Caution: Do Not Attempt to Lift Wheelchair and Child at the Same Time, Injury WILL Occur!

It's been a rough couple of days and I must admit my spirits are low.


Wednesday was my day off, so I was preparing Elise for school after Eric already left for work. I usually have her wheelchair set up and ready for me outside the front steps so that when the bus driver gets to our house, I can easily get her into the chair and out to the bus. Well, on Wednesday I was running a little behind and did not have her chair out of the back of the van yet.


The driver was already waiting for me to get Elise out the door, so I was stressed about her not having to wait any longer for me. I grabbed Elise, plopping her on one hip, then ran outside, thinking I could manage the chair with my other arm. I was able to open the door to the van, but could not pull the chair out while I was still carrying her, so I reluctantly had to set her down in the driveway to get the chair out and set up. By the time I got her in the chair and onto the bus my back was screaming at me. It was tight and pinching. I knew immediately that I had overstressed it.


I went into the house, doing as many stretches as I could think of, trying to get the tightness to loosen up. Erica thought this was all so funny. She was in my face and grabbing at me, trying to lay across me and do what I was doing. However, the pain just kept getting worse until all of a sudden it was like I was hit in the back with a jackhammer! The muscles seized up so tight I could hardly breathe. I called Eric at work, crying, asking him how I could stretch it out. He suggested I lay flat on the floor and try to pull away from the tightness. I did so and (thank heavens!) I took the phone down with me to the floor.


By this time I had waves of panic and pain running over me. Nothing seemed to loosen it up or give me relief. At some points I was yelling, some points crying. I thought I should try to get up to get some ice, but then I quickly realized I could not even move. I tried over and over to roll to the side to ease my way up, but it was impossible. Erica no longer thought this was a game. She was screaming her head off, frightened by my reaction. To make matters worse, she kept throwing herself on me, expecting me to pick her up and comfort her but I couldn't. The worse case scenario kept flashing through my head....that I'd ruptured a disc or something and would need surgery, putting me out of work for who knows how long. What would we do then?!


Finally I called Eric again. Heaven only knows what he heard on the other end of the line. He said he'd get home as fast as he could. I was so thankful I had the phone on the floor with me!


He did hurry. He hurried enough that he wasn't even able to tell his coworkers what he was doing. However, by the time he got home I had been flat on the floor for almost an hour. I had a hard time breathing and was dizzy. He lifted me straight up off the floor, like I had a board in my back, and got me to the chiropractor.


After an exam and x-ray, the doctor determined that I had pulled one of my ribs out from the vertebrae in my back. He was able to put it back in place, but he said the ligament was all stretched out so it would take a while for it to stay in place. What a relief! It was painful, but quite fixable.


Yesterday I attempted to go to work, but had to leave early. I couldn't twist, or move my right arm, or even stand up straight.


Today is a little better. I've been able to function a little more, but I have only picked up the girls a couple times, when it was absolutely necessary.


It's funny how injuries, or pain, or illness, can change the way you look at things. I can't even say how grateful I am that it was not more serious. But it is still sometimes difficult to focus on the positive. I feel like a cloud is hanging over me, casting it's dull shadow on the world and muddling with the colors I know should be there. I know that it will pass, no one needs to call me with that revelation, but sometimes I have to wallow around in it a bit.


Of course, it doesn't help that I am also on a new diet. No comfort food, or late-night indulgences to ease me through my self-pity. Just bottle after bottle of water....