Beginnings

This blog is the result of my own need to journalize my experiences in order to cope with them, and the hope that perhaps my ability to voice these things will help others who struggle to express the same feelings, or help their families better understand what their loved ones are enduring.  And maybe just bring a little hope to people who are struggling to find the bright side in dark situations.

It all started with a little bit of back pain, back in the early spring of 2010.  The pain felt like a muscle spasm, a tightness and aching in the center of my shoulder blades that seemed to radiate out to my left shoulder.  As the pain got worse, other symptoms appeared such as electrical tingles in my shoulder, burning/itching/stinging sensations in my underarm area, and increasing difficulty with lifting.  It began to be too painful to lay down flat, and after weeks of restless struggling to sleep laying down in bed in constant pain, I finally gave up and started sleeping upright on the couch recliner.  I was seeing my general practitioner for pain management and inflammation meds, plus seeing my chiropractor and massage therapist monthly and then every couple of weeks to try to manage what we all thought was a severe muscle spasm that probably pinched a nerve in my back.  

When it became clear that all our combined efforts were barely making it possible for me to tolerate the pain but not relieving the underlying causes of it, I went back to my general practitioner to ask what else we could do to identify and truly correct my problem, and it was decided that x-rays would be the way to start.  Thus began our journey of frightening discoveries.