Re: A new friend?/Llweyn

[Guest guest]

Llweyn,

My thoughts and prayers are with you that you will get a good doctor

and that you WILL get that surgery date! I think the time is right

for you.

Hugs,

Kathy

>

> Don't feel too bad, Deb. Once I started using the cane, the pain

level went

> down (some) and I was able to walk a little faster again. People

were also

> more willing to help. The cane might make your boss realize that

your back

> problems are completely different to hers, and be more sympathetic

by not

> offering such " un " -helpful hints.

>

> I now have to resort to my scooter for any distance or length of

time, so I

> have even more people offering to help with those small tasks

(like reaching

> for items or opening doors). I still get " that look " and I know

that they

> are wondering why such a young-looking person is using a scooter

(I look

> about 20 younger, which is closer to my daughters' ages), but

unless they

> ask, it's their problem not mine.

>

> I have an elderly mother and a Cerebral Palsy brother that depend

on me to

> advocate/care-give for them. I need my energy up and pain level

down, as

> much as possible, to worry what others think (except the doctors).

I'll find

> out on May 2, if the surgeon will recommend surgery and if I'll

have a

> surgery date. Whatever it takes to keep going with as good a

quality of life

> as possible, even if it's only for a few years. Maybe I'll be one

of the

> lucky ones and have my life improved to near " normal " again. One

can only

> hope for the best, but I'll still prepare for the worse (just in

case things

> don't work out as planned).

>

> Llweyn

> [ ] A new friend?

>

>

> Hi there!

>

> Well, I finally broke down - literally and figuratively - and I

got

> a cane. It's not the fashionable one I'd hoped for, just a plain

> black one with a padded handle from Wal-Mart.

>

> This morning I woke up with an extremely sore hip, SI, glutes,

> piriformis area on the right. Which is usually my strong side. So

> all day I've been hobbling much more than usual as my " bad " left

> side has tried to keep me mobile.

>

> So, I have now joined the ranks of the 'visibly' disabled and I

> don't have to feel guilty about my " smurf " pass, as my friend

and I

> call our handicapped placards (she has one too!). And I will get

the

> support I need, when I need it. I may not use it all the time,

but I

> know it will help a lot - like today!

>

> But I'm sad too. I'm 30 years old, with a life of increasing

> flatback before me. And now I walk with a cane. I already look 5-

10

> years younger than I am. Maybe now I'll look my age?? Ha!

>

> So, I greet my new friend with triumphant laughter and bitter

tears.

> Can it be both? Yes, it is both.

>

> I'm imagining my bitchy boss who has all the latest remedies for

my

> ailing back (after all, she had a one-level fusion several years

ago

> and has back pain sometimes too - I could smack her!!) watching

me

> as I hobble into work, but with a cane. Do you know . . . I think

> she doesn't like the fact her front desk person is disabled. Good

> thing I'm leaving in a few months!

>

> Deb M.

>