Mark Knows It All

In what is perhaps a harbinger of things to come, I offer you the pain in my back that I have had for the last 20 years. Orthopedic, chiropractic, and family medicine dudes have all heard me complain about the severe pain in my lower back. X-ray after x-ray showed nothing. Finally, one guy came up with the only diagnosis from any of these guys. He said I had “butt pain.” I dutifully paid him my $75.00, and went forth. But over the past 6 months, it has ceased being a laughing matter. My body has developed a twenty degree tilt to the right, and it is impossible to straighten my body out. When I try to straighten out, I have to lift my right off the ground at least an inch in order to align my hips with my spine. In addition, the pain has become unbearable. I have been unable to lay down now for close to a year. On some days I can barely walk. Even scarier, severe neuropathy has developed in both legs, and now is rapidly descending into my arms and hands. My GP sent me to a neurologist.