A pain in the....

PAINFUL. In a word, that is how I would describe my feet and legs. It's not something I talk about much (except with Laurie who gets the brunt of my complaints) - I prefer not to dwell on it, though it's part of my day to day existence. It's a strange paradox - I have neuropathy, very little feeling in my feet, except pain! They tingle all the time. I have a hard time telling hot from cold; my balance is affected by the neuropathy and by foot drop (my feet don't come back up after I take a step), so falling is always a possibility, and I must walk very slowly and deliberately. It takes tons of energy for me to be mobile because my gait is so awkward; just standing takes a lot of effort. The muscles in my legs and feet twitch constantly, which also uses a lot of my body's energy.

The pain is caused by nerve damage; nerve pain is one of the hardest to treat. Usually it's bearable, some days are worse than others (especially if I've been on my feet a lot), but chronic pain is a real pain in the arse! Holding depression at bay is ongoing; nurturing my passion for photography and music are a couple of positive ways I deal with it.

The children love to "help" me lift the lounge chair up. I have to guard against them grabbing my feet or stepping/jumping on them. It would not be pretty.

I'm finding it very PAINFUL not being able to keep up with commenting and replying these days. Between full-time school and now having seven (SEVEN!!) voice students, I am time- and energy-challenged. I'm not sure things will slow down this summer, but I can try to play some catch up on the weekends.

Adverbs and Adjectives challenge: PAINFUL