I'm A Big Girl Now

I did something yesterday that I have been terrified of doing for over ten years. I got a cortisone shot in my hip. I have heard horror stories of cortisone shots. That the needle is ten inches long; that it is really painful; blah, blah, blah. I am a big baby; I don't like pain. I am a terrible patient.

Ten years ago, I fell from a scooter while on a crazy ride in Italy. About one month later, I was seized with hip pain so intense that I could not sit . I could only stand and I could lie down. So I would be driven to work while lying down in the back seat and I would stand all day at work. I suffered this pain because I was terrified to get a cortisone shot. How much sense does that make? After about six weeks, the pain went away. Whew, saved!!

So fast forward ten years. Last fall, while in Cuba with my daughter, I began to have discomfort again in my hip. After walking for a while, I found it necessary to sit and rest. I was becoming an old woman. I don't like that image of myself. My daughter commented that I was not quite a spry as I had been in Mexico three years earlier. Ouch!

In April, while at EPCOT with one of my other daughters, the same thing happened. I had to stop and rest much more than normal. My daughter offered to rent an electric power chair for me. "No thank you", I said, " It's not that I don't want to grow old. It's just that I don't want to grow old, JUST YET. "

Well, the old hip hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's gotten worse. I am having trouble working in the garden; I have pain all the time; it is wearing me down. After sitting in the car for only thirty or forty minutes, I have to get out and stretch. I am taking a cross-country trip in the fall. Can you imagine how long that trip will take if I have to get out and stretch every thirty minutes?

So last week, I went to see an Orthopedist. He took x-rays of my hip and identified an inflamed bursa, the sac on the outside of the hip that connects to all the other muscles and ligaments in the leg. He suggested one of two things: either a cortisone shot or medication such as Celebrex. Well, the other thing I'm terrified of is medication with insane side-effects.....like Celebrex. So, guess what? I made the decision to put on my big girl pants and get the shot.

My appointment was scheduled for yesterday. Now, I have worried about the shot all week. I have awakened in the middle of the night worrying about the shot. I have researched the shot, the side effects of the shot, the needle size for the shot, ad infinitum.

So this is how it went:
1. I positioned myself on the table, lying on my side.
2. Mr. Doctor Miracle came in, swabbed my "bursa" spot
3. Mr. Doctor Miracle sprayed something on the spot
4. Mr. Doctor says, "Are you alright?"
5. I say, "Of course I'm all right; you haven't put the needle in yet".
6. Mr. Doctor the Magnificent says, "Yes, I have, we're finished."
7. I become effusive and have to control myself not to kiss Mr. Doctor

I can't believe I have put off comfort because of my irrational fear of a cortisone shot. Today, the hip area is sore but in about three days, Mr. Doctor said my pain will be only a memory. I should be fine to travel across the country without having to stop every thirty minutes. I'm a Big Girl now!!