damned sciatica

I shamefully neglected to thank you all for the kind notes on my entry about our loss of Cola the Beagle..



McD and I are very grateful. The house isn't the same without her. Pepi is also missing her we think. She;s a very depressed dog these days ....

 

I’m still out of action with my back/sciatica problem.....

 

It’s been a hellish 2-3 months for me ...I’ve had more pain than ever I think....This sciatica is causing pain right down my leg to my ankle and big toe. I cannot stand/walk for more than a few minutes. By then I’ve aggravated the nerve and end up hobbling back to the settee having to wait and wait for the pain to settle again.....Brings tears to your eyes I can tell you.......

 

And the sheer boredom not being able to do anything....It’s only the past day I’ve been able to sit for any length of time

 

The lead up to last week was a nightmare. I was due to present to senior IT leaders in Wellington and Auckland on the formation of a Service Management Office (SMO) I masterminded and built over the past two years where i work......Two years of politics, little resources and game playing ....nearly drove me mad ......But we did it ...A heap of work to do still of course, but the concept and the structure is one of the first implementations in New Zealand...It’s generated a lot of interest .....

 

Anyway, the presentations were to be last week...And me unable to move past one position, on my side, on the bed or settee.....But Tuesday last week I hauled my sorry butt out of bed and went to work,finished off the presentation and caught a taxi to the yacht club in Wellington and the renowned Martin Bosley restaurant where the function was being held. Bosley is a well known award winning Chef in NZ. I’ve been to the restaurant before (must take McD sometime) and was at least looking forward to a good lunch.

 

The organisers were good to me having been pre-warned of my condition I was given a clip on mike and a chair to present from.....Of course they were more than grateful that I had made a show. I was the main presenter...The setup was that the organisers had a few minutes to talk about events and then a consultant from the organisers gave some spiel on the service management framework we use ...stats etc...and then it was my turn...Blinded by pain, I still gave a 40 minute talk on the SMO...The unsettling part of it was that as I presented the 30-ish audience were served up entree’s and mains!!...

 

After the presentation there was a small break (where I was fed - Bless them) and then I had to front up to questions and comments from the audience....Some were very off-topic and I was glad I had my boss and a couple of my team present to help....

 

And that was it ...It was obvious that I was no way able to get myself on a plane flight etc to Auckland but my boss volunteered to fill in for me.. Which was great.....

 

But that day really set me up for some major pain for days afterwards.....visits to doctors and physio were hellish trips ...The physio was very caring and careful with me....and I have exercises to do and I’ve been signed off work this week....but was scheduled for a break from Thursday and next week anyway so 2 much needed weeks off work  ........

 

The problem is that those in the know are talking weeks/months for this sciatica to subside rather than days .......    But today I made it up to the veggie garden.....So painful and I’ve paid for it tonight somewhat ....But it was good to get up there and sit and enjoy the view and the windy weather....but what an overgrown mess :O(