Progress is not linear. You have got to remain patient and stay the course, no matter the time it takes to get back all that you have lost.

As of today, I am officially halfway through my disc regeneration treatments. From this point forward, the majority of patients begin to report the most significant improvements.

I have already begun to notice that the highs are continually climbing higher, while the lows are not nearly as low anymore. If I had to guess, I’d rate my healing somewhere between 50-75% at this point. On my best days, I’m tempted to challenge my Doctors regarding their restriction upon me starting to run. On my worst days, I am gripped with pain, and forced to forego my home PT program in exchange for laying supine on ice packs extending all the way from my neck down to my hips. But, even on days like this, I am optimistic that it will get better. Afterall, I’ve already begun to bounce back much quicker than before – even after 6+ hours of hiking rocky mountain terrain that results in 1200’ of elevation gain!

I still have several more months of physical therapy ahead and, after one exquisitely bad day recently (when my physical therapist was successfully able to release the facet joints in my lumbar spine, as they had locked me into one very unbalanced position, gripping me with pain) I now understand, more than ever, the value and importance of these appointments. Many times over he has astounded me with his knowledge and level of professionalism and skill. He is able to read my body and my movements in ways that I can not even begin to explain. I openly admit to being a poor patient and one not likely to complain, which actually makes his job much more challenging.

Integrating care and acquiring the cooperation between neurosurgeons, chiropractors, and physical therapists is no easy feat. I am incredibly grateful for the few that I have found, who have been willing to work with me to restore my health and physical abilities. I never really could understand why such interconnected professional fields consistently reject the potential benefits of each other’s therapies? I mean, it only makes sense to incorporate them all.

It isn’t always easy. In fact, I spend the majority of most days managing my own frustration, immersing myself in the treatments, therapies, and exercises prescribed to me, while feeling so eager to just simply return to running. But I know that my body is still healing, and to return so prematurely would be another very big mistake. So I am, instead, choosing to remain positive, and am learning to be patient – because that very moment will most certainly be worth the wait.

My heart aches for those people who can not or choose not to run, or at least move their body vigorously on a very regular basis. They have no idea how good it feels to have those endorphins pumping through their veins. When they wake up in the morning and begin to move about, that is likely the best that they will physically feel throughout the day. Most of them don’t even realize how much more there is to feel and experience – or how much more life there is to live!

Progress is not linear. No matter how many more highs I may reach, followed by however many lows, I am determined to stay the course. I refuse to settle for anything less than the best of whatever is yet to come.

#BeyondTheBoylstonLine