I share the 9th floor of my condo with one other person, a guy named John. This low population density allows me the luxury of talking to myself from time to time with impunity. I often wondered whether John could hear my occasional outbursts over one irritating thing or another, but he never told me so I assumed not. On Wednesday, however, as I was leaving to take Leben swimming in Middleburg, John caught me in the hall and asked, 'Was there a fight in your condo last evening at about 10:30?" Since there was none I answered, No, and then asked, Why did you ask that? He then said that he had heard some loud yelling and cursing for a few minutes. Then I remembered. As it turns out, after I finished giving Leben his evening therapy on the floor, as I attempted to get up, my back gave out on me and pinched a nerve. I couldn't move without exacerbating the pain. It took me minutes of struggling, accompanied by a few choice words of frustration, to finally get up and then carry Leben to his bed. Eventually, the pain diminished to bearable, where is still is now.
I have suffered from chronic back pain in one degree or another since I was 17. Usually, though exercise, I can get the pain to go away within hours or, in some cases days. A few times the pain was so great I could not get out of bed or walk without intensifying it. My guess is that this happens once every three or so years. It happened once when I was in Banff with Sonntag on our way to Alaska in 2000, but fortunately, after a series of exercises, accompanied by a generous dose of cursing, the pain diminished and we were on our way. Managing Sonntag, also a paralyzed German shepherd, was a cakewalk compared to managing Leben. Leben is 110 (Sonntag was 90), his rear leg disability is greater than Sonntag's and he has cartilage issues with his elbows. Moreover, I am with Leben about 100 percent of the time (with Sonntag, I was working) and I am 15 years older than I was when Sonntag became paralyzed.
Since I started to manage Leben as a paralyzed dog last October, this is the third time my back has given out on me, once in January, once in April and now this month. The once-very-three-years rule does not apply anymore. The xrays show that it is compressed dics pinching a nerve. Fortunately, visits to a chiropractor seem to help. (Cursing also seems to helps, but the right kind of cursing.)
All of this is by way of saying that I need to do something to deal with this before I leave for our trip. I cannot take a 16,000 trip (if that's what it turns out to be), alone with my two dogs, and have my back go out on me with all the work I need to do on the trip. In addition to managing Leben on the road, there are the numerous chores associated with setting up and breaking camp every day, including my lifting 50 pound containers to and from the roof rack several times a day. And the last thing in the world I need is to have my back go out on me when I am climbing the ladder to or from the roof rack.
To solve this potential showstopper before I go, I have three appointments with my chiropractor set up before I go. Also, I scheduled a visit with my masseuse to deal with a serious muscle problem in my right shoulder I got from the way I have to lift Leben. And just to make sure I covered all angles, I have scheduled several visits with my acupuncturist to get my system in balance after what I have been through these last six months. And this is on top of the final visits to a physical therapist following my arthroscopic surgery in March after I tore both menisci in my left knee in January getting Leben into my Defender, and three visits to my orthopedic surgeon for cortisone and U-Flexa shots in my left knee to eliminate the residual pain there.
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