They say that what you are doing at midnight onNew Year’s Eve sets the stage for how your year will be. Well, for me my year will be a lot of time in bed with legs that are hurting and a headache besides! Good thing I never believed in that stuff.
I’m dealing with some crazy pains in my legs. Numbness at times, tingling at others, pain under the skin most of the time. I don’t have a diagnosis for it, though it isn’t expected to be anything too serious. My nurse practitioner is thinking it may be sciatica or an inflamed nerve – yes, my back instead of my legs.
But we can’t know for sure because the request for an MRI was turned down by my insurance company. They said we first have to demonstrate I have had a therapy program. The stretching I have done doesn’t fit the bill. So, they will pay for Physical Therapy for six weeks, that will be done without knowing exactly why we are doing it.
I’ll just hope my NP’s initial diagnosis is right. It very well could be, and I hope it will be, but another friend just went through the same thing with a back injury that it hurt instead of helped.
After a career in insurance I understand their side of things, but I do believe someone needs to following up and demonstrate we help people get better as quickly as possible as we save money. In my friend’s case, it did not. I’m hoping they are right about mine. I have had Physical Therapy before for my knees and I enjoyed it. If this helps me, I will be overjoyed. I’m hoping to convince them I need water therapy. So awesome for my joints.
Besides that, I started the year with a platelet donation. We have to go almost an hour away to do it, so it’s always at least five hours for me. Still, when you are healthy you should find ways to help others who aren’t.
After that, I attended one of Keith Rhyne’s teas at the Historic Sharpe House. If you’re ever in Statesville, and something is going on at the Sharpe House, go! Keith is a great host. He scooted out for another job at the end (he décorâtes places all over town for the season and was taking down the decorations at City Hall before the rain hit) but my friend Lisa and I sat and caught up and closed the place down, as his amazing footmen continued to work cleaning it all up. What great guys Keith always chooses for these footmen. Most are teens and they are becoming so skilled at the little things that make occasions special. Plus they are so polite and kind.
Did you make any resolutions? I hate the whole idea of it, but I do need more discipline in many areas of my life. I want to write some fiction again (especially because it scares me), but will continue to write for NewsBreak and Medium. I’ll also explore some other avenues and have fun doing it. Then we’re going to get this leg/back problem under control and get some traveling in! I’m hoping I can get back to hiking, We’ll see.
To start this year off, how about two bits of advice from two we have recently lost?
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Desmond Tutu
“It’s your outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lightly and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our everyday lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.”
Betty White
Let God walk with you whatever this year brings. Find the wise of us and listen. Then listen to everyone else. You never know who will be your teacher.
In the Box, Out of the Box 