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*In March of 2014 I bent over to turn on the bath water for my two younger kids (Peyton 4 and Ethen 2) and instantly became stuck. I could not move, my back had locked and I had to have help getting to the living room so I could just lay down. Pain became worse so I called the doctor and was able to get an appointment to be seen within hours. I was giving medicine and sent along my way. I fully recovered and went back to running and excerising 5 times a week. I completed the spartan (mud run) in May and seemed to be back to normal.
*On June 28, I was preparing to go for a run and bent over to tie my shoes. I was locked yet again, but this time was different. Tthe pain was much much worse. That next morning at 2am we carefully made our way to the ER. I was given muscle relaxers as I was in great pain. They performed an x-ray to which everything was clear and good to go. I was sent home with medicine for muscle spams and was to "excerise" (did he not hear me tell him I workout 5 day a week?!) . I followed up with my family doctor on Monday as the pain was still intense and I was unable to walk without help. My doctor order a full blood/lab work up and also wanted an MRI of my lower back (lumbar). I went in for the results and got news I wasn't prepared for. My blood/lab work came up positive for ANA (auto immune), my liver was showing high liver enxyme levels and my MRI of the lower back showed one disc with a tear leaking fluid, two herniated disc, and another disc pinching my nerves. I was then referred to two specialist: one for my ANA (auto immune) as we needed to find which auto immune I have and the second referral was for my spine as I would "most likely need surgery". I was able to see the Auto Immune specialist (rheumatologist) at the end of June. He took 7 tubes of blood and a urine sample to determine which auto immune I have. He was sure that the test was false positive and that I didn't have auto immune.
*Weeks later now into July: I received a phone call saying I did test positive for Auto Immune. I went back to the specialist to find out which auto immune I had. Again, news I wasn't prepared for. He said you 100% have an auto immune but all the testing came back as unspecified. His next words to me where "having an Auto Immune sucks, all we can to is try to control some of the pain". I didn't truly have time to worry about this because at the same time I was seeing him, I had been seen by an spine specialist. I explained my symptoms to the spine specialist and she said I would benefit for a lumbar branch block (they would you radio frequency to burn the nerves off this troubled disc so that I would be close to pain free), also I would start physical therapy, and she also ordered to take 3 more MRIs (neck (cervical), upper back (thoracic), and brain). I went ahead with the lumbar branch block which seemed to help (only one side could be done at a time due to the amount of pain my body could handle). So over the next few weeks I had three procedures to complete that process.
*Now into August: I followed up my doctor a few weeks later, but the pain in my lower back (lumbar) was back. I also found out that the MRI of my upper (thoracic) showed two herniated disk that were pushed into my spinal cord. This is dangerous, I was told, if those disc slip any further into the spinal cord I could be paralysed. The MRI of my neck showed I have two herniated disk there as well. The Brain MRI was clear. The next step was an epidural in my cervical (neck) to hopefully give me some relief for neck pain. Keep in mind that before all of this I was never sick, I have never been hospitalized, I was not in a car wreck, and I have never played sports nor done anything to support this type of damage to my back. I also found out that I do have arthritis and degenerative disc disease. I was tested for ALS, Lyme disease and rheumatoid arthritis. All came back negative. I also saw a neurologist who did a CT scan and an EEG which both came out clear. Also I had another blood test to recheck my liver which came back as normal, but I had an ultrasound done of my abdomen area (mostly checking liver) and it showed something a little abnormal, but may be a "fatty liver". They will keep a close eye on my liver. This all occurring in late August and early September.
*Now mid-September: I had the epidural injection in my neck and followed up with my doctor a week later. A week after the injection in my cervical spine, I became very weak, my neck felt as though it wasn't strong enough to support my head, the pains in my back have become intolerable, my hips fall asleep becoming numb, it is painful to take a deep beath, numbness set in on my arms and hands as though I'm not going to be able to use them much longer. I became bed ridden for 4 days, unable to even shower myself. I went to the doctor this Thursday, as she was preparing to schedule three separate back fusions ( a very major surgery that each surgery would take 12-18 months to fully recover from as sometimes patient have to learn how to walk again). I went to the doctor, walked into the room, she said I no longer looked like a healthy person. This ( whatever it is) has progressed way too fast and she would not be able to do the surgeries as something is going on in my body. She said that even if she did the surgery it may not work and I may not recover correctly (meaning she was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk or function after surgery) . After all of this procudoers, blood work, MRIs, CT scans, EEG and more no one knows what is going on.
*Thursday, September 25, I was officially referred to the Mayo Clinic. Friday I got a call from the Mayo Clinic in Florida and did a phone interview. Friday afternoon I got a phone call from the Mayo clinic again asking if I could be there Tuesday morning at 8:30am! This was a blessing! An answer or our prayers! I will be traveling to FL to be seen by Doctors at the Mayo clinic. As you can imagine, this whole process has been costly. I have been blessed to family help me out with dinner, kids, and so on. This trip will be costly but I need answers. I have had a couple of people offer help, so , if you are interested and feel lead to give to me and my family to defray the medical care costs and travel to Mayo Clinic cost, you can donate through the link below. Anything and everything helps! If you cannot give (or even if you can give, Please pray, for we all know what the power of pray can do especially in numbers! Pray for me and my family as we go down this road. We have faith, but we ask for your help in prayers!
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