Sometimes it lies - Microdiscectomy + 6

I was meant to be going to the theatre tonight. To see the sold out run of a revival of Chess the musical at the Union Theatre. I love that show. I was so looking forward to seeing it. When my operation was rescheduled from 5th Feb to 9th March it became clear that barring a miracle I wouldn't be able to go.

As luck would have it Sasha Regan, the founder of the Union Theatre was able to arrange for me to go 3 days before I was admitted to hospital. There are only 50 seats for each performance and with a lengthy waiting list it is clear that she performed the required miracle. I will be forever grateful to her, and I will certainly be returning to this hidden gem of a theatre.

But what if Sasha had not been able to pull a rabbit out of the hat? What then? I know myself too well. I feel good. I'm in a little pain sure. But by now (5.20pm) I would have convinced myself that with a tramadol or two down my neck I would be able to cope with 3 hours of travelling and a couple of hours at the theatre.

Maybe I would be able to cope, maybe I wouldn't. I'm glad I don't need to find out. Yesterday Jo (I have several Jos in my life - this is musical Jo) said to me that I need to listen to my body. My response was " I do. Problem is it mumbles, and sometimes it lies." Actually the truth is that I am liable to over-rule my body no matter what it says. It's not my body's fault. It just gets bullied by my emotions, impulses and thought processes and it's too weak to fight back against such a mob.

It tried telling me you see. For a long time it tried telling me that I had to look after my back. How many warnings does a guy need? Bouts of immobility would be forgotten as soon as I recovered. Well now it is sitting there and wincing a little as it says "I told you so."  Smug git.

Today
I walked to the doctor's today to deliver a note from Addenbrookes and to fix a couple of appointments. The round trip was roughly 2 miles and took approx 35 mins. Like yesterday my walking was more fluid by the end than at the start. I need to warm up my left leg in future though I think, as it struggles to extend fully early on in a walk.

Today's gratuitous wound pic

Boxset update
Errm I've not watched anything at the time of writing, though I think I will watch the first episode of 24 Season 1 on my laptop later. I did however watch a couple of films. The Muppets was great, goofy (albeit predictable) fun. There was plenty in it for longtime fans of the Muppets. Cameo spotting was enjoyable from Mickey Rooney to Rashida Jones :)

Later I watched Beginners. The film for which Christopher Plummer won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar. The film is good enough to stop me switching channels. But I didn't feel that I was watching an award winning film or any award winning performances. Plummer's was a good performance, but by no means a great one. Having seen all but one of the other contenders for that year's Oscar I can only imagine that the Academy was rewarding time served. For my money, Jonah Hill's performance in Moneyball was much more deserving of an Oscar.

So at the end of day 6: 

• Even with a 2 mile walk today the pain has been low. 2.5 at its peak
• No medication taken at the time of writing