Pain and Discomfort and How I Cope With It
Having broken my neck in a car crash twenty years ago - I have had to make many changes in my life and find ways to help myself to live as independently as possible.
The Problems Resulting from Having Broken My Neck · I broke the first five vertebrae in my neck.
Over time the five broken vertebrae have fused together and formed into a lump of gristle.
This has resulted in forcing my head forward and downwards.
My efforts at attempting to straighten my head are so painful, I give up, because it takes me out of my comfort zone.
How This Has Affected My Walking · Indoors - because of my head hanging down onto my chest, I can't see where I think I'm going, so I bounce off walls and bump into doors.
· Outdoors - I find difficulty walking - as I have lost some confidence and feel as if I'm likely to fall or trip.
Therefore, for outdoor walking, my husband pushes me about in my wheelchair.
How Has Having My Head Forward and Downwards Affected My Eating and Drinking? · I have become a very messy eater.
The food that is meant to go into my mouth often ends up in my lap.
Solution - I wear an apron while I'm eating.
· Because of my head being forced forwards and downwards, my neck has a kink in it.
So I eat extremely slowly and chew everything thoroughly - this is to prevent myself from choking.
· As I can't tilt my head backwards - drinking from a normal cup, mug or glass means I risk the drink going down the wrong way.
This is How I Got Around This Problem I bought myself a special cup that tilts backwards.
They are called Doidy Cups.
When my daughters were babies and learning how to drink from a cup - these cups were very helpful.
And as they have handles on both sides, I can hold the cup steady.
Another Problem Due to Having a Kink In My Neck I had an operation under a general anaesthetic.
It was when they had to feed a tube down my throat (called intubation) the anaesthetist had to push the tube down my throat with his fingers.
Luckily he had come across this problem before so he knew what to do.
I was told later that an inexperienced anaesthetist may not have known what to do and I could have died on the operating table, due to a lack of oxygen.
How I Can Prevent This Happening Again As I was leaving the hospital the doctor advised me to have a bracelet made with the warning about 'difficult intubation' being engraved on it.
So hopefully by my wearing this bracelet all the time, medical staff will be able to read the warning and be prepared.
I Get Travel Sick I found that even with the shortest of journeys I was getting travel-sick.
Again my doctor explained that this was due to my head being forward and down, so that my head is out of kilter.
What Am I Doing About It? A combination of things - I take half a travel-sick tablet an hour before my journey starts.
And to be sure, I wear those wristbands that are available over the counter at most big chemists.
My Hands Are Proving A Problem Now at the age of 73 it would seem that arthritis is catching up with me, (my doctor explained to me, that wherever a fracture occurs, arthritis will become a problem as time goes by) so it is with my right hand (I'm right handed) and it is becoming very painful and my fingers are bending inwards - causing my hand to be like a claw.
Therefore, I'm now finding it difficult to hold the computer mouse and to type.
As I spend many hours a day sitting at my computer, writing articles, stories etc I am forward planning for the time when I may not be able to continue with my writing.
How I Am Helping Myself? I have bought myself some software that allows me to dictate what I want to type and this clever programme does the typing for me.
And Yet Another Problem With Putting On My Socks I wear socks inside my boots when I'm going outdoors - during the winter.
Now I'm having problems putting on my socks.
As I lean forward I feel like I'm choking.
It feels like a sharp piece of bone is stuck in my throat.
How Have I Coped With This Problem? I've bought myself a sock aid.
With the help of this sock aid, I can now put on my socks without the scary feeling of choking.
So there we are - yet another problem solved.
By living one day at a time, I try to sort out each problem that arises - before it becomes a major issue.
I like to think I'm coping okay.
Your feedback and comments would be very welcome.
The Problems Resulting from Having Broken My Neck · I broke the first five vertebrae in my neck.
Over time the five broken vertebrae have fused together and formed into a lump of gristle.
This has resulted in forcing my head forward and downwards.
My efforts at attempting to straighten my head are so painful, I give up, because it takes me out of my comfort zone.
How This Has Affected My Walking · Indoors - because of my head hanging down onto my chest, I can't see where I think I'm going, so I bounce off walls and bump into doors.
· Outdoors - I find difficulty walking - as I have lost some confidence and feel as if I'm likely to fall or trip.
Therefore, for outdoor walking, my husband pushes me about in my wheelchair.
How Has Having My Head Forward and Downwards Affected My Eating and Drinking? · I have become a very messy eater.
The food that is meant to go into my mouth often ends up in my lap.
Solution - I wear an apron while I'm eating.
· Because of my head being forced forwards and downwards, my neck has a kink in it.
So I eat extremely slowly and chew everything thoroughly - this is to prevent myself from choking.
· As I can't tilt my head backwards - drinking from a normal cup, mug or glass means I risk the drink going down the wrong way.
This is How I Got Around This Problem I bought myself a special cup that tilts backwards.
They are called Doidy Cups.
When my daughters were babies and learning how to drink from a cup - these cups were very helpful.
And as they have handles on both sides, I can hold the cup steady.
Another Problem Due to Having a Kink In My Neck I had an operation under a general anaesthetic.
It was when they had to feed a tube down my throat (called intubation) the anaesthetist had to push the tube down my throat with his fingers.
Luckily he had come across this problem before so he knew what to do.
I was told later that an inexperienced anaesthetist may not have known what to do and I could have died on the operating table, due to a lack of oxygen.
How I Can Prevent This Happening Again As I was leaving the hospital the doctor advised me to have a bracelet made with the warning about 'difficult intubation' being engraved on it.
So hopefully by my wearing this bracelet all the time, medical staff will be able to read the warning and be prepared.
I Get Travel Sick I found that even with the shortest of journeys I was getting travel-sick.
Again my doctor explained that this was due to my head being forward and down, so that my head is out of kilter.
What Am I Doing About It? A combination of things - I take half a travel-sick tablet an hour before my journey starts.
And to be sure, I wear those wristbands that are available over the counter at most big chemists.
My Hands Are Proving A Problem Now at the age of 73 it would seem that arthritis is catching up with me, (my doctor explained to me, that wherever a fracture occurs, arthritis will become a problem as time goes by) so it is with my right hand (I'm right handed) and it is becoming very painful and my fingers are bending inwards - causing my hand to be like a claw.
Therefore, I'm now finding it difficult to hold the computer mouse and to type.
As I spend many hours a day sitting at my computer, writing articles, stories etc I am forward planning for the time when I may not be able to continue with my writing.
How I Am Helping Myself? I have bought myself some software that allows me to dictate what I want to type and this clever programme does the typing for me.
And Yet Another Problem With Putting On My Socks I wear socks inside my boots when I'm going outdoors - during the winter.
Now I'm having problems putting on my socks.
As I lean forward I feel like I'm choking.
It feels like a sharp piece of bone is stuck in my throat.
How Have I Coped With This Problem? I've bought myself a sock aid.
With the help of this sock aid, I can now put on my socks without the scary feeling of choking.
So there we are - yet another problem solved.
By living one day at a time, I try to sort out each problem that arises - before it becomes a major issue.
I like to think I'm coping okay.
Your feedback and comments would be very welcome.
