Stumbling, Self Diagnosis & Asking for Help

Stumbling.  For some of us, we stumble a lot.  In my life, I've stumbled due lack of knowledge or ignorance.  I've stumbled because I refused to learn lessons.  But, one thing I've rarely done is stumble physically.

By September my journey had come to physical stumbling.  I was getting scared.  I tried the "self diagnosis" via the Internet.  One thing I've learned;  if you want to be scared to death, diagnose yourself by searching the world wide web!  The symptoms I was having seemed to point to things like MS, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS) or some other drastic neurological disease.  I did find a few things about tumors but I just had never really thought about spinal tumors.

I sought out a medical doctor and a new chiropractor at the same time.  The medical doctor saw me two times and essentially dismissed my symptoms.  He asked if I wanted medicine for my numbness as this may just be idiopathic.  I told him I didn't and that I wanted to know the source of this numbness.  As you can imagine, I did not return to this doctor.  My new chiropractor carefully listened to my symptoms and would eventually stop treating me with the recommendation that I get an MRI.

I could barely navigate the stairs in our home.  When I attempted to walk around furniture I'd nearly fall over.  By October, basic things like taking a shower or walking the 150 feet to our mailbox was getting extremely difficult.

The scariest time of the day was getting out of bed.  For a number of months, I'd been having "convulsion-like" episodes at night.  I'd awaken several times a night, struggling to get back to sleep.  Since my wife is a light sleeper, I'd elected to sleep in another room.  She rarely saw my struggle to get out of bed and begin walking.  Like most things in life, when we stumble or fall, we prefer not to have others around to see.  But each day, it was getting harder to hide how much I was stumbling.

I now had come to the point in this journey, when I needed to share how much I was struggling and ask for help.  Perhaps you can relate to me?  Have you stumbled alone long enough for it to scare you?  Is it time to expose your stumbling and ask for help?

Numbness and Tingling

On November 22, 2013 I had a large tumor removed from my spinal canal.  During my 5 day hospital stay, I was asked over and over "what were you symptoms when this all started".  My answer was that I had numbness and tingling in my feet.

In June, as I would stand on my feet for long periods of time they would go numb.  For over 10 years I had problems with my feet.  I experienced plantar fasciitis and most likely heel spurs.  So when the numbness started, I just thought it had to do with these previous problems.  Perhaps a pair of new shoes I had just purchased were to blame.

As the weeks went on, I began to have numbness in my calves and thighs.  This would happen mostly when I was sitting for extended times, driving a car or while I was laying down.  It seemed that once I stood up and moved around it would get better.  In the morning it seemed to be worse and each week it seemed to take longer for my legs to "wake up".



I thought that these symptoms must have something to do with my back.  I've gone to a chiropractor since I was young.  In August I decided to seek one out to get some help.  The first doctor I saw didn't approach chiropractic in a style that I liked so I didn't return.  A week or so later, I saw another doctor who specialized in an ortho-therapy approach.  He adjusted a spot in my center spine that bothered me and did some manipulation on my lower back.  The primary way he helped me was through soft tissue work.  I was able to get relief in my back and legs through the use of a foam roller and trigger point work using a lacrosse ball.  After about 4 weeks, I was still having progressive numbness and tingling in my legs and now into my abdomen.  I was getting less relief from the soft tissue work.  He recommended that I see a medical doctor and have some metabolic tests done.

For nearly 3 months, I had progressive numbness and tingling.  I still I had no answers.

Like so many things in our lives - we have symptoms that make us feel a bit numb or we have an uncomfortable tingling.  Even as the symptoms get worse, it often is such a gradual onset that we don't realize how bad things are getting.  Our reality changes as we adapt to the symptoms.   We have numbness and tingling.  And still we have no answers.

Why a blog about "learning to walk again"?

There are some things you think you'll never have to do again in life.  For me - that one thing would be "learning to walk".

Today I decided to start blogging about this unlikely journey.  I know that my condition is not as severe as so many others.  I'm relatively more mobile than most of the people I see at my rehabilitation sessions each week.  However, each of us have our own journey.

My journey began just over 6 months ago.  In June of 2013, I was relatively healthy and enjoying my life.  A lot was happening.  Our family had relocated from Brooklyn, NY to Albuquerque, NM in January of the same year.  My wife had an ankle injury that would result in surgery in June.   My 9 year old son is an avid skateboarder and there were many skate parks to visit.  My volunteer position at Destiny Church was in full swing.

On a Sunday morning in early June, as I lead the host team volunteers at church, my feet went numb for the first time.  My journey would begin that day.