Another Year Down

I can't believe I went a year and a day without writing anything here. Actually, I can believe it. There are a lot of things I didn't do in the last year that I wish had been possible. I'm not going to start a list, because the list would be too long and it would depress me even more than long COVID alone does. 

I didn't make any resolutions for 2024, so there's no progress for me to check in on. Most days I float through somehow, accomplishing nothing. While I am no longer taking non-trivial morning and afternoon naps, I still need at least one or I am essentially useless the next day. I read the paper on and off. Look at social media. Occasionally write emails. Lately, I've actually been able to read for more than 15 minutes before I can no longer focus, so I've actually finished some books. I did start taking walks again, under the guidance of a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor. That more than anything else has helped lift the major depressive disorder I was feeling. The doc also had me going to physical therapy. One's balance takes a hit after sitting or lying down for a whole year. 

Between the walking and the physical therapy, the slight lower back ache I had had on and off turned all the way on. Some days I had trouble walking without pain. The physical therapist thought it might be due to the scoliosis she said I had. The doctor thought that if I got my hips stronger, that would take care of the pain. After he had me lie on my back and be unable to lift my left leg due to pain, he sent me for x-rays. The good news is that they showed what the cause of the back pain is. The bad news is that it's not clear what can be done about it, though more information coming out of an MRI on July 19 should shed more light on that. 

It's called anterolisthesis. My L4 vertebra is sliding forward on my L5 vertebra. The sliding is somewhere between 25 and 50 percent, meaning it's Level 2. Level 1 is better; Level 4 is not. This may be something my mother had. At one point, she had a rod put in her back to hold her back straight. That's one of the last-resort treatments for anterolisthesis that I refuse to think about until after then MRI results are in and explained to me. 

So, this has been an enlightening post, hasn't it? Let me finish with the horoscope from The Washington Post that tells of the year ahead for someone born on July 1.

You are adventurous, imaginative and impulsive. You have an excellent memory. This is a year of learning and teaching. You might take time to renew your spiritual or religious beliefs. Explore philosophies that will give you a better self-awareness and understanding of the true meaning of your life.

 I'm not at all sure how to interpret all that. I do not, for example, feel very adventurous, imaginative, or impulsive. I'm too tired for any of that. And what is the true meaning of my life? A friend told me I did not seem upset enough about the anterolisthesis on top of the long COVID. Without really thinking, I told her I had both so other people did not to have either. The fates could have given two people one thing each. By giving me two, at least one other person has stayed healthy. Gotta laugh because the alternative doesn't accomplish anything. 

I'll try to get back here before another year passes, not that anyone has asked where I was this year. And for what it's worth, I'm now 68. Sixty-seven could have been worse, but at least it was a prime number.I don't have another prime age until 71.