There are more things in heaven & earth ....

Those who know me know that I've had years of bad back problems, starting with a ruptured disk about 25 years ago & ending last year with no disk remaining so I was bone-on-bone. That caused my posture to get goofy, which meant my hips got out of whack, causing bursitis, which in turn caused leg cramps: really, really bad cramps which meant that, between the cramps & the bursitis, I slept very little and usually what sleep I get is in a chair.

I've spent the last 3 or 4 months going from one doctor to another, searching for solutions. Gynecologist, neurologist, orthopedic surgeon...all treat one symptom or another. I had a battery of 'real' medical tests: MRI, EMGs, EKGs, ultrasound, had a D&C, nerve dye (can't remember the name of that one). I was put on hormone therapy, various drugs, etc., most of which caused other problems. Finally I got an opinion: Restless Leg Syndrome. The solution: a drug that can alter mood & behavior.

NO thanks.

I finally got to the point where I realized I wanted someone to treat Me. I mentioned this while exercising one day at my local Curves & one of the ladies mentioned a chiropractor her husband had seen a few years back. "He cured my husband's back problems in 3 visits," the woman said. "He's a chiropractic kinesiologist. Try him."

I went home & googled the doctor & sure enough, there he was (for those curious about this: http://www.quantumchiroarts.com/). I thought, "What the heck? What do I have to lose?" The type of evaluation he performs is not 'sanctioned' by assorted organizations, but a lot of massage therapy & acupuncture isn't either, and I know that stuff works. So why not?

I saw him yesterday. It was a long drive (he's as far away from me as he can be & still be considered in the Twin Cities) but I made an adventure of it, going to a to-me-unfamiliar part of town and wandering around before my visit. He was very straightforward, explained what he would be doing, why he thinks it works, etc.

His goal is wellness -- and for the first time in a long time a doctor actually sat, talked to me, and when I said, "You know, my entire pelvic region is goofed up -- I've got to think it's all related" he just nodded. "You're probably right. Common sense dictates that all those muscles & nerves in one place will get goofed up if one major part, your back, gets goofed up. So let's see if that's right."

It was a very unusual experience for me. His exam consisted of moving my limbs and gauging my reaction to the movement. So he'd press my thigh and see how my arm reacted. Or he'd press my ankle & see how the arm reacted (the arm is like a conductor of energy, I think). Then he determined how to 'treat' me, talking to me the whole time. "By applying energy to this portion of your body, we are releasing the blocked flow from the spleen that is preventing ..."

I've been to chiropractors before and this was a bit of that, a bit of acupressure (I've had that done by a massage therapist), a bit of manipulating my limbs to 'feel' where the chi was blocked. I have reflexology done on a regular basis on my feet, and my massage person talks about blocked chi & how certain areas of the foot relate to the intestine etc., so I've heard & felt some of this before.

Then he did the chiro stuff: adjusted my neck, spine & tail bone, put pressure here & there, and did some 'whoo-whoo' stuff (drawing bad chi out of my body and flicking it away). When he was done I had increased mobility & last night I slept for the first time in days without leg cramps. He wants to see me 2 more times then he thinks I'll be fine.

As I told my husband later, "It was refreshing to talk to someone who wants to make my life more liveable. No other doctor talked that way. They all talked about controlling symptoms. He talked about alleviating them."

I feel good today. My back doesn't hurt -- repeat after me. MY.BACK.DOESN'T.HURT. I have not been able to say that for at least 6 months. Some days it was BIG OW some days it was 'ooh'. But today my back feels normal. Even if it only lasts a few hours, I now remember what it feels like to feel normal again.

I see him again in 10 days. He gave me some exercise to do, and I'll be doing 'em. I'll report back on my progress.

The things I've learned while teaching

I'm co-teaching a Community Education class on writing for publication, and our final session is this coming Tuesday.

It's been a very good experience for me. I had to prepare a lot of notes for the class, come up with an outline and syllabus, gather research material, review materials ... in short, it was a chance for me to revisit my whole publishing journey and see what worked and what didn't, what continues to work, etc.

