I’ve worked for over a year and
a half at a job where I was bending, lifting, stretching, schlepping, moving
and stacking and all was well. I was tired, but I could point to
why. I started my new job, a desk job, about 7 weeks ago. I come
in, I sit, I type, I sit, I eat, I sit…my back went out. Now, when I say
my back went out, I don’t mean a little backache that two Advil will vanish.
No, I mean a backache where movement is impossible.
Friday morning I woke up, after
struggling with minor to medium back issues the entire week, with a back
spasm. The spasm passed and so I ventured into the shower hoping the warm
water would make everything better and I could head to work. I showered,
dried my hair and although in some discomfort, I thought it was manageable, so,
I went, slowly, to the kitchen to make my morning coffee. I cleaned the
coffee grounds, poured a cup and started the walk up the stairs to put on my
make-up. Half way up, a spasm hit that literally threw me to the floor
writhing in pain. I have no idea how I managed to put my full coffee cup
down on the step above me, not spilling a drop. (Not that it really mattered;
my carpets are ruined from my dog). I couldn’t move. The slightest
inch of motion set my back into non-stop spasms that took my breath away, not
in a good way. I broke out in a sweat. My husband ran from the
kitchen to help me and I must have awakened my daughter as she came out of her
room to see what was going on. For over 20 minutes I remained on that
middle step, couldn’t go up, couldn’t go down. Finally, I slithered to
the first floor then crawled on hands and knees, slowly and extremely painfully
to the sofa.
I was clueless about how I was
going to get myself off the floor and onto the sofa. But, with motions
slower than a 100-year-old woman, I lifted one hand, then the other to the
couch. I braced for the pain. With my feet finally touching the
ground, as opposed to my knees, I pushed off and found myself half on, half off
the way too soft cushions. My sofa, the sofa I fell in love with for its
soft comfort, was suddenly painfully soft. It took about five minutes, but I
finally cornered myself into the nook of the sofa, the very spot where the arm
meets the cushions. I was upright, in agony, but upright.
All of this happened and it was
only 7:15 in the morning. I called my doctor’s office only to learn they
didn’t open for another hour. I realized I had to call out of work.
Like I said, this is a new job and I honestly had not expected to miss any time
at this early stage. Luckily, I had put all the necessary numbers into my
IPhone, so I called and left messages for all concerned.
Now it was just a matter of
waiting for the doctor’s office to open. As the minutes crawled by, I
eventually made it to the magical minute. I called and the nurse said,
“Hold please”. There was no choice in the matter. So, there I sat,
on my too soft sofa, the spasms coming and sometimes going, and I held on – for
dear life.
When she finally came back on
the line I told her of my distress. She looked up my records and said I
hadn’t been in to see the doctor in about a year and that he probably wouldn’t
be able to do anything because of that. I couldn’t believe what I was
hearing and I was in no mood. I told her I have been going to this doctor
for over 20 years and that I have NEVER called like this. I continued by
asking her what she thought I should do? Just remain in agony? Her tone
became quite combative when she said, begrudgingly, that she would speak to the
doctor and that I should try the pharmacy in an hour to see if anything was
called in. That was it. She hung up.
So, there I was, still in agony,
after having survived the hour waiting for the doctor’s office to open only to
learn that I needed to wait another hour to see if the doctor would do anything
for me! I held back the tears.
Being the impatient person I am,
I waited about 37 minutes, not that I was counting. I couldn’t wait
anymore soI called the pharmacy, it was 10 minutes to nine. A
recording! The pharmacy didn’t open until 9:00!
Forced to wait now, I told my
daughter and husband to do what they needed to do and just leave me with the
house phone and my cell. Once alone I realized I should turn the television
on, maybe it would pass the time, but, the remote was across the room.
Cautiously, but determinedly, I
inched my legs further toward the front edge of the sofa cushion. Then, with one hand on the arm and the
other on the seat, I pushed myself to a standing position. I did
it! I was standing - like a real person! I took a step, then another
until I slowly reached the remote, which was sitting in front of the television
(which come to think of it is a really silly place to keep the remote.)
I bent to get it – BIG
MISTAKE!! HUGE MISTAKE!! GIGANTUAN MISTAKE!! The spasms
started again, one after another, I didn’t know what to do. All I could
feel was the pain, the waves of excruciating horror that rendered me useless
once again.
It felt like hours but it was
only about 2 minutes until the spasms let up long enough for me to fall back
onto the sofa. Afraid to breathe, I waited until 9 AM.
Once the time arrived, I
called. A man with a charming Russian accent answered the phone. I
told him my sad story and asked if there was a prescription waiting for
me. I held my breath, hope in my heart, until he came back on the phone
to tell me there was nothing! Nothing!!
I thanked him for checking and
hung up. I called my doctor’s office again. A different nurse
picked up and she told me the doctor said he would call something in, but that
he was with a patient and I should just be patient. I asked her how long
she thought it would be. She said to give him a half hour. ANOTHER
HALF HOUR!
I waited, I called the pharmacy,
the doctor hadn’t called anything in. I called the doctor back. The
first nurse answered again. She seemed surprised that someone had told me
he would call something in. I told her to please check because I was in
agony. She put me on hold, came back and told me he had just called it in
– then she hung up.
I called the pharmacy again and
the gentleman with the Russian accent answered once again. It was as if
he had no idea about my story! I went through the whole thing again and
he told me to hold on. He checked and said to me – “No, there is nothing
here for a Michael…Michael- my son’s name! How did he get that? I
had to correct him and he looked again, no, nothing. I hung up; maybe it
was just too soon after the doctor’s call. More time passed…I called back
and miracle of miracles the prescription was called in – but it would take
about a half hour to fill!
My husband went to the pharmacy
to wait so it wouldn’t take an extra second. He called me from there to
say he told the Russian man to let him know when it was ready. (There was
no one in the store).
As he was waiting there, our
phone rang….it was the pharmacy. The pharmacist, a woman, was calling to
tell me the prescription had been phoned in. I told her I knew and that
my husband was already at the pharmacy waiting. Oy. When I hung up,
my husband called immediately and said he couldn’t believe it when he heard her
talking to me! Finally, he came
back with muscle relaxers. Hopeful that one pill would untie the knot
that was in my back I swallowed the large pink pill and waited. Nothing.
My daughter read that I could
take Advil with it. I took two.
Disheartened, frustrated and in
pain I waited. The pill was to be taken 3 times a day. My brother
was coming to pick up my mother for a weeklong vacation at the beach. I
didn’t want him to see me in my horrible pajamas looking awful, so I bravely
went upstairs, slowly and carefully.
The pills worked in the long
run, well enough that I am at least functioning. It’s now Tuesday, 4 days
since that horrendous morning, and I am at work, in my chair, still careful,
still hurting, but able to move. I long for the day when I can just be
normal again – a day when the pain in my back is gone.
To all those who suffer with
back pain on a regular basis, you have my respect, sympathy and awe. The
horrific pain causes me to feel useless and lethargic. I don’t want to
risk any movement and that can’t be good for my back – or any part of me – in the
long run.
I think maybe working at a desk
job may just be hazardous to my health.
I will never again take feeling
normal for granted. Losing the
ability to cross the room, climb the stairs, get dressed – they can go so
quickly and easily. Appreciate
health, value and cherish it, for without it, no matter how much money you
have, you are broke – literally and figuratively.
