I read my last post from April 2018 and find myself at a loss, unable to put time and events in proper sequence, if I remember at all. Some of this I blame on Covid as I have spent most of the last three plus years in lockdown. A situation I cannot fully blame on the pandemic.
In 2018 I wrote of increasing dependence on the walker, and a resulting fall. The remainder of that year is a blur.
In 2019 I suffered badly with sciatica. Walking was so painful I relied on the walker and did little driving because of the discomfort. It was a summer that previewed the ‘real’ lockdown.
In the fall I fell and broke my tailbone. And during the Christmas holidays I fell twice more hurting my shoulder and badly bruising my left side.
With the new year came all the news about this new virus they called Covid 19 for the year it was identified. Scary times, and yet my life changed little. I never ventured out that winter, as is my usual. The number of recent falls had me afraid of the ice and snow, and as I wasn’t driving in the dark my self imposed curfew decreased my opportunities for getting out and about.
The news of the pandemic was horrible. We seemed to be in a bubble for awhile, as it was slower to affect the rural areas than the crowded urban locations. Hospitals were over run, medical staff overburdened and discussions about measures to be taken, treatments to be used were frequently points of disagreement.
Businesses closed, people were out of work, and everyone was dealing with the isolation and the fear. I was retired, my income the same, and I had family to assist. It was their lives that were in upheaval. At least they were still working, but stressed with the responsibility of home schooling, child care and the well being of the family.
I was fortunate that local stores stepped up and offered home delivery. I had my groceries delivered, my medication too. I became an avid Amazon shopper so I was able to keep myself in craft supplies and reading materials.
And so was my life for these last few years. My MS, which had altered from relapsing remitting to progressive, continued to challenge me. I was using the walker 100% of the time and there were the usual challenges but I was managing, coping. For a time.
