Random Injuries and Mortal Injustices

Last month I was walking down the street in Madrid when I felt a sharp pain in my hip flexor. Ahhh yes, the joys of getting older. In the past ppl have shared with me how their bodies betrayed them in absurd ways: sneezing and throwing out their back, reaching for soap in the shower and wrenching their shoulder, and a wonderful menagerie of embarrassing injuries from sitting, walking, standing up too quickly, or turning their heads. I think writers are particularly prone to comical bodily disasters. I guess it’s my turn: walking down the street can be hazardous to my health. 

But no…I refused to accept the passing of this baton. I took some aspirin and carried on with my life as if I were a teenager. I dared to swim, workout, and walk about 5-10 miles every day during the trip and that DEFINITELY made everything much worse. When I got back to nyc, my hip would get a little bit better and I would resume my normal life of working out, which then made it regress and spread to my back and legs. For weeks I yo-yo’ed back in forth before I had to just…stop. Like for real, for real stop, which sucked because that significantly reduced my time on the WGA picket lines and other events. And then I made a plan: physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, modified workouts with trainer, core strengthening, buying new shoes for maximum comfort (all things from the Skechers warehouse in Miami with labels ‘air cooled, memory foam, go go mat arch, decrepitude design, corpulent comfort fit, coffin cozy, you ain’t playing anymore pickup games of basketball so sit your ass down…design.’) 

Yesterday I spent most of my time running from physical therapy to orange theory (modified for less strain), acupuncture, a massage therapist, cupping. And after about 5 hours of pt and treatment I walked home and felt…somewhat normal. I woke up this morning bracing for pain and there was only a small squeak of agony, like a fading residual note. Then I went to the gym and informed my trainer with glee…‘I almost feel normal. Huzzah!’ He didn’t get how a temporary reprieve from mortal indignities and random injuries was cause for celebration! But it is!