You’ll remember I told you last week that I had quite a challenging physical manipulation to help my hips? One element of it was manipulating each of my hips separately, to free up the ball from the socket. The other meant pushing the top half of my body forward, while pulling my pelvis backwards, again, aiming to pull the ball from the socket in a slightly different way. Here we have the good news. And in fact, in some ways, great news, because it actually worked blinking wonders! I’m writing to you on Friday, so a week later on, and I can tell you that there was no pain in my hips at all until a slight hint of it on Wednesday, and now, on Friday morning it is almost back to where it was. Marvellous, eh?
Well, it would be, but here comes the bad news… That second manipulation, pulling the pelvis backwards, left me with quite severe bruising to my ribs. The belt wrapped around me, underneath my ribcage, to pull the pelvis backwards pinged off the cartilage of the bottom ribs on each side, which is where the bruising comes in. By today, as the bruising in my ribs has more or less subsided, the pain in my hips has more or less returned, so I’m left with a ‘lesser of the two evils’ discussion.
I’ve obviously talked about this with my physio, who is mortified that she caused me any pain at all, and is trying to work out if there are ways that we can do the same procedure avoiding that pain. Unfortunately, the space between my ribs and hips has never been enough to give me a real waist, even at my slimmest, so this is definitely going to be a challenge. But if anybody can rise to it, she can, so despite it hurting such a lot this week, I’m definitely up for trying again another time.
So that’s the good news, and the bad news. What about the news?
This week I have finally gone on the waiting list for two new hips. Who knew that this news would be greeted with a ‘Hurrah!’? At 60, I am definitely way too young for that conversation normally. BUT, also at 60, I am WAY too young to have my day-to-day life impacted so severely. We moved to Scotland so that we could walk. We looked forward to losing hours and hours together walking the dogs on the hills or the beaches. And right now, once I’ve walked to the local shop (that I can see from our house) and back up the drive, that’s me done. It’s not that I’m knackered, but I’m sometimes too sore to consider even going upstairs to change my shoes. Sometimes the weight of my shoes is just too much for my hips and I have to take them off the second I come in the door. But the worst indicator of them all for me is that I am really struggling getting into and out from my bath. That’s a BIG issue. So yes, hurrah to going on the waiting list. Because if I have to wait 2 years, at least I know I’m on there, and ready for any cancellation phone call, as long as it doesn’t impact on our holiday in May!
There is an interesting addendum to this tale though, in that I heard a neighbour is travelling to Albania (I think) for her own hip replacement next week. It is at a fraction of the cost and there is no waiting list. She is required to book in to this spa type surgical resort for a minimum of two weeks so that they can follow up with intense physio and make sure she is well enough to fly home. A solution to all of this and a holiday combined. What’s not to love? Yes, of course we hear horror stories of unregistered surgeons causing horrendous problems, and no, we should absolutely not have to put ourselves in this position when this is what our own NHS should provide. But of course it can’t. It is overwhelmed. And I just can’t imagine being in this much pain for another two years. Or for the impact on both of our lives because I can’t walk the boys, or we can’t enjoy a lovely long stroll on the beach, continuing for another 2 years. It will not get better on its own. I shall be watching the progress of my neighbour with much interest. And you know I’ll keep you informed.
And while I’m on the medical issues thing, I still have nothing from the Spinal Consultant Surgeon, who I was referred to last October, I think. I rang to chase them up in early January, and was told in no short terms that I will hear when it is time. I do not need to call them. Hmmm. This is for a discussion on the need for an operation on the discs bulging at L 1/2 and at L 4/5, which are likely to have been part of the reason for that sciatic nightmare I had last year.
This combined with the osteo-arthritis in my coccyx and problems with the sciatic nerve and piriformis muscle meant that I was still on very considerable levels of pregabalin, which I was anxious to reduce. The doctor I initially saw thought that reducing the drugs without permission of the surgeon was foolish, so I waited. But come January, I spoke to a different doc and told her that I was going to reduce the drugs myself, or she could help me do it without any withdrawal/side effects. Thankfully, she was on my side and I am now well on the way to taking a lot fewer, which is great.
Good god, that’s a lot, isn’t it? Let’s talk about something else, shall we?
I’m writing this at my dad’s in Birkenhead. I drove up yesterday. Last night we went to my choir practice. Today, we have my aunt’s funeral, which is why I’m here this time. Tomorrow, I’m driving to Glasgow, and staying overnight for a gig. On Sunday, I’m driving Glasgow to Campbeltown, straight to play D&D. And only then, can I drive home. So quite a mammoth road trip for a long weekend, but forget that for a second, and consider the packing nightmare that this has entailed!! Last time I did a multi-stop trip, I thought I was being really clever fitting everything into one large bag. But of course, it ended up being one very heavy bag, and of course, my hips really struggled after carrying or dragging that up and down stairs in three different locations.
So this time, I’ve packed one bag per stop over. The biggest bag being for dads, to cover rehearsal, Jackie’s funeral, and arriving at Glasgow, perhaps a little shopping once we’ve checked into the hotel.
I’ve packed another bag for the gig, and driving in the morning. And another bag with my dice and books for D&D, as well as something warm to wear because the room we have in the back of the Kilbrannon is freezing. Oh, and I also packed a bag for Friday night cocktails for dad and I. And then I did a spot of shopping at Tebay, because you have to, so have another bag now for that. My car boot is full and its just me. But, it should all be good as long as I’ve packed the right things, in the right bags.
Guess what. The very first change of clothes for last night’s rehearsal, the earrings I wanted were in a bag I’d left in the car. Typical but not the end of the world. Now I really, really need to remember to transfer my washbag and my huge haul of medication to the right bag before I park the car in Glasgow and schlepp to the hotel. There is no right answer, other than being organised, and remembering where the same thing is required in each part of the trip. And the remembering part should be hugely helped by the reduction in the pregabalin.
I know it’s only Friday, but I’m already looking forward to my Sunday night bath. I’d very much like to think that I can chill out for a couple of days and just sit and write after all of this, but that’s not going to happen. On Monday, I’m having lunch with a friend, not a chore at all, but still takes me out of the house. Later in the day I have to drive back in to town to present someone with flowers for doing the good stuff she does, perhaps more on that next week. Tuesday is exciting and I have the kitchen designer and builder coming to finalise plans for the new kitchen. And then there is nothing in my diary for Tuesday afternoon thank the gods. Although I will need to pack because on Wednesday, I’m back in the car, driving back to pick dad up. Staying over Wednesday night, choir on Thursday, driving home again on Friday.
*And then breathe*
On Saturday, I am doing nothing! She says, right now, but I am sure there will be something by then that I can’t avoid. If I was at work I would write ‘KEEP CLEAR FOR CATCHING UP’ in my diary to stop others putting appointments in. I could of course write it in my own diary, but it would make no difference to anything at all. It is generally only me putting appointments in, but all of this driving is not just tiring, it is time consuming, and significantly condenses the time available for other stuff. You know how much I love going to choir, but just right now, I’m quite glad that after next week’s visit, it will be a little while before I’m back.
You can imagine that tonight’s cocktail will be very welcome. We’re on an Elderflower Rose Martini. Or quite possibly two of them. I’ve earned it already and it’s still not even midday. So whatever you have in your hectic life at the moment, I hope you are building in space to chill, no matter how brief that moment is.
Cocktail Queen 