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It's no secret that I have some medical issues that I deal with on an ongoing basis. (It's been great blog fodder!)

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in things that are wrong with me — medicines I have to take, lifestyle changes I have to make, things I can or can not do, and so on — that I start to feel like a weirdo.  Times like this I remember that … well, I won't spill your beans for you. Suffice it to say, everyone in my immediate family — and probably everyone I know well enough to know these sorts of intimate details about — has some medical jibba-jabba going on in their life. (The more publicly known ones being: heart condition, sleep problems, titanium rod inserted in leg, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…)

Today I had one of those moments, followed by the above thought. Is everyone screwed up?  (I think it may be yes.)  Do we all have something going on that we may or may not put out there for the world to see?  Is anyone normal, any more?  Ok, anyone over the age of 18, let's say… young people are so resiliant.  I should know, I was one.

I'm not asking you to out yourself… but if you could just chime in and say, "Yup!  Everyone I know is screwed up too!" that might make me feel a little better.

At some point during the day yesterday, my left shoulder started bothering me. Unfortunately, I don't think there was a single catalyzing event so it's not easy to pinpoint when the pain started or what might be causing it. Of course my first thought, short of a bump or strain that caused it would be that it is a side effect of my Ankylosing Spondylitis.

I would compare the pain to what I was feeling in my right hip in the weeks and months leading up to my first visit to Dr. R's office and my A.S. diagnosis — it's very similar. I'm not sure if I've blogged about this before — I'm not finding any entries that I can link to, at least… but I did find out that I started Remicade around August of 2007, so I'm coming up on 2 years of treatment. Time flies!

So what does this pain feel like? Before I started Remicade treatments, my hip was in pretty bad shape. I couldn't even walk normally without a limp, let alone walk up a flight of stairs. Drying my right leg off after a shower was a challenge. It was starting to affect my life in profound ways. Some doctors thought I might have Sciatica. I later found out that I was taking enough Tylenol to kill someone and was lucky that I hadn't hurt myself. (My doctor literally asked me, "Are you trying to kill yourself?" when I told him how much I was taking!)

My shoulder feels very close to the same right now. For the most part, if I use my right arm to move my left arm, I have the full range of motion with almost no pain; but as soon as I try to lift my left arm under its own power or use it for simple things like turning the faucet on or turning my steering wheel, the pain takes over and I'm physically unable to complete the task with that arm. I feel lucky to be right handed — but at the same time, that may be why it's my left shoulder that's hurting, because the right one gets used more as the dominant arm. I'm also thankful that my job doesn't require heavy lifting or anything else that would be troublesome. I can sit and type all day and completely forget that my shoulder hurts.

I am definitely going to seek medical attention if this doesn't go away after another day or two. I used a heating pad yesterday evening and again this morning to help take the edge off, but just like with my hip, nothing seems to make a substantial improvement, even for an hour. I've taken (the regular dose!) of tylenol twice now (in 24 hours!) in hopes that it helps, or even just for a placebo effect… Here's hoping that happens.

I figured I should write these thoughts down so that I have some semi-organized information if and when I do have to talk to my doctor about it.

I checked with my doctor, to be sure, and he confirmed it: I can't give blood. It also doesn't help that I was a military dependent living in Portugal for more than 6 months during the 80s. As this discussion gets into, I'm keeping myself on the list so that whatever usable parts there are can benefit someone, somewhere, somewhen. Megan and I have also had some fairly in-depth discussions about our posthumous preferences, so while it may not be clear what the best possible choice is, at least I'll have some influence on it.

Recently I had been thinking I would like to donate blood regularly, since it's easy, can save lives, and I like cookies and juice. There's also usually a shortage of blood supplies during the summer while students are away from school — I guess they donate a lot.

It saddens me that I can't do my part. It makes me sadder still that there are children who need blood of my type that I phsyically can not provide for them. I hope Dylan never needs extra blood, but if for some reason he does one day, I hope that generous and thoughtful people have donated enough that he gets what he needs.

So I'm proposing something a little different. Maybe there is something you can't do because of a medical condition or disability — thinking along the lines of volunteering time or donating goods and services — that you would otherwise be doing to the fullest extent of your capability.

Let's trade.

I'll do your good deed, and you can do mine. I'm hoping that by doing this, you can help me do something that's important to me (increasing supplies at blood banks), and I can help you do something that's important to you, whatever that might be. I'll even trade you pictures — of me doing your good deed, and you giving blood — if you like.

What do you think? Any takers?