Reverb 14 · April Post · April Showers

#reverb14 is an opportunity for participants to reflect throughout 2014. Each month, the Reverb team will post a new prompt. Join and write, or simply join and read.

April Prompt: Luck: We've had a long, wet, cold winter here, and we're ready for spring. Show us a photo of your "April showers," and tell us all about it.

So...um, well….this is awkward.

I don't know the last time we had rain here in Arizona.

Unless you count showers of pollen. Oh. Em. Gee. The pollen.  When the sweet acacia was in bloom, I thought I was going to drown in my own sneezes. I don't understand how so many people think that the scent of the acacias are "sweet" or "lovely." I'd describe the smell as more "cloying" and "nauseating." But I guess that's why they make chocolate and vanilla or Clartin and Benadryl.

This is obviously a first world problem if I've ever blogged one.

The benefit of no rain and warm, sunny skies in the spring months is that HRH is able to plan picnics at the pocket park down the street, something in which she takes great care and delight.

To wit: 

Shakshuka to go

Helmets at dinner. Noodles can be dangerous, I guess.

We'll be paying for it in a few months, when the temperatures reach the triple digits. This was the first year I turned on the air conditioning before Tax Day (I turned it on last week), but when the car registered over 95°, it was time. For now, though, it's nice to be able to have dinner in the park, even if the dress code calls for helmets and doctor coats.

The (New) S-Word

Last month, my hip started bothering me a bit.

It didn't hurt, really. It was more of an ache that wasn't nearly as bad as the shin splints that finally healed. I figured that all I needed was some additional stretching and foam rolling and that I'd mention it to my chiropractor at my next appointment.

Then I went for a two-mile run with Zooey and thought I wouldn't be able to make it home. In the last quarter mile, my hip went from a ho-hum ache to pain so severe that I had trouble walking the rest of the day.

So, rest and ice. Lots of yoga. No running. No cycling.

I was basically climbing the walls.

But while the "kill me now" pain did subside, it was no longer that dull, and I knew I had to go to the doctor.

My previous GP had retired, so I ended up seeing one of the PAs at the practice. It was fortunate - she is also a runner, so she told me that what she wanted was to make sure I'd be able to lace up again soon. After not seeing anything with regard to my posture, etc., she sent me off for an X-ray.

It was a long 24 hours waiting for the result to be known, and when it came, it wasn't anything that I'd have expected.

Sacroiliitis - an inflammation of my sacroiliac joint.

My options were slim - I need to see an ortho to get a more definitive diagnosis (I'm hoping it's not on the "really bad" area of the scale) and treatment plan, which will hopefully include physical therapy and will hopefully NOT include injections. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get in until the 23rd of this month.

In the meantime, I can't run, cycle, or hike, as these can exacerbate symptoms. So can prolonged sitting, and since I teach from home and am in front of my computer pretty much all day, that's…. not fantastic. I'm able to go for walks, and I did take Zooey for a 2-miler yesterday morning, which kept me from feeling too terribly stabby. I'm continuing to do yoga, and I've been using ice in the morning and a heating pad in the evenings along with, if I'm really uncomfortable, an anti-inflammatory.

Husband thinks I may have done too much too soon with regard to cycling, and I hate to admit it, but he is probably right. It didn't take me that long to go 16+ miles along the canal, and I was looking at how I could bump that up for the next weekend when I had to stop.

I've got my fingers crossed that I get the green light to start moving again soon. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to avoid throwing myself a pity party not being able to do my favorite things. I've had a few people suggest swimming as an alternative, which would be fine if I had access to a pool and didn't panic every time my face is submerged. I'll have to seriously think about it if things get worse, though. Do they have swimming lessons for panicky adults?

My most current worry is Pat's Run. It's only 3 days after my ortho appointment, and I am registered to run. I'm a little scared that the ortho will say "no" to running and even to walking it, but I am trying hard to not psych myself out or go down Worst Case Scenario Boulevard. I'd hate to not participate, but  at the same time, I also don't want to participate if it compromises my ability to run and cycle into old age, so I will be a good patient and listen to what the doctor tells me.

I just can't promise there won't be tears.

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