It's helped me put my entire writing career in perspective & see my accomplishments & those spots where I could probably put forth a bit more effort.

We're offering the class 3 times a year, so I expect this kind of introspection will continue -- at least I hope it does! I'm finding it very energizing for my writing and for my career planning.

I believe the worst is over

I have a feeling...spring is on its way. Can't say why I feel it, but I do. There's still waist-deep snow on the ground, it's still cold, and the world looks white & gray, but I have a feeling that changes are in the air.

Ever feel that way? Ever have a sense that something's going to happen soon but you have no idea why? It's a surprisingly encouraging feeling. This has been a loooonnnngggg winter.

Let's enjoy it -- raise your face to the sun and drink in the warmth. It won't be long now.....

Oh, I cringed!

Didn't you feel sorry for the Olympic engineer whose design didn't work during the opening ceremonies? There they all were, standing there with their torches, waiting for that thing to rise out of the earth & nothing happened...I'm sure they didn't practice for that contingency, so given the circumstances, I think it went on very nicely, but oh, I cringed for them all!

It's odd how we do that, isn't it? I cringe during movies when someone is embarrassed, I close my eyes so I don't have to see something humiliating, I wince when someone is hit or hurt on television. I'm one of those people who don't really laugh when I watch the Three Stooges. Instead I wince when they whap each other on the head. I just don't get the humor in slapstick.

I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of wincing and averting my eyes during the Olympics. Heck, I've been known to peek through my fingers at figure-skating routines so I don't have to see some poor person take a tumble & have those dreams go ::zap:: vanish.

I'm grateful for the distraction of the Olympics, though. I'm getting very, very tired of winter and the Olympics will carry us through the remaining weeks of February. Then it's March and spring is finally in sight -- in the distance, but in sight. I am so looking forward to the chance to drive here to visit my Mom & not have to keep an eye on weather forecasts to determine when I can safely drive home. I've always said I don't mind the weather, I just hate its unpredictability.

And I'm sure the people who are running the Olympics would LOVE to have some of our weather. Let's all focus our minds and push all snow towards them...

one, two, three ... PUSH

One of those days...

Did you ever have one of those days?

I've had one of those weeks -- where things just didn't go quite right. It snowed buckets & I had to shovel, and shovel, and shovel. There's no place left the put the snow. It's stacked up twice as high as me and I can't toss that high any more. Which means a trek up & down the street to find a place to stack it.

When I finally got to work (treacherous roads) I couldn't get my phone to work, I had to re-do some things in my cube & the guy wasn't there to help, I needed to print something but couldn't get it to work .... you know how it goes -- nothing works right. Then I had to get home, get ready to teach class and by the time I was done, it was 9 at night and I forgot to blog, I forgot to write, I forgot to promo.

Well, I've got to get back on track. Too many things have been distracting me of late. I need to buckle down & get going on my writing and get back in the groove. I'm traveling this weekend, but hopefully once I get home...

Did you ever have one of those months?

We interupt this blog

...for a public service announcement.

I recently ordered some PJ Jeans -- jeans that are supposed to be like jams. Here's some pictures. These are PJJ (dark ones) in comparison to my regular jeans. I wear a size 12/14 and the PJJ were supposedly a size 14, but they just fell off -- literally.

Note that they have a very short rise -- 9". My regular jeans are a 12" rise or thereabouts. Also the PJJ were longer than my regular jeans, and since I'm short to start with, that's a problem.

Now here's the unattractive picture: yikes! Shield your eyes! That's me, showing how loose they are. They're about 2-3" below my natural waistline.

So...I'm returning 'em. On the Up Side, the fabric is fabulous and I like the way the legs fit. They're really quite comfortable, but they really are falling off my body. I find it flattering that a size 14 would be so loose. I may try a size 12, but I'm afraid with the way they're cut, they'd be down around my no-longer-svelte hips.

So back in the mail we go. I'll get a chance to evaluate customer service, I guess.

I gave it a good try!