In The Now

Only once during my university career did I plan on returning to university at the end of the school year. That was my last year, and I ended up going to school through the summer as well. To my credit, there was only one year I didn’t return in the ensuing fall. That was my first year.

During one of the summers where I made a late decision to return – a painful back injury made me realize that I could not make a life-long career out of landscaping – I was in Lethbridge, securing a place to live. The good Dr. Yue had kindly supplied me with muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory pills after reassuring himself that my back was not broken. I had taken one of each of these pills, and I was in McDonald’s, eating lunch, when I found myself picking my face out of my fries. I don’t imagine it was all that dramatic, or even all that noticeable. Nobody came to my rescue, nobody came to my ridicule, nobody was even looking at me. All of this is prologue.

Last week, I put my back out once again, playing floor hockey. I went to Shopper’s to find some pain medication. The Double-B, my compatriot and fellow contractor suggested back-centric Tylenol. I figured that it was probably a good idea. After all, that’s what hurt. The quicker among you will have already put the puzzle pieces together. Yes, Back Relief Tylenol is laced with muscle relaxants. I will let the wise words of the Double-B stand for my demeanour: “Liam + Muscle relaxants = Closest thing to seeing Liam drunk.”

For myself, it felt like I was under water – not the suffocation, but the lethargy. I quickly made arrangements with my chiropractor and went home to sleep. Dr. Dan, my chiropractor, mentioned that I should always come in doped up, since normally I’m stiff and difficult to adjust. So now, I know. No more muscle relaxants unless I don’t have any immediate, or not-so-immediate plans.

Filed under: Output by Liam | Social tagging: Bikeman > drugs > Lethbridge > pain > Reminiscence > University