I am my Grandmother????

I broke my personal record yesterday (well, OK, maybe when I was 18 I stayed awake longer, once).

Having had only four hours sleep, I woke at 2:00am Sunday and didn't go to bed until 9:30pm that night.

Yup.

Now that's just stupid, I know.

But my hips were just too darn sore to allow me to sleep Sunday morning.

I ended up getting in the massage tub at 6:00am to let those jets do their thing; couldn't believe how difficult it was for me to do what has become routine stretches and exercises while in the water.

My right leg just screamed in agony with every movement!

Slapped on the TENs unit and found out that one of the leads is broken so I could only wear it on one side -- anyone want to guess which hip got the attention?  (A new pair of leads will be ordered today.)

John wanted to forego his day at the gun club but I assured him that he needn't worry; I wasn't going to be moving from the living room.

I set up a workstation for my laptop on the chesterfield, with the television tuned to the Olympics coverage, while I worked on tomorrow's post for this site (it's another special one that my favourite niece should enjoy).  Luckily I had done all the scanning for the task on Saturday (the scanners are in the office downstairs).

Every time I had to get up to walk the few steps required to visit either the bathroon or the kitchen, my hip would let me know in no uncertain terms that it wasn't happy.

By the time John got home, I was walking much better but I could barely see straight (was I tired or just worn out from working on that page?).

Finally, around about 3:00pm, some thirteen hours after I had wakened, I managed to drift off for a bit (I was reading the newspaper and my eyes just couldn't ...) 

You guessed it ...

The telephone rings and that was the end of that.

But I love my little chickadee anyway.  It might have been anyone at the end of that line, it just happened to be someone from whom I don't mind hearing .

My appetite seems to be returning as I'm further into the reduced dosage of Cesamet so John is very encouraged by that development.  I managed to eat an almost reasonable amount for dinner last night.

As the evening progressed, it was abundantly clear that my hip wasn't going to stop aching just because I wanted it to.

And not having been able to sleep the night before after taking the Codeine Contin, I figured there wasn't much point in taking one again last night.

So I settled on using my trusty sleeping aid.

As much as I hate the increased dry-mouth that it leaves me, at least I knew that I would probably sleep through the pain if I resorted to using something.

Sleep aid it was.

At 8:45pm I downed my 'bedtime' meds, into which I had thrown a few sleep aid tablets.

I continued watching the Olympic Closing Ceremonies.

By 9:30pm, I hit the sack because my eyes were just toooooooooooo heavy.

Tried to finish reading the newspapers (still working on Saturday's National Post).

At 9:45, I turned off my light and was gone.

Out -- just like that light.

Until 7:07am today.

Unbelievable!

Haven't done that in a very long time either!

Got out of bed feeling supremely rested this morning.

Oh oh.

About ten minutes into my day, my right hip starts whining.

And by 8:00am, it's back to almost dragging the damned leg along after me.

Thus far today, I've iced my hips, which provides relief for the inflammation but it sure doesn't take long to wear off.

If only I could tolerate anti-inflammatory medications, we might be able to get some control over this monster!

I would be wearing the TENs unit but apparently I didn't recharge either of the batteries that I used up yesterday morning (I thought that it had finished charging by the time I took it out of the socket last night!).  Note to self:  Order more of those *&*& special batteries when you order the new leads for this wonderful machine!

Good thing I'm rested today because that makes it a lot easier to cope with the stupid pain!

Later today, we're going to watch my angel's husband as he attempts to lift 200lbs on his milestone birthday, after which we'll join them at their place for a small celebration to mark the occasions (we know he will succeed at the lift so we're turning the event into his own Olympics).

We'll have a good time there and I'm sure my angel will have some ice packs that she would be willing to let me slap on my hips while we sit and chat.

But what the experience of these past few days tells me is, once I'm off the Cesamet completely, I will have little choice but to follow my physiotherapist's advice (and my doctor's concurrence) to incorporate the use of a walker in my home.  Because obviously, I can't walk!  (Also have to start using that *&*& cane all the time, not just when I think I might be walking a lot.)

Since I will be taking the final Cesamet capsule on March 17th, I'm thinking I should get started on making the changes around this house that having a walker will mean.

Oh dear.

AAAAAAAAAAAAACKKKKK, I AM MY GRANDMOTHER!