Measurements & Planning

Blog post #258 of 365

When I get up in the morning I usually have a list of things I need to or want to do. It usually starts with things like appointments to keep, appointments to make, meals to plan and prepare, stuff to clean, stuff to pick up or drop off, people to talk to or connect with via phone, text or Facebook messages (out of country folk) things to plan (family parties, gifts to make, etc.) and so much more.

Before I can do any of it I have to measure my pain levels and what I did the days before. You see what I did yesterday or the day before will greatly impact my pain levels today. As will what I do today impact the pain I experience tomorrow.

So here is where the planning gets tricky I have to prioritize my lists. There are things that are already set in stone. The doctor, physical therapy, business appointments can't normally be changed no matter how bad my pain is and no matter how much I have to reserve so tomorrow will be a good day. Then there are the things that need to be done like meals. I have to juggle them to make sure I can actually complete them and not add to my pain. Sometimes I have to pre-cook for several days knowing what I have ahead of me.

Every once in a while stuff gets backed up and I have to cram stuff into one day I would normally otherwise never do. So I usually end up way overdoing everything. Taking pain medications heavily throughout the day just to finish a weeks worth of pre-cooking or work so I know on the days I am knocked out I can still do the need to list. On those days I also have to know that for the next days or weeks I may be knocked out of the game and only able to complete a minimum. Those days are the worst.

Sometimes it feels like all I do is plan for the next wave of pain. It isn't fun but it is my life.