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.

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.