A Cold in My Back…
What in the world is a cold doing in my back? and how did it get there? who knew this much pain could resonate from such a source?
Those were some of the fleeting thoughts I had at the end of October while I sat staring at my dear doctor as he explained to me that the excrutiating pain I was experiencing was NOT a pinched nerve or a herniated disc (praise GOD!!!). But that an infection had settled in the lower regions of my lower back and that was the culprit for the horrible weekend I had just endured.
On Tuesday October 17th, I came home from work and errands feeling completely crappy. Like I was suffering from more than a cold, since my hair even hurt, which only happens when I have the stupid flu. But I thought my back pains were from stress, since I was already overwhelmingly busy with helping my friend Jodi with her Florida wedding plans, planning a fun and interactive activity for the Zion Chapel women’s weekend retreat, preparing for a Gold Canyon Candle party, and organizing my life so I could leave for our Florida trip the following weekend. Of course I thought I was stressed!
But when I woke up Wednesday morning and felt like I had been run over by a Mack truck I knew something more serious was happening. In my simple, non-medically trained mind, I just thought, “Oh man, I have the flu, not a stinky cold.” and so I treated myself with OTC medicines designed to relieve flu symptoms. It helped some, but I still felt pretty bad. and then the pains in my lower back worsened. “Hmmm…what is going on?” I never thought the two issues were related.
So on Friday morning, after taking over an hour to get ready, I slowly walked to the garage to get into the car so that I could drive myself to our chiropractor friend, Adam. I could not even get my whole body in the car! It hurt so bad, and I was so upset, that I called Jon, who was still getting ready in the house, to come outside to help me. He wasn’t even fully dressed, but he came to my rescue and helped get me into the Explorer so that he could take me to Adam. I hurt something fierce. and then Adam made some rough adjustments, but he couldn’t get a good “set” so he sent me home to ice my back, not nice when you’re suffering from the chills anyway, and had me come back later that evening. (He also wondered how I ended up this way, since my pains resembled those of a factory-line worker or someone who does strenuous manual labor). Adam got a better set the second time, since some of the swelling had gone down, but I was still pretty miserable Friday night.
Saturday was even worse! I could not walk at all. so I had to drag myself around the house to get from the living room (where I had camped out 2 nights previous since our sofa is lower than our bed) to the guest bathroom. Hoisting myself to use the potty was painful, sitting was painful, falling off the sofa was painful. Everything was painful. and that was just the physical activities required to exist. Coughing and sneezing felt like someone was trying to rip my spine out. By 4 pm that day I was ready to go the emergency room. It had to be my discs, it just had to be something that dramatic for me to be in such a sorry state. We called our on-call doctor’s office to find out what he recommended, and rather than rush me to the hospital (which I was pretty sure was my destination), the on-call dr offered to write a script for Vicodin to get me through the pain until Monday morning when I could get in the office to see our regular dr. The super-powerful drug combo of acetaminophen and hydrocodone should have alleviated my pains. After all, I was taking a fairly good amount of potent narcotic pain reliever, but the pains still racked my body.
So on Sunday, I called the on-call dr back, after speaking with Adam, and got another script for Flexeril. A muscle relaxant designed to block the nerve impulses to the brain. This drug helped. The spasms I kept having were less excrutiating for me, though on occasion I felt a twinge of one. And by taking the two drugs, I was able to sleep through the night. Also, on Sunday, because of the drugs, I was finally able to walk and not take 1 hour to go 15 feet on my hands and knees. and I was able to shower. Sweet, clean relief! That was the best shower I had taken in a long time…
So Monday morning rolls around, and I slowly begin getting ready to go to see my doctor. He looks at my nasal passages, touches my back and hears all my symptoms. Ah, yes, it’s something called “a cold in your back.” So this rotten infection found its way into the recesses of my muscles near my sacrum & coccyx (tailbone) areas and decided to make itself at home. I had just learned that this was my worst cold ever… and I never wanted to experience this again.
The rest of my week was still spent on my back, recovering from all the pain and trying to stay in a zombified mode, with all the drugs floating in my system: antiobiotics to clear the infection, along with my new pals, vicodin & flexeril. It wasn’t until I learned I was just sick and not broken, that I called my dear friend Jodi to tell her that I could almost miss her wedding, if I did not get better. That’s something no friend ever wants to tell a bride, especially if you’re the matron of honor. “by the way, I can’t make it to your wedding in 2 weeks because I’m flat on my back and doped up.” Praise God for His mercies and general healings.
Although we left Indiana on Tuesday night instead of the previous Friday liked planned, I survived the long 15 1/2 drive to Pensacola to stand beside one of my best friends as she married the man God had picked for her (that’s another post). and I learned that driving for 5-6 hours on vicodin on not-too-busy interstates in the middle of the night without getting sleepy is possible.
The week after our trip was more recovery time for me, as I could still not sit for long periods of time. and I have re-visited my doctor and Adam upon returning, and both are satisfied with my recovery. However, with my back muscles having been tight and contracted for so long, I am still enduring some pain here and there. Today it is here…but on Monday, I have an appointment with a highly-recommended massage therapist named Karen. so hopefully, I will be back to normal physically…
oh, and a great big shout out to all of you who prayed for me during this painful episode. Although I was not immediately healed, I know that the Lord did a deep work in my heart and mind, as I waited on Him. and big hugs to Beth Stutzman – your chicken soup and rolls were amazing and just what I needed!!!
Did I mention this all happened right around the time I should have been celebrating my 31st birthday?
