Took a little trip to the Colorado Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) yesterday with paperwork in hand from the doctor authorizing a
handicapped-parking placard for my car. Ugh.
I am not sure what was more upsetting – having the actual permit in hand
or realizing that now I have something more in common with my 83-year-old
dynamo of a mother since she has a handicapped parking permit, too.
Somehow this feels like a checkmark in the “lose” column to
me.
Acquiring this parking placard came about after a recent
trip to the mall and a very slow, breathless walk from the car into the mall
itself. This was a not unexpected experience as the pleurisy and its annoying
symptoms continue to hang around. When I visited my family practice doctor on
Monday for my “pleurisy checkup”, I mentioned this laborious walk into the
mall and how challenging it was to go from point A to point B when those points
are not that close together. End result: the completed and doctor-approved
application for this parking placard and my subsequent trip to the DMV.
Hopefully, there will be many good days and this placard
will not be necessary. I have to admit; on the bad days, being able to park
closer to my objective will be a wonderful thing. Admitting the need for
something like this is where it gets more complicated. Am I giving in to RA by
recognizing and acting upon these cyclical physical limitations? The grownup me
says “not at all” but the younger me says “loser!” I imagine this is a situation many RA science
experiments have found themselves in. How did you deal with it?
My first Rituxan infusion has resulted in much less
inflammation and pain, which is a big help. My second infusion is next Thursday
and I am hoping things will get even better still after that. The pleurisy’s
slow disappearance is really the bigger, ongoing issue. I still have some pain
on the right side and shortness of breath if I walk too fast or try to carry
something heavy. Perhaps the new parking placard will be used every now and
then versus used every day.
Here’s hoping tomorrow is another good day!
Susan
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