My New Life: Keep Pushin'

What is that thing??!!

As part of my new physical therapy plan I will see two different therapists. I can see pros and cons with this approach but it is worth a try. The pros are that I receive the medical expertise of two very different people. If one of them is out or off work I can still see the other one and she will know my history. The con for me is that if I am really benefiting from the treatment I am receiving from one and maybe not as much from the other then it could be a problem. But there is no use in worrying about that now. I just need to Keep Pushin' on.

Dorothy and Toto from the Wizard of Oz

This week I met my other therapist. She is a Physical Therapist and a Massage Therapist...I was thinking oh yeah, this is gonna be great! As she began talking about her background she mentioned that she lived in Kansas, but she didn't sound anything like Dorothy (see picture to the left). I said "I know you are not from Kansas!" She had an accent that I did not recognize. She said she is from Puerto Rico...not even close to Kansas!

Since my MRI did not show any bulging or ruptured disks to explain my chronic sciatica my doctor is not sure what my next step should be other than to keep taking pain killers. Now I so clearly understand why the second Urologist I went to see said "Do most IC patients take pain medication? Yes, but that's okay." I didn't understand it when he said it. In fact it upset and frustrated me but now it makes sense.

My therapist gave me what I would call a deep tissue massage. Focusing on treating my chronic pain that starts in my buttocks and goes all the way down my leg. It felt GREAT while she was doing it!

I told her about the beginning of my Interstitial Cystitis (IC) journey and how I now have other related conditions such as Fibromyalgia and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction. She wasn't familiar with IC but she said she would research it. I gave her my handy dandy handout that has some information about IC on it and the ICA's website and of course my blog address. She then asked me if it was okay if she prayed. Are you kidding??? It is more than okay...it made my day!!! I told her that I really appreciated her praying and I hugged her. I said it made me feel better because I am a Christian. She said "I am too." I thought well isn't that just like God to put me in the hands of another Christian therapist??!!...I was feeling so blessed!

By Tuesday my back, bladder and sciatica pain had shifted into overdrive. On Wednesday I was convinced I was in an IC flare. However I started feeling better on Thursday just in time for my next pt appointment.

As promised my therapist had done some research on IC and she said "After reading about it, I have to admire you for continuing to keep pushin' on." I told her that it was not easy at all. Some days I just want to stay in bed. But it's just not like me to give up that easily. I have to keep trying new treatments, researching and learning as much as I can to help myself...I have to Keep Pushin'.

That is what we all have to do. We have to make it through various trials of life. In the mist of these trials it may seem that they will never end. And we sometimes lose hope. But there is an end to all of this far more wonderful than we can imagine in our present circumstances.

You might call these guys old but I think they still have it...This is different from my usual videos but this song popped into my head while I was writing this post. When I was a teenager REO was my favorite group. I think this song has a good message. We all have to Keep Pushin!

Let me know your thoughts or comments below. And feel free to pass this post along.