18:52 - 30.06.07
recuperation
Well. I can bend my elbow again dear diary. Not full range and there is still a great deal of discomfort but things are considerably better than yesterday. The sting was in the elbow joint on the dominant side of the body of course. That meant the swelling impaired the functioning of the hand too - the swelling made using it nearly impossible. It felt as though there was a constrictive bandage wound around the wrist. The other result was that there was also a deficit with my balance. I was petrified that I would end up whacking that elbow on a door frame or wall but managed to avoid that. Part of that might have been because I didn't eat all day because the pain was so bad that I kept wanting to vomit. Lying down was impossible too because every movement seemed to aggravate the joint. Bleagh. As I key now, there is still a little bit of inflammation and the joint is still hot to the touch, but everything else is ok. Thank goodness for antihistamines and cortisone cream. What was extra frustrating was that I had planned fairly busy days yesterday and today, but basically had to scrub the entire plan.
I did get my youngest up for work and prepared his lunch as usual. He has been having problems with his stomach again so i tried calling the doctor's office to see if they could fit him in with our doctor. No, he's on holidays and we don't know when he'll be bak. In addition we aren't booking any appointments until the beginning of July - next Monday - so he'll have to wait. Hmmmm. I asked my son if he wanted to try one of the local clinics - he has been having trouble for nearly two months now - but he said he didn't trust any of those doctors and would rather wait until our doctor was available. That tends to be my attitude too - the elbow being a point in case - so I couldn't really argue with him. He headed off to work and I tried to read my emails. Managed about an hour of that then tried to sleep since the elbow had flared up again.
Woke not long after to the sound of a lot of activity out in the back yard. Turned out to be the neighbours in the other part of this duplex starting to pack for their move. At leat - they were piling a huge amount of what looked like garbage against the back fence. I just stayed out of sight and hearing. At one period there was a strong smell of burning rubber and the sweet scent of that material that is always present when they are using drugs. I could also hear them dumping something out by their balcony. It was obvious it was a liquid because of the gurgling sound and it had a foul, reeky scent to it. Shut the windows in the back hoping it wouldn't damage my nearby cherry tree.
My oldest called about then asking if I wanted to come out to play with him and his two children on Canada's 140th birthday. I hedged my response and just said it would depend on how well my arm healed. I don't think he realized how bad the damage was because he started giving me a hard time about getting old. Well yes, but there is quite a difference between ageing and being ill for a long stretch of time. It means that the body struggles with even minor ailments that it would have shook off with ease in my earlier years. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel 100 percent again. My youngest returned from work about an hour after that. He had brought supper with him I think realizing I wouldn't really be up to cooking with one arm and a brain not working. That was when I realized I hadn't yet eaten for the entire day and realized too that I was hungry. I ate a little bit then went back to bed.
Today was a repeat of yesterday only the pain and swelling were considerably less. I caught up on sleep while the neighbours noisily continued their packing. In a lot of ways i feel sorry for them - especially the woman - because the housing market here is at almost 0% vacancy and very expensive into the bargain. From wht the landlord said when I spoke with him he had terminated their lease because of their drug use and harrassing behaviour of those of us living nearby. At the same time they are adults in their middle years and deliberately chose their behaviour. They would likely would have been ok if they had kept their activities inside their home but the male opted to inflict himself on the rest of us in a very consistent aggressive and abusive way. It finally came back to haunt him and he probably doesn't understand why. That's the sad part, you can't change what you don't realize is a problem. And that is something we all have in common isn't it dear diary. We all have blind spots about some aspect of our lives. For most of us though the penalties aren't so severe. Anyway my arm is starting to swell again so I think I'll take a break here. Talk to you later.
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