Sunday, December 31, 2017

Trials!!!

Trials come in many shapes and sizes and what may be a trial for one person may not be for another. I have not written about this but feel like it is time for me to share my journey over the past two years.

In May of 2015 I completed my first Ironman. I was in the best physical shape I have ever been in. I decided to race in Austin 70.3 (August 2015) and even though I had a slower time I still finished ranked higher in my age group than any other race. In February 2016, I decided to run the Cowtown 5K and Half marathon the next day I actually finished in the top 20 in the 5K which I was happy with. During the half my right leg went numb.This scared me as I have had back problems in the past. I have have two microdiscetomies with the last one being in January 2003. My neurosurgeon back then said if I ever needed a third surgery I would require a fusion. I have tried really hard to take care of my back since that conversation. I had friends coming in town in March 2016 to run the Rock n Roll half marathon. I had not been running since February and was hitting my back exercises pretty hard. The numbness in my leg would come and go. I decided to run with my friends. Probably not my wisest decision.

The numbness and pain in my butt was increasing so I finally went to the doctor in July. He informed me that I needed a fusion from L4 - S1. All I could do was cry. He informed me this was a 4 hour surgery with a couple of days in the hospital, and a long recovery. How was I supposed to do that with a 5 and 7 year old. I have a friend who is a Physical Therapist Assistant and I emailed her because I felt so uneasy about having this surgery. I had it scheduled for November so my husband could be around and the holidays would be here to have help at home. My friend suggested I come in and get an evaluation from her boss. I did this and she said she did not think I needed a fusion and that I needed to get a second opinion.

I began physical therapy in September 2016. My leg was still numb and I could no longer raise up on my toes. I also got a second opinion which showed I had a cyst on my L5-S1 nerve root. The new neurosurgeon suggested I go to a pain management doctor. I did this and he suggested I get a steroid injection. I had this scheduled for December until I found out how much it cost. I pushed it back to January 2017.

The first steroid injection did not do much for me so I went in for a second injection in February. While in there this time he was going to try to burst the cyst. He felt that he was successful in doing this, and I did start getting sensation back in my leg.

Once the pressure was taken off my back, my ankle started to hurt. It had been swollen for years but had not bothered me until now. I went to the orthopedic and I have a bone spur that is separating the peroneal tendon. I was placed in a boot for 4 weeks. This all took place in March.

I went back to my neurosurgeon for a follow up and he wanted me to have a myelogram. I had this done in April and they struggled to get it done. Every time they put the lidocaine in my back it siezed up. After laying in the hospital for 6 hours after the procedure they sat me up and I had the worst headache of my life. I thought it would go away and by Monday I was throwing up every time I sat up. I went to the ER on Monday to have a blood patch done. It took the headache away but I felt like I had just had back surgery my lower back hurt so bad. I spent a full week just laying in bed.

In May, I started getting really tired all the time. I would get 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night and still take a 1 - 2 hour nap every day. I had no energy, was lethargic, and was getting very frustrated about it. I started taking supplements which helped some but didn't take care of everything. I started having blood work done but everything came back negative.

The summer was not too bad the pain I had now was in my right quad. I felt like it might be more my hip that was the problem then my back. When I went in to be re-evaluated for my back my right hip was extremely tight so we started working on it.

On October 9th, I had just finished working and was yawning and my jaw popped. It was horrible pain I couldn't sleep, or eat. My dentist just prescribed 5 weeks of steroids which I didn't want to go on, pain meds and muscle relaxers. Who knew physical therapist worked on jaws as well. It turns out I displaced the disc in my jaw on the right side. Every ache and pain I have is on the right side.

I have tried to remain positive through all of this. It is hard sometimes. Living in chronic pain is difficult. I read a book a long time ago called "You gotta keep Dancin" by Tim Hansel. I started reading it again because this really is about attitude. I have had to apologize to my husband more times than I would like to admit because I have not always been the nicest person to him through all this.

Everyone may not know the physical pain I have been in the past two years and I know there are others out there who hurt much more than I do. But I have to remember this. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

As I said everything has affected my right side which only leads me to believe that I am unbalanced. As 2017 ends and 2018 begins I am focusing on becoming more balanced in all areas of my life.