Can I just call it MayDay?

Tuesday I had the day off and so scheduled a visit with the orthopod. Remember those shin splints that I self diagnosed? That one was a bit off. I figured I had a hip thing going on.

After a photo shoot with the xray machine I found that the hip is fine. Some mild to moderate arthiritis going on in there, but that is tolerable and certainly not causing a problem. Guess I won't be joining Dad in the hip replacement department. The problem seems to be my spine. Particularly L5 to S1 if you happen to know spines. It seems that I have an issue going on there, namely spondylolisthesis, that is pinching nerves and in all likelihood not going to get better. The "pictures" gave me a serious moment of "oh my goodness".

Grade 3 is what my spine looks like ... and presently my left leg agrees completely.
So. I'm a nurse. I work in the surgery department, but am not a fan of surgery for myself.
I went online and started looking for things to help living and keep myself off the surgery table.
This is what I managed to find:

• exercise (so far this isn't looking good)
• rest (Ha! I work 40 hours a week running on my feet.)
• surgery

While I'm relieved that I now know what is causing the problem, and it is quite real, I would much rather have hip surgery. Next week I go for the MRI. First time experience for me and I'm hoping for a good nap. And then we have to figure out the exercise thing. Being as that is what caused the problem in the first place ... I am a wee bit hesitant to embark on that journey without assistance from a trained professional.

I have no previous xrays to determine when I have injured my back. The doctor asked me if I had been a gymnast. Me???!! Not. Told him that I am the most unathletic person I know. I'm serious. I'm figuring that the spine slippage is due to the gym at SCC. Never, ever weight lift without proper training. I did. It is about the time I nearly needed a cane to walk for a while and never had it checked out. Who knows if it has gotten worse since then. I prefer any photo shoots to be done with a Canon Rebel rather than xray equipment. Then again. I've been thinking. Maybe this is what caused that inch loss of height!

So, onward with the decisions of life. A few hours of making lemonade out of lemons and we made some decisions. By evenings end we had signed the papers needed to list our house. It went on the market Wednesday morning.

We have had two showings over the weekend.

Duke is thoroughly enjoying getting out for rides again.

I'm going to be a pro at quick bathroom swabbing.
Beds are actually made in every room.
Laundry is constantly caught up and not stacked.
Floors are spotless.
Windows are almost spotless.
I find a new project to tackle each day in the cleaning department.
Goodies for donation are properly sorted and itemized for tax donation purposes.
I'm avoiding panic attacks quite well.

It helps to have a good chuckle here and there.

Have a safe Memorial Day!