Part Forty-Six: More and Less

            Having successfully made the forty-mile drive from Bartlesville to Owasso, my first stop was at Sprouts, the grocery store I love.  My cart held only two items when a lightning bolt of pain struck my lower back.  Suddenly I could barely walk.  Excruciating jabs and stabs accompanied every step.  I was determined to pick up the items on my list; after all, I had 45 minutes until my doctor’s appointment.

            I took mincing steps and frequent stops in the attempt to dampen the pain.  I adapted and shortened the shopping process accordingly:  no stooping for bottom shelves and no random browsing.  Fortunately, somewhere between the bakery (I never even try to resist buying those yummy flax muffins) and the check-out, the pain dimmed down.

            It’s a good thing it did because I got to Bailey Medical Center a little late and had a hard time finding the sleep clinic.  Twenty minutes before I had been barely limping along, and now I was walking at full pace.  But arrive there I did, and as it turned out, filling out the last bit of paperwork took longer than it did the doctor to decide he would refer me for a sleep study.  From there I drove home, my lower back complaining about the gas pedal and brakes--and relaxing when the cruise control was on. 

            It is true that I over-exerted myself that morning:  I sorted out and straightened up my shoes, bagging up the ones I have not worn for a year or more.  That involved a lot of bending, which I guess was not such a good idea.  But I am supposed to be exercising more, and cleaning up the closet floor felt like exercising.  Diet and exercise, my primary care physician said at my check-up last week when the finger prick blood test revealed I am borderline diabetic.   

It’s looking like self-care and medical appointments will continue to keep me busy now that the end of cancer treatment is within view:  Eat less (count those carbs), walk more, see a specialist regarding my spine, do a sleep study, and start radiation therapy sometime soon.  In addition, make appointments for what got delayed during cancer treatment:  dental check-up, eye exam, and colonoscopy.  See my oncologist and radiologist next week, my surgeon in six weeks, and my primary care physician in three months. 

And in the meantime, no more bending, lots of walking, and less muffin-eating.