Remember how yesterday, I suggested that I might need to be a gal wrapped in gauze, surrounded by bubble wrap, wearing a straight-jacket? I might need to accessorize that ensemble, with mittens, inside of oven mitts, covered by those giant hand pads that police canine trainers wear when they're the pretend-criminal. Just something to keep my hands from gripping or grasping or grabbing.
All I did was get up from my desk in front of New Delly. Like I've done one million and twenty-seven times before. My desk is a corner affair, made by Farmer H by fixing two pieces of countertop to adjoining walls, and I sit in the V section. When I get up, I turn to my left, and grasp the little lip of the underside of the countertop to assist in hoisting myself up from my rolly chair, and steady myself while my knees unstiffen so I can walk.
As I was mid-hoist, I felt something go horribly wrong inside my right arm! It was a squeezy/pinchy sensation, halfway up my forearm. The underside part. Like when you hold your arm out to look at your palm. Which is the upperside part as I'm grasping the countertop lip. Sweet Gummi Mary, that smarted! I felt immediate weakness as well. I've obviously strained a muscle, and possible constricted a nerve. It's kind of a carpal-tunnel-y sensation, but farther away from the wrist. I'm sure it will be better in a day or two.
Here are some things I've discovered I really need full function of that muscle for:
Getting up from my rolly chair at my desk (DUH)
Lifting my 44 oz Diet Coke foam cup to my lips
Lifting my bubba cup full of ice water by its handle
Turning the plastic lid to open a bottle of Diet Coke
Carrying my lunch tray
Holding onto the stair banisters as I descend to my lair
Holding a new jar of salsa while I attempt to remove the lid with my left hand
Lifting my heavy pizza pan with the holes in it out of the oven
Going up and down the channels with the TV remote
Operating the recline/sit up feature on my OPC (Old People Chair)
Typing on New Delly's keyboard
Scrolling with the mouse wheel
Turning on the lamp
Writing with a pen
Cranking back the lever of the La-Z-Boy
Shifting gears in T-Hoe
Opening FRIG II's door
Squeezing lime wedges into my 44 oz Diet Coke
I'm sure I will discover other limitations as they occur. As I type this, I'm enjoying a bit of a respite, since I took my nightly ibuprofen about an hour ago. This should tide me over until 3:00 a.m. when I go to bed. I've been bending my hand back like a fiend, every time I'm not using that arm, to stretch out that muscle. That makes it feel a little better.
4 comments:
A bit of Britney?
I think it was John Mellencamp who wrote, "Gettin' old ain't for sissies." It isn't. We're now on the slippery slope.
Can you feel yourself slipping?
Sioux,
The old Britney, before we needed to get out our crazy temple twirly fingers when we talk about her. I refrained from elaborating past the title, due to the tepid reception of my last parody...
I've done slipped. I'm teetering on the edge of the precipice overlooking the abyss of decrepitness.
I almost dislocated my knee getting out of the La-Z-Boy this evening. I kind of think I did, since it wouldn't bend. The sharp pain made me reach my strained arm down to the footrest lever and crank back again. After squirming into a different position, I tried again, and it bent! I've done that before, with both knees, and the pain fades pretty fast. So I'm not including it in my injury collection.
Oooh, I hate knee lock! Many a time I've stopped walking and just bent and straightened my knee several times until it clicked back in. not quite the same as your knee that wouldn't bend, but similar, without real pain. Very sorry to hear/read about your arm though. You don't realise just how much you use them until you can't, right? I'm having trouble with my right shoulder being inflamed again after too much carrying of too heavy items recently. my arm use is limited, although not too badly and the original doctor prescribed exercises are helping. I'll never again make the mistake of 'resting' it because that led to a frozen shoulder.
Can you wrap that section of your arm in a heat pad of some sort? The warmth will help the muscle relax if you can manage it.
River,
We have a heating pad around here somewhere. Farmer H used to sit on it (!) when his hip was bothering him. My arm is gradually getting better. Too bad about your shoulder. That would limit a lot more activities than my forearm.
Post a Comment