My nasty collection of chronic diseases really come into their own during winter

It is cold out there. Well, cold for the Southern hemisphere bit I live in.

 

Things seize up, movement doesn’t flow so easily, blood flow is restricted.

My fingers and toes hurt a lot from the cold (Reynauld’s syndrome) so I am trying to immerse them in hot water.

 

But my sciatic pain is stabbing mightily every time I try to even lift my left foot (disc erosion in my spine) and being in the right position for warming extremities isn’t really possible, because I can’t bend a usual degree of flexion (ankylosing spondilitis).

 

In short, I am miserably uncomfortable and I am glad.

 

I am glad because the pain reminds me of what I should never take for granted – good health and a pain free existence.

 

I can’t get to my feet to put my shoes on today? For three years, while my babies were babies, I lived on their floor level for most things involving them. I also learnt to dress myself from a prone position on the floor.

 

It hurts to clean my house? I had to have a cleaner come in once a week because Icouldn’t make any movements bigger than two inches and even repetition of that range caused problems.

 

My immune system is lowered as a result of the pain and I have broken out in repeat shingles and acute psoriasis? Once upon time I took methotrexate (a chemo drug) to try and solve my skin problems. It didn’t work but you develop a really good perspective when you have those conditions with acute nausea added in.

 

Car parks are an issue? I once had a disabled driver sticker on my car and frequently I was too sore to even drive my car.

 

Yes, I may hurt and I may feel ugly and I may get every annoying little virus out there, but underneath it all I know that I am lucky.

 

Now is so much better than then.