Giving Thanks

[mdlbear]

It's Thanksgiving, which means that in addition to the traditional Thankful Thursday, I get to look back over the whole year to find things to be grateful for. But let's start with the week: Today I'm grateful for

• Surviving my argument with a manhole cover and a sidewalk with nothing more serious than a slightly broken nose and some scrapes;
• My family, with a special callout to Naomi for driving me to the ER to get checked out;
• Cat therapy, with a special callout to Morticia;
• Sound Credit Union, for approving the loan that will pay for the budget overrun on our garage remodel.

Now, for the year:

• My family, again and always: Colleen, Emmy, Chaos, PocketNaomi, Ursa Minor, their kids g and j, and my Mom (whose 95th birthday party I'm flying east for two weeks from today);
• Our wonderful home at Rainbow's End;
• Our wonderful cats, and especially for the time -- far too short -- that we had with Curio;
• Seattle weather;
• An employer that appears to be much more understanding than I gave them credit for (though I'm still very worried);
• Good Drugs, with special callouts to methocarbamol and bupropion;
• Friends, coworkers, and health care providers too numerous to mention, but particularly Colleen's urologist and the three Anitas at UW;
• Filk and folk music, with special mention of "The Mary Ellen Carter", a song that had a lot to do with our surviving what has been an extremely rough year for all of us.

Comments

broken nose???

[dialecticdreamer]

Oh, DEAR!

Are you truly well? Clean break, easy to heal? No major injuries? Muscle strain?

Worryworryworryworry!

VERY, very, very, veryvery gentle HUGS!

Re: broken nose???

[mdlbear]

The nose actually had two tiny breaks, one on each side, presumably where the nosepieces of my glasses got squashed against them. There are small abrasions on two of my right knuckles, my right knee, and my left forehead. Most of my forehead was protected by the tight, fuzzy cap I was wearing. My knee seems to have developed a few problems since then, which may or may not be related. The tightness in my neck muscles is definitely related, but manageable.

On the whole, I came off very lightly. Hugs do not need to be particularly gentle, but are quite welcome.

Re: broken nose???

[dialecticdreamer]

A tube sock --ALL COTTON OR WOOL-- with any kind of rice/grain in it makes a great, flexible heating pad for your neck. That and Tiger Balm do wonders for stiffness and aches on unbroken skin. In a pinch, Vick's vapo-rub or any mentholated cream will work somewhat, but Tiger Balm is menthol and camphor, which seems to sink in better.

Re: broken nose???

[mdlbear]

Tiger balm is wonderful; I keep some in my guitar case for when my fingers get stiff, though I haven't needed it in a while. Heat is great; I'll go track down one of my heating pads as soon as I'm done writing this.

I took a good hot bath last night; that took care of most of the aches. That and the muscle relaxant. Compared to some of my more serious muscle spasms and tears, this has been a walk in the park. Pain levels in the 4.5-5 range tops, more like 3.5-4 now, and localized.

(For calibration, at the moment 3 is uncomfortable, 4 is hurting but I have to do anything about it, 5 is hurting too much to ignore.) (That's partly for my own benefit -- I'm really bad at subjective rating scales, so it's useful for me to record more detail for future reference.)

Re: broken nose???

[dialecticdreamer]

I'm glad you're well-stocked with the palliatives and special purpose items to make it easier to get through this. I'm very glad you're only in a little discomfort, relatively. Try to have a relaxing weekend.

Re: broken nose???

[mdlbear]

Thanks! Found my electric neck-and-shoulders heating pad, and that's helping.

I kind of wish I didn't need all this stuff, but I've had back problems since I was in my 20s. One learns how to cope.

[chanter1944]

Eeeeeek! :( May you heal up soonest, and with as little pain as possible given your description of injuries. Ouch! :(

Pass along some cuddles to Morticia tortie girl, will you? I miss kitties, especially love bug kitties.

[mdlbear]

I will, thanks.

[carol-kitty.livejournal.com]

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and please give Mama a big hug from me and have her give one back from me. Miss you all.

[mdlbear]

Hug delivered and returned. Miss you, too.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[mdlbear]

I will, thanks! (Actually, her birthday is December 28; she's holding the party on the 12th so that more people can come.)

[acelightning.livejournal.com]