Fallout

So, the big thing that happens to you when you spend the good portion of a year either laid up or recovering is, you become a huge gelatinous mass.  Yep, muscle atrophy, unsightly weight gain, and absolutely no stamina.  It doesn’t help that my current job requires much less physical labor than my last.  I used to climb ladders, carry heavy stuff, load heavy stuff into big trucks, and hang off of ladders and scissor lifts while installing the big heavy stuff we loaded into the trucks.

I used to be very active by day.  Now.... Not so much.  Is it a big surprise that I’ve put on weight?  No.  But I did have some help from my Year Of Unfortunate Events.

Let’s throw osteoarthritis into the mix.  I was diagnosed nearly a decade ago.  It’s so much fun, too!  Lemme see if I can describe how that makes you feel..... If you’ve had that all over body ache associated with a really nasty case of the flu, then you’re right on par with what many people suffer through EVERY DAY.  ALL DAY.  It’s like your joints are in slow motion, like they’re very stiff ALL THE TIME.  Sitting, lying down, standing, the pain is always there to varying degrees.  Now if you listen to what your body is telling you, you have a hard time justifying exercising your poor joints, as you KNOW it will be even MORE painful when your through.  (this is not always the case, but it is a very REAL thought that passes through your mind.)  I played soccer all through my youth.  Running is something I truly miss.  Try hitting your knee with a mallet every time your foot comes down on the pavement as you run.  That’s kinda what my knees feel like in a full on sprint.  There is definitely evidence of bone on bone in my knee.  The x-rays showed it.

Now I’ve had every blood test known to man done over the last year.  My last battery of tests showed my doctor some very unusual stuff, in my opinion.....  My sodium level is low.  My heart is very strong, and I run an athlete’s heartbeat. (slightly lower than normal, but not dangerously so)  Yes, my cholesterol needs some work, but I’m not going to die in ten seconds.  My kidney and liver functions are perfectly normal.  Figure that one out.  I worked in the music industry for 20 years, and my liver and kidneys are fine?  Wha??  Okay, I’ll take it.  See?  Kind of a bizarre life I’ve lived, I don’t know how I made it through those years and am still ALIVE, let alone fairly healthy.  Weird.

I got back into a work out regimen on Monday.  A very short exercise session of stretches and some squats.  Walking was a problem after the leg injury, so if I can get back to walking well, then I can do much more activities.  Standing up for an hour at a club watching a live band?  Forget about it.  Tuesday I woke up feeling like I just finished a marathon.  Aches and pains everywhere.  But now, the message is, “Dude, don’t be a wuss, get back after it.  YOU CAN DO IT!”  Since I’ve been cleared by my doctors to do whatever I want, I’m gonna get after this fatigue issue pronto.  It’s just gotta go away.

Oh, and thank you Holy Mama.  I appreciate your kind words.  Many people I know could benefit from having people in their corner like you.  Thank you.