At least I don't have the bug going around

My lower back has been painful for the past week, a typical "hitch in my giddyup." If I sit in one place too long I can't stand up straight. I awoke this morning and turned over to hit the snooze button and the pain took my breath away. For a few moments I felt paralyzed. I eased myself out of bed, hung onto the stairwell, and made it downstairs for a cup of coffee. When I sat down on the couch, the pain hit me like a train again.

I was supposed to take our old dog, Carlos, in for tumor removal surgery this morning. My husband said he would take him, thank goodness. I went back upstairs to lie down. Andy came up to get ready and said I should hang from my arms to straighten out my spine. Uuggh I shouted back. He assured me it would really help.

"But where could I hang from?," I asked, ignoring the fact that I know Andy hangs from the tree outside every morning (which probably startles some passersby in the early haze).

"The magnolia tree outside."

"It's cold!"

Finally I crawled back downstairs, put on coat and shoes, and went outside. I did the prescribed "hang." I couldn't make it back upstairs so I fell asleep on the couch. I slept very soundly. When I stood up, I could unbend a little better.

The vet called to tell me he was starting Carlos' surgery and we discussed which tumors would be removed. His voice sounded hoarse and raspy. He said it had started with laryngitis and then, he thinks, has progressed into walking pneumonia. He said he felt good enough to do the surgery but says this bug is hitting older people really hard.

Andy lost his voice for about four days last week, which apparently is the first symptom of this nasty bug. He didn't seem to get any further symptoms, but for people with compromised systems, it can get pretty bad. The vet told me he had an uncle die from pneumonia and another is currently in the hospital with it.

Well, I haven't lost my voice and don't have a cough. That's a blessing, since I didn't get a flu shot this year. I guess if I keep doing hang-from-the-tree therapy, I'll soon be better.