This life is a hard life! Not designed for the weak!
Did I always live a life of pain?? Oh no, I used to enjoy life without pain! I mean I still enjoy life, but it’s just a little harder to do these days!
What’s that? Oh, you want to know how it all started? Hmmm…
Oh ok! I’ll tell you! You don’t have to twist my arm! No, really don’t do it! I’ll cry!
My new alternate life started in 2011! Wow, can’t believe I’ve been like this for 6 years now!
Here we go……
One cold dark February morning, Sunny went to work. She thought it was just another day like every other day! Just going about her job, laughing and having fun! (Well as much fun that you can have at work!) Sunny didn’t really have a hard job. She made dry erase products! Who doesn’t love those? Sunny does! She put these dry erase sheets on magnet! I know, fun right? Just too give you a picture, Sunny is a tall woman! 5-11 actually. She had to lift rolls of 24inch wide rolls of 100ft magnet up to a table just above waist high! Did anyone help her? No, not that many helpful people there! Would you help her? I would if I could!
Sunny lifts and lifts these rolls to complete the order she had to do. Just working and working. BAM! OW! What was that? asked Sunny. Suddenly her back hurt! She couldn’t figure it out, she does this job all the time! For 7 years actually. Sunny relaxes and tells her friend that her back is hurting, but she will continue working. Oy, sunny thinks, this back pain is getting a little worse. Maybe I should tell my supervisor. She did, and finished the day.
Next day, Sunny manages to get to work, and tries to start her job. The pain in her back has other plans. Suddenly she can’t move. Sunny starts to panic, what is happening to me? She wonders. Immediately she goes to her supervisor, and he sends her to the doctor. Sunny’s doctor orders X-rays! Unfortunately, they don’t show anything! But the pain is awful, cries Sunny! Her doctor(Dr. Bev) believes her, but doesn’t know what happened. Next came the MRI. Surprisingly that didn’t show anything either. Bev orders blood work, a lot of blood work. Sunny is afraid of needles.
Did you know that when Sunny was younger, it would take 3 people to hold her down to take blood, and they had trouble even with 3. Sunny was a strong little girl. She does better now, but still doesn’t like them! But blood work is so much better than IV’s! OY! Those are awful!
Hey Sunny, Focus! What? Oh, yeah, sorry, mind wondering!
Sunny’s blood work came back, not showing anything helpful. Meanwhile she is out of work! Sunny didn’t go back to work for three months. In that time, she had a lot of tests done! Seen some specialists that didn’t believe her. One said she was just crazy and depressed! Of course I’m depressed! Yelled Sunny! You try being in this much pain, with no answers!
Eventually Sunny did return to work, but only part time. The other part of the day was spent resting, or at therapy! Let me tell you, therapy is not fun! The only fun part is when I got to lay there with a tens unit (sticky pads hooked to wires and electronically message you) on and warm heating blanket! Best part! Well 7 months later, work insurance said I was done! That’s cool. But I don’t feel any better!
One day Sunny went to work and they had hired a new HR lady ! (The villain! 🤢) Villain asked Sunny into the office, and to meet her. The first words out of Villain’s mouth were “You either come back to work full time, or you’re fired!” Say what?? If Sunny was smart she would have left. See where I’m going with this? You guessed it, Sunny wasn’t smart. She stayed and suffered through a hellish eight hour work day. Day after day.
Meanwhile, Dr Bev diagnosed Sunny with Fibromyalgia and sent Her to Mary Free Bed. More therapy, job therapy, to learn how to work better, a new doctor, and therapist. Therapy was brutal. Sunny’s leg would go numb, and they made her walk fast on the treadmill anyway. So much hard work, with little strength. Sunny’s new doctor kept giving her sleeping pills. She didn’t want those, even though she needed sleep. They gave her nightmares.
Sunny’s therapist June was awesome. Sunny got to sit in a dark room and talk everything over. You see, Sunny didn’t have anyone to talk to. Her friends were abandoning her, because she couldn’t do everything for them, like they were used to. They didn’t understand what was happening to Sunny. Well, they didn’t try to understand either. June helped Sunny work through the pain. June taught Sunny how to focus on her breathing and hypnotize herself. That was the part of the visits Sunny loved the most. After a while June stated that the other doctors and nurses didn’t think She was doing her stretches. Even though Sunny was doing her stretches and everything she was told, things weren’t improving.
The only thing that did improve was Sunny’s attitude. June helped Sunny come to terms with what was going on, and learn how to deal with it better. Soon Sunny’s time at MFB ended. Still suffering everyday, Sunny soon learned what she could and couldn’t do, and how to somewhat manage her days. Sunny was able to get FMLA (which was supposed to protect her job while sick!). Work got harder and harder. Many days she had to stay home because she couldn’t move very well. Life was just too painful.
Fast forward a tad to February 2014. Sunny was going about her day working, doing the best she can. Villain came and asked to talk to her. Ok, this is a little weird, thought Sunny. BAM!! Villain fired Sunny! No reason, no nothing. Yes, I wanted to see you, because this is your last day, you’re done Sunny. Please leave. Said Villain. I’m sorry what? Asked Sunny. Why? Is this a joke? Nope, said Villain, clean out your locker and leave before I call the police! Long story short, Villain had worked there for about two years and had been trying to fire Sunny from day one. Finally she got one of the 3 owners to agree. Villain also waited until the one owner that could have stopped it, wasn’t there.
How upsetting, this situation made Sunny so upset and stressed, she spiraled into a big flare! That is full of pain and sickness! Luckily her x-bosses didn’t fight unemployment, and Sunny got a few months rest while looking for a job. She wasn’t bored at all. She loved the break from going to work in a very hateful place. She eventually got a retail job, and stayed there for a year. Sunny’s body didn’t like that job, weird hours that were all over the place, and the work was too hard.
August 2015, Sunny got a job very close to home. Which was amazing since she couldn’t see well driving in the dark. This job was so easy and had light duty work. Just the right kind of job. Sunny thought she could do that for a long time. Her illness had different plans.
Early 2016 Sunny began to get weaker and weaker! Her legs would go paralyzed. She couldn’t move them. Her pain levels shot to an eight! Ouch, that hurts! Cried Sunny. Literally cried, and cried! These episodes came and went! Bev sent sunny to a neurologist (Tay). Tay asked sunny a bunch of questions. Sunny tried to tell him everything. He wasn’t really listening. Tay told Sunny to try some sleeping pills. Wait, what!? I told you I may not be getting enough sleep, but that is not the problem. I have already tried those! Tay didn’t care, he just said try these, and I’ll see you again soon.
Sunny had to wait six months to see Dr Tay again. Mind you this is only her second visit. Tay told Sunny, “Since those didn’t work, let’s try therapy”. Oh no, demanded Sunny, I have been to therapy four different times, I have all the exercise papers, and still do them. It does not help, not wasting my time or money, please don’t make me do that! Ok, said Tay, then, well I guess I just don’t know why this is happening , call me if it gets worse. Umm, says Sunny, I wouldn’t come to you if it wasn’t bad!
Sunny was dismissed. She thought she just had to learn to live with it. She couldn’t figure out why this was happening or how to help it not happen.
August 2016 Sunny’s friend seen her post on Facebook and asked her to try an all natural product called Plexus. Skeptical Sunny tired it and was amazed! Wow, I can’t believe how much better I feel, cried Sunny. I have to continue. So Sunny jumped on the Plexus train. Her life got a little better. Her digestive issues were clearing up, her pain levels decreased. All in all everything was going well. Expect her heartburn. December 2016, Sunny had surgery to fix her hiatal hernia. Besides not being able to eat much. Sunny was feeling better! Then late January something happened! The pain in Sunny’s back kept getting worse. One day she woke up and couldn’t move her legs again.
Why does this keep happening? Cried Sunny, I was doing so good! I have not had any major problems in a while. Sunny only made it to work one day that week. When Sunny called in on Friday, she was told she had to figure something out, that she couldn’t keep calling in! Sunny cried. She thought they were understanding. Sunny did understand that they need people to show up and do the work. But they were working with her and her issues! Sunny was stressing about losing her job. Stress is not good for Sunny’s condition!
Frantically thinking of what she needs to do and setting up doctor appointments to go over options! Thinking that she may be able to go to work on Monday. Knowing that she is still in a lot of pain, and walking ok wouldn’t last long. But Sunny fears she may lose another job, due to this illness!
What will happen to Sunny? Will she lose her job? Will Dr. Bev figure out how to help her more? Time will tell!
Sunny’s story isn’t done yet! Stay tuned…To be continued…
Sunshine478 