I'm working on posting my 2018/2019 fashion results/plans but wanted to post this first.

At the end of 2018 I managed to stumble into what I’ll call the same “zone of negative karma” that lisa p wandered into a few weeks ago when she broke her shoulder. I also saw that Canada (forum member) had a long recovery from a bad car accident this past year…she must have stumbled into that same zone. We need to put a big force field around it to keep others safe.

At the beginning of November, for no particular reason, I pulled a muscle in my back. I’ve had soreness in this part of my back before (left side, a few inches below the shoulder blade), but nothing like this. The pain was excruciating and I could only take extremely shallow breaths. The breathing issues were truly scary, so I ended up with my first ever ambulance ride and a visit to the ER. Turns out that back pain and trouble breathing are symptoms of heart attacks in women. I did NOT have a heart attack! After a few hours I was sent home with a diagnosis of muscle spasm and pleurisy (inflammation of the lungs). I think the muscles involved were the ones around the diaphragm which is why I had such trouble breathing.

The first week I was flat on my back in pain unable to keep food or liquids down, because they gave me one small does of morphine in the ER, which made me sick to my stomach for several days. The next 6 weeks I was in constant low-level pain. My treatment is an ice pack several times a day, ibuprofen and a muscle relaxant, drinking lots of water, stretching, physical therapy, walking and eventually massage. I was able to get back to my daily walks after 4 weeks, and after 8 weeks I was able to do most normal activities, although even things as simple as pushing clothes to one side in a closet caused the pain to come back for a while. I expect to be doing the treatment regime at least until the end of January.

I did nothing to celebrate my mid-December birthday (truly worst birthday ever) and no Christmas decorating, although I did manage to attend few social events. I lived in loungewear, PJs, etc for most of November and a lot of December.

Being in pain for weeks at a time is a new experience for me, and it’s truly awful. I have a new level of empathy for anyone who lives with chronic pain. Besides hurting, it’s frustrating, depressing, and demoralizing, even if it’s not severe. It’s also mentally and physically exhausting. Add muscle relaxers (which are like weak tranquilizers) and that explains why I still don’t have a normal level of energy. And, with all the inactivity, plus eating in an attempt to lift my mood, plus eating too much at holiday celebrations, I’ve put on quite a few pounds. I’m NOT beating myself up for this, but I do want to lose some weight. I don't don’t expect real progress until my energy level is back up. There was no specific cause for this event, so I don’t have specific way to avoid it in the future, but I imagine getting more exercise, going back to yoga, doing more stretching on a regular basis, etc. will help avoid it.

On the plus side:
- I now "get" that back pain and breathing difficulty are two of the key symptoms of heart attacks in women. Again, I did NOT have a heart attack, my cardiac health is excellent, but I learned some important symptoms to watch for.
- My phys therapist gave me some great advice: if you feel the need to lie on the floor to stretch out some muscle that has tightened up, lie on a bed or couch instead. Once you are on the floor it can be impossible to get up but if you are on a bed or couch you might be able to.
- My black kitty Simon, who is a bedroom snuggler, was with me a lot more than usual, which was very sweet. (the other cat, Alvin, does his snuggling in the living room)
- The field is wide open about how I will celebrate my birthday!
- I’m doing much better and really appreciating a lot of little things.
- And last but certainly not least, reading YLF has cheered me up! As you all know, this is such a terrific community of wonderful people and following along in all the fashion discussions has been great therapy even though I haven't participated much. .