KA-POW!
Remember those scenes from old superhero television shows, when brightly colored sound bubbles such as bam and splatt popped up during fight scenes?
Well, if my evening last night were ever to be depicted in this comic book art form, let me just say that it would include a lot of these sound bubbles…including one final kapow!
Fight scenes are rarely pretty. They are even more ugly when the superhero seems to lose. But Rheumatoid Arthritis Guy has gotten beat up before, and he continues to learn how to pick himself back up after episodes such as these.
The weapons that I encountered, while they were somewhat familiar, seemed to be much more potent than anything I have previously come across.
My left hand continued to curl inwards, forming an almost closed fist. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it seems like some “Tim Burton” magic dust was added to the spell, making my fingers look like the bare crooked branches that have become a visual trademark of that director.
Simultaneously, my right shoulder was being attacked like never before. Close inspection revealed a wide, bright red swath of inflammation that was completely wrapped around my shoulder. Talk about searing pain!
Then, both ankles and my right wrist decided that they, too, would jump on the bandwagon.
All I could muster, at that moment, was a blank stare into nothingness.
Ka-pow!
But then the punches finally stopped landing, and the pain slowly started to subside. Within an hour, I was back to “normal”.
I wonder what sound bubbles might appear next time?
Stay tuned…for the next adventure of Rheumatoid Arthritis Guy!
Sometimes, Friday afternoons can’t come soon enough. This week, I eagerly anticipated its arrival not because of any unhappiness at work (I love my job, and grading 34 essays in one sitting has actually become routine), but because I started coming down with a cold mid-week.
It’s been almost a month since I received the news about my elevated liver enzymes. Over these past few weeks I’ve done an even better job than usual (I think) of taking care of different aspects of my health, so earlier today I decided to celebrate.
Sometimes, if feels like life with rheumatoid arthritis is a never-ending game of hide and seek. There are times when we find that oh so comfortable spot, where it feels like we have actually discovered that perfect place where we will never be found out. And then, the inevitable happens. Rheumatoid arthritis — once again — finds us.