About 3 years ago, I was cutting vegetables at work & had to set my knife down. My hand had gone numb. Didn't think much of it til it kept happening, & I started getting terrible pain in my neck, shoulder, & forearm. Got a massage to help, but it didn't. She recommended seeing a chiropractor.
X-rays, chiropractor visits 3 times a week, acupuncture, dry needling with electrodes directly into my back, ice, heat, biofreeze, tiger balm, stretches, exercises. After over a year of all that they referred me to a pain management specialist since it was only getting worse.
After getting an MRI, the doctor recommended I get steroid injections directly into my spine & put me on muscle relaxers & an anti-inflammatory. Those also didn't help much. The injections usually last for 2 or 3 months. These lasted about a week before it just got worse again.
He referred me to a neurosurgeon. So here we are.
Without insurance ( which I am working on ) it's expensive. It's a 45 minute outpatient procedure & afterward I won't be able to work for a month or two. They plan on going in from the front of my neck, removing a couple protruding disks, clear out some bone spurs, put in synthetic disks, & hold them in place with a couple metal plates & screws.
The pain has been too much to say the least. Not being able to sleep, not wanting to eat, not wanting to work. All because of pain. It's made every part of my life more difficult. It's hard to get out of bed most days. It changed me.
That's why I just want to get the surgery, to get back to feeling somewhat normal again. Any donations are greatly appreciated.
I love you all & thanks for putting up with me the past few years. I know it hasn't been easy.
