The Snowball Effect

Yes, it never rains but it monsoons. :(

I'm back, more or less. Less, I think. I put my back out on Saturday slugging stuff around the store. That's always fun. I have (in addition to my multitude of other health stupidities) a defect in my spine that causes me issues sometimes. Technically. it's spina bifida occulta; it's the very mildest form of spina bifida and more common than you might think (something like 22% of people have it, but very few people have any problems relating to it). In essence, it's a birth defect-the bone didn't completely fuse in the arch of one of my vertebrae (L4, to be precise-the second lowest vertebra in the spine). From time to time it aggravates what would be normal lower back pain into screaming agony. Woo hoo. Oh, and the disc between L4 and L5 has been deteriorating for years, too. It's far narrower than it should be.

It's also another one of those contentious things. I've had the whole range of responses from doctors about it, from "That's nothing at all. The pain is all in your head. Stop boo-hooing and get off your ass." to "Well, that vertebra slips around in ways it shouldn't and pinches nerves. That'll cause excruciating pain and muscle weakness in your back and legs. Oh, but you're too old for the surgery we can do now to fix that." and everything in between. Net result? Like everything else, I live with it. Some days I have the upper hand and some days it does.

But I will say this;food poisoning or a virus or whatever that makes you spend time bent over the toilet isn't an effective treatment for a sore back. :D

And I'm frustrated because there's so much to do at the store and at home and I can't move. Bleah. Bleah!!! I say!

Best yet, something got set down on the foot pedal for my sewing machine and caused it to overheat, scorching the carpet and very nearly starting a fire in the house. If Bear and I hadn't tracked the source of the weird smell and found it.....I don't even want to think about it. He was headed to bed for the day and I was on my way out. That's the sort of disaster I can't contemplate without breaking down completely. I'm stunned at how easily I could have lost just about everything that matters to me. I don't even know why the damn machine was plugged in! It hasn't been used in months and I'm normally so careful to unplug it because it's an antique, so I don't trust the wires. What the hell?!?

Not a good day so far. It better get better.