Jamál (Beauty), 19 'Ilm (Knowledge), 170 BE - Sunday, November 3, 2013 about 9:23 AM Pacific Standard Time
It's a painful Sunday morning,
getting up every fifteen minutes
so that the osteoarthritis in my knees
don't lock the joints
or sitting down every twenty minutes
so that my legs don't collapse under me.
It's a painful Sunday morning,
trying to live another day without heat
because if I turn it on
the power bill will go through the roof
and I still have to pay
last month's bill.
It's a painful Sunday morning,
but this too shall pass
like winter
when spring's
warm smile appears.
Showing posts with label osteoarthritis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label osteoarthritis. Show all posts
Sunday, November 03, 2013
Saturday, April 06, 2013
Recyclable Saturday: Learning to accept my physical limitation
Jalál (Glory), 17 Bahá (Splendor), 170 BE - Saturday, April 6, 2013 about 2:25 PM Pacific Daylight Time
This is recyclable day in my neighborhood. This morning I carried three recyclable bins to the curb. Because I missed taking the recyclables out two weeks ago, I had two containers of newspapers. Those were the heaviest and after I finished lugging them to to curb the osteoarthritis in my knees began acting up. I ignored the pain and carried the recyclable bin containing cans and plastic items.
After I came back into the house, I had to fix something to eat so that I could take a pain pill. I take prescription pain medication and I cannot take the tablets without eating. The pain has subsided, but I am stiff and it is difficult to walk. I think I had better start accepting my physical limitations, but I do not want to give up recycling. I take out the recyclables again in two weeks, but I will not have as many newspapers.
This is recyclable day in my neighborhood. This morning I carried three recyclable bins to the curb. Because I missed taking the recyclables out two weeks ago, I had two containers of newspapers. Those were the heaviest and after I finished lugging them to to curb the osteoarthritis in my knees began acting up. I ignored the pain and carried the recyclable bin containing cans and plastic items.
After I came back into the house, I had to fix something to eat so that I could take a pain pill. I take prescription pain medication and I cannot take the tablets without eating. The pain has subsided, but I am stiff and it is difficult to walk. I think I had better start accepting my physical limitations, but I do not want to give up recycling. I take out the recyclables again in two weeks, but I will not have as many newspapers.
Friday, February 08, 2013
An Osteoarthritis Morning in Las Vegas
Istiqlál (Independence), 2 Mulk (Dominion), 146 B.E. - Friday, February 8, 2013 about 8:35 A.M. Pacific Time
an arctic wind blows
the bright sun cast dark shadows
no birds are singing
It's an osteoarthritis morning, my knees are stiff so I walk like a zombie. When I went outside for the paper the wind chilled me to the bone. It's the type of day I would like to remain indoors, but that isn't possible. I have to take some items to the storage unit this afternoon which means I have to load them into the car here and unload them at the storage unit.
The loading and unloading isn't going to help my knees. The last load I took was on Wednesday, I didn't take a load Thursday because my back hurt; I must have strained it on Wednesday. I will load the car after I have breakfast and decide whether I'm going to take a pain pill before I go to the storage unit or waiting until I get home.
I may wait until I return home because if I feel today the way I did Wednesday then I will want a nap. I have difficulty sleeping when I'm in pain, so the medication will do me more good when I get home. I don't like to take pain medication unless it's absolutely necessary. My doctor advised against taking the medication unless I was in extreme pain.
an arctic wind blows
the bright sun cast dark shadows
no birds are singing
It's an osteoarthritis morning, my knees are stiff so I walk like a zombie. When I went outside for the paper the wind chilled me to the bone. It's the type of day I would like to remain indoors, but that isn't possible. I have to take some items to the storage unit this afternoon which means I have to load them into the car here and unload them at the storage unit.
The loading and unloading isn't going to help my knees. The last load I took was on Wednesday, I didn't take a load Thursday because my back hurt; I must have strained it on Wednesday. I will load the car after I have breakfast and decide whether I'm going to take a pain pill before I go to the storage unit or waiting until I get home.
