How did you deal with your diagnosis? Share with us your thoughts in the comments!
My story, I believe, starts when I was in my early 30’s and I started feeling weakness in my lower extremities to the point that I lost control of my bladder and bowel movements, and I couldn’t feel my body from my waist down.
I will never forget the day I walked into the ER on February 23rd, 2009. Within 2 hours I was admitted, I was under so much control that they were even concerned about me sneezing or throwing up or coughing because any drastic or hard movement of my neck or body could have easily snapped my spinal cord.
Read more: I Am Dealing with Chronic Pain because of My Broken Back
They have said back then that my spinal cord was being compressed by my thoracic spine to the extreme that anything, especially any hard movement could easily break it.
At that point, we were waiting for an OR to become available and I was put on a neck brace and flat on my back. The following day at 7:15 am I was having surgery by whom I call my Angel doctor and whom I love, trust and I pray every day for God to protect him because I still need him.
Read more: Living with Chronic Pain
I had my first back surgery which was a procedure that lasted for 11 hours and 18 minutes from the beginning to the end. When we went in we didn’t know what was going to happen knowing that my spinal cord could have easily snapped at any second, have permanent damage and I could have ended paralyzed, etc.
Thank God and my orthopedic surgeon, after two days I was removed from my ventilator and woken up from an induced coma to heal. I was talking and blessed to hear and see my husband. I started to cry, and he started to tell me what day it was, what happened and how the surgery come out and everything.
Read more: My Life with Chronic Pain
Since then, of course, there was some neurological damage which developed chronic pain and I have been fighting it the past 9 years. Also, I had 2 more back surgeries, so I have a total of 3 back surgeries and every day is a struggle.
