At the end of the summer last year, we booked an Airbnb in Cape Canaveral to see Mark and Jen and take a break from our winter weather. We were hyped. I was so pleased that the injections were working and was feeling energetic and lively again. A week before the trip I decided to Murphy Oil Soap the hardwood floors, just in the kitchen/dining area. I didn't scrub hard like I was swabbing a ship's deck, but the repetitive mopping wasn't a smart move. My doctor had just given me the "travel" injection as a safety measure to help make the drive easier but 24 hours after I mopped the floor, shoulder aching started. Four days later neck and shoulder were fully inflamed with pain radiating across the elbow into the back of my hand. Because we were leaving in a few days, I ended up back the doctor's for two more injections in the neck area, hoping I'd be able to stand the two day ride. Between the painful ride and the sleepless nights, I was pretty fatigued, but figured I'd could rest a lot and enjoy the warm air. Wrong. Cold fronts were arriving. Weather was cloudy, rainy, and cold enough to wear jackets and jeans. I needed to walk after the drive so we found a mall and walked.......right to a Cold Stone Creamery store. We shared a no-guilt large coffee ice-cream cup. Comfort food for healing. Mark and Jen work during the day so we spent two evenings with them at their house. Mark ended up at a walk-in clinic when coming down with a respiratory infection which ended our vacation. With a compromised immune system, I couldn't be with him anymore. Cliff couldn't take the chance of getting it because he is the driver. We decided to take two days and head back to Murphy. If the weather had been warmer and we could have walked the beach and spent time outside, we would have stayed the last two days. My neck and shoulder are improving with heat wraps, gentle stretches and exercising. I wear a soft foam neck brace when in the car and when sleeping which is very therapeutic. A few more weeks of rest and warm wraps and the neck should be in better shape. It'll never be good as new because the little cervical vertebrae are old and arthritic. Cliff's chore list is getting longer. He needs his 3:30 afternoon naps.
Some days are full of doing tasks and chores that Cliff did for me. The floor wasn't that dirty but he enjoyed saying. "Guess I need to pull out the vacuum. I'm tripping over debris." I thanked him. Whenever I was in the kitchen trying out new recipes, making cookies or the double batch tapioca pudding for him, he was there beside (getting in my way sometimes) washing the utensils, pots/pans, cutting boards, drying them and putting everything back in their proper places only to have me take some things back out and reuse again. "I just washed that" he would state. He learned to ask if I were through with things before he cleaned up after me. I thanked him. He emptied the dishwasher when it was finished in such an orderly manner (getting in my way sometimes because I was also in the kitchen working but he wanted to be there with me). I thanked him. Every morning he made my bed reminding me of the order that the pillows needed to be placed. John&
Comments