So I've had increasing pain or discomfort for a couple of years. It comes and goes. Some days I have nothing, some weeks I have nothing, and others...well yeah. Nothing too alarming. This story happened two weeks ago. I was going about my day when I started feeling some discomfort between my shoulder blades. The kind that makes you want to crack your back. However, I couldn't get it to do it. That's fine. I'll just sleep it off, I thought to myself. Well the next morning I woke up and it was still there. I tried stretches of all sorts and nothing helped. That night I even layed on a rolled towel to see if I can work it out. Well, as the days went by it got increasingly worse. I bought heating pads, and even got a massage. It worked for a few days, but the pain came back with a vengeance. I was reluctant to see a doctor because I didn't know where to go and how to go about it with the language barrier. It finally got to the point where I was in tears because I was frustrated and it hurt so bad, so I did end up seeking help from a friend. I decided I was going to go to the hospital on my day off in a few days.
This is where things got crazy. I was working and had to take some time for myself alone before my last class because I couldn't hold it together, thus I hid behind some stairs and cried it out. The time for my class was quickly approaching so I had to head back inside. I went to the bathroom to wash my face when I slipped/tripped (honestly cant remember which) and fell hard to the floor. Not wanting the kids to see me lose it I went to the balcony (which is through the bathroom) and totally lost it. My back hurt so much! Not to the point where I couldn't stand up or walk but it was definitely not happy. My coworker found me, and then another. I explained what happened through the sobs and they lead me back into the teachers room and I sat down. Eventually another coworker was called in to hear my story. They told me they already cancelled my class and that I should go to the hospital. I'm thinking...no. I don't need a hospital...but I have to remind myself where I am where people go to the hospital for nearly every little thing. My coworker Jenny told me she would take me to the doctor and help me out.
We get down to a cab and get dropped off in front of a clinic. We go in and Jenny does all the talking. She fills the paperwork out with the help of my ARC and I sit down to wait. I was expecting to wait for a while, since the only healthcare experience I have is going to the hospital to get my prescriptions. Within 5 minutes I am sitting in a small office talking to a doctor who is mainly talking to Jenny, but then turns to me and says, "what is wrong with you?" I am almost taken back by this question, but my brain quickly goes "he means what hurts, Chelsea." Oh, right. I tell him what happened and where my back hurts. He touches my back until he finds the spot I indicated. He then talks to Jenny again and she asks me if I am pregnant. Uh nope. Guess that means I get X-rays. I am lead to a room, get them done, and go back to the waiting area. I am sitting for about 5-10 minutes when we are called into the doctor's office again and he has my scans. He tells me, while showing me, there is nothing wrong with my spine. Well that's good at least, but why am I in so much pain? He writes me a prescription and send me on my way. I get the meds from the waiting room, and I'm on my way out. In all it took maybe 20 minutes and I was pretty shocked.
I was sent home to rest. I took the cocktail of drugs twice a day for three days. My back now does not hurt anywhere near what it did a couple of weeks ago, but sometimes after a long day of teaching I can feel the spot where the pain was and it gets a little irritated. Don't freak out! But I wanted to share this weirdo story.