I may wait until I return home because if I feel today the way I did Wednesday then I will want a nap. I have difficulty sleeping when I'm in pain, so the medication will do me more good when I get home. I don't like to take pain medication unless it's absolutely necessary. My doctor advised against taking the medication unless I was in extreme pain.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
I am walking like a zombie
‘Idál (Justice), 2 Núr (Light), 169 BE – Wednesday, May 6,
2012 about 3:40 Pacific Time
I have a three layer, knee-high bandage on my left leg. I
have osteoarthritis in my right knee. The best way to describe my walk is stiff
and zombie-like. It looks as if I’m in pain, but most of the time I’m stiff. It
is an effort, especially this time of year in Las Vegas .
I try to park as close to the door of a supermarket or bank
as possible, but most of the time the parking closest to the doors are full. In
these situations, I have to take whatever parking place I can. When I go to the
grocery story, I usually try to park close to where the shopping carts are
because I can lean on the cart as I push it into the store.
I haven’t tried the motorized carts the supermarkets have
yet, but I may in the near future. The problem I find with those carts is that
I can reach only the middle and lower shelves when sitting in them. I like to
buy thing from the top shelves, so using the cart means I have to get up and
down. I’d rather just push a regular cart rather then get up and down.
Pushing the shopping cart doesn’t change the way I walk. I
still walk like a zombie. I expect I will have the stiff zombie shamble the
rest of my lie. As I’ve said before, getting old isn’t for wimps.
Monday, December 26, 2011
My Right Knee is Stiff
Kamál (Perfection), 15 Masá’il (Questions), 168 BE – Monday, December 26, 2011 about 1:00 PM Pacific Time
On Friday, December 23, I hurt my right knee (again). I felt a sharp pain and began limping. I don’t know how I hurt my knee, I have osteoarthritis in that knee so almost anything will cause knee pain. Anyway, my knee has been stiff ever since.
As soon, as a finish dealing with the issue of my left leg; I will talk to my doctor about the right knee. At this point, I can deal with only a few things at a time. Today my knee is feeling better.
On Friday, December 23, I hurt my right knee (again). I felt a sharp pain and began limping. I don’t know how I hurt my knee, I have osteoarthritis in that knee so almost anything will cause knee pain. Anyway, my knee has been stiff ever since.
As soon, as a finish dealing with the issue of my left leg; I will talk to my doctor about the right knee. At this point, I can deal with only a few things at a time. Today my knee is feeling better.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Osteoarthritis of the Knee
‘Idál (Justice), 19 Núr (Light), 167 BE – Wednesday, June 23, 2010 about 9:23 AM Pacific Time
I have osteoarthritis in my right knee. The pain, to some degree, is always present. It is difficult to do housework, to stand for a long time, to sit for a long time, to walk, etc. I still do those things; it is just that I have difficulty doing them because of the osteoarthritis.
I have found, that when I sweep or mop, I have to sit down for a few minutes afterwards until the pain becomes less. It never really goes away, but it does retreat to background noise for a little while. Once the pain retreats, I go back to sweeping, to mopping, or to whatever I was doing.
As you can imagine, I do not get a lot of sleep at night. The reason for this is pain. When I move my knee, it hurts and the pain wakes me up. Under these conditions, I do not accomplish very much. Eventually, I will get everything done; it is just going to take me a while to do it.
I have an appointment on June 30 concerning treating the osteoarthritis. I have to do something, I am tired of the pain and I am tired of its effect on my life. I want to enjoy life again.
I have osteoarthritis in my right knee. The pain, to some degree, is always present. It is difficult to do housework, to stand for a long time, to sit for a long time, to walk, etc. I still do those things; it is just that I have difficulty doing them because of the osteoarthritis.
I have found, that when I sweep or mop, I have to sit down for a few minutes afterwards until the pain becomes less. It never really goes away, but it does retreat to background noise for a little while. Once the pain retreats, I go back to sweeping, to mopping, or to whatever I was doing.
As you can imagine, I do not get a lot of sleep at night. The reason for this is pain. When I move my knee, it hurts and the pain wakes me up. Under these conditions, I do not accomplish very much. Eventually, I will get everything done; it is just going to take me a while to do it.
I have an appointment on June 30 concerning treating the osteoarthritis. I have to do something, I am tired of the pain and I am tired of its effect on my life. I want to enjoy life again.
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