Got a really solid night’s sleep last night and did a good bit of icing, and woke up feeling pretty great this morning. The right shoulder, which I mentioned has been acting up and I have an appointment to have checked tomorrow that I scheduled last week is actually more painful than my left one. The left one is sore, but not acute stabbing pain, just a sort of dull ache, and I have a really good range of motion with it, so I am pretty sure that all I have is a little temporary tissue damage that will sort itself out. I’ll have it checked out tomorrow anyway.
At any rate, I stopped taking the vicodin they gave me and will probably just drop the rest off at the pharmacy tomorrow on my way to the doctor. The dilaudid shot got the pain under control, and then last night I took one 5mg at six and one right before bed so I would sleep comfortably. I took two advil this morning and iced both shoulders, and that seems to be enough, so I am done taking that stuff. I really, really hate pain pills- I’d much rather have a shot to numb localized pain than these pills that muddle my thought processes. I’ll stop by the pharmacy tomorrow on the way to the doctor and have them dispose of the pills properly, as you should never, ever flush pain meds or antibiotics.
Shoulders were ok enough that they no longer hurt when I walk and I was able to take the dogs out on a couple mile walk this morning. So maybe the bird shit was a good thing after all, and my injury might have been much worse without the doodie to the face (and of course I don’t believe any of this superstitious nonsense, but I’ll play along). I’d also say that if I didn’t drink yesterday, I’m not really sure what it would take for me to drink again. My mother was concerned I might, because self-medicating with booze for my right shoulder is what really got me on the downward slope the last time. I assured her that is not going to happen, because I don’t see the logic behind compounding an injury with a substance abuse problem. Busted ass shoulders are enough on my plate to deal with that I don’t need to make things worse.
Talk to Ron this morning, the guy I went to rehab with, and he is doing very well and still sober and clean (he says t his is the longest he has been clean for probably twenty years, and it is weird not having scabs on his arms and legs). We chat every couple of days just to check in on each other, and he is doing great. Still living in the shelter in Morgantown, but he is working construction and making some money, going to meetings and doing outpatient, and really seems to have his head in the right place. He really likes Morgantown because there is so much to do that is free and just has a lot more opportunities than the other places he has lived that really have nothing to do but drugs. He started working out (well, walking a lot) on top of his day labor, because he had been a junkie for so long that a lot of his muscles had atrophied, and seems really happy and positive. The way the shelter works is there is a breathalyzer every time you try to enter (you are allowed to keep your stuff there during the day, but you are forbidden to enter if you are under the influence), but it has not been a problem for him. We are planning to ask permission for him to leave for two days yet retain his spot (you have to be incidence free and request three days in advance), and I think I am going to go pick him up on Friday after work and bring him back here for some real meals, AC, a big screen tv, and just some peace and quiet and a night or two away from the craziness that is every night in a homeless shelter. I’ll take him back Sunday night or Monday morning.
At any rate, in a really good mood because I am so relieved my shoulder is not the worst case scenario. BTW, Wesley Lowery will be on Beat the Press this morning, so you might want to tune in to see Chuckie T’s inaugural show, which will actually feature a real working reporter. If there is any good to come out of Ferguson (beyond a push to demilitarize the police), it is that my faith in local reporters and politicians have been restored to some extent. There were some really solid reporters on the ground (Lowery was one of them) during the chaos last week, and I was super impressed with some of the local pols like Antonio French. It’s nice seeing people who care and are passionate about their work and who talk straight.
Looks like it is going to rain here, so I am just going to take it easy and maybe do a little laundry, but nothing too big. You?
*** Update ***
Jay Nixon seems way over his head. I have not seen one action of his (other than putting Johnson in charge) or one interview that has impressed me or made me feel confident about him as a leader.