So, for my first non introduction post I thought I would go public on my health journey. Or rather my declining health journey.

I have yet to tell all of social media the background story behind my now chronic pain issues. So, here goes nothing.

It all started a little over two years ago. Me, for the most part a healthy 24 year old, was getting dressed on a Saturday morning and while I was pulling my pants up (doing the “pull your pants up jig”) when all of the sudden I felt an awful pop in my back and I hit the floor in pain

I had no clue what happened. All I could think was how in the heck does a 24 year old seemingly throw her back out? Isn’t that what happens to 60 year old women? How on earth does that happen???

Well, I went about my day but in severe pain. The pain lasted for a couple weeks so I finally did something about it. I got some massage therapy done on it and the pain, for the most part, subsided and for the next few months and I went on life as usual.

Fast forward to March for 2016. My family comes for a visit to go to Disney World/Universal. So, I drive the hour and a half to Kissimmee to go spend a couple days with them.

Well, that short drive there sent my back into pain again. But I ignored it, wanting to enjoy the fun of the visit.

We then ended up going to Universal and my brother and I went on a couple of roller coasters, because roller coasters are the best! Little did I know that was going to cause more back pain.

By the time I got back to Tampa, a couple of days later, my back was in excruciating pain. To the point I could barley move or get off the couch. So, I finally gave in and went to the doctor.

After x-rays and an MRI and what felt like a million doctors visits later I found out that I had had a previous fracture in my mid back (thoracic spine) that had healed funky, as well as degenerative discs.

So, for the next several months I spent going to a ton of different doctors including physical therapy, pain management, ortho specialists, spine specialist, rheumatologist and the list goes on. I did all of this but was not seeing any improvement in my pain. I was going day to day living in pain but not living life as I once had.

In fact, when all of this first happened I was supposed to go on a missions trip to Scotland but was unable to attend because of my pain and not knowing what was happening. And that is just one instance where I was held back from living life as usual. This issue was running and ruining my life on a daily basis.

So, then comes November 1st, 2016. It’s seven in the morning and I am on my way to go see my second pain management specialist. I’m in stop and go traffic, when we start to pick up and all of the sudden people begin to slam on their breaks. The person in front of me swerves to the side of the road making it so I don’t hit into the back of their car, to which I am forever grateful for. In that split second that I’m deciding if I should do the same, it’s too late, and the person behind me slams into the back of me.

I instantly have pain in the back of my head and all my thoughts begin going a million miles an hour.

I don’t go to the ER right away because I “just” have head pain and what obviously feels like whip lash. But I schedule an appointment to see a doctor to get assessed since I already have issues and didn’t know if the accident had caused further damage.

The next week and a half are hell. I am in a excruciating pain and am getting a million tests done. After a couple days I have dizziness that gets so bad I am spinning while lying in bed. So, that’s when I finally go to the ER.

The doctor that orders all my MRI’s and x-rays informs me that basically the accident just added insult to injury. I now have new issues to my back with added issues to my neck. And the ER doctor informs me I had a mild traumatic brain injury.

All this to say began an even longer journey of figuring out what the heck to do about fixing myself so I can go back to living life normally.

Over the past year plus I have spent my time going to doctor after doctor; receiving physical therapy, vestibular therapy, test after test, several non-invasive procedures, not being heard by doctors, being on all kinds of different medications to help the pain and spending many hours in tears grieving the life I once had. But needless to say my life has forever been altered.

That is the shorter version of my story. There is so much more that has gone on in between. But this has become a long post and I don’t want to drag it out. There honestly is so much more I could say and go into.

I wanted to share though because the reason I am doing this blog is because of these circumstances that have shaped my current life. I want this to be an outlet to process some of the things I’ve gone through. To share some of my thoughts and the things I’ve learned through this. And to share the hard stuff and be real and vulnerable at this not so pretty process.

Like I said in my last post I want this to be a place that maybe someone else can know they aren’t alone in the struggle, no matter if your dealing with chronic pain or just a real life pain.

I want everyone to know that no matter the struggle or pain they are going through it’s real and deserves to be acknowledged. And everyone needs to know they aren’t alone.

Hope you guys will still stick with me after this long post. Thanks for reading! Have a great day!

Alisa

(If any one has questions about my journey please don’t hesitate to comment or contact me. )