They've Got My Back

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. -Mother Teresa

If there's one thing I know for certain it's that I have the most supportive friends and family in the entire world.  A lot has been going on lately within the health realm of my life.  I had blood work done at the beginning of Christmas break and then called my PCOS doctor 2 weeks later for the results only to find out that she had walked out of her practice that morning.  What a comfort that was.  But it was time for a change and a second opinion and this time I was being forced to get that second opinion.  I had gotten tired of getting no answers, not knowing exactly what my symptoms were, and the random crying sessions with my roommate whenever a cute commercial came on with a baby on the tv.  My family was concerned with my health and it was time to find someone who would actually give me some answers, so that's what I went out and did. 

My mom booked me for an appointment at High Point Regional Medical Center in hopes for some answers with a new doctor. And answers was exactly what I got.  My new doctor explained everything about PCOS from the very beginning, confirming that I had other symptoms than what my other doctor claimed I had, and that her treatment wasn't the best thing for me to follow.  Although I was little upset that I had been following this bogus treatment for a year and she had misinformed me, I did receive some good news. First off being that my insulin levels were at point level 16 when I was diagnosed, which is 10 points over the average insulin level for girls my age, so that was pretty bad.  However, over the course of the year, even though my symptoms were not going away and no outside changes were being seen, I had managed to drop my insulin level down to 10 points, woot woot, that's only 4 points from being average!! So along with this, I received the most phenomenal news I could hear.  I asked my doctor what the chances were for me to become pregnant and he responded by saying that since we caught the PCOS early in it’s development then I will be able to have children! However, I won’t be able to conceive naturally but will need medication and possible surgery (oy!) but regardless, I would be able to have children and that’s all that matters to me!! 

So with some changes in medications and moving on to see a specialist in Greensboro, along with my two other doctors in High Point and Asheboro, I’m on a set path to a hopeful recovery.  Let’s just pray that things start to work themselves out in someway or another, but we’re all hopeful! 

So now that you know that, the fun part of the story comes along.  Being on the tons of medication I am on, I tend to have the weirdest side effects ever.  There are moments when I just burst into tears for no reason, nights spent sleepless because I worry about everything (thank goodness I have Nate to go to downstairs on these nights), various hyper outbursts in which I can’t stop talking, and then there’s the really weird side effects, like the one that happened the other day in music education class.  I stood up after class only to find myself fall right back into my chair because it felt like my entire back was a pinched nerve and the breath was knocked out of me.  Since this has never happened before I instantly freaked out, but there were bigger things to worry about, like how I was going to get from the School of Music back to my dorm.  So with the help of Samantha and Kristen we managed to get me across the bridge, up the hill, up the stairs, and onto the floor of my room within 20 minutes, the getting on the floor part was a miracle move that’s for sure.

So then Nate comes running in wanting to know what’s wrong with me as I lay on the floor feeling like a vegetable.  We explained that I couldn’t move and the lower right side of my back was in excruciating pain. Nate immediately played doctor, rolling me over on my stomach, massaging my back, and putting hot and cold washcloths on me.  Nothing was working, I still couldn’t move.  In the meantime Sam and Kristen attempted to get off what I call the “ten minute rain boots,” which are the boots that take ten minutes to get on, so just assume that it took twice as  long to get them off and it took two of them.  Finally, we all gave up my old person back pains and Sam and Kristen left for lunch while Nate stayed and babysat me.  This worked out really good because I would have to be rolled over every 15 minutes because the rest of my body would go to sleep since I couldn’t move, so Nate gladly helped me through this. That was until we put on Meditation Station, an amazing meditating podcast, to calm me down.  It worked, I became calm and I also fell asleep.  When I woke up 20 minutes later my whole body was cramped up from not moving. 

“Nate...” I said quietly to the boy laying next to me on the floor. No response.

“Nate?” a little louder, still no response.

“Nate. I can’t move!” Nothing. I tried to turn my head.

“NATE! Wake up!” Slept right through my exclaims. 

So I attempted to roll myself over by flinging my arm over my body, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Finally after a ten minute struggle I was successful! But I woke Nate up in the process, who jumped up and managed hit my legs causing me to yell loudly at the loud pop that came from my back.  But thankfully that pop led to a little more freedom because I could somewhat move again! After attempts to sit up during lunch and my next class I took the time to google “PCOS patients with lower right back pain.” And POOF! the answer was right there on my trusty SoulCysters website, where a link was posted to the website of one of my medications and stated that one of the side effects is lower back pain on the right side. At least we figured out that I just wasn’t getting old or something! I was so thankful to have such amazing people come to my rescue in that time of need, not everyone has someone to crash on the floor with you when your back goes out and I’m one lucky girl. I was also extremely thankful to Cory, Nash, and Will who helped me get my bassoon in and out of it's locker for band rehearsals the next two days! So no matter how much PCOS is a pain in my back, at least I know I have some devoted friends to lean on (and roll me over)! 

-Proverbs 17:22