Set-back… difficult week!

 Set-back: “An unanticipated or sudden check in progress; a change from better to worse,” says the online dictionary. I was not anticipating a set-back at this point of the game but all things considered, it all makes sense! Set-backs normally happen after pushing my limits to a new level. I’ve been progressing regularly for the past month, not without pain but at a steady pace. Suddenly after 4 months from surgery, I’m doing more every day and trying to do the normal things that I use to do before surgery, so I’m pushing myself much harder. I hadn’t visited my mother in law Carole in Elgin yet and Tuesday I felt like I was up for the 30 minutes drive to meet her for lunch since Larry is on vacation. Well we had a nice visit but I realized that car rides are still very demanding for me and that night I was exhausted. Attending the Conference for Women on Wednesday was also a big challenge for me and I did it but it was a huge day and I’ve been hurting a lot since then. It wasn’t just my legs that were sore this time; my lower back was hurting too. I’ve been having a hard time going on my daily morning and night walks; I could feel the hilly terrain and I didn’t have enough strength to go the whole distance that I normally do, I’d have to turn around early and often in tears. The nights are always the worse and although I am now actually able to turn in bed to sleep on my side, it has been more painful than usual to pick my body up too move, moaning and groaning, and waking up at all hours of the night in the middle of bad dreams. I’ve been waking up late, exhausted from the pain, and having a hard time getting up because I was too stiff and sore. Today, already 2 days after my big day, I was still hurting a lot, so much so that I had to cancel physical therapy because I didn’t feel the energy to drive there. I went yesterday for a session in the pool and I feel that it was too much, I should have rested all day and instead it was extra exercise that I didn’t need. So today, I decided that I had to rest: I laid in bed almost all day, I put ice on my back frequently, and I listen to my relaxation in my earbuds with my lavender eye mask on. By the end of the day I was re-energized and felt much better.