Instead, I started 2015 in a hospital bed with an IV pumping morphine through my veins while neurologists studied MRIs of my distorted spine. I quickly realized that the most critical component of my life's plan had been overlooked: ME.
A spinal injury I incurred during gymnastics class in 1991 was never fully addressed. I underwent physical therapy, chiropractic care, massage, and other non-invasive treatment, but nothing worked. Nobody could really tell how bad the injury was, or knew how to sufficiently address it. So I kind of just gave up and lived in chronic pain.
On a random Tuesday morning twenty-three years later, the universe forced me to deal with it. Terrible daily pain turned to excruciating and unbearable, as the injury manifested into compression of my spine (the symptoms of which you can google).
Thanks to Obamacare (and the advice of my amazing chiropractor, Dr. Roberts at AIC Chiropractic), I was able to undergo an MRI that day at the ER of my preferred hospital, have one of the best neurosurgeons in the country perform intensive spinal surgery on me, including removing and replacing vertebrae with cadavers and fusing them to my own with metal plates, drilling down massive bone spurs nobody knew existed, and literally hanging weights from my spine in order to realign it back to where it should have been all those years. And I could afford it.
I'm now in recovery, which is a totally new adventure for me. Practically immobile for about six weeks, my 2015 game plan has a delayed start. It's not what I would choose, but it is necessary and I'm making the best of it. They say you only live once, but I'm looking forward to living the next chapter of my life in the absence of daily pain. I don't even remember what that feels like. If you thought I was a go-getter, dream chaser, gypsy lifestyle, traveling free spirit before - neither of us have seen anything yet.
Lesson learned: take care of yourself NOW, not tomorrow or the next day.
**Blog Post Title references lyrics from Kanye West's "Through the Wire" on his debut album, "College Dropout."
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