NUCCA - something that may change your life - it did mine.

The miracle elixir of life. . . okay, maybe not an elixir, but definitely for me. National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. It's a form of chiropractic (and I assure you, I never before would EVER endorse chiropractic work based on my experience as a 22 year-old BUT this is different) that is the movement of the atlas bone that sits at the base of your skull (here's a picture found at this URL).




It feels a bit weird and the whole process is a bit more new age than I care for, but really it does wonders. In late October, my neurosurgeon said that perhaps I should go for a surgical consult because physical therapy wasn't working on my left side and the shots only helped the right side. Surgery. It's a big and scary word and I do not want it (DO YOU? ON YOUR NECK?) I mean, let's be serious, it's not something you sign up for, it's something you are relegated to or are forced to if you decide not to live in a drug-induced haze for the rest of your life (I saw where that led, so I was thinking a new direction might be good).

So, Jen Weitzman (my good friend, confidant, and person I let in the house if it's messy - that's called intimacy people) told me about this thing called NUCCA (previously spelled out) that her sister and grandmother did and were quite the swearer byers. So, I did some research and found a few practioners in Seattle.

I chose based on location rather than by certification. . . Not sure how smart that is going to be, but it works for me.

My first visit, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was told that there were the following activities: a questionnaire (when isn't there a questionnaire), an exam of measurement, two or three x-rays, a consult on the possible issue, an adjustment, a couple more x-rays, and then how to "stay".

I filled out the questionnaire. I think I have told every practioner AND doctor EVERYTHING I've ever done, taken, or planned to do in my entire life in the last few years. It all makes you feel a little nude (can you feel that way, only a little nude?). She kept saying, "you've got a lot going on in there" and "no wonder you hurt".

Great - could you do something about that?

The x-rays are the next step. She said she'd take three. But apparently I was so bent up, she took six.

Then she came in and told me that "you have a lot going on in there". Following that statement with a litany of things about my spine that make me more unique (less than 1% of the population - really? I've been thinking it's me this whole time. . . Wait, it is me - right -*sigh*) than many people she sees. She tells me she's excited to treat me because it will be more of a challenge for her than most cases. Usually, I like being different, but in this case. . . Not so much. I mean, don't you want to be like other cases so there is a chance of being cured like other people?

So then she does the "thing". She has me lay on my left side with my head cradled in this chiropractic table "pillow" which she adjusts for about five minutes while looking at my collarbone, my head, my neck, etc, to get me positioned just right. It's really uncomfortable because my shoulder is taking a lot of weight (very isotonic work). She comes up behind me and breaths in, breaths out, puts her hands in what only I could think to describe as "clay molding" position, taps my head above my ear a couple of times, and then presses right behind my right ear.

I KID YOU NOT, I felt my spine do the domino dance.

She did this "getting ready" bit and nudged my atlas bone (that bit behind my ear) four times. Then told me that my body will try to "heal" for a couple of weeks. That I was to get no massages, do no physical therapy, and just basically take enough magnesium and rest to heal. And to my surprise the amount of pain in my left neck, shoulder, hand area had decreased 50% by the end of that day, so OF COURSE I was going to listen!

For the next several weeks, I went back and was "holding" the adjustment. I hadn't been this pain free in YEARS! I hadn't taken a pain pill in WEEKS! I could feel and it wasn't the bad stuff!

here's her website
http://www.seattlecompletehealth.com/


Then I got sick and started to cough which took out my alignment. Then I went bowling. . . okay, so you need to hold the alignment for a bit, then work out, then it will stay and you need less and less adjustments.

So, I have been in alignment again for a couple of weeks. I'm going abroad this week, so we'll see how it holds. But since I've been holding, I've been doing upper back, shoulder, and neck exercises so I can keep it. But the amount of pain is SUBSTANTIALLY less and I haven't had any tingling in more than a week. So, I highly recommend this stuff. Check it out.

the bad news? Well, my insurance only covers about 50% of the procedures because it's out of network and the x-rays aren't really considered chiropractic. So, My first visit was $450 and each visit (if you get an adjustment) is $60 and (without an adjustment $40). So, I've only gotten 50% of that back. But I think for me, it's worth it. I like not being in pain. It makes me more bearable to be around! And I'm happier. Happy is good. Happy is an endorsement.

Year of Magical Thinking - or SHEER TERROR

Sheer terror might describe how I felt a bit before the show started on Saturday at 2pm. I was going to be trapped in a theater, in not so comfortable seats, for one hour and 45 minutes with no intermission, listening to someone go on about what it felt like when their spouse died. I was truly having an anxiety attack. I wasn't sure I could do it.

But let me set the whole thing up, because, man, this day was a pretty big doozy!

I was having a very lovely Saturday morning. I slept in late and then Mikal and I went to Starbucks (they have nice chairs to relax in) and we read the newspaper, had hot chocolate, did the cross word puzzle (well, attempted anyway), and generally had a lovely morning.

When we got to my house after our morning, I decided to check my mail (this is actually pretty unusual for me on a Saturday morning). I can't even remember why I decided to do this. But I did. . . And I had a shock when I saw an email from my mother. It was about my grandmother. She was ill and probably wasn't going to last more than a few days.

I went into a tizzy and Mikal didn't understand why. So, I explained and then spent the next hour trying to figure out when, how, and how much I could get to Wisconsin. I basically found out that if I left Sunday evening and came back on Wednesday (remember, Hall is coming for Alistair's anniversary. . . ), I could get it for a reasonable price. So, all there was to do was wait. And I had a play to go to. . .

Mikal said, "really, you still want to go?" I mean, I paid for the tickets, we had the time, I didn't have anything else to do except wait to get on a plane the next NIGHT, so yes, I still wanted to go. . . I had been crying all week (Ted Kennedy dying really had me all up in an emotional state too because of all the politics of using his death to get things done - disgusting!) and now I was crying because of my grandmother.

So we went.

I think surreal is probably the best way to describe the whole part before play started. We had tickets to on stage left (or house right). But in doing that, apparently we have to walk by the wall of (is there any way to describe this????). . . The wall of . . . Goodbyes.

I look at the wall, I read the wall, I absorb the wall, then I walk past the wall (without remembering Mikal being there) to my seat. The next fifteen minutes are pure terror. I think, "I can't do this", "what am I doing????", "this isn't fair to Mikal", "I can't do this", "what am I doing", well, you get the idea. I feel like those kids that have the knee taping affliction and I think I actually have this affliction for a bit before the show starts.

Part of the scariness of this play is that there is no intermission, so there is NO WAY to escape without making a bit of a scene (you know, everyone sees you leave).

Then the lights dim, the music starts, the sound of the ocean begins. . . And then her voice. And what is the first thing she says?

“This happened on December 30, 2003. That may seem a while ago but it wont when it happens to you. And it will happen. The details will be different, but it will happen to you. That’s what I’m here to tell you,”

And I understand. ..

I feel relief. . .

She knows. . .

It is understood. . .

"Okay", I