I have had lower back problems for years. Ten years ago they flared up once every couple of years. And over the last few years as I’ve entered by 40s they have flared up a little more often – maybe once or twice per year. But they have always been manageable and I’ve always known what to do about them and the pattern was very consistent. Generally brought on by something stupid like lifting something too heavy or a questionable decision after a beer to 2, but sometimes it would be as simple as a weird step. I would be laid up for a couple of days and rest then get back into better habits around stretching and taking care of my back. Over the next couple weeks in each case the pain went away and I moved on with my life.
In late June of this year – 2020 amiright? , I had what I thought was a pretty standard flare-up. There wasn’t really an event that triggered it but starting one morning the pain in my back was very intense anytime I stood up too long. This was frustrating because I was so active and healthy during COVID lockdown, but it didn’t set off any alarm bells because I was fine when I sat and if I did my stretches the pain would go away at least a little bit. I also noticed some weakness in my foot that made walking awkward but the pain was clearly issues #1. When it persisted longer than I was used to I went to see a highly recommended doctor (I actually saw one of their associates as they were on vacation) and she told me that this was no surprise – they see a lot of this kind of stuff and a round of steroids possibly escalating to an injection if necessary should take care of the problem. Over the next 2 weeks sure enough the steroids took away the pain but for some reason the weakness I was experiencing left me with a really bad drop foot walking very awkwardly and with minimal control of my left foot did not go away. In hindsight this was the first indication that something was not right here as the pain receding but the weakness remaining was not what the doctors expected.
Being the knucklehead that I am, I figured some self-care would take care of I this and I started working really hard to try and get my body back to where I wanted it. I lost 15 pounds over the next couple weeks, I started doing stretches 3 and 4 times a day instead of once a day, but despite minor progress it became clear that this was not going away.
At this time an amazing person and advocate entered my life. At my request through the doctors I started physical therapy through Anne Arundel Medical Centers program and a physical therapist Melanie took the lead in my care. From the very first moment we interacted she identified that something was not right given what was happening with me compared to the level of effort I was putting into everything and she advocated additional tests and really getting to the bottom of this problem. She contacted the doctor directly that first day because what was happening bothered her, she suggested avenues of treatments and things to consider. it is hard to overstate just how much her expertise, awareness, and concern led to the positive experiences that I’ve had since my very first meeting with her. If I had listened to her more aggressively instead of my natural instinct to work hard at the problem and it would sort itself out I probably could have found this tumor a month earlier.
There are a few Important learnings I don’t want to lose here:
- Take control of your health. Understand what you are feeling and why. MOST to the time your body will bounce back, but there are also scary things that happen and a few extra tests are worth the time and headaches
- Doctors are the champions and heroes of our medical system and my already high opinion of them has continued to grow through this process – but the community of medical support staff and administrators from physical therapists, to technician, to nurses and so many others have an incredible opportunity to impact people’s lives and outcomes. When you find a great one and they take an interest in you, it is amazing how it can make you feel and what you and they can accomplish.
By now it was the first week of September and I had been dragging around my leg for 3 weeks. I went in and got an MRI – probably the third that I’ve had over the last 15 and as with each of the other MRIs it was clear something was not quite right in my lower back and the doctors believed a pinched nerve was driving my issues. This jived with all I had been hearing for years and working with the doctors we decided to have lower back surgery at 6 AM the morning of Wednesday September 16th to take care of the problem. At the same time though in what was becoming a pattern – something was still a little off. The weakness should have gone hand in hand with the pain, and the emerging incoordination of my left foot was unexplained.
Some major events derail that surgery, but it is one of life’s funny little ironies that the lower back surgery could still be in my future.