Getting All Those “To Dos” Done

“That's the thing about pain.... It demands to be felt.”

John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

I have things I want to do and today I am going to try to do some of them – sewing, watering flowers, grocery shopping, and straightening up certain areas of the house.  This will be a slow process, but I think I can get a few items checked off the to-do list. My project manager’s mindset and RA are definitely at odds with one another as I try to navigate my to-do list while the RA gets in the way.  Guess RA isn’t a risk in my personal project plan – dealing with RA is a certainty for the rest of my days. That makes it a 100% kind of a risk, too funny. A good friend of mine has always said there are only two types of risk – those that happen and those that do not. Boy, was he right. (Thank you, Phil!)

Wow, this coming week is my sixth week of pleurisy and respiratory issues.  That is way too long to feel so bad.  Combine the past five weeks and an extra week before when the shingles struck and that equals no fun so far this summer. Ever so slowly, the lungs are clearing up.  The smoke from the Nederland-area wildfire here in Colorado kept me up last night. That was expected, so I had a new book ready for reading. I read the whole book, too, which was actually enjoyable.  The more I read, the faster I get at reading.  I need to rejoin the library before this gets too expensive. In any case, it is nice to see these lung-related symptoms disappear, and the sooner the better.

The bigger issue is the doctor-induced RA flare that I am experiencing, ouch. There are three more weeks until my first Rituxan infusion. I am definitely counting down during this Remicade to Rituxan transition.  And as I approach my birthday this week, I feel like I am 150 years old with all these aches and pains.  It is very discouraging to wake up in the morning and be really hurting.  My expectation is that sleep is restorative, but that does not seem to be the case with rheumatoid disease. Looks like sleep obsession may also be a common issue for RA patients. Ho hum, too many things to think about, isn’t it?

Interestingly enough, I am feeling pretty upbeat about everything in spite of the pain and the shortness of breath. Must be that glass half full thing going on.  Tomorrow should be a fun day.  I am getting “sprung” from the house by two girlfriends for lunch and have a date in the evening with a handsome man.  Who could ask for anything more?

Here’s hoping tomorrow is an exceptionally good day!

Susan