Update

If there was any doubt that new prescription was at the root of my latest setback, it was quickly quelled. Within twenty-four hours of discontinuing the use of this drug the pain in my shoulders and upper arms subsided. It has taken longer for the remaining symptoms to stop but I seem to be making a little progress each day.

At first I didn't realize how much of what I was experiencing was caused by the prescription. The pain in my shoulders and arms was the most obvious but turned out to be just the beginning. Only as each day passes and I am not back to where I was before those meds are all the effects becoming clear.

I finally was able to see my doctor. He says  the drug should be cleared from my body at this point but I am still experiencing symptoms.  They appear to be in diminishing amounts but he thinks its possible I'm reacting to the other new prescription too so at this point I don't know what to think.

Currently I am having continued muscle weakness, sporadic muscle spasms, intermittent sleep, loss of the little stamina I had and sometimes some foggy thinking. The latter has been particularly frightening.

While it's frustrating to feel worse right now than I did exactly one year ago today, it is good to know that I am on the other side of the third surgery and its complications. To stay positive I try to remind myself where things went later in the month and where I have come since then.

Through all of this not a single day goes by that I don't think about the impact my health has had on my dream. I have to remind myself the horses don't care about all the things I worry about. They are happy and healthy and glad to see me even if I am not putting in those long days I used to do.   A pat or a kiss is as good as a workout to them.

It does my heart good to see the expressions of each as I approach them and it's healing to be able to lay my hands on every horse I own all within the same day even if just for a moment and even if I only have the strength now and then. This setback may have slowed me down but it isn't going to stop me of that I am sure even if I don't know when I will be back up to speed.