Figment

imagine for a moment (as rod serling used to say) a 300 lbs. man lying on his stomach with pressure applied to his back while, at the same time, trying to breath.  it is a story of slight amusement mixed with pain and semi-suffocation.  you are entering the twilight zone.

indeed, i had to laugh a bit yesterday during my physical therapy treatment.  for 20 minutes, kelly applied with her hands various levels of pressure on my back.  focusing on the three 'hot spots', she was careful and yet it really, really hurt.  and as she pressed, i would blow out air. 

frequently she would ask me if the pain was too much.  all i could think of was, "stephen, stephen are you ok?" kinda of cpr annie facedown

 i told her to continue if she thought the pain was worth the subsequent relief.  afterwards, i sit up on the bed, lightheaded and drained.  i imagined what the relief would feel like in a few hours.  it was a misty water-colored image. 

then kelly escorted me to the traction room where she applied two strips of kenesio tape down the length of my spine.  of course, she noticed two strips of missing hair where donna had assisting me in pulling of the first application of the tape.  imagine tire tracks in a field of grass!! 

and then...  20 minutes of gumby traction.

i came home to rest.  we were going to the play 'avenue q' and i was determined to see it!  the play was hilarious, all 150 minutes of it.  imagine puppets and people intermingling to create a story of finding one own's purpose.  my purpose for the evening was to stay focused even as i felt like one of the puppets with a rod up it's back.  i was tempted, slightly, to go onstage and play a role. 

the irony of fighting pain with ridiculous, hilarious images is fascinating.  but sometimes it works. 
rod serling...
cpr annie...
redford and streisand...
tire tracks on my back...
having a rod up my...  spine, being controlled by a puppeteer.

figment has helped me out many times.  figment, of course, is the tour guide through 'journey into imagination' at disney world.  i brought him home with me over 20 years ago in the guise of a stuffed animal.  although he is long gone from our home, he continues to remind me that just a figment of my imagination can get me through a rough time. 

sure would like to have my figment stuffed imaginimal back....