Ouchhhh!

So I was a mile and a half into my morning walk/run yesterday, descending the first steep hill at a pretty fast clip when I felt a severe pain in my upper left quad. Searing. Pain. And did I say, "Ouch?" You betcha. I limped back home and took it easy the rest of the day.

It's always something.

Interestingly enough, I feel much better this morning. If I press on the searing-pain spot, it feels like a healing bruise. But I'm not limping and, in fact, I don't feel any pain whatsoever. I'm not sure if I should take a walk or give it another day.

I have arthritis in my left hip, and forgot to take an Aleve yesterday morning. Perhaps I was unconsciously favoring my left side – one pain leads to another. See what you young chicas have to look forward to? Heh.

The problem I have with taking an Aleve every day is that it makes me feel so good, so normal, that I think I can do anything. Am I risking further injury by masking pain, or am I treating pain so I can keep on keepin' on? Not really a chicken-egg question, but close.

Okay, the Thinking Blogger award has led me to this: Drop Dead Gorgeous by way of Perfuncto who was nominated by Grumpy. Interesting, somewhat disturbing, challenging and thought-provoking photos, and the accompanying interview is equally thought-provoking. Thanks, Grumpy, Perfuncto and especially the photographer Daniela Edburg. And thanks, TMN, for making the photos dial-up friendly.

Your comments yesterday also fall into the thought-provoking category. My little quibble with my insurance company pales in comparison, but I did call the doctor's office when they opened to see if any progress had been made. The billing clerk said I'm one of a dozen in the same boat. She insisted they are a provider and that the company who actually submits the claims is using the wrong tax ID number. She has patients who were seen in January who still haven't been billed.

Universal health care would solve those those problems. And Mel would get to choose her own provider. Mel, I wish you well, and I hope you read H4H's comment yesterday. Good advice from someone who knows.