Double Whammy Not So Bad (For us)

Talk about the luck of the Irish, once again we avoided being struck head-on by a powerful storm, Marco.  It moved to the west of us before landfall.  

And this morning it is becoming increasingly likely that Hurricane Laura will land well to the west of us.  

I'm sure we will get some really wet rain for a day or two, but that's about it.  

So what to do during a 'no-show-hurricane' after we took all the necessary 'securing and shoring-up' steps?  Build something is one option.  The other option is to pressure wash the driveway.  Or just sit back and wait for the official 'all clear' signal.  I'll need more rum for that.

Even though we lucked out on this scare, there's always another one trying to form up and deliver its message that we didn't do enough.

But for now, no more worrying about Marco and Laura (but keep a good eye on Laura).

Double Whammy

The next time someone asks me when was the last time two hurricanes were in the Gulf of Mexico at the same time, I can tell them it was in August of 2020.  And I was there.

Their names: Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Marco.  Both are just tropical storms now but expected to become Category 1 Hurricanes before landfall.

 The last time there were two at the same time was in the 1930's.  Yes, it's a rare event.

Even as I write, both storms are headed toward the Louisiana coastline with the projected landfall somewhere between New Orleans and Morgan City starting tomorrow  

We live just north of New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain and a few miles inland.   We are on high ground and do not plan to evacuate.  Even so, we'll be keeping an eye and an ear on the news.

Sciatica Nerve

The Sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body. It begins from nerve roots in the spinal cord in the low back and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down the lower limb.

Symptoms: Pain

That being said, if you've ever experienced it, you know you in for a painful few days.

Well, it snuck up on me once again.  It happened when I either reached, turned, bent over, twisted around, lifted something, set something down, belched, farted, or even sang the National Anthem.  When?  I don't know!  I seemed to have forgotten what I was doing to that point when I couldn't do anything but look for something to brace myself while I figured out what to do next.  The pain was excruciating.  And familiar.  I felt like cussing.

I finally collected myself enough to sit down and try to relax every muscle that suddenly went into "Cringe Mode."  Even when I tried to consciously make every muscle relax, some didn't want to.  They seemed to be fearful of what might happen to them if they relaxed, at least for the time being.  

Gradually, over a period of several minutes, I was resigning myself to the annoying fact that I had just strained my sciatic nerve once again and the best thing to do right then was nothing.  

As I sat in my recliner, in severe pain, I began to think of what I did to strain myself, and my sciatic nerve. My memory was blank.  It's funny how your mind simply won't answer your questions about what you were doing minutes ago.  No matter, it's done and no amount of recollection is going to fix it.  The focus now was to get through it as quickly and painlessly as possible.

So I took a hot shower and let the hot water hit the spots that hurt most.  It seemed to help if only for a moment or two.  

Two Tylenol tablets this time instead of just one.  Oh yeah - and apply some of that CBD salve I've been saving for situations like this.  Then to bed and eventually, glorious sleep.  

Three hours later, the pain was back.  Go vertical, slowly, gently, and apply more CBD salve.  Sit up a few minutes while the CBD takes effect.

Repeat.  

And so on until today - three days later.  I feel a lot better.  The pain is still there but doesn't dominate my mind.  I can actually think and do things, as long as they don't involve bending, turning, or lifting.  Tonight I should sleep soundly with the help of my two Tylenol tablets and my CBD salve.  (Note to file: buy more CBD Salve).

Don't plan tomorrow until tomorrow.