Things are looking up slightly this week but please, no more pain. Not the emotional kind nor the physical kind. The last three or so weeks have been full with both and I’ve been close to breaking point more than once.
Too much stepping carrying weights at the gym resulted in a badly sprained knee which makes driving a manual car and walking and sitting difficult. It’s on the improve but if I’d had a chance to rest it as advised by the doc I’m sure it would’ve felt better sooner.
My Nanna collapsed unconscious in her kitchen while cooking porridge a few weekends ago. She’d had minor surgery the week before and the doctors think she hadn’t recovered properly from the effects of the anaesthetic. She was lucky that the cooktop was connected to a kill-switch or things could’ve been much worse. The smoke alarm went off but no one heard it. She was found a couple of hours later by a neighbour who by pure chance had decided to drop in some newspapers for Nan to read. The Gods must’ve been looking her way because there was no physical damage done by the collapse. No broken bones, no scratches, not even a bruise! But she did ‘lose her bowels’ and was very embarrassed by all the fuss. Hospital beds for the very aged and not right on death’s door were scarce that day so we were advised to look after her at home. I volunteered to stay over because my parents and aunt were exhausted by that stage. Nan’s much better now which is a great relief to us all.
She’s very independent is my Nan. At first she was all ‘I’m sorry to trouble you’ and ‘No, no, I can do it myself’ but after a couple of hours she was barking out orders like she was Lady of the Manor with a grand retinue of servants at her fingertips. I didn’t mind.
What I did mind was the sofa bed I slept on. It looked comfy enough but, boy oh boy it wasn’t. You know that Seinfeld episode where Elaine spends the night on Jerry’s parent’s sofa and she wakes up unable to move her neck and suffering from spasms? I was Elaine the next morning. My back spasmed for the next 12 hours until relief was had by way of wine and Panadeine Forte. Stella!
And then there was the heat. NAN, PLEASE TURN THE AIR CONDITIONING OFF! I’M BOILING IN MY OWN SWEAT HERE! (Shouting necessary as Nan takes her hearing aids out when she’s at home.)
On the way home the next day, I decided to make a quick stop at the bakery and purchase a donut to cheer myself up. I couldn’t get a park right outside so I had to park down the bottom of the carpark where the local teens hangout after dark with their beers and skateboards and walk back up to the bakery. When I say ‘walk’ I mean hobble, what with the knee and the back spasms and the dehydration and the general tiredness and all. I’d forgotten to take flat shoes with me to Nan’s and only had high heels in the car, and didn’t want to be seen in daylight wearing purple ugg boots, so I decided to hobble barefoot. As soon as I put my foot (the one belonging to the leg with the bad knee) down I trod on a shard of glass which buried itself deeper into my foot with every following hobble. As I winced in pain I tried to hobble mainly on the other foot but soon trod on another piece of glass, one I managed to get out myself. Despite the pain I was in, I was determined to get that donut. With a few pitstops to rest and talk myself out of crying in public, eventually I made it to the bakery and back but as I attempted to get back into the car, I hit my head really hard on the door surround/roof causing stars to fly before my eyes. That was just too much to handle and I burst into tears. Anyway, I made it home without having a car accident but couldn’t reach the glass still stuck in my foot thanks to the bad knee, back spasms, throbbing head. When Big came home hours later he had the pleasure (and to him it was; I HATE having my feet touched by ANYONE) of digging it out with a pin and a pair of tweezers.
I returned to gym last night but stuck mainly to upper body weights, slow walks on the treadmill and a bit of boxing. And, after getting all this off my chest, I’m feeling slightly less emotional now about all the family dramas. Thanks wee bloggy.
Breathe Me - Sia