When it Rains it Pours

First off- I've gotta say this is an amazingly beautiful brisk fall morning. A nice break from the grey skies we've had lately. Don't get me wrong- I love rainy grey weather, but it's definitely nice to see the sun shine through as well.

Lately I have been SO stressed. We've been preparing for the last month now for a practicum that is scheduled for tomorrow morning. I am not as prepared as I would like to be, but fortunately I have done quite a bit of prep work leading up to it. Today I just need to put all the pieces together for the scenarios.

I also am stressed out about something that happened in the last week. In the process, I believe I hurt a friend's feelings. Though I have apologized, I'm still not convinced things are better, and I feel bad about it. I need to think before I speak.

I am also dealing with continued chronic pain. After 2 weeks of tingling/burning/numb sensations in my right leg and arm, I went to the chiropractor today. After a number of assessments, he is quite sure that I have a slipped disc. Oh joy. As if my back doesn't have enough going on. So he said that if I guard it, the likelyhood of it healing on its own is fairly high. However, if I am not careful, surgery could be in my future.

Boo... I am too young for this. Only 23. I have so many active things in my future. He is writing a letter today to the student disability support services of EWU. This will enable my professors to work with my fieldwork sites so that they will be required to accommodate for a lifting restriction (no more than 20 lbs). This leads me to question what area of OT I can realistically go into that won't require this lifting. It's discouraging. Areas that I am interested in may not be reasonable.

What about other areas of life? I want to take my dog on a walk- but that risks re-injuring my still healing impinged rotator cuff, or twisting my back to injure my disc. What about motherhood? Even though that's quite a ways down the road, I do think about it. Pretty sure that requires lifting more than 20 lbs. What about the pregnancy itself? That's some major strain on the back.

Well I should be getting on with my day. Though I feel like I've hit a wall, the world still keeps moving and I need to catch up. Back to studying for the practicum. Thanks for listening, friends. :)