Rant #2,479: One Thing Leads To Another

My time away from a regular job has not been very pleasant.

If it is not one thing, it is another.

as you know, my wife and mother were in car accidents, my father became ill enough to be in the hospital for a short period, and that doesn't even include the fact that I am running into brick walls in trying to get something going on the job front.

Well, today, we have another challenge for me, and it might be the largest challenge that I will be facing.

The other day--probably Monday, but I simply cannot pinpoint it at all--I woke up and my back was hurting like it never hurt before. I was having trouble walking, but the pain, even though it was intense, was manageable.

Funny thing, each day of this week it got better, but yesterday afternoon, I felt my back literally seising up, and it was getting worse. I literally did not know where to put myself, and even when finally retired for the evening, I was having a really tough time finding the right place in the bed to turn to as I tried to go to sleep.

I woke up a couple of times after having turned over into pain, but happily, I did sleep.

However, when I woke up today, I was and still am in the worst pain and discomfort I have experienced. Getting ready for the day was a chore, and even at this moment, I am in terrible pain.

And it all evidently came when I was sleeping--which has happened to me before. Regular readers of this blog know that I also got a pinched nerve while simply sleeping in my bed, and that is something I had to take care of several years ago, and successfully did just that (Rant #789, August 10. 2012).

Anyway, I am going to have to try to make an appointment with the same orthopedist that I went to seven years ago for the pinched nerve, and I know that this visit will be followed by x-rays and most probably an MRI. then it is on to physical therapy a few times a week.

Right now, no matter which way I turn, no matter which way I move or walk or even sit, it hurts really badly. My left side is most affected, and this is the only good thing, because it makes driving not much of a strain.

But I got what I got, simply from sleeping in my bed, and I assume that I probably turned over in my sleep in such a way that this came on, just like the pinched nerve did.

With the pinched nerve, physical therapy a few times a week finally led to the problem literally going away after about four months, or right at the point that my physical therapy was about to end. I remember that it ended around Christmas, and I gave everyone who helped me a gift card for their services.

But as I said earlier, this time around, it feels much, much worse. The pain is from my lower back on the left side down to my feet, and on occasion this week, I have felt it in my left hand, too. When I had the pinched nerve, I often felt numbness in one or two fingers on my right hand, but this time, while there isn't numbness, my hand doesn't feel right, although it doesn't feel terrible, either.

Everyone has told me that this period in my life should be a fruitful one, a time when I can explore other things that I never had the time to do when I was working, a time to really get the most out of life.

Well, since that fateful day on October 10, 2019--exactly two months ago to the day--I have felt nothing but pain of one form or another, but at least I had my health.

Now, it appears that I don't even have that anymore, and yes, it worries me.

I feel much older than my 62 years today, but what am I going to do?

Let me get checked out, and let me plod on ... .