My Life-Changing Journey With Stem Cell Therapy
A personal reflection on a recent degenerative spine procedure
The Issue
Have you ever thought you were physically more robust, flexible, and agile than in reality? I had convinced myself of this falsehood in 2020. During the height of the pandemic, on a cold winter night, out of boredom, I decided to showcase and brag about my dazzling gymnastic abilities to my parents in the form of a bridge pose that rocked back and forth. The result? Over the next 24 hours, I was unable to walk and hunched over in severe pain.
Fast forward a year; I neglected to shovel snow properly and, again, doubled over in agony, unable to stand straight. In both of these instances, I seemingly recovered after a few weeks. Finally, in January 2023, when lifting my dog into the car, I heard a crunch in my lower back, which culminated in an inability to walk for a couple of weeks and experienced piercing pain with most movements. This time, recovery wasn't in the cards. Coupled with a lower back issue, I began to feel a strong electric current coursing down my right leg, a constant source of aggravation and sleep loss. Despite all this, I still finished the downhill ski season, not wanting to suffer from FOMO. Talk about obsessive-compulsive!
