ME AND MY BONES

It was no good suffering with aching bones, I simply had to go back and see Jonathan, my chiropractor. It's six years since I saw him which is disgraceful considering he's a rather nice Italian!

Since the joints/muscles ached more than ever and at times were quite painful, I started to do exercises. Remember my post about doing them on the bed? I soon tired of that and ventured to try again but this time on the floor. Perseverance is the word or where there’s a will there’s a way. I found a way!

Negotiating steps has been a big problem lately. I was terrified to cross a road because it meant stepping up or down kerbs. Stepping down was the worst but I put that down to an eyesight problem. However, a week ago I noticed an improvement. I was going out to the garden to feed the birds which entails going down two deep steps and it suddenly dawned on me that for the first time I wasn’t holding on to the wall. Then I realised that I also managed two steps from the kitchen door without a murmur and without looking for support. I was cured! However, the pain was still there and that’s when I decided to conquer my fear that the car park might be full and go see Jonathan.

It was lovely to see him again and to know that in his hands I would be able to live a more comfortable life. But first we talked about Joe. He told me how much he admired my late husband for the way he coped with his illness. Apparently when Joe talked about the cancer he spoke humorously and he never lost his down-to-earth practical common-sense. 

Jonathan listened to my story about memory loss, fear, and going down steps. I told him about the fall I had in the garden centre, how crossing a busy road was a nightmare because of my uncertainty, and explained how my fear of falling had made me look for something to hold on to. I revealed the awful fact that my confidence had taken a battering and that decision making was a nightmare.

What he told me was remarkable.

Apparently the grieving process can affect people in different ways and the older we are the more it affects us. The loss of memory is normal, caused by brain and the blood system not behaving as they should.  That affected bones and muscle, causing tightness and pain.  He explained that once stimulation and massage got the blood running properly all this would clear up. Exercise, he said, would also do it but it was essential that I remember it was all perfectly normal.

I began to feel great, especially when he gave me a full massage, stretched the spine a little, and manipulated all the areas that were causing pain. It was wonderful, and I felt wonderful. The massage and manipulation was heavenly.

Back home I can do exercises I couldn’t  do before. I can kneel and get up from the floor without too much effort. The relief and the knowledge that things can get better is fantastic but it is up to me to keep exercising. Jonathan can only do so much.

My next visit included acupuncture, goodness the size of those needles was scary but Jonathan was clever enough not to show them to me until after the deed was done. Actually I hardly felt them, a mere pinprick here and there. I was promised that in three days I would start to feel the benefit ... actually I started to feel better on the second day. Henceforth it's just a matter of manual adjustment and exercising plus ice packs on the worst spots which, I was told, must not be applied for longer than 20 minutes. Something to do with the blood again, freezing slows it down which allows the problem area to heal, thereafter ... well, it's anybody's guess! I trust Jonathan's judgement on these matters since I am, you might say, in his hands.