Friday, April 12, 2013

Beware of the "good day".

Anyone who has a chronic debilitating disease can attest to the rarity of a good day.  A good day is one of those days that your pain levels are better than usual, your mobility is up, your mood is up, and or you get an opportunity to do something your body has kept you from doing for a very long time.

Today was a good day for me.  It's been at least weeks since I've had a good day so I was excited when I woke up with very little stiffness and pain.  Then after getting my cup of coffee I realized the pain still wasn't appearing, and all my limbs and digits were working pretty well.  If I felt like this every day or even most days I would be working still.

Now here's where caution comes into play.  It is very easy to say "WOOHOO! Lets go mountain climbing and paint the house!" You know you will pay for it tomorrow if you do these things at a best case, and probably half way through your house painting your body will remind you that you have no control.  Most times though I keep in mind that whatever I do that is above and beyond I will pay for usually sooner rather than later.

Today I managed to keep myself in check.  I took myself out for lunch at my favorite Cheesesteak joint and got my car oil changed.  Once that was done I enjoyed a nice nap with an unusually full belly and had some of the best sleep I've had in as long as I can remember.  Yes I realize that this does not sound like much of a day to most people, but my days usually involve either staying in bed or being on the couch and maybe packing a box of stuff to prep for my move and at least a few naps.  It's gotten to the point that cooking or even making a sandwich is a challenge most days so this day was getting me off the couch, out of the house AND I got the best Philly in town.  SCORE!  I'm sure my car appreciates the new oil too.  She was way overdue with all the traveling I did over the holidays.

I'm still feeling pretty good, but my hands are starting to swell up and my knees are catching.  I am fairly sure my good day won't make a repeat visit tomorrow.  I'm ok with that though.  I've learned to enjoy them when I have them.  It's not worth dwelling on what I used to be on normal or bad days.  Just make the most of every day good or bad.

The moral of the story though is to be ready to pay for what you are going to do.  Sometimes a good day is just a day to be happy and enjoy.  You don't have to conquer the world.

One last thing before I go, I had my Social Security Disability physical last week.  Haven't heard back from them yet, but I feel it went well so keep your fingers crossed I will have approval soon.  I'll blog about the whole Social Security Disability process one of these days, but I'd rather get through it all so I have some feeling of knowing what the heck I'm talking about.