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I Am Too Busy To Exercise
“I am so sorry I am late,” I said breathlessly to my friend Ashley as I slid into the booth, “but how are you, my lovely friend?”
“Oh you know me,” Ashley said, as I flipped open the menu in front of me, “My doctor, yet again, rescheduled my MRI appointment, so this hip and knee pain is going to just be my every day until I get a god damn answer from a professional. I do not know how long I live like that, I am in so much pain.”
I, ever so carefully, while perusing the menu, avoiding Ashley’s gaze, asked, “Do you think there are any actions you can take, on your own, before the appointment with the doctor? Things which could perhaps help alleviate the pain temporarily even?”
The past few years have not been easy on Ashley and she has struggled with a strong bout of depression, transforming food and television into her daily therapy and solace. The hip and knee pain she is now plagued with was not a problem before her weight gain, but it was still a touchy subject to address the association of the two.
“What could I possibly do that could help?” Ashley fired back at me, frustrated with her pain and now frustrated me and with what she knew I was alluding to.
