A beautiful day, but an ugly night.

Photo copyright Aji, 2022; all rights reserved.

Welp. Yesterday was a beautiful day, but an ugly night. 

Lovely snow yesterday, and actually another quick eight inches overnight, half of which has melted already. But in the hour or so before I went to bed, my right hip began to seize up. Sure enough, it subluxed [which is an incomplete dislocation of the joint, but a dislocation all the same], and it took my right knee and ankle with it.

I've spent a lifetime enduring physical pain, and as I said elsewhere this morning, you can probably count the number of times, in adulthood, that it's brought me to actual tears on one hand and still have fingers left over.

Last night, or rather, the early dark hours of this morning, was one of them. It was so bad I was sobbing; I couldn't find a position that would even begin to take the edge off the gravity-stretched connective tissue, never mind anything like sleep. Wings got up and worked on trying to re-set the joint, and I was literally howling from the pain. He got me a bunch of big pillows to bolster that side of my body at odd positions, and I finally dropped off to sleep sometime after 5 AM, which means I got a couple of fitful and constantly interrupted hours, but it was something, at least. My right knee had been stuck all night, bent at a forty-five degree angle because I couldn't move the outside tendons and ligaments at all. Finally, around 6 AM, something shifted ver so slightly in my hip, enough that over the next hour I could begin straightening the leg a little. I couldn't stand up straight for several hours this morning, and I'm hobbling with my cane, and the pain is still excruciating, but I'm [somewhat] mobile again. The more terrifying part is that between the lupus and the inflammatory arthritis, both of which are degenerative and both of which went untreated for a quarter of a century, this is my life now, and it's only going to get worse. All because of the way this stupid country and its [utter lack of a] "health care system" exists not to heal, but to line corporate pockets while killing us as expeditiously and cheaply as possible.

So I'm a lot further behind than I was yesterday.

I'm going to have to block off the rest of the week ruthlessly, because otherwise I'll be here again next Monday with no progress, and my stress levels will be higher than ever. First and foremost is taxes; then when that's done, there's everything else.

Also, Patreon patrons: Speaking of taxes, that's what March and April are here, and also medical appointment months, and I am already snowed completely under. I will not be doing daily postings for that period. I'll try to post as often as I can, but I can't in good conscience commit to every day (or every night, as the case may be) when I have all of this stuff hanging over my head. Things will lighten up in May, presumably.

And on top of all of that, I'm still trying desperately to get caught up on a bunch of the things I haven't been able to do these last three weeks, having been so sick with this godforsaken lupus flare. Still need to make sales, though. There's more work in the pipeline, too, incredible stuff. Links are here:

• Sales here; 
• Testimonials here; 
• Amazon wishlist here (priorities are first and foremost, the other ladder and the Bissell vac);
• Patreon here;
• Ko-fi here.

We're still hoping to put aside enough for a new well when the ground thaws enough to drill in the spring, too, so now's always a good time to make a purchase. And there's lots of fabulous new work, so please share all of the links. 

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2022; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.