A Pain in the ...Back Pt.2

Leap ahead in time to ten years ago. Mother's day. A beautiful spring day with farmers out planting. I, being the Good Wife, decide to ride along for a bit in the tractor. For those of you who haven't ever been exposed to the rural way of life, riding in a tractor with no passenger seat is like parking your backside on your car's armrest while someone else drives the car. Just about as much room, and just about as much to hold onto. Hubby happened to hit some rough ground and I was jostled quite heavily while being twisted sideways. This is not a proven fact, it's just the only thing I could come up with after the fact.

The next day I woke with a stiff neck. You know, you can look one way but not the other without searing pain going down your spine? Two days after that, my left arm was in excrutiating pain (my spelling leaves something to be desired.). The only way it wouldn't hurt, is if I held it across my body and supported it with my other arm. Being as I use computers for a living, this isn't a good posture.

Having had such luck with my former chiropractic experience, I decided to first see the medical doctor, but not to wait so long to see the chiro. Medical doctor had no sympathy with the fact that I couldn't lay in bed, (at this time) hadn't slept in three days, and couldn't get comfortable. Chiro took x-rays, did tests, and gave me a treatment. Then said I needed to come in three to four times a day at first. He didn't see anything on the x-ray, but figured it was something out of alignment putting pressure on a nerve.

I went to the chiro - even weekends. Three to four times a day. He would pop my neck and say, "Now, that's better, isn't it". After I felt like my head was going to come off of my shoulders, I would say, no... not really. We did this dance for three weeks. Talked to my medical doc who happens to be chiro friendly. He recommended another one who had a different technique.

Tests, x-rays, whatnot. Now we try traction and roller bars and getting 'pinged"... I don't know what the hell that is all about, but it's really stupid when you do it. No luck.

Last hope... the doctor sends me to get an MRI. What do you know? I have a herniated disk in my neck. One that no one ever saw on any x-ray and which had been getting yanked and popped and cracked and twisted and all the other lovely names you want to call it... I called it PAIN.

Surgery. Came out of surgery. Went home two hours later. Never felt better. Sure, I had surgery pain, but after what I'd just been through, that wasn't anything! I have a scar to remind me that I really need to be selective about my medical care from now on.

To be continued...