A Little Medical Drama

August 9, 2013

After a whirlwind driving tour of the Belgian coast that included one night in As, two nights in Brugge and a day trip to Brussels, we have arrived back in Luxembourg to rest and regroup at Claude Friedrich's condo. Our gracious hostess and her son are on holidays in Greece which has afforded us this opportunity to have a home base...a very beautiful home base until Mom leaves on the 15th.

We’ll add more about our trip to Belgium soon.  Promise.

Mom and I discussed whether I should make a post about the recent drama (the only drama) and we figured, it has formed a part of this trip and added to our learning more about life in Luxembourg. The drama actually started before we left...

In my efforts to increase my fitness and to conquer running/jogging, I started r-alking about 6 weeks ago. Hiking Baldy Mountain wasn’t challenging for me anymore and since I never really achieved a “runner’s high” as well as seeing people less fit than I running 10k marathons, I thought, “Pfft...I can do that.” To my friends in their 20’s and 30s, you see your youthful vitality and bounce begin to decline in your 40s  if you don’t consistently keep up with your exercise regime. Don’t stop exercising or this will happen to you! There, I got the moral of the story out...now the story.

So, just days before jetting to Europe on an adventure with Mom, I reached a personal running milestone! I ran the entire route from my place all the way down to Shawnigan Lake. Yes, it was tough and the route consists of blacktop and wooded trails. I did it! Yay me! As my reward, I walked back home. Actually, I felt a little wiped out from the run and could only manage walking back. On my way home, I ran into a colleague who joined me on the last few steps to my place. He swung by for a visit and I invited him up for a chat on the deck. Guess what I didn’t do and guess what I did do.

Now, I’m looking at this from the perspective of hindsight. At the time, I thought nothing about this series of events as they played out. I was feeling pretty darn great about what I had just done and I was happily sharing that with my roommate and colleague. What didn’t I do? I didn’t take the time to take stock of how my body was doing nor did I stretch! What I did do? Sat on a deck chair in the cool evening in sweaty running gear chatting it up for about an hour. It was only until after my guest left that I realized I was sticky and getting stiff. A quick stretch and a shower before dinner and all was right with my world.

Over the next few days I noted a small twinge in my low back. You can see where this is going! I followed my chiropractor and massage therapist’s ongoing advice on the appropriate stretches and took a little extra time with my relaxation yoga. Everything was good and the twinge remained a minor issue. Off to Europe!

A 10-hour plane trip followed by a 4-hour train ride and then touring about by car each day to see sights and visit with old and new friends took its toll. Each day as I sat in cars, restaurants, tour buses, patios and living rooms, I became increasingly uncomfortable. Whenever possible, I stood up and walked about. Walking was pain free until this morning.

We spent about 6 hours in a car driving through Belgium yesterday with only a few stops and a one hour walking tour of the Grande Place in Brussels. I had been eating two Tylenol Extra Strength pills every 4 to 6 hours since the day before and by the time we reached Luxembourg all I wanted to do was stand and walk.  

At our new place, over bread, cheese, and meats I put a nice dent in the bottle of wine (see me raising a glass in an earlier post) and then popped a muscle relaxant. I hit the hay with a thud and woke in the dark and early morning hours only able to roll out of bed. I had hit the wall of pain and couldn’t keep a stiff upper lip any longer. I was immobilized and went back in time when I cried on my Mom’s shoulder because “it” hurt and I felt bad about putting a damper on our trip.  

Once a Mom, always a Mom. She hugged me, supported me and applied a warm compress to alleviate the muscle spasms. She helped me back to bed, gave me more Tylenol then researched the Net on how to make the pain go away, hopefully forever. Later in the morning after the scheduled phone call to our host, Jemp, I was on my way to see his GP, Dr. Daniel Mart in Luxembourg City. Diagnosis: no mechanical damage, the tissues surrounding S5 to S1 vertebrae are so inflamed that the entire lower back is immobile. Frack!!

What does this mean? I must rest for the next three days. No lifting, no twisting, no running, no sitting for long periods. I am allowed to walk! Thank goodness! I don’t do sitting still very well anyway. Thankfully, we are here at Claude’s until the 15th so I guess I’ll work on my tan, the blog and finish the book my dear friend Lisa lent to me for this trip.  

The positives / silver lining / happy lessons are:

1. I have to lie around on a lovely rooftop patio overlooking the Luxembourg countryside reading and writing.

2. I have great drugs that take away the pain and inflammation and give me back my smile.

3. I have to spend more quiet time with my Mother laughing over our photos and trying to remember where we were and when for the blog.

4. I had to see a very nice doctor with beautiful eyes and a gentle bedside manner.

5. I spent some nice one-on-one time with Jemp as he shuttled me about in his Mercedes convertible...through the Luxembourg countryside.

6. I had a very positive experience when needing medical attention (so did the poor Scottish woman we met at the doctor’s who was in far worse pain than I yet, she still smiled and wished me well).

7. The cost of the doctor visit and medications didn’t require me to take out a loan against my first-born.

8. I treated my poor self to a chocolate ice cream cone (the silkiest I have EVER had).

9. Mom made me spaghetti for supper (my childhood favorite).

10. The pain has subsided and this has given Mom and me some drama to talk about for the next while.

Noting the length of this post, you can see I have some time on my hands. There will me more, however the focus will be on our visits, the sites and the wonderful people. Not my back.

I keep saying to Mom, “You have such nice friends!” Its true. Her friends from her teen years are just as lovely as her current friends back home. It must be because my Mom is such a nice person herself. As Mom would say, “Enough of the sappy stuff!”.

Thank you Mom for taking such good care of me.

Thank you Jemp and Lony for making appointments and shuttling me about.

Thank you Dr. Mart for being gentle, yet firm and for having kind eyes.

Thank you Claude and Louis for giving me a lovely place to recuperate.

Good night!