A success story in the making

Someone bumped my success story today. I posted it back in February and sometimes it gets bumped randomly. I'm not sure why. If you're interested, it's here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1202245-sweat-tears-and-the-sea-three-years-of-mfp

The reason I'm posting though is to tell you that there's more to every story that's represented in the Success Stories board than what is contained in any given thread. My thread was about overcoming the symptoms of several chronic illnesses through diet and exercise. The day I posted it I felt like a super hero. I can't tell you all how much the responses meant to me.



But then about 6 weeks ago things started to go wrong. I was having a lot more back pain than normal. I couldn't sleep because of the pain. My doctors wanted to do minor surgery to deaden the nerves along my spine and in the process of preparing for that procedure it was discovered that I had a bulging disc issue that was likely contributing to the problem.

If you know me at all you know that lifting weights is my passion. Deadlifting is my favorite. This is what I was doing the morning before things went off the rails:



Shortly after that video was taken, I leaned over to pick something up off the floor and when I went to stand up there was a crunch. Excruciating pain spread throughout my lower back and hips. I collapsed on the floor. I knew it was bad, although I didn't know the exact nature of the injury. I spent a week in bed. The spine doc told me I'd probably injured another disc, but more severely than the first. He said no more deadlifting or squatting. I thought my heart would break.



I underwent surgery on May 8th. It was rough and I was in a lot of pain. The biggest problem though was that I couldn't exercise at all. I was back to being an invalid. And throughout that time, my success story kept getting bumped. Every time I saw it come back to the top of My Topics I felt a pang of disappointment and a little guilt. I felt like I couldn't call myself a success anymore.

But things got better. I started walking, slowly at first and then longer and faster. Then I was able to go back to upper body lifting. I started to feel more like myself. I'm awaiting an appointment with a physical therapist to figure out what types of lower body exercises are going to be safe for me.

This setback doesn't negate my success story. It's just another chapter, and when it's said and done I'll have another success story to tell. Maybe even a better one-- one about a lifter who came back from an injury even stronger and more determined than before.

Whatever setbacks you're facing today, just remember that you are a success story in the making. You may not be able to see the end yet, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.



TL;DR: I got strong and overcame illness. Then I got sick again. But I will overcome this too, and so can you.