The Trouble Is Behind You

It's just a bit of bad luck that about 10 years ago, I started having some recurring back troubles. The first time I hurt myself was Thanksgiving Eve 1999 playing golf with my friend Ray in Florida. I was in bad pain for a week or so. But it passed, and I didn't miss any work. Now I see a chiropractor a few times a year and it's basically under control. I still have troubles occasionally, but not like before.

I work with some people with back issues and I'm sure you do too. This week my partner Sue Wilson, after a hearty round of snow shoveling, has her first sore back and shoulder, and she says it's been a real learning experience. Sue says, "It's always good to walk in another's shoes to learn their plight." And I love that attitude. Very healthy. And it makes those of us that wrestle with this from time to time feel more understood. Always a good thing.

A sore back can make me a bit salty. But her healthy attitude is something I am trying to adopt about this. You have to keep a sense of humor and perspective on this thing. When you have a troublesome back, it's amazing how it effects everything you do. Sue learned this Monday, when stooping down to put a simple door stop in to hold a studio door open. "Help! I need a little help here to get back up!" We all kind of smiled and giggled over her learning the ropes (she did too)...and we got her straightened back up. And truth be told, I learned too. To be a little less salty about this bad back stuff. So here goes!

Here's a list. See if you've been there.

1/ It's amazing how many things you drop when your back is sore. You drop your toothbrush
once a year. Guess when? "Do you mean I have to go ALL the way down there to get that
thing?...and back up?" The more sore the back the more things you drop.

2/ Try putting on socks when you have a sore back. It's flabbergasting how far away your
feet really are. I've actually pumped my fist and said, "YES" a few times after threading
my foot into a sock. Small victory - but when you're sore...every little bit counts.

3/ For some reason too, my shoes come untied about 500 times a day only when my back is
out. Never when I'm feeling good. I have actually had to ask people to tie my shoes before.
Rare...but I've had to. Good way to find out who really cares about you.

4/ Putting on pants. Have you ever had to "toss" your pant leg out there to get it over your
foot. It can be like a carnival game, and just as tough. The prize? Your pants are on.
Woo hoo!! (Still have the other leg though)

5/ I never knew the bathtub wall was 25 feet high. Might as well be, sometimes getting in the
shower can be like a convict scaling the wall during a prison break! (BTW, it's 16 inches)

6/ You need assistance rolling over in bed. Embarrassing. Sheesh! Enough said.

7/ After you're comfy, on the couch, and home alone, you find out you don't have the phone or
the remote with you...it's across the room.

8/ Sometimes when watching TV you have to budget extra time to actually get off the couch
and to your feet.

But these are just some of the issues that can give you fits when your back is troublesome, and in the end, it passes. In no time you're back to the spry self you are used to.

Sometimes it is tough though to put the this trouble behind you, because....the trouble is....behind you!