I wrote this before the first of the month and then fell into an emotional hole. After thoughtful conversation with Celia from FigJamandLimeCordial.com we asked Liz Posmyk from BizzyLizzysGoodThings.com if she would take over In My Kitchen. She said yes! I loved doing it but as you’ll read, I need to concentrate on getting well.

Many of my wonderful friends know that I’ve been dealing with back pain and I stuck with a doctor who apparently didn’t believe me. I complained of a new stabbing pain in my back and she sent me for an x-ray. X-rays don’t tell much other than a broken vertebrae but she sent me anyway. They were looking along my spine for damage and didn’t find any.

The doctor sent a message that said, “X-ray is all clear, there’s nothing wrong with your back,” and I cried.  All the years of pain and frustration with no real relief and she’s telling me I’m making it all up? I was disgusted and angry and I got a new doctor.

I won’t bore you with all the details but I have a broken rib but that’s not all. I have a diagnosis for all the pain!

The CT scan shows I have D.I.S.H.  which is Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis. It means my ligaments are turning to bone. Its a subset of osteoarthritis and there’s no cure.  Gross, I know but how cool to finally know what’s been causing the problem. New doctor has also given me drugs and I’m beginning to be able to move around a lot better. More importantly, I have a doctor who understands the condition and will work with me to sort it out.

I’ve been staying in the house because I’m so afraid that the pain will be so bad that I won’t make it back to the car. Nuts, I know.

I need to reduce stress so I’m going to stay away from blogging for a bit more. I stress when I don’t visit all the blogs I love and I stress that my blog posts aren’t good enough and I mostly stress over social media that for me meant I had to start at 7am and not quit until midnight. With this new situation, I can’t work like that any more.

I will still blog when I have something fantastic to share and I’ll visit blogs when I can sit but mostly I’m going to walk with the dog, go swimming and maybe read a few books outside under a tree. For the first time in my life, I’m putting me first. It’s different and I’m not sure I can do it but I’m going to give it a go.

Not much in my kitchen because I don’t go out much and hopefully that will change.

Thanks for being my friend and please visit all the In My Kitchen blogs when you can? It’s a great thing to see what’s going on in other kitchens around the world.