A few days ago I awoke in the morning with the hypersensitivity only this time it wasn't one part of my body, it was the entire thing. My right hand would get shooting pains that were so painful I would cry out. If something--anything touched any part of my body, even a feather touch, I was writhing. On top of that, the left side of my body felt hot when it came in contact with anything. As if the couch I was sitting on or the table I leaned against was a space heater. No big deal I thought. It's just my neck acting up, the nerve must really be pinched this time. This lasted about 2 days. I woke up on the third day and thought, YAY my skin does not hurt as much, the worst is over. I swung out of bed and when I stood up, I nearly collapsed. My legs felt like JELLO. Wow, I thought. This is new. I really better get to the chiropractor. For the rest of the day I hobbled along in my house really unsteady on my feet. My legs felt as though they had a mind of their own. They would straighten when I didn't intend them to, and bend when I wanted them straight. The next morning I was due to go to the chiropractor. I got up and began to get ready when I realized my leg control in my right leg had diminished greatly. My legs now felt as though sandbags had been tied to them though they were still feeling like JELLO and now felt as though I was standing barefoot in a snowbank up to my knees. I asked my husband to take me to the doctors because I was nervous driving. Upon struggling to get my little girl dressed I realized my right arm was feeling heavy and off as well. My body felt as though it was just in an extremely strange state. Nothing really "hurt" but at the same time everything felt wrong.
My chiropractor called my husband in an told us that he thought I should go to the ER to get some images taken so we could have a better idea what we were dealing with. He knew we did not have insurance and said that the ER would work with us. So we went home and I called a dear friend who has really been my lifesaver whenever my life needs saving over the last couple years. She rushed over to pick me up so my husband could stay home with Abigail and we headed to the ER. On the drive Renee, who also happens to be a nurse began telling me that she really thought my symptoms sounded like MS or something similar. That idea was already in my head from earlier that morning when my husband said he Googled "Jello legs" and MS was the first thing to come up. I couldn't really comprehend that though I feel I took in the information very well. I was sure it was just my back.....or maybe a B12 deficiency or something.
At the ER we waited probably 3 or more hours before being taken to a room. Once in there a nurse asked me to explain my problems, so I did. Once I was finished she said "You should be a writer, you are very descriptive". At the time I thought she was insulting me. After all I had been trying to explain my symptoms to people for days and I felt as if maybe I was crazy because they were so strange. Afterwards, Renee told me that it was in fact a complement that most people do not explain things as well and just expected the doctors to figure it out when they said "My leg hurts". After more waiting the doctor came in. She informed me that she was going to run some blood tests as well as a UA and a CT scan and an X-ray of my neck. This was all to rule out something acute and life threatening such as a stroke, but would also test my thyroid and vitamin levels and what not. After these were completed I was left to wait some more. I was freezing--well felt like I was---but my skin was actually not cold.. I was tired. And I missed my little girl. After I had been at the ER for almost 7 hours the doctor came back with the results. Everything Acute was ruled out. All tests came back negative. She said that my next step was to see a neurologist because it was looking more like MS or something similar. Apparently they do not have one on staff to see people in the ER and as it was Friday (they day when anything bad happens) I would not be able to call one until Monday. Now I was freaking out. What if I cant get into one because I do not have insurance! I'm only 25, this cannot be happening to me! We left the hospital at 8:00 and at that point I just wanted to see my baby girl so badly that nothing else mattered. I curled up with her and my husband and tried to forget about everything as best I could.
Today, Saturday, I realized that now my problem is mainly the right side of my body. My left leg is numb, but my right side does not function. It took me 20 minutes to get Abigail dressed and her diaper changed. I have no fine motor skills in my right hand. I couldn't use it to fasten her diaper or secure her onesie. If this strange illness had upset me before....now it really upset me. Nothing means more to me than my daughter..and now I was having trouble doing the most menial things that I would never even think about before. My leg was dragging behind me like dead weight as I hobbled about my day trying to look on the bright side. At least I still had one functioning leg and arm...At least I wasn't in excruciating pain...at least I was alive... I began to realize that I couldn't just let my left arm be "dead weight". I had to force it to perform. It was a struggle, but I managed to turn on a lamp, open a can, and even FASTEN Abigail's diaper later in the afternoon! It sounds ridiculous, I know...but it took me three tries to get that darn lamp on and it took all my concentration to fasten the diaper. I tired early, so I went to bed around 9 where I curled up next to Abigail (we are currently co-sleeping while I nurse, blog or vlog on that eventually). At about 2:00 I got up to use the bathroom. I put my left leg onto the floor and literally picked up my right leg with my hands. It could be worse I thought. On my way back to bed I realized that my neck was really starting to hurt.. I crawled back into bed and no sooner did I lay down when my neck went into full blown attack. It was hurting terribly. I could not get comfortable no matter how I lay. Then my skin on the right front of my neck started burning as though were lit on fire. Then it began itching. Like I had the worst case of poison ivy ever. This is INSANE! I thought. Sure it could be worse, but I sure as hell don't want to deal with this crap! So I got out of bed one last time trying hard not to wake anyone. I sat in the living room and cried for a bit...a brief moment of feeling sorry for myself. I guess I am allowed one every now and again? Ok, moment over! Time to stop this itching burning sensation on my neck. I took two Alieve, slathered my neck in hydro-cortisone, and decided to take that nurse up on her suggestion. I sat down to type. For two days I have had to use the mouse with my left hand, and type one handed. Not too easy when trying to blog. Since sitting down at my computer at 2:37 (it is now after 4:00am), I have managed to force my right hand to contribute to the typing. It's slow and my arm feels very heavy, so it's painful and every few minutes I have to let it rest for a bit...but I've gotten it to do more than sit idly by, and for that, I am proud. I'll relish the little moments for now, and once I know what this crazy illness is, I can focus on bigger things. I'm also happy to say that during this blog the pain and itching has subsided! :) Blogging sure is a great distraction. I thought I would go crazy trying to deal with that.
So I guess maybe this blog will become a chronicle of not just my journey raising the most amazing little girl ever, but my journey raising her with MS or whatever crazy thing this turns out to be. I will keep you posted! And I will gladly accept any spare prayers you may have to give away! For now, I think I am going to try to crawl back into bed and get some sleep before Abigail is ready to start her day in a few hours.
SOUNDS LIKE RSD/CPRS coldness numbless pain hypersensitivity to touch. My daughter has RSD/CRPS.Ask your neurologist about RSD.
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