The Backbone’s Connected to Just about Everything Else!

mmmm… twisted around one day last week and heard and felt a click. Then came the pain… I’m not surprised that back pain is a major source of incapacity, but what is worse, I’ve found that my back is connected to so many other bits of me – arms, shoulders, neck and feet – that it’s making it’s presence felt more than I would like it to. Back pain hurts a lot. Still, at least I’m able to feel pain in my spine, so not all is bad.

You may have gathered that I’m not put together like most humans… It just gives my friends even more evidence that I’m an alien!!! I have a severe curvature of the spine, giving me a rather interesting 18th century drunken pirate’s gait, even though I’m sober (honest guv – well most of the time anyway!). This means that most osteopathic or chiropractic routes seem to be out of my reach as they will do more damage than good and definitely not the one that allows someone to walk up and down your spine – is that called Shiatsu?

One thing though, as I can bend down even less than usual, I seem to be becoming very unlucky. I dropped a number of knives on the floor and shouldn’t pick them up because its bad luck, but if I don’t I’m going to cut myself, or the cat is going to cut her paws… etc. etc. Maybe the backbone’s connected to just anxiety after all

It’s not the pain that kills…

 

 

This morning I can’t sleep by reason of pain and as my codeine isn’t working at 4:15am BST – I’m awake and listening to the radio. There has just been a piece from one of the BBC’s Afghanistan correspondents, and it has me musing again…

I’m complaining to myself about the pain caused by my disability and the lack of the  effect that a relatively small amount of opiates isn’t having. However, Afghanistan produces the most amount of opium in the world; Governments try to stop production, exportation, processing and supply as heroin. However, I still need a little of it for a restful night.

The interview was about the hidden face of opium consumption, the use of it by Afghanis themselves, something that doesn’t seem to make the headlines. There were a number of heartrending instances mentioned. These included the fact that mothers feed opium to children to keep them quiet while they work and people that are forced into urban shantytowns to find nonexistent work use it to escape the worst of hunger and despair. The correspondent said that corruption is rife and journeys are punctuated with numerous official and unofficial checkpoints demanding bribes for safe passage. 

Millions have been donated in aid and yet people are starving. Perhaps then a plentiful supply of opium is a valid escape from despair in this case. Puts my complaints in perspective, today at least.