One step back

A vacation full of outdoor activities left me feeling great. Sunshine, hiking, paddle boarding, swimming, and relaxing all resulted in feeling strong enough that I considered going down to PT once a week.

Then I went back to work. After my first patient and her non-stop tantrums I was daydreaming of the lake. By my second patient, I was daydreaming of bed. The pressure and overuse on my back and fatigue in that left hamstring built more quickly than I even realized was possible. By today, at the end of a short 3-day workweek, I realize I am back in a cycle of muscle spasms making me feel weak on top of the pain. It certainly does not help that I had trouble sleeping all short-week and am physically and mentally exhausted. My PT wound up reducing my repetitions of exercises during today's session to preserve my energy for functioning the rest of the day, and she felt a huge increase in inflammation around my sacrum when she moved to manual work. 

So here I am again, nowhere near being strong enough to reduce my PT sessions and once again wondering how long my own career as a PT will truly last. And I love my work, tantrums and all. I receive the daily gift of helping children and their families achieve their mobility goals. For as draining as it can be physically and mentally, it is at least double that amount in emotional fulfillment. I wish I could do it forever. 

I also wish I could think of a witty ending for this post, but right about now all I can really think about is making it through my evening plans and collapsing in bed for the night.

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