"I can't remember exactly what I was doing when it happened. The morning had started normally enough. It was a Tuesday and I'd woken up before my alarm-this part was not normal, and the subsequent consequences almost certainly ensure it will never happen again. I fed my cat and watered my plants. I made a cup of coffee. I washed the dishes I'd left in the sink overnight."
"I've never had back pain before, not really. I've had the sort of aches that anyone who spends their day hunched over a computer does; before Tuesday morning, that's what I thought back pain was. I've since learned, not for the first time and almost certainly not for the last, how expansive a word like pain can be, and how much it can encompass. Tears stung furiously at my eyes. I made a sound that startled my cat enough that he looked up."
Morning routine began normally: woke early, fed the cat, watered plants, made coffee, and washed dishes. A mild twinge in the back prompted a stretch. Standing after the stretch triggered sudden, sharp, sprawling pain causing tears and a startling sound. The pain provoked spasms that made sitting, standing, lateral movement, and twisting painful, disrupting basic tasks. The narrator had little prior experience with true back pain and realized how expansive pain can be. The episode limited use of the right hand, making texting and holding objects painful. The narrator informed a trainer about possible adjustments for an evening session.
Read at Defector
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]