I know I have physical limitations.

 

Sometimes:

I cannot pick up my cat.

I cannot carry the ceramic dog bowls.

I sit on the floor and cannot get up…

 

Let me preface by saying I climbed today after work. YAY! I rock-climbed after almost two months! Serious YAY!!!!

I climbed two climbs. I sat down to put my shoes on for the third climb and I got stuck. I could not roll over and get up. I tried to use a floor anchor to pull myself up and ended up doing a somersault. It was very comical.

Red flashing lights: MONICA! YOU ARE DONE FOR THE NIGHT. DO NOT CLIMB ANYMORE! STOP! STOP! STOP!

If I am stuck on the floor and cannot get up on my own I should not climb. For that matter, I should not do anything at all.

The best course of action was to stop.

Instead, I decided to hop on the climb that I knew was well out of my range for the night. I might have actually said: “What is the worst that can happen?”

 

…

 

I did not complete the climb and I tweaked my hip and knee.

Whoops.

My doctor, my friends, and my dad always tell me I should take better care of myself. I get in trouble with my doctor because I know what the consequences are.

 

I amaze myself. Generally, I am a very calculated person. I never do anything without reason.

I go through periods when I am more careful than usual:

I only take the infusion once a month. If I flare up I can only increase the prednisone. That is not an option.

Everyone is sick. I stay away from them. I cannot afford to get sick.

I am having trouble getting out of bed. Let me rest today and nap a lot.

Then

I go through periods when I do things I am not supposed to and I honestly have no good reason for it:

Maybe this time will be different.

Maybe I am daring my body to break down.

Maybe I am just angry.

 

When will I learn?

(Maybe I should start a “Dumb Sh*t Monica Does” Series…I definitely have enough material for that. Hah!)

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.