Riffing: Giving It A Try

Had a visit with my new Physical Therapist yesterday.

David brought out a plastic spine and twisted it around a bit, to show me "what's going on"....
He said the L3-4 disc is bulging into the nerves, which is "like having a finger poked into your eye." So "No more bending over, or leaning over, or resting on your right side." "No more resting on your couch, if it's too soft. Gravity keeps that disc bulging." "Standing up straight is the best position, for now." "Try not to sit in chairs. Slumping in chairs is the worst." "Posture? Keep it str-r-r-raight. Open up those disc spaces (put your shoulders back, and try tucking your navel up under your ribs...yeah, that's it!)" He showed me a couple of self-traction techniques, to help the bulge get away from the nerve. He treated the pain with an electronic gizmo, and ice. "Don't even lean over the sink to brush your teeth." "Sleep flat on your back, a pillow under your knees." "Try to take walks, but only on flat ground." "Ice the back. Heat the leg." "Be careful. Don't push it. Take your pain pills." "See you next week."

And I'm trying. Really trying. Already it feels like way too many rules, and I want to break them. I live on a hill. My backyard is not flat. And how can you own a couple of border collies and never lean over? It's impossible! How many times a day does the average person, even those without dogs, lean over? A million!! So I lean over sometimes. I can't help it. Nothing would get done! (I'd squat, like he showed me, but my knees are shot.) And I sit in chairs. But I'm sitting very straight. I have an ice pack strapped to my back while I type this. Good for me! Ever onward....!

This morning I noticed that a couple of the Iris flowers I brought in a few days ago are DONE. And that they dripped on the kitchen counter. Purple flowers...purple drips. Were they weeping? Is this a messy "good-bye spurt" of some sort? I'd never noticed that about irises before. It feels sad, somehow.

This is my new recumbent exercise bike.

"Stay OFF the bike!" (Sigh......) "You can use it later, maybe in a few weeks, but NOT NOW."

So....let's think about dogs for a while. Here is a great picture of the NEW PUPPY! one of my friends just brought home. This is "HIGH FIVE" and her big sister "POPPY"....aren't they having fun??!

I can hardly wait to meet Five.