Happy Spring + A Personal Update

Hello friends! As you may have noticed, I’ve been out of commission for longer than originally anticipated when I signed off for the new year. Thank you so much for all the emails and messages on social media — it has really meant a lot. I’m OK. I’ve just been going through some physical and mental health issues and really needed to tend to them with the kind of love and compassion I usually only reserve for other people (I know, I know… I’m working on it!).

Near the end of 2017, I started having a lot of pain in my left arm that was exacerbated by being on my laptop for many hours at a time. I started seeing my chiropractor, then a sports medicine arm specialist, then a physical therapist. I had been trying to focus on getting the care and being diligent with my exercises to get my arm back to normal, but any relief has been temporary and the regimens and schedules have been exhausting. So frustrating.

After months of this work, I finally had an MRI of my neck. The MRI shows that I have two discs that are compressing the nerve that goes across my left shoulder blade and down my left arm. It was good to figure out what the issue has been, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared about what this finding means. I will most likely need spine surgery.

It took a while to be able to get in with a spine specialist since the doctor I had been seeing was an arm specialist. The neurosurgeon I finally met with recently says he thinks I will need ACDF surgery — which is definitely not the minimally invasive variety I was hoping it would be. I am seeing another specialist soon for a second opinion to weigh my options and plan the timing that works best for surgery and recovery. Fortunately, I was prescribed a medication that has helped soften some of the nerve pain I’ve been experiencing and the neurosurgeon says that I’m not in an emergency situation and should be able to plan to have surgery for whenever it works for my little family this year.

I’m so happy to be back to blogging. It has been a difficult time with lots of pain and dark days, but being here sure pulls me back up and I’m certainly not mad at this spring sunshine! Thank you all for sticking with me during this cuckoo time in my life — I cannot tell you how much it means to me. I’ve got a lot of posts in the works as I’m getting back into the swing of things. I probably won’t be back to blogging every single day until fall, but I’ll be here sharing as much and as often as possible. I hope you’re all doing well! xx Jen

P.S. If any of you out there has had spinal issues or has any advice because of what loved ones have gone through — I’d love to hear about it! Thank you! ♥