It’s Sunday, 11th January, and my right leg has decided it doesn’t really want to cooperate. A bad leg day. These happen sometimes. It is difficult to say something exciting about such days. It is simply a case of making the best of things.
What Is a Bad Leg?
I wrote that and immediately thought, what a stupid question! But, actually, I should explain what bad is. It is not like I am totally immobile. But there is the feeling that my right leg just wants to buckle, as though the knee is suddenly made of rubber. I can walk, albeit very slowly. I can stand up. But anything active is not sensible. Cycling, walking. Not sensible.
What brought this on is not clear. I have actually been pushing quite hard on my indoor trainer, managing fifty and thirty-eight kilometres over the last couple of days. After these rides, I was able to walk fairly well around the house. Because of the snow, or more the ice, I have not done much walking and did not go to physio on Friday but kept active. Perhaps overdone it? Bad diet?
Just unpredictable, classic MS.
Making the Most of the Day
This is not something new. I have written of a day of nothing before. The change is that I am actually trying to see these days as more of an opportunity than in the recent past. Last year I was getting used to the ‘new’ hobbies I have. Now those hobbies are more embedded, so to speak.
So, for today, I will finish a painting. The tulips I have already blogged about. A little work to finish them. I am perhaps getting a little more thorough when it comes to painting, ongoing development. There will be reading. There will also just be sitting in the extension and watching birds take advantage of the feeders we have set. The snow is hard work for them. I see a lot of Blackbirds, Great Tits, Robins, Dunnocks, and even Long-tailed Tits sometimes. More last week.
The background will be music, and I will probably explore some different artists or suggested playlists from friends. Exploring without moving. Later we will watch a Netflix series and then I will cook an easy evening meal, a nice excuse to look through my cookbooks. The epitome of a quietly full, slow Sunday.
The New Reality
Full perhaps, but also fairly passive. That passivity can be difficult to accept, as Bad Leg Days limit the choice of what I can do. I would really like to go for a walk, or stumble. It is just not sensible. Any form of cycling is also not wise, indoor or out. My leg will hopefully be better tomorrow or perhaps even later today. And I will enjoy what I get up to.
Enforced restriction, though, will never be easy to deal with. It will get worse, over time. More bad leg days will be on the horizon. It is difficult to keep positive about this. I will just keep trying to distract myself. Keep my mind moving, even if my legs are not cooperating.
I should say that I can normally push through such days, using either my walking stick or less support. The problem today is ice, especially at the end of the street where we live which is not gritted and is very slippery. Difficult enough without any leg issues!