Blog
I Just Want To Help!
December 23rd, 2011
Hi! My name is Diane Rustand. I\'m 62 years young and have had chronic pain of one type or another since the age of 25. Early in my nursing career I was introduced to \"back pain\". I thought my pain was severe until I had surgery to supposedly fix the problem.
The second chronic condition I suffered with came from the \"Cavernous Hemangioma\" on my right hip, a condition I was born with. Every few years since the age of 10, I had surgery to thin out the tumor. Finally, at the age of 31, I had a procedure that closed off the existing blood supply.
The tumor, with a mind of its own, wrapped itself around the sciatic nerve on the right side, making it impossible to walk. I was non-weight bearing on the right side and took pain medicine to live as normally as possible.
In December 1993, I was riding my Palomino gelding in a pasture. I had only owned this horse for two weeks. As I was teaching a young lady to ride, my horse got spooked and bolted into a gallop. I decided to get off before the horse stopped short, and I sailed over his head.
The fall resulted in a broken neck, specifically a lateral mass fracture at C5, a vertebral fracture at C6, and C7 was subluxed or jammed on top of C6. (Incidentally, I also sustained a T4 fracture). Surgery was done to fix the neck fractures; however, I still had to wear the Halo apparatus due to the T4 fracture.
A few months after this surgery, I had shoulder surgery arthroscopically. The shoulder pain was so severe, I had trouble sleeping. The next thing I know I\'m seeing a Rheumatologist, who diagnoses the pain in my back, neck, knees, arms, etc., as fibromyalgia. How many more chronic pain issues can one person have?
Today, I have back and neck pain, headaches, and fibromyalgia. You will be talking to and learning from a coach with years of practical experience.
If I had done what I was told, my back pain might have been gone. Instead of resting the entire two months, I went back to work against my surgeon\'s wishes. The pain I felt was worse than before the surgery.
The second chronic condition I suffered with came from the \"Cavernous Hemangioma\" on my right hip, a condition I was born with. Every few years since the age of 10, I had surgery to thin out the tumor. Finally, at the age of 31, I had a procedure that closed off the existing blood supply.
The tumor, with a mind of its own, wrapped itself around the sciatic nerve on the right side, making it impossible to walk. I was non-weight bearing on the right side and took pain medicine to live as normally as possible.
In December 1993, I was riding my Palomino gelding in a pasture. I had only owned this horse for two weeks. As I was teaching a young lady to ride, my horse got spooked and bolted into a gallop. I decided to get off before the horse stopped short, and I sailed over his head.
The fall resulted in a broken neck, specifically a lateral mass fracture at C5, a vertebral fracture at C6, and C7 was subluxed or jammed on top of C6. (Incidentally, I also sustained a T4 fracture). Surgery was done to fix the neck fractures; however, I still had to wear the Halo apparatus due to the T4 fracture.
A few months after this surgery, I had shoulder surgery arthroscopically. The shoulder pain was so severe, I had trouble sleeping. The next thing I know I\'m seeing a Rheumatologist, who diagnoses the pain in my back, neck, knees, arms, etc., as fibromyalgia. How many more chronic pain issues can one person have?
Today, I have back and neck pain, headaches, and fibromyalgia. You will be talking to and learning from a coach with years of practical experience.
If I had done what I was told, my back pain might have been gone. Instead of resting the entire two months, I went back to work against my surgeon\'s wishes. The pain I felt was worse than before the surgery.