Living With Limitations

by choosing life 44 Replies latest jw friends

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  Velvetann

  I felt like I was alone with this. Glad you brought this up and it makes me feel better that I am not the only one dealing with this.

  I was always healthy and very active, walked 10 miles a day for years. About 3 years ago I started having severe pain in my lower back and my right leg/foot would drag if I walked for more than 15 minutes. It got worse and worse. about 18 months ago I finally found out that I had disc degeneration which caused the severe pain in my lower back if I walk or stand. Now its so bad I can't stand for more than 5 mintues without extreme pain. I no longer can walk more than 50 feet without feeling like I will fall down. It still didn't explain the dragging foot thing and the numbness in my foot. I tried doctor after doctor and they said its just your disc degeneration. Then in Sept 07 I had a horrible attack, I ended up in hospital for 2 weeks totally paralized on my right side. Lots of tests and then I was diagnosed with MS. I was treated with steroids and now can walk again but still living with the severe back pain and the dragging foot and no balance. Its embarassing for me that I have to hold on to something when I walk, I hate using a cane or a walker so hold on to my boyfriend or a shopping cart. I won't go anywhere that I have to use a cane or walker so don't go many places right now. I am too proud to admit that I am getting older and am handicapped, its devastating to me. I am adjusting slowly but its difficult. A person has to adjust their whole lifestyle. I can't work now and my days are spent sitting, because standing or walking is very painful. I don't take drugs or painkillers, they don't help. The health system here in Canada is not helpful.
• 

  Velvetann

  Lady Lee you sound experienced with all this pain and disability thing. I sure could learn from you. I am new at this. Its so upsetting and I sure do need some support from someone like you.

  We are in the same country and province.

  Hugs from Velvetann
• 

  Lady Lee

  Velvetann

  Believe me my experience with disability involved years of denial which resulted in damage to the small nerves in my feet - hence the pain. The small nerves are even too hard for any test to examine but all dr agree that is where the pain problem is

  I view a cane the same way I would view a pair of glasses - an aid to independancy. I hate feeling like I am a burden to anyone so initially the cane and later the wheelchair meant the difference between leaning on my husband (we are now separated) and doing things on my own.

  Now that I am living alone the electric chair does the same thing - gives me back my freedom. Sure there are limitations but again I see those things as a challenge. Last week after the snow storm we had I needed to get out to the store. Well the driveway had been cleared but as soon as I got to the street I knew I couldn't go any further and went back inside. And tried again the next day - when the snow was cleared on the road.

  For those of you with back pain - keep walking as much as you can around the house!!! If you can manage it get some kind of weight bearing exercizer. Weight bearing exercize is essential to keeping your body fit and working well. Recently I saw a program that said even if you exercise 5 minutes at a time several times a day you can ward off many other healthy problems that come from sitting around all day. You don't need more health problems so prevention is essential
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  Lady Lee

  Just a note - I wonder how much damage some of us did walking all those miles going door to door sellling books and magazines. I lived in Montreal and didn't have a car for many of those years so I walked everywhere. And always carried a heavy book bag. I think somehow that had a lot to do with where I am now
• 

  dinah

  Lady Lee,

  I've wondered about that also. We live in a very rural county, so we hardly ever walked out in service. Everything is so spread out here, it would take all day to walk anywhere.

  One positive thing about having my back fused when I was 14 is that I got to stand in the back of the hall through part of the meetings because it was too painful to sit for 2 hours. Same thing for assemblies, I had to get up and walk around or I'd be in extreme pain.

  F2T, you seem above average intelligence to me!
• 

  free2think

  F2T, you seem above average intelligence to me!

  Thanks Dinah
• 

  MsMcDucket

  My husband refused to use a wheelchair for years and years! He ended up with bursitis in his shoulders, and carpal tunnel in his hands and wrists, and more. "Pride goeth before a fall." (Literally!)
• 

  Finally-Free

  I've had injuries and surgery on both of my knees. in particular, my left knee can pop apart easily if I'm not very careful. The last time it popped was in 2003 at a Michigan apostofest when I lifted a case of beer out of my truck. (Luckily Pettygrudger was there to save the beer.) I've also injured my lower back more times than I can remember. It doesn't take much for my back to go out. Last time all I was doing was picking up frozen mixed veggies in the frozen food aisle. I haven't had a pain free day in over 25 years.

  I couldn't work as a window cleaner or as a machinist any more, so under doctors orders I went to school to retrain for a career in IT. The elders gave me no end of crap for going to school, and removed all my "privileges".

  I've accepted my limitations and have learned to deal with my pain. I rarely take anything for the pain. The most difficult thing for me was that others were less accepting of my limitations than I was.

  W
• 

  MsMcDucket

  One thing I learned in Nursing is that people can be very different when it comes to pain. For us, pain is "the fifth vital sign". We can be sued for judging people and withholding pain medications. The first thing they do when we're hired is to have a pain specialist come in and give us a lecture. We are not to judge people's pain, withhold pain meds because of our beliefs, make sure you call the doctor if the patient is not getting good pain control, and so on and so forth.

  If you had a drug addict that was in a car accident and broke both his legs, do you think he has pain or deserves less pain medication for being an addict?

  We, also, had to take the course "Philosophy of Ethics" and "Nursing Ethics".

  That's all I got to say about that!
• 

  Lady Lee

  After I left the JWs I had a few jobs working with people with disabilities. I worked with people with various degrees of visual problems, various levels of auditory problems, and people with mobility problems. Nothing was going to stop any of them. They were all going to school to get an education that would help them in their desired careers.

  I don't think one of them ever complained about pain although a couple who had glaucoma had to have their eye drops.

  And since I was involved in the various community organizations I dated a few people with disabilities - blind, or deaf or MS or CP. The only one of them with constant pain was the fellow with MS - and he did use medications to help him deal with pain.

  I bring this up because those experiences, both personal and professional, taught me there are far worse things than disabilities. An attitude of surrender of spirit and mind makes everything worse. People can and do find ways to have the best life possible. And that should be the goal of everyone regardless of health issues.

  Some of you have read my bio have said they don't know how or how well I survived it all. Abuse teaches people to survive or succumb. I see that my disability is no different.