In November of 2013 and quite abruptly, the life I had known took a drastic turn. Unbeknownst to me and unable to pinpoint, an unrecognizable flame on a slow burn fuse had been carelessly lit that year. This fuse … saturated with oxidization was negotiating a path through my body, preparing for a pyrotechnics show of vast proportions. When it reached its end the bomb exploded in my entire body, affecting every system, every sub-system.
I am still removing pieces of the shrapnel to this day.

There was no warning that I could have voiced, that would have been listened to by the specialists. I was not nearly educated enough to disagree, or understand the slightest of what had been happening. Certainly not enough to stop the flame before it truly ignited.

I was prescribed Cipro for what was said to be a sinus infection; never proven to be bacterial.

I found myself with a sudden onset of unimaginable pain and a very disjointed mind. With the first onset of symptoms I would experience hours of the sharpest jolts of pain like glass shards cutting into me, muscle spasms, numbness, and paralysis of the upper extremities (from cervical spine to finger tips). My mind was in a complete fog as I would check out completely. I would stare at walls or sometimes pace around aimlessly, unable to find answers or any sort of relief. I had the most extreme definition (I guess?) of anxiety/panic, that even my loved ones did not comprehend or tolerate, nor could I. My few precious moments of actual consciousness, would start out fueled with hope: ‘find answers’, ‘do EVERYTHING to get better’, ‘think positive’! But shortly lived, my mind would cloud up again with fear as the pain began to consume me as I slipped back into a fog.

In those incoherent states I am still unsure of its entirety; if it was due to the excruciating physical pain and my body’s way of handling it? Was it my brain acting on its own accord and separating itself from body and reality in an utter defenseless mental state? Or non-simply put, the “hard to explain” ‘fog’ that is par for the course for most in this situation. I do know that I have had to work very hard at getting my brain back to doing the simplest of tasks. It’s a very long road to recovery if at all, and while the greater population have a hard time understanding physical injuries that aren’t always visible (even to the kindest of critics), imagine considering the large mental aspect involved with such trauma? Oye!

I was unable to use my arms for quite some time, unable to walk, and unable to perform simple daily tasks.
I have peripheral neuropathies throughout my upper and lower extremities gracing me with a wide array of different types of pain. I have had continued tendon ruptures and connective tissue damage throughout my body (as if I got in an accident), immune disorders, fibromyalgia, blood clotting, inflammation, tinnitus, EMF sensitivity, circulation issues, chronic fatigue, extreme muscle spasms, bone spurs, not to mention the brain disabilities (memory, confusion, and other cognitive struggles), the trauma, loss etc, the list goes on.

16 months later, I am very grateful to have made a lot of progress, but I still suffer to most of the above symptoms (some greater than others) to varying degrees; some up and down, some rare, some frequent. Just last week I once again had several injections in my lower spine due to the connective tissue and muscles in my body are not strong enough to hold and move everything properly.

Every story counts and deserves to be heard. There is no denial of this issue to claim appropriate at this point by anyone. Let’s continue to get the word out there and make the changes that are necessary. There is a problem that should be addressed and I look forward to the resolve that will be accomplished by the hundreds of thousands that are suffering.