For fifteen consecutive years, without fail, I got up every single day and did a run without much complaint. Nowadays, I whine of pain and discomfort – not the same person. There is no more running, just limping while wishing I could turn back the clock. My wife is sick of it, insisting that I’m not being proactive enough in dealing with the doctors. They too, seem to ignore my pleas for relief.
My chiropractor is at least sympathetic, saying that I’m a good sport about it. With my pessimistic nature, I rarely hear that about myself anymore. He called my doctor, requesting an MRI of my lower spine, where the pain seems to originate, before it radiates through my left leg. Sometimes, it feels like a cramp in my thigh, while other times it can be debilitating. As the day goes on and it loosens with activity, the intensity diminishes, until I start to relax on the couch before bedtime. It’s been going on now since I stopped running, just before my open-heart surgery in mid-January. Ever since then, my body has resisted recovery by rendering my left leg stiff and useless.
The Ultrasound revealed no circulation problems, and the pelvic MRI showed arthritic deterioration in my lower spine, but the report suggested a second scan, as was initially recommended by the chiropractor. The doctor didn’t think so, consulted a neurologist, and they stubbornly proceeded with looking primarily at my pelvic area. Wrong – thinking like too many others that chiropractors are uneducated quacks!
The doctor did put me in a pain management program, but it’s been three additional weeks of pain, and I’ve yet to have gotten in to see him. The chiropractor’s steroid doctor, another futile side-step, provided some pills that gave only temporary relief, but didn’t solve the problem. So, I wait another week for my consultation, where he will probably suggest getting the second scan and I’ll have to struggle another two weeks waiting for insurance approval. I was simply trying to get that process moving forward before the consultation, but my doctor once again ignored me in favor of waiting for her man to see me. Easy for her to patiently recommend, while my pain persists!
My body is slowly falling apart, fulfilling the fear that this would happen if I stopped running. I have out-patient prostrate surgery tomorrow, a taped-up right shoulder from a bicep tendon strain, and an injury to my right heal from apparently overcompensating from the pain in my left leg. That leaves just my left arm that I’m typing with this morning. At least, I can express my frustrations though this blog. Thanks for listening, hopefully your hearing isn’t getting worse like mine!
Fosse got me up early this morning for one of her gross “goopy poopies,” likely because of the dead frog she ate last evening. Tastes like chicken, right Fosse! Tally was still in “good bed,” waiting for the sun to come up. On mornings like this I have to do two separate outings before my wife gets up to take over the responsibilities. I don’t know how she manages to sleep-in with Fosse anxiously staring at her. On occasion she’ll pick her up, so she can join her under the covers. Tally snoozes on!
My wife and Tally get up at the same time. Fosse is ready to go out again, but I make her “wait.” Tally’s business is good and firm. Once the two of us return and she hears me open the latch to come in, Fosse takes a running start and then slides down the hall on the smooth tile to greet us at the door.
Once out and about, there is absolutely nothing that Fosse misses once it lands on the floor, but at least she hasn’t tried to consume another of our TV remotes lately. Tally can’t see or hear if something drops right in front of her nose.
During dinner outside on the lanai last night, Fosse busied herself by chasing a small chameleon, “buffing” at the sandhill cranes, and sniffing out every crawling bug. Tally, on the other hands, practices what we call “petnosis,” staring longingly at us in hopes we’ll give her a bite of whatever we’re eating.
Tally usually only gets out of her bed if there’s a treat involved, while Fosse rarely sits still. Tally has to be coaxed to go outside, while Fosse can’t get enough of it. The only exception is when my wife tries to take a nap, Fosse immediately wants to cuddle. Her body heat then makes napping impossible. There is never a dull moment in our house these days. Fosse always wants to play fetch and gathers her toys around her to suggest that the games should immediately begin.
There are three times in every day when both pups want the same thing. The first is to ride on the golf cart to the dog park, where Fosse wrestles and Tally watches. The second is “yummy tummy,” when dinner is served. Fosse frantically gobbles her kibbles, as I prepare Tally’s wet and dry food combination, while tucking in the medication. There used to be a “kibble ball” for Tally’s dessert, but Fosse was too rough with the dispenser, so we now just mix it with her Cesar loaf and shut the door so Fosse can’t get to it. The third is “ham time,” that last treat before bed, a slice of turkey, not ham, these days in the interest of health. They both gather by the refrigerator in anticipation of this glorious moment.
The two dogs are very different, primarily because of their fourteen-year age gap. Fosse is just nine-months while Tally is approaching fifteen. Fosse’s role is to keep Tally young, along with us humans. I can hear Fosse down the hall, squeaking her “disco pig,” hoping that I’ll take the bait and play fetch. She also loves to tug on the rope of her “party balloon,” if she can entice me to engage her. “Mom” and “big sister” continue to play possum in our bedroom- dog differences!