Here's to our health

Thursday, November 3, 2011: Today, my gratitude moment is for feeling good and strong because the opposite is NOT a fun ride. Yesterday morning, I went into my girl's room to wake her up for school, as I do every morning. Usually, she's on her tummy or her side, deep in sleep, but yesterday, she was flat on her back and her eyes were HUGE. I have to admit it was a little creepy since I was expecting her eyes to be closed. She tried to smile a bit, but confessed that she had a "crick" in her neck and was in some serious pain. Not quite sure how she did it - maybe sleeping wrong? - but she had woken up on her tummy and tried to roll over...and couldn't. It took all her strength to get from her stomach to her back and now, she couldn't move at all. It was scary to me. Things like this are not supposed to happen to teenagers. I offered Tylenol and a heated bean bag, to which she agreed. That's when I knew it was serious - she hates to take meds. As we nestled the heated bag onto her sore neck and shoulder, I told her to rest and let the Tylenol work while I took a shower. When I came back about 20 minutes later, she hadn't moved except to re-position the heat bag. My poor girl! I knew then that we probably weren't going to be driving to school on time, so I left her resting while I straightened the kitchen and unloaded the dishwasher. It was probably a half hour later that she came staggering in, having pulled herself (painfully!) to a sitting and then standing position. We re-heated the bag and settled her into the recliner. Her morning routine was completely dissolved; she could barely move her head or lift her right arm. (I wanted to say, "Welcome to MY world!", but didn't...) Finally, at 10:00, she was able to get dressed, even though she couldn't lean down to put on shoes or socks. I had to help her pin her bangs back because it hurt to lift her arms. I suggested that she stay home from school, but she said she "had to go." We arrived just as the third hour class was beginning, so she left me at the office to get her checked in while she went to her locker for class. She didn't want a lunch, even though she hadn't eaten breakfast either, so I tucked a Nutri-Grain bar into her bag. I told her to call me if the pain got bad again and watched her walk gingerly down the hall. My heart ached for her.

I know pain. I know NECK pain. Sometimes, I wonder if I can handle it another minute...and then, I do. But this, THIS, was awful. I felt helpless. I wanted to "wave my magic wand" (one of my mom's sayings) and make it all go away for my girl. I couldn't. She had to endure it on her own with my limited help.

Today, I am grateful that the pain lessened as the day wore on and she was actually able to sleep okay last night. Today, she seems almost whole again. We take our health for granted every single day, but those moments when it disappears is devastating. I am so thankful that with meds and heated bean bags and loving care and lots of prayer, things do get better. Whew!