Shoulder

 I have a sore developing on the outside of my residual limb. I am not terribly surprised by the skin breakdown. After more than 2 decades as an amputee, I know that cold weather and increased activity are my perfect storm for blister development. My experience has also let me become adept at treating the issues quickly which usually allows me to avoid immobility. 

I felt the sore start to develop towards the end of last week. I immediately applied a blister band-aid and adjusted my gait to relieve the pressure. While the sore healed quickly, adjusting my gait led me down a rabbit hole of issues. Almost immediately the knee on my sound side started to hurt. As my body adjusted to compensate for the knee pain, my hip began to ache. 

Ugh. I was miserable walking over the weekend, but I was determined to heal before work. I brought out the crutch and informed my family that mom was taking a day off. Almost immediately after this declaration I reached into the pantry for a can of beans and twisted my back.

The pain on Sunday was relentless. I usually have a high threshold, but Sunday's back issues brought me to tears. Each movement led to wafts of pain radiating across my shoulder and down through my oblique. After medication and a lot of stretching, the pain began to ease into a manageable misery. 

In the wee hours of Monday morning I felt a strong desire to twist my back. The popping that was created within my shoulder brought stars to my eyes it was so intense. Almost as instantly, the nagging pain released and I felt better.  My shoulder is still very sore, but I am again mobile. 

Getting old stinks!