Saturday, March 24, 2007

Typhoid Shots, Rotator Cuffs And Costa Rica


On Thursday I had an x-ray of my left shoulder to see if I had any bone problems because it hurts like hell. Yesterday I had a typhoid shot in my right arm. Now both my arms hurt and I feel rather wiped out by the vaccination. It's for our trip to Costa Rica. On Monday I'm going to get a cortisone shot for my rotator cuff injury. So I guess this means my pitching days are over. Right now I can't swing a golf club, lift anything heavier than a coffee cup and sometimes can't lift my left arm at all. Hopefully the cortisone shot will help. I think the villain in all of this is yoga. I was having pain in my left shoulder during some poses but just kept on doing them. I think the "no pain, no gain" way of exercising is seriously outdated. I don't want to be miserable in Costa Rica.
I had to visit International Travel at Kaiser to get the vaccination. They also gave me pages and pages of all the terrible things that can happen to one in Costa Rica. I also got malaria pills and Cipro, an antibiotic for bacterial diarrhea. I also bought a time release mosquito repellent and sun screen. I told the nurse that I had been to Costa Rica ten years earlier and had not taken any of these precautions. She smiled and said, "You were lucky." I'm ten years older than I was on that last trip so I guess that's why I'm taking more precautions. I have to start the malaria pills one week before I will enter a malaria zone; it's primarily along the Caribbean side of the country (we are going there) and in the northwest in Guanacaste. So I will take my first pill on Wednesday. I have to take them for four weeks after I get back to make sure I didn't get bitten. I'm hoping this means that I will be able to donate platelets. I got there on Monday so will ask.
We are having a very lazy day. Kerry just went to take a nap and I'm headed there as soon as I finish this post. We are going to a wine dinner tonight at our favorite place in Lincoln, Lafayette Produce Market. About once a month they do these dinners for members of their wine club. We belong; the wine club membership was free. So tonight we will have some wonderful food paired with interesting local wines. I need to nap so I feel up to going.

4 comments:

dykewife said...

ibuprofen=friend! i get bursitis in my right shoulder and that stuff is a goddess send. you could also try the otc once or twice a day pain pills too.

Anonymous said...

my goodness you sound miserable.
I hope you rest. That's probably the best thing...
How long will you be in Costa Rica?
Sounds wonderful as long as you're feeling better.
:)

Anonymous said...

On a positive note: It's a good thing you can still lift your coffee cup.
:)

RetiredEE said...

Good golly, sounds like a lot of pain for your trip. I bet you'll have a great time. Since you can hold your coffee cup, I bet you'll have no problems with your wine glass.

;)