Hobbling along!

Clever Bird and Creative Clara have had a bit of a falling out - Psychic Ploppo did try to stop the two of them from merrily writing in the last blog that Hormonal Hannah's depression was over the horizon; dumb idea, literally the following day it came back with a vengeance. So Baggy has been in a bit of a fug for the last week or so. Some of this has been down to being in pain - or the pain has been exacerbated by the depression - who knows for sure? But it certainly hasn't helped!

Baggy has been doing her best to get on with her physiotherapy exercises for the arthritis in her neck and shoulder, but simple as they are, they're also painful. She found out at her session this morning, that some progress has been made though, which is good. Just as well, as on Saturday evening, after a day (entirely wasted) at a craft fair in the village, Baggy was in so much pain, that she asked number one furry, if he would do a gentle massage on her neck. As Calum touched her shoulder, Baggy swore! It was agony!
'I said gently,' growled an ungrateful Baggy.
'That is gently.' He carried on. Baggy pulled away, almost in tears the pain was so intense.
'Ouch! Seriously, that hurts.'
'I'm barely touching you.'

Scarily, when he demonstrated on Baggy's hand how hard he was pressing, Freda Fretter was shocked; Baggy could hardly feel his fingers. They concluded that maybe it was a trapped nerve. By Sunday morning, Baggy's neck was worse, and she had a blinding headache to go with it. Pretty much unable to function, Baggy was struggling, so Calum ran her a nice deep, hot bubble bath. Now Baggy's not big on baths, she prefers a shower, but once she'd got over cooking herself in the boiling water, she settled down, and virtually fell asleep. A long while later, Cal reappeared with some relaxing music (and to check Baggy hadn't drowned). Eventually, looking like a wrinkled prune, Baggy felt a little better and decided to get out of the bath. She couldn't! Clever Bird decided to drain the water, so that the bath wasn't so slippy. Baggy tried again. Nope! Her left knee has been painful for a month or more. It is now very swollen. It wouldn't bend enough for Baggy to get up, and was too painful for her to kneel on, even if she could have got into that position. As she has zero stomach strength, since having all her abdominal muscles cut through for her Lawrence-the-durmoid-cyst surgery, and very little arm strength, since having both arms cut through for her cubital tunnel surgery (Yep Baggees, the woman is falling apart at the seams!), and she is once more seriously over weight, she was going nowhere!

So a naked, wet, and rapidly-getting-cold-Baggy started to yell for Calum who was downstairs. Nothing. No response. Not even from the pooch, who had apparently also gone downstairs. She started banging on the floor. Nope. She grabbed a glasses case and started banging that on the floor. Nope. Then she banged it on the wooden bathroom door. Finally, Baggy heard Pepper bark and Calum heading to the back door to see who was there. She yelled again. Pepper got the message and got Calum to come upstairs.
'You okay?'
'No! I can't get out.' Hysterical laughter form Calum. 'It's not funny.'
'It kind of is.'
A highly humiliated Baggy was hauled unceremoniously from the bath - not easily, it must be said. A few hours later, having been out with Furry Mama to walk the pooch, and do some food shopping (for which Baggy waited in the car in agony), Baggy had a migraine. Home once more, she slept for two hours while Calum went out on his motorbike. Finally she felt a little better.

Today she found out that she also has arthritis in her knee. So, a new set of exercises to go with the neck ones. Instructions to swim and go out on her bicycle, and to lose weight. Again. Clever Bird knows that this last is necessary, especially if Grotty Groom is ever going to ride Wesley again, but the moment that the physiotherapist mentioned a knee replacement, she decided that she needed to face facts. Today Baggy purchased a set of bathroom scales and hesitantly got on them - that will be three-stone that she needs to lose then. Sigh! The stone-and-a-bit she had lost, has all gone back on. Not good. Particularly, not good, as Baggy learnt today that there is a theory that high cholesterol, or increased fat, can cause arthritis to flare up, then to increase. So, as Baggy has had enough surgery already, and really does not want a new knee, she is going to try really hard to get fitter. 

Meanwhile, one of the reasons that Hormonal Hannah's depression returned is probably because Furry Mama became so stressed about the pooch. On Monday he had to have sedation, so that the vet could do skin scrapes, hair follicle tests and biopsies on the skin, that he is chewing away on his leg. He was fine. Now, a few hundred pounds later,  Furry Mama is waiting for the test results, and having to walk the pooch on a lead so that he doesn't burst his stitches. Easier said than done, when Baggy is limping and the pooch thinks that walking slowly is for wimps........

Note to readers: For the avoidance of any doubt, every character in this blog is Baggy! No Baggy was harmed in its writing, although some of them get pretty confused!

Depression: Bad.
Anxiety: Ghastly.
Tears: Lots.
Smiles: Some, but more are required.