I used to love to go out when I was married on Black Friday and Christmas Eve. My husband and I enjoyed all the hustle and bustle. Now I do not go out that much, because I am quite a bit older, do not have a discretionary fund, and single with a single income. But I do like the hustle and bustle that begins now
.But another reason for my reclusive behavior today is I have hurt my lower back. Now I did not go to the gym and workout too much, I did not even go out, I did not fall. Guess what messed it up?
I cleaned up my apartment – really cleaned it for the holidays. I picked up extraneous things lying around and then I went to work on my bedroom. I had not shampooed the carpet in a while and I have a shampooer (not one of those big ones, but a Hoover.).
If you have followed my blog, you might remember that I have fallen a couple of times this year and hit my head. Well, the fog finally lifted from the concussions this week. I decided to not only vacuum my bedroom, but to shampoo the carpet, as well.
First, I had to remove all the things that had fallen on the rug (that I had not picked up) - receipts, bit of stuff, a little bit of pine straw that Riley brought in – not bad, but it could clog up the vacuum.
After clean-up duty, I got the vacuum ready and started to clean. I spent a lot of time going over the cheap carpet that we have here, and I finally got it to look clean. I then tackled the shampooer. I was already pushing my luck with my old body, but I was inspired, and I pushed on.
I first noticed my lower back hurting while asleep that night. I turned over and went back to sleep – hurting is not unusual. But when I got up, I could hardly walk. I had to lean heavily on my cane to get to the bathroom. It got worse throughout the day. Preparing my thanksgiving dinner was painful when I bent over to get things out of the oven.
By last night I was in agony. My maximum strength Ibuprofen did not even faze it. I brought out the heating pad. I went to bed early and wobbled whenever I got up. I have not leaned on my cane this much since I had to learn to walk again many years ago.
Walking Riley, a necessity, has been hard. Luckily, I have a retractable leash and I can stay put while he goes farther. Bending over to “pick up” after he is through has been hard, though.
Today is a little better. I have the heating pad directly on the “spot” causing the pain. I probably will be back to normal by the end of the weekend. So, all has returned to almost normal.
Oh, and the carpet looks WONDERFUL!