My mum had an appointment with a specialist today because she’s been having pain in her legs for years that has been getting worse and worse to the point where she can really only stand or walk for about 5 minutes at a time.

She’s seen multiple specialists over the years. All have been useless. And blamed aging.

When it first started I told her it sounded like nerve damage or a pinched nerve because I get sciatica and it sounded very similar.

The specialist today looked at the MRI and instantly knew it was Spinal Stenosis (ie. the spinal cord is being pinched by a shifted vertebrae).

He also said that the MRI from 2019 showed it as well, and quite obviously. When I asked him why it wasn’t picked up back then, all he could do was shrug.

Anyway. If you don’t get the answer you’re looking for, don’t think that you have to put up with pain. You don’t. Just keep asking until someone does their job properly.

#MedicalConditions #FindTheRightDoctor #Pain #SpinalStenosis #Specialists

I find I grieve my increasing disability more often and more intensely than my mortality. I have always been someone who acts on what they are thinking, not without question or regard, but without paranoia about how others might perceive it. (Naturally, this has led to a long string of misunderstandings). I miss agency. I miss action. I miss a lot sometimes.

#disability #degenerative #grief #autoimmune #spinalstenosis #andwhathaveyou

Waystation Song
for @Norm-Mattox

His voice is an old voice, slow and dryly wise.
He says he is meditating again,
and finding some peace in the places between.

We talk about dying with wide eyes,
nothing shuttered, no walls.
We talk about life with the voices of
old women comparing their
wedding photos.
We talk about art like a liferaft,
carrying us over the shoals of our
bodies and their erratic betrayals.

(1)

#poem #poetry #disability #death #terminalillness #cancer #spinalstenosis

Any #trans people in #NewYork: if you are on #medicaid, don't choose #Fidelis faith-based #health #insurance as your provider

I have #SpinalStenosis. Fidelis authorized, with no problems for 10 years, 2 #cortizone shots in my L3-L4 lumbar every 2 months.

Everything was fine but since I told my #FidelisCare manager that I was #transgender, they authorized two shots in two years.

I'm in constant pain. My pain management office is tirelessly appealing to get them to authorize more, to no avail.

My mom has #COVID. I tried a test kit. Mine came back with a T and no C so it wasn't an accurate test.

I'm pretty sure I have #COVID19 though, since I live with my mom and she has it.

I feel worn down. I'm sweating with chills. I have #chromicpain from #fibromyalgia and #SpinalStenosis, so it's a triple attack. I woke up with stabbing pains that went down my right leg and made it impossible to walk.

Plus, I have collegenous #colitis, which is an #autoimmune condition so it's hitting me hard.