It Was Bound to Happen

I don't think it's my age; I mean, the signs on those thrill rides don't say, "You should not ride if you are over forty," do they? No, it's all about heart conditions and pregnancy and height and pre-existing back and neck pain and . . . oh. Wait a minute. I do have pre-existing back and neck pain.

I wish I could laugh a little more about this or joke that I'm simply getting old, but I don't really feel like laughing right now. I am in agony right now and while I can't pinpoint the cause of my pain like I could the first time I ever experienced true whiplash (thank you, Shockwave), I have every reason to believe I rode one or more rollercoasters one too many times, or rode a ride that I really should have abstained from. Runaway Mountain? Tony Hawk's Big Spin? La Vibora? Which one could it have been?

I am inclined to let Runaway Mountain off the hook because even though it's super-fast and whips you around pretty good, it's also s-m-o-o-t-h as butter and I don't remember feeling all that jarred on it. So that leaves the Big Spin and the "Bobsled" (seriously, does anyone call it La Vibora?) and I suppose either of those could have been the culprit. The weird thing is, when I suffered whiplash on the Shockwave I obviously knew the moment I was done for, but the torment I am suffering now did not manifest itself until yesterday. And yesterday was child's play compared to today! It's such a cliche but all I can think to say is, "Oh, my achin' back!"

I called my brother, who has back problems himself and literally does "feel my pain," and he told me which medicines I can safely mix and which ones to go easy on. So I popped a few pills and I actually remember at one point thinking, "Hey, I think my back is feeling a little better!" A while later the pain returned in earnest and I thought perhaps it was time for another round of pills, so I checked the clock and not even an hour had passed.

It's going to be a looooonnnnng day.