Good News: Getting Some Answers
I had a rough weekend. While doing some errands at the church with Amanda, I had a sudden attack of severe lower back pain. Now, I am in my mid-fifties and it is not unusual for me to have aches and pains, especially in the back.
However, this was not just a twinge of pain or a minor discomfort. It was enough that it put me on the floor and I was not able to get up for about twenty minutes. When I did get up, I had such a surge of pain that I almost passed out. This is not normal, especially since I had done nothing strenuous to injure my back.
We do not have a family physician and so off to the emergency room at our local hospital I went. I was there for eighteen hours. It was not a fun time.
I did eventually see a doctor and he ran some tests on my back. My fear when getting tests is not so much that they will find something really bad but that they won’t find any issues at all and send me home with a lot of pain but no answers.
I went back today for a planned followup and more tests. They were able to provide some answers. There definitely are some issues but they are treatable. My issue falls broadly under the umbrella term of mechanical back pain.
The Good News is that the doctor took my issues seriously and did not give up after the first tests were inconclusive. He took the time to investigate and to explain clearly what I was facing and how to move forward toward better health.
Tomorrow I start physiotherapy and I have some other options to further improve my condition. It can feel pretty vulnerable not having a family physican and it is impossible to predict the level of care I might receive.
However, the Good News is that I talked to an emergency room physician who cared enough to find the answers and to send me in the right direction.
