This is "Me" who I used to be

Suddenly, he moved his chair to be exactly right in front of me then looked at my eyes and he said,
"I wonder, how long have you been dealing with this brain tumor?
I don't have any brain tumor, doctor! You must be wrong.
- "How possibly this could happen? Didn't you feel anything odd or strange that you think you have a brain tumor or something in that part of your brain?"
-"No doctor!. I did not!"
- "Well, you need to tell me what you want me to do."
- "I don't know what to do, doctor. How can you ask me that? I didn´t know I have a brain tumor. You must tell me what l should do."

When I described myself, I used to say that I had been healthy for almost my entire life. Since I was a child, l loved swimming, riding a bicycle, rollerblading, hiking, working out at the gym or at home. I was even a member of the Boy Scouts for 5 years. I loved feeling the energy going through my body when I was being active. It was like a drug for me and I always had a full of energy.

The accident happened in a second…When l was 28 years old, l fell about 9 meters from the second floor at my parent's house. l was climbing up the outside ladder to the second floor bathroom window, somehow l lost balance. l had several broken bones, bruises all over the body, a couple of lumbar disc discharges, partial and permanent memory loss, and a black eye. It was such a terrible accident, and it took me one year and a half to recover. Once l did not feel much pain anymore, l went back to my normal life and I never took physical therapy or seeing a doctor again at that time, unfortunately.

In 2012, when I was on my way walking to the restaurant for an event, one of my high heels broke. I was already late so l didn´t take it off and kept walking literally dragging my feet on the floor. By the time I got into the place, l started feeling some pain in my lower back. The pain became stronger by the end of the event and when I tried to stand up, I couldn´t. The pain I felt was very similar to the accident that I had when I was 28 years old.

The next day, I couldn´t get out of bed. l asked my friend to take me to the doctor. The diagnosis was that l had two lumbar disc discharges. The doctor was quite sure that those discs were injured before. He asked me if I had any accidents before
- "Yes, doctor. l did have an accident 13 years ago"
-"You kept dragging the feet, so it caused this. You need surgery. Otherwise, you would not be able to walk again", he said.
Unfortunately, I didn´t have any insurance or saving. And the surgery was very expensive, so l decided to do physical therapy at that time instead.

For 3 months, I was in a wheelchair. l couldn´t walk, the pain was so intense and the painkillers didn´t work for me. l clearly remember that I was thinking…"I won't be able to take more pain". l was depressed because I couldn´t work or do anything on my own. However, after one year and a half of physical therapy, I fully recovered finally.

People who experience back pain problems know that the pain and discomfort are in their lives 24/7, and they know how to deal with it. Lifestyle would be slightly changed, and certain things would be limited to do but you start used to them. For me, since l had the accident, l wear a back-support belt on my lower back, which really help me to reduce the pain. I also do a lot of exercises to be in shape because my doctor told me that it is very important not to put extra weight on my spine.