Rain, Rain Go Away

Remember that old Eddie Rabbitt song I Love a Rainy Night? God I loved that song because I absolutely agreed with him. What better way to fall asleep than to listen to rain falling on the roof with thunder in the background. There's nothing like a good storm to cleanse the soul. Except, I hate the rain now. I can feel it before it even gets here. All of my muscles start to stiffen. I begin to feel like I'm 90 years old hobbling around doing a poor penguin impression. The other night at work was the worst. We were half way through a biblical flood and I arrived feeling less than fantastic. By the time I was a couple of hours in, I thought I might become a patient myself. Sharp shooting pain was radiating from both sides of my spine down my butt and into my thighs. My hips felt like I had rocks in them. The skin around my upper arms, collar bone and chest felt like it was on fire. My feet felt like I had been running around in narrow heels 4 sizes too small for me. Let's not forget my old Ikea elbow injury, throbbing away diligently.

Thankfully, my husband dropped me off at work and would be picking me up. The ride in was a luxury; the ride home a necessity. On more than one occasion recently, I have gotten a radiating nerve pain that cripples my legs, including my right leg while driving. At some point, I will most likely have to address this with some kind of long term plan. But for now, I try to turn a blind eye. On the ride home, every bump sent fireworks of pain radiating through my body. I cried most of the way home. I felt like I was horse back riding with a body full of broken bones. I took a couple of muscle relaxers and pulled myself up the stairs to bed. Thankfully I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly.

It seems that while I was sleeping, my husband and older son hopped in the car to see if they could find my birthday present locally instead of ordering it online. You see, there's this new (ever so slightly expensive) TENS unit named Quell that is supposed to have miracle healing powers for widespread chronic pain. If you can believe it, that became my most sought after birthday present. I would have traded fist fills of diamonds for the slightest possibility of less pain. They found it on their first try. The 2 of them crept into the room really quietly to share their excitement over having found it. My husband plugged it in to charge, and left the box on the dresser where I could see it. In case I woke up and "thought it was just a dream." So now it's charged, programmed and held in place on my calf with my dreams of a slightly more normal existence. The majority of the people I've spoken to who use it say that it takes a couple of weeks to fully work.

  But who knows; maybe tonight showers will "wash all my cares away; [and I'll] wake up to a sunny day".