Worst of the Worst Days

It's one of those days where you try to make it out of bed but no matter how hard you try, you can't. I was ready to go to the ER. Sadly, I was too weak to think further than laying in bed.

It took over 5 hours (not to mention I slept in later than usual) to feel good enough to get out of bed and in my wheelchair for even 15 minutes. The pain was so extreme and traveled from my back, down my legs and to my feet. When it gets this bad, all I can do is cry.

I finally made it to the wheelchair and joined my husband and my 2 grandchildren in the Living Room for a while. Before going back to bed, I had to go outside on the porch for a bit. Fresh air and great scenery does wonders to refresh the mind. I mainly, only, get out of the house once a week. I look forward to this and will make major sacrifices of days in bed to get out this one day. I get out on special occasion days too.

I came back to bed, rested a bit and then sat up in the chair and joined the ASAP forum for a while. I read and respond to new posts and I don't care that I have to take lots of rest breaks in between time. Visiting ASAP keeps me in a positive state of mind.

Thank GOD my husband came in the bedroom, after I woke up, and provided his daily routine of getting my icepack put on my back and making my caramel macchiato. I was hurting so bad and was so weak, I didn't have enough strength to push myself up with my hands. My husband was able to help and I could use one leg a little bit. My husband is such a blessing for me and has been wonderful during my time of need and all that I struggle with/through daily.

It's these type of daily challenges (taking 5 hours just to get up) I struggle with, that most people (even I once did) take for granted each day. First, I have to make sure I can sit up enough to use the icepack that provides a significant (but very limited) amount of pain relief through numbing the area. Once I have the icepack on, I have to take my combination of meds. As mentioned before, these meds do not take the pain away. It goes from a 10 to anywhere from 5-7 (8-9 on worse days, like this whole week). Before I can even get up, I have to make sure the pain is down and my legs are safe enough (from tremors and/or numbness) to get to a chair or the wheelchair. I certainly don't want to fall, plus I can determine if it's a bathroom or bedside commode day. Today is a bedside commode day.

Throughout the day, once I'm awake, my life consists of rotating from chair, propping on pillows, to laying down. This helps to keep the pain from climbing back up to alarming highs. I eat my meals, spend time with my granddaughter (if my grandson is here, both children), watch TV and take as many naps as I need. When I'm on chair (or wheelchair) rotation, I visit my favorite sites if I'm sitting in a chair or I sit outside a bit if I'm sitting in the wheelchair, whichever I'm up to (mostly the chair). I'll create a separate post on how I determined the best daily routine that would benefit in keeping my pain level to, at least, anywhere from 5-7. Of course, like this week, there's going to be days/weeks where high level pain can not be avoided regardless of a daily routine.

All this typing to keep myself distracted. It's been great, but it's time for me to get back in bed. I hope everyone is having a nice day!