Not Disabled, Just Differently Abled
This evening my husband began painting the closet. We had to have it repaired due to a leak in the roof and before we could use it, we needed to paint it. Well I knew he worked all day at his job and he was tired and I wanted to help him with it. His concern was that I would overdo and cause a flare up in my back or my neck that would lead to further pain and discomfort along wih more limitations. So I sat down and tried to figure out how I could be a part of the project while protecting myself.
I worked on some painting around the corners, borders and trim. I worked at my own pace even though it was a little slower than he. I worked without reaching too much and I also made sure not to do too much bending. I was mindful to stretch often.
After we finished, I cleaned the tools and readied them for tomorrow when we would need to perform more painting. I took a nice warm shower and I took some anti-inflammatories and my prescribed meds and laid on my heating pad. This I felt would be proactive and ward off any lasting muscle spasms that I began to feel forming in my lower back.
It seemed so good to be able to contribute to the project--even if it was not as much as I had hoped. The important thing was that we were able to do it together and with the holiday carols playing in the background, it actually was fun....
Sometimes it is nice to test our abilities a little to see what we can achieve. We may find we are able to do more than we thought we could. Even if I am a little uncomfortable, it will be worth it. The activities this evening proved to me I can be helpful and my husband and I can still be a team. That in itself was a comfort and source of satisfaction.
So the next time you have a project that needs to be done, before saying you are unable to help, think about some ways you might be able to contribute to the cause--even if just a little. Someone once said "they were not disabled. They were just 'differently abled'...I like that outlook on life!!!
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Technorati Tags: chronic pain, fitness, disability
4 Comments:
indi, do you reply directly to messages on your board? i had a knee injury from falling on a department store concrete floor and bruised terribly. i have applied ice, but the bruised feel ing is still evident and i have skin discoloration. please help:
nola-darling@hotmail.com
I have been having a lot of neck and upper shoulder pain. I take pain reliever but it always comes back. I also get light-headed and dizzy. Is this normal?
Today I was at baseball practice and we were doing drills with sliding. We did the drill 3 times where we took off sprinting and slid onto a mat. well the third time i took off i imediatley felt a pop in the part of my leg where it joins the hip. It hurt very bad and still hurts right now, 6 hours later. what did i do?
If I have pain that radiates from my neck,down to my shoulder,down across my chest and into my lower shoulder blade, is this a pinched nerve.It will last from 3 days to 2 weeks.It makes it hard to sleep and do other chores.
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