Jason Langlois said...

Time really has sort of distorted meaning these days.

Really hope you continue to mend, with less undoing!

Victoria said...

Time is weirdly both happening and weird lately!
And thanks :)