Embracing recovery

Embracing recovery

August 31st, 2012

By: Gina Yoryet Román

It’s been almost TWO weeks since having to give up my workouts momentarily and stay still for a short while. As hyped up as I always am, the price to be paid has been too high but what else could I have deserved for dragging an injury for that long? While impatiently awaiting for my first appointment today, I was assimilating this tiny obstacle, getting mentally and physically prepared to hear what I already knew (rest, don’t force your body, follow your therapy strictly), and telling myself that now that the problem has been detected, getting to know my body into more depth and NOT ignoring it is a MUST without putting it off any longer!

Day one of my truce, 5pm today:

 When I stepped into the therapist’s office, I was very calm even after hearing different speculations, one of them being fibromyalgia (FM or FMS), a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. Fibromyalgia symptoms are not restricted to pain, leading to the use of the alternative term fibromyalgia syndrome for the condition. Other symptoms include debilitating fatigue, sleep disturbance, and joint stiffness. Some patients may also report difficulty with swallowing, bowel and bladder abnormalities, numbness and tingling, and cognitive dysfunction. Fibromyalgia is frequently comorbid with psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety and stress-related disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder.

The location of the 9 paired tender points are those where fibromyalgia attacks

Treatment

As with many other medically unexplained syndromes, there is no universally accepted treatment or cure for fibromyalgia, and treatment typically consists of symptom management. Developments in the understanding of the pathophysiology of the disorder have led to improvements in treatment, which include prescription medication, behavioral intervention, exercise, and alternative and complementary medicine.

My body manifested most of these symptoms and I assured that this was the problem so needless to say, I was TERRIFIED that I wouldn’t be cured ever again until I heard the doctor’s diagnose. According to him, the ligaments inside were tense and stressed due to the impact of that unexpected wreck three years ago causing a 5mm cystic lesion on my distal femur misplacing my cartilage that is now bent and crooked, rubbing against the bone and leading to pain and swelling.

According to the MRI results my cartilage is intact! I was honestly expecting to hear that it was shattered but thank God at least there is always hope, whatever the injury may be, and despite feeling like a whale, I have already decided that I will not let ANY injury prevail over me. I have dictated that NO temporary obstacle will put a halt to my active lifestyle. I am determined that once I am fully recovered with a few extra pounds, my come back will be stronger than ever. I shall return reloaded and last a rather long while.

At any other given moment I would have been torn into pieces but not today. Although my body is slowly losing strength and endurance, my mind is gaining AMAZING self control and my soul is being fed with faith so I am ready to defeat this injury and hold on to hope because sooner rather than later I shall be strolling down the trails of Colomos or Metropolitano and embracing the promise of a new day!