I slept last night! It wasn’t exactly well or pretty, pain-free or enough, but there was actual sleep.
I fell asleep quickly sometime around midnight and was able to sleep on my side without immediate pain. Around 5:00 the pain woke me up and changing positions only resulted in more pain, so I got out of bed and moved to the living room. I tried reclining with an ice pack, but the pain was too intense to stay in that position. Standing would bring about an immediate decrease in pain; however, there is a significant amount of numbness in my left foot. The intensity of the numbness fluctuates but is always present, which makes standing and walking feel weird even though my butt feels better for it.
Some pain relief was achieved by laying on the floor with my left leg pretzeled over the right leg again, and this time I was also able to sleep in that position until roughly 7:00, with a couple of brief standing breaks when my legs needed a change. At 7, after a bit more standing and walking, I crawled back into my bed with the hope that I could maybe get a bit more sleep. I laid on my side and felt the stirrings of pain, but it stayed moderate enough to allow me another hour of sleep before going full blown again.
As I type I am reclining with an ice pack under my butt…and I’m squirming more than a toddler in church. My ability to lie down in any position comes with an unpredictable time limit. When the buzzer goes, the pain flashes into white hot flames until I stand up. I need to stand up. Right now!