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The stiff neck I got yesterday not quite finishing the Big Project almost kept me from going the rest of the way today. I was in pain all day long, sometimes wincing in anguish and other times almost forgetting it was there, until I turned my head or lifted my arm. It was worst when I drove to the post office this morning, because it seemed that every time I pressed my right foot down on the gas pedal, the pain would shoot up my leg and into the left side of my neck. I’m not quite sure how that works, but I felt it so I know it’s true.
Turning corners and checking behind me before pulling into another lane were operations almost too painful to perform, but I endured them for the sake of others on the road. At this point I wasn’t worried about myself as much. I guess my senses had been dulled, or maybe heightened to the point where all kinds of pain were received with the same intensity anyway.
So once I made it home I was determined not to go out again today, no matter what. I looked through the medicine cabinet for something that might help, but the ibuprofen bottle had an expiration date that read “May 2002,” so I threw that out and took the faux-Motrin instead. That stuff won’t go bad until this coming August, so I was safe. I took twice the recommended dosage, which might account for the sweet lethargy that enfolded me the rest of the day. I used ice off and on, and by tonight the pain wasn’t as intense. I think rest was the best cure I could have prescribed for myself, and I’m just glad I was able to follow through. |
