Idle Hands

So today marks week four of being off sick and week 12 since the initial injury of my back. I AM SO BORED! We all fantasise about having loads of time off work so we can do all the stuff we can't do because we are working. This is all well and good when you have annual leave, generally you have money and stuff organised so this free time is amazing. When you are off work because of a dodgy back this is not the case. You are in pain and so can't do what you would normally do. You are worried about money. Back's being such fickle things can take their sweet time to improve so there is no definite time when you can go back to work, especially when your work involves a heck of a lot of manual handling.

At least I am improving, the first week was hell. Filled with pain and uncertainty, I have a possible slipped disc or a bulging one that appears to have trapped a nerve causing a numb right leg - my foot up to the knee. It's not completely numb but effected enough that simple things, like getting your sock wet, feels oddly painful.

The first week of the sick line was the worst. I had been managing this dodgy back for weeks with normal pain killers. Still able to work and just trying to be careful about it all. The day before 'Pain Filled Day' I had an errand to run for a current foster cat (I will post more about him another time). Whilst out-and-about I decided to take a detour and check out the Chelsea Physic Garden as it was a beautiful day and I fancied a swatch at some pretty plants. This was where I went wrong. My back-pack was pretty heavy that day as I had picked up a load of food for this kitty but continued to walk a fair distance as I didn't want to waste this gorgeous sunny day I had off work. The Chelsea Physic Garden was cool, I meandered around for an hour or so to make the most of my entrance fee of just over a tenner.

The following day I was due to work a night-shift. I had to answer the door to the postie and felt more uncomfortable than usual. It felt like out of no-where the pain got so intense I could no longer suffer standing and I couldn't find a comfortable position on the bed. I was just rolling around the bed crying in pain. I made some phone calls, one of which was to NHS direct. They helpfully directed me to a walk-in centre near by as my doctor surgery had no free appointments that day. This made me laugh, at this particular point I had told the adviser I was in so much pain I couldn't currently stand, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get the door if they sent a doctor to me. Instead she directed me to a WALK-IN centre! If I couldn't stand how could I walk! Anyway, James rushed home from work to help me and got me some pain relief and when I felt able we got a taxi to the walk-in centre. 

The first week and a bit the pain was so bad I couldn't stand long enough to make dinner never mind walk so I was getting depressed at being cooped up. On the up-side I did re-watch all seven episodes of Gilmore Girls in my first three weeks off sick :) I am now able to walk further and do more things but unfortunately still have a lot of pain. I am considering acupuncture and currently looking into it in a bit more detail. Anything to try and fix things quicker so I can get back to being myself again. I am inherently lazy and so this back and the strong pain-killers are making this laziness worse. I need to keep my spirits up and try and motivate myself to do the things I always want to do when I am too busy with work e.g learn Spanish, crochet, study etc.

Here's hoping my back keeps improving and I can keep exploring pretty spaces like the Chelsea Physic Garden!