Stealing My Thunder

Last Wednesday, sometime before dawn broke, I awoke with a small pain on my right side. Not enough pain to keep me awake or get me out of bed to take pain killers. On the way to work, it got worse. Felt like the pain was moving around, couldn't figure out exactly what was hurting. I was talking to a friend at work about having a stitch on my side. She asked if the pain had moved. Yes, now my lower back was hurting instead. A look came across her face,"I was hoping you weren't going to say that." Her brother had appendicitis last year and knew that it was one of the signs.

Went to Doctor around noon. By then I had developed another symptom: my right leg kept going numb. I tried all the stretches I knew to see if it was just a vertebrae out of place, but nothing changed. For the first half of the drive I could barely feel my foot, which made driving interesting. Then the feeling came back, including a soreness from an old knee injury that I hadn't felt in over a year.

Her diagnoses: Costochondritis. My right rib, or rather what is around it, was swelling. She asked me if I had done something that might have caused it. Considering I was asleep when it first happened, I couldn't think of anything - from the last few days. I hadn't even walked any dogs that week. She said they don't really know what causes it.

I called my parents to let them know my latest injury. Spell it, Mum said. No. I actually couldn't. The doctor had only said it and I wrote it down as soon as possible. Hadn't googled it yet to see if I was even saying it right (I only mention this because of what you may read later).

I think I've had this before. A couple of years ago, I was in bed and rolled over on my right side. I thought I was laying on a wrinkle in the sheet or something. After trying to smooth it out a few times to no avail, I put my hand on my side. I could feel a rib sticking out. A vague soreness lasted for about a week and then went away (no health insurance then).

It was starting to feel better over the weekend, even though I now was walking dogs. I thought it was almost gone on Tuesday. But for some reason, after dinner on Tuesday, the pain started all over again.

Before leaving the office last night, I got on the Mariner's website (actually looking for traffic info, not scores, since I have to drive past the ball park). J.J., our fantastic relief pitcher, who I saw pitch when attending Opening Day, had a headline about being on the DL because of "a right rib inflammation" that happened Tuesday night. I was thunderstruck* to read this.

No way! I know fans sympathize with their team, depressed when they lose, tears of joy when they win big. But sympathy rib pains? At least he knows how his happened.

Some people walk in their sleep, some people even eat in their sleep. Have I occasionally been a major league relief pitcher in my sleep? And would that explain my tendencies to have Japanese relief pitchers as my favorite player on a team?



And does this make J.J. the celebrity for all of us costochondritis sufferers?

*only about two of you are going to get that reference.