OK, listen up all of you!
Today I am heavily gimp-i-fied.
I am having great pain and immobility in my mid-back. I have never had a problem with lower back pain, but for some reason every few years I come up with a good spell of mid-back pain that leaves me a grumpy puppy. On my walk to the subway this morning I went into such a muscle spasm that I was stuck standing in one spot for nearly 10 minutes until it loosened enough for me to walk. Ideally I should have stayed home and lay on a heating pad all day, but do we live in an ideal world? Not at all. Curses and drat, I tell you, curses and drat!
So I sit here, whimpering quietly.
I had a fantastic weekend in DC seeing old friends, but it was also sad in a few ways. The reason for that is the state of health of two of my friends. One of them, C, has had a drinking problem for a number of years now, and went from being a muscular guy to a man who packed on 70 pounds of weight and was increasingly socially inappropriate. Well, in November, he began vomiting blood one day and collapsed. Over the next two days he vomited over two litres of blood before they got it under control. He was essentially told "stop drinking or die." Thankfully, he did. 100% tea-total now. He has even lost just a touch of the weight, but he looks healthy again, and is back to his old personality.
S had also become a problem, with drinking and drugging and never sleeping and generally becoming abusive in behavior. In the last six months, he had two heart attacks. After the second one he was also given a "reform or die" command, and he similarly has done so. He has lost weight, has good skin color again, and is back to being his charmingly obnoxious, loud and fun self.
Both of these men are in their 40s.
So it was a great relief to see the positive changes, but it deeply saddened me that things had come to this. I am so beyond tired of guys my age melting down the way straight men tend to. These were two extreme examples, but still, being in your 40s is no longer old. Simple maintenance is not impossible, and it should be everyone's goal. Unless your goal is to be dead by 60. In which case I have no idea what to say to you.
Sigh. I just depressed myself writing about this. I need to perk up, but perking is bad for my complaining back.
So please, gentlemen (and ladies), you don't need to be a superstar, but would you please SERIOUSLY take care of yourselves? Actions have consequences.
I am having great pain and immobility in my mid-back. I have never had a problem with lower back pain, but for some reason every few years I come up with a good spell of mid-back pain that leaves me a grumpy puppy. On my walk to the subway this morning I went into such a muscle spasm that I was stuck standing in one spot for nearly 10 minutes until it loosened enough for me to walk. Ideally I should have stayed home and lay on a heating pad all day, but do we live in an ideal world? Not at all. Curses and drat, I tell you, curses and drat!
So I sit here, whimpering quietly.
I had a fantastic weekend in DC seeing old friends, but it was also sad in a few ways. The reason for that is the state of health of two of my friends. One of them, C, has had a drinking problem for a number of years now, and went from being a muscular guy to a man who packed on 70 pounds of weight and was increasingly socially inappropriate. Well, in November, he began vomiting blood one day and collapsed. Over the next two days he vomited over two litres of blood before they got it under control. He was essentially told "stop drinking or die." Thankfully, he did. 100% tea-total now. He has even lost just a touch of the weight, but he looks healthy again, and is back to his old personality.
S had also become a problem, with drinking and drugging and never sleeping and generally becoming abusive in behavior. In the last six months, he had two heart attacks. After the second one he was also given a "reform or die" command, and he similarly has done so. He has lost weight, has good skin color again, and is back to being his charmingly obnoxious, loud and fun self.
Both of these men are in their 40s.
So it was a great relief to see the positive changes, but it deeply saddened me that things had come to this. I am so beyond tired of guys my age melting down the way straight men tend to. These were two extreme examples, but still, being in your 40s is no longer old. Simple maintenance is not impossible, and it should be everyone's goal. Unless your goal is to be dead by 60. In which case I have no idea what to say to you.
Sigh. I just depressed myself writing about this. I need to perk up, but perking is bad for my complaining back.
So please, gentlemen (and ladies), you don't need to be a superstar, but would you please SERIOUSLY take care of yourselves? Actions have consequences.