Monday, January 23, 2017

I Know This Puzzle

I know this body.  It has been mine for soon-to-be 19 years now.  This body has not functioned properly for almost my whole life.  I understand that it hides the problems happening, but that does not mean that something wrong is not going on.  That does not mean that I do not know what's happening.  I am not crazy and I am not a hypochondriac.
       When I say my body likes to hide what's going on, I am not kidding.  Let me tell you a story that explains what I mean to a tee.
       I have had two back surgeries.  A spinal fusion, and a revision to that spinal fusion.  A spinal fusion is a procedure where the surgeon uses titanium rods, screws, and bone grafts to correct severe scoliosis.  A revision surgery is when they have to go back in to correct a previous surgery.  My spine is fused from T-3 all the way down to my pelvis.  While fusing my spine they discovered a broken vertebrae that had not shown up on any preoperative X-rays; it was hiding.  After my recovery I started experiencing a sharp, stabbing pain in my hip every time I took a step.  I was also experiencing a dull pain whenever pressure was placed on my back, like washing my back while showering.  We did multiple X-rays which didn't show anything.  The pain was not fading or going away, so we did a CT scan which didn't show anything either.  Finally, my surgeon decided to perform a revision surgery.  He didn't know what the cause of the pain was or what he was looking for; he went in blind.  What he found shocked him.  The screw in my hip was completely stripped from its place, I had two large abscesses, and another broken vertebrae.  My body was hiding it all from the X-rays and CT scans, but I knew something was wrong.  I knew it was more than just pain, and, my surgeon listened to me.
       I've been called crazy too.  I went to a pulmonalogist for trouble breathing and she told me to go see a psychiatrist.  Turns out I have 37% lung function and restrictive lung disease.  I know my body!
       My body hides its problems, but I am not crazy or a hypochondriac.  I know my body better than most.  Believe me when I tell you something is wrong!  Believe me when I tell you that it's more than what you think!  My body is a puzzle, but I know this puzzle as it physically makes up me.

(Images used from google are not owned by me)





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