Ouch. Hmmmm, what was that little twinge I just felt?
Thinking nothing of it, I walked over to sit in the chair, ready for the meeting to start.

As the meeting progressed, I felt a slight pulling in my lower back, nothing big, just a ‘hey there, remember me’ kind of thing. Ever the ‘ostrich,’ I continued to ignore the subtle twinge, pinch, pull, tug and slight ache in my back.

Meeting concluded, I made the move to stand. OUCH! Oh my, this wasn’t good. Moving carefully, I said my good byes and headed to the restroom. Again, conscious of my movements I carefully did my business. As I stood to pull my garments up, again, Ouch, OUCH, OUCH. A tug here, a pull there and I was at last, presentable enough to appear in public.

Oh dear. What was going on? Any plans I had for swimming, dinner or a movie were out the window now. No way was I going to struggle into a swimsuit with this going on. I called my friend on the way home and told her about my back and that I was down for the count.

Thoughts of that long ago article in Reader’s Digest: I am Joe’s back ran through my brain. Well, hello, now you’re Fran’s back . . .

Ha, I remembered on my drive that I had a walker in the garage. If it was still hurting when I got home, I’d grab it and use it around the house. I patted myself on the back. Good thinking.

When I arrived home, I found the walker and pulled it out of it’s cramped, out of the way, almost hidden storage area. You know the place. The most difficult to reach, dusty and stuff on top of it, niche. I dragged it into the house because I couldn’t figure out how to open the darn thing. I pulled on this lever, pushed that one and tugged on a couple of knobs. No success.

I found the manufacturer, typed it into my phone and started searching. Youtube had a video. Wow, good deal. I watched it and figured out the ‘easy’ open trick. Who knew, just lift the seat and pull that knob that I kept trying. You needed to have the seat up to make it work! Whola (bastard version of voila) it opened. DUH. Thank you YOUTUBE.

I spent the next 4 days with heat packs on my back, using the walker to go from my bedroom to the living room and kitchen and back to the bedroom. Also I juggled Aleve and Advil every 4 to 5 hours. My back stopped yelling at me every time I moved. Finally able to get around, I ventured out of my house. to run a few errands.

Still taking it easy and not making any sudden movements, I am grateful that it appears to be just a strain of some kind. Only little whispers of . . .
‘Hey, remember me‘ and a twinge or two now and then.

I think I’m on the road to recovery! Just don’t judge me if you see me grimace, hold my back and look like a deer in headlights.

Call me if you need any help opening a walker! I’ll youtube it for you!

Frances Graziano Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved