a brief hiatus
I had three almost totally pain-free days. This was something close to a miracle, and it happened in a miraculously short space of time. I’d come home from work, aching as usual, stiff and miserable and fed up because I hurt, and I had my usual bath and Leo made curry for tea. It was lovely curry, full of tofu and vegetables and served with poppadums and lovely yellow rice. We ate our tea and when I stood up to go out for a cigarette I realised that I wasn’t hurting. I mean, there was a bit of an ache, but not the usual pain that makes me wince and manoevre my legs in strange ways. (Here’s an example of how crap that can be: this afternoon I had cramp in my calf and because my leg was so stiff and painful I couldn’t actually flex my muscles to alleviate the cramp, and had to ask my girlfriend to pick my leg up and waggle it about. Pah.)
But yes, I had a couple of good days at work, I managed to go shopping in town without it being a hideous chore and I walked to and from the supermarket – about 1/4 mile each way – and it was only on the way back that I started to struggle. The worst bit was that I don’t seem to have any lift in my thigh right now, so walking uphill involves a weird, loping, sloping kind of gait to make any progress.
The magical curry that we had contained turmeric and ginger and a whole host of other yummy spices. There is a possibility they contributed to my miracle cure, however short-lived it was. Research suggests that these spices do indeed have anti-inflammatory properties, which is good, because I almost constantly crave curry. My favourite is mutta paneer (curries peas and cheese for the uninitiated). Cutting out dairy means I can’t have it anymore, but I think I will attempt (or more likely ask Leo to attempt) to make something similar with tofu.
Anyway, I had three or so good days, when I whizzed about at work and managed to survive a whole shift without our lovely cleaner asking me if I was ok and trying to make me sit down. She’s incredibly caring but does sometimes make me feel like I’ve got something terminal rather than just a pain. Ongoing, and at times hideous pain, but pain that’s mostly treatable to an extent, rather than something that could potentially kill me.
I wonder if there’s a link between curry and relentless optimism, because if so I think I need some soon.
