Time for a new gig
I've been very blessed to do a job I really enjoy for the last 30 years. Granted, the fuel tank gig wasn't exactly my favorite thing, but I was always grateful to have the job. Lately, though, I've had the opportunity to reflect on a lot of things and in the examination of things that have gone wrong over the last four years, it seems to me that the wheels came off the tricycle shortly after I started at Hill field.
In just the last two years, this job is taking it's toll on the body. I've had bursitis in both elbows at the same time and now I'm laid up with the same thing in my knee. My right knee and ankle are a mess at any given time and still ache from past surgeries. By the time I get home from work, I can't hardly move some days. Those some days are getting more and more frequent.
Last night, I went to see the Dr. After reviewing my chart, she was convinced that I was having a gout attack. I haven't had too many of those since I dropped about 30 pounds so to confirm she ordered a blood test. Gout can cause pain like you wouldn't believe but the uric acid levels in my blood were normal. So we're back to bursitis. Compression she said, would help. I put my knee brace on last night at about three when I finally got to bed (the two-fer blog post for today). At seven, I got up and seriously could not get out of bed. Hello pain medication! I hate taking pain pills because of the side effects they have on me; one is nausea, the other one I prefer to keep to myself. The other drug the doc prescribed I can only take twice a day and it's not enough. This drug you can't mix with my old friend ibuprofen, so I get to live with a little bit of pain.
The job may not be a cause, but it's definitely a contributing factor to causing the bursitis. On my feet six days a week isn't helping. So I think it's honestly time to come face to face with the reality that it's getting to be too much. There are guys older than I am that do this job. I get that and I'm no sissy. But things are wearing out and all those years of being too fat and abusing the body are taking their toll.
Time to find something else to do, I think.
I still have a lot of talents and wrenching isn't the only option I have. But maybe it's time to start considering seriously something else. I don't feel that call to move away or anything but maybe there's a nice little GS-9 gig I can do somewhere. I know I can't keep this up too much longer.
In just the last two years, this job is taking it's toll on the body. I've had bursitis in both elbows at the same time and now I'm laid up with the same thing in my knee. My right knee and ankle are a mess at any given time and still ache from past surgeries. By the time I get home from work, I can't hardly move some days. Those some days are getting more and more frequent.
Last night, I went to see the Dr. After reviewing my chart, she was convinced that I was having a gout attack. I haven't had too many of those since I dropped about 30 pounds so to confirm she ordered a blood test. Gout can cause pain like you wouldn't believe but the uric acid levels in my blood were normal. So we're back to bursitis. Compression she said, would help. I put my knee brace on last night at about three when I finally got to bed (the two-fer blog post for today). At seven, I got up and seriously could not get out of bed. Hello pain medication! I hate taking pain pills because of the side effects they have on me; one is nausea, the other one I prefer to keep to myself. The other drug the doc prescribed I can only take twice a day and it's not enough. This drug you can't mix with my old friend ibuprofen, so I get to live with a little bit of pain.
The job may not be a cause, but it's definitely a contributing factor to causing the bursitis. On my feet six days a week isn't helping. So I think it's honestly time to come face to face with the reality that it's getting to be too much. There are guys older than I am that do this job. I get that and I'm no sissy. But things are wearing out and all those years of being too fat and abusing the body are taking their toll.
Time to find something else to do, I think.
I still have a lot of talents and wrenching isn't the only option I have. But maybe it's time to start considering seriously something else. I don't feel that call to move away or anything but maybe there's a nice little GS-9 gig I can do somewhere. I know I can't keep this up too much longer.
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