Attack of the Bad Back

On Thursday, my beloved wife Consuelo succumbed to the wheedling of our 9 year old daughter and began to move her into a new, larger bedroom. She schlepped a heavy old bed about 20 feet from one room to the other. When I got home, her back was feeling achy. By Friday morning, she was crippled up with back spasms - walking was out of the question; she had to crawl on all fours to get to the dang bathroom. She was in terrific pain.

I wanted to carry her, but she would have none of that. She was like a wounded animal - best to keep your distance. We visited her doctor, who prescribed Valium. On Saturday, Connie's back was worse. We went to the emergency room and she received an IV of valium and other goodies. She went from miserable to buzzed in 10 seconds. The drugs allowed her to function. Since Connie had a gallery opening on Friday night, she was determined to be on her feet, schmoozing with the guests. We had about 300 people at the show in our home-based gallery on Friday, and my wife, the gallery queen, made the scene - back spasms be damned. She curated a one-person show of Anne Ponce's work. It was a smash hit - we sold some paintings and had loads of fun with many good folks. But on Sunday, Connie paid the piper.

Flat on the back all day Sunday, still crippled up today - mi esposa esta infirma. I am "on call." We are heading to the physical therapist tomorrow. This, too, shall pass. It is hard to see my wife in such pain. Moral - don't take your back for granted.