I Am Jack’s Inflamed Source of Pain


Dear Insane Children, 

Quick update for those of you who’ve been following along on my Adventures in Massive Migraines.

A few weeks ago an MRI of my head (skull, brain, etc), revealed no brain worms, cancer, or other possible sources of my recurring migraine headaches. This was a relief but also frustrating because it meant I still had no idea what was causing my headaches, nausea, weakness, tingling in hands, ringing in ears, etc.

So we went back for an MRI of my neck last week and… 

You see that little side-ways V-shaped spike poking out from between two vertebrae and compressing on my spinal nerve? 

That’s called a Herniated (or slipped) disk. And the resulting pinched nerve is what’s causing all my problems. 

So… yay? At least I now know what’s going on. And there’s hope for non-surgical treatment through rest, exercise, diet, and physical therapy. 

And we’re fortunate to be living only 10 minutes away from a newly opened high-tech hospital that focuses on exactly these kinds of problems, so… double yay? 

Always look on the bright side!

I’ll not bore you with any additional updates on this topic – unless they are really interesting, gory, or otherwise engaging.

Thank you, as always, for being supportive, kind, and understanding while I’ve struggled through this. There have been more than a few days in the past months where I’ve been unable to get out of bed – and I feel bad for those times when the updates weren’t coming frequently enough. Thankfully we’ve got a good team, good supporters, and the work – as you’ve seen – continues even when I am writhing in agony. Triple yay!

From Shanghai with Yay,

-American


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