Sick Day, Health Care Reform, and a Fruit Smoothie

Over the weekend my back decided to scream.  I woke up yesterday morning and knew immediately.  Standing, and then sitting, were too painful.  I'm not sure what I did, can't put a finger on it.  Somehow, something just decided to move or lower-back nerves became agitated.  Russ, my chiropractor boyfriend prescribed lying flat on the floor so I spent a lot of time yesterday doing that.  I had a phone by  my head and spent much of that time finishing a book.  I had to call Katie on the phone to ask her to get me some water and OTC pain reliever since I couldn't even imagine moving.  I stayed there for a while until Katie called to invite me to dinner downstairs, and somehow the lure of food got me moving!

I very, very slowly descended the stairs and sat myself down and watched as dinner was prepared all around me.  Katie grilled seasoned chicken fillets for sandwiches and set out beautiful rolls, leafy lettuce, thinly sliced red onions and tomatoes.  She put out all kinds of condiments (including hot sauce!).  She served a home-made shrimp-and-vegetable "fried" rice (just barely fried) and a tossed salad.  It was a lovely dinner after an unexpectedly pretty Sunday.  I didn't  help with a thing, never cleaned up, just said "thank you" and left to resume the flat position on my living room floor where I spent t he rest of the evening watching March Madness.  Eventually I rolled myself into an upright position and toddled myself to bed.  I have an appointment with my doctor this morning and hopefully he'll be able to tell me what's going on. 

I'm not good at sick days.  I keep thinking of what I could be accomplishing at work.  I've never been able to get that "just enjoy" thing down on a sick day.  Maybe that's because I don't take sick days when I'm not sick!  And now I'm wondering how such medical speed bumps will impact my personal situation, and others' medical lives, now that Health Care Reform passed last night after I went to bed.  Ego-centrically, I am confused and curious about my own medical plan at work, what this bill means for the medical insurance that is supposed to be in place when I retire, and what it means for three of my currently uninsured adult children (one of whom does not want to be forced to buy anything or pay a penalty for not...).  If what I read is correct, most Americans do not really understand the complexities of the bill.  I must admit, I do not.

So, this morning I'll make a fruit smoothie with my favorite greek yogurt, some frozen berries, a half of a banana (already frozen in chunks) skim milk and a little honey for sweetness.  I'll go see my doctor as I normally would, and hopefully he'll give me some good advice (if not an effective prescription) to ease this pain in my back,  and I will look forward to feeling better.  Today, I will deal with today and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.  This is about as much time as I can spend sitting in a chair, so I'll sign off for now and write again tomorrow.