A Pain in the Neck

Dawn Ann has been having some pain in her neck and shoulder similar to what she experienced two years ago. The technical term for her condition is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome . Essentially this is where the muscles in the neck and shoulder tighten up to the point that they put pressure on the nerves. Dawn Ann went through about 2 months of pain and difficulty last time before it was properly diagnosed and treated.

This time, however, we were able to catch it in the beginning stages. Last week, Dawn Ann went to her Neurologist, and got a new prescription for physical therapy. As it turns out, she has been able to receive treatment from the same therapist who helped her last time, with good success. She started therapy last week, and will continue with 4 treatments this week. At this point, she hopes that this will be all the treatments she will need for this episode (our health insurance only covers 12 physical therapy sessions per year).

For a few days last week, it was too painful for her to sleep in bed at night. So she spent the nights in the recliner instead. There were some nights when she didn't sleep at all. However, things have eased up some, and she is able to sleep in bed again. Its good to see her getting on top of the situation, with out the long months of severe pain she experienced last time. We are counting our blessings, and giving thanks to the Lord for helping her through this challenge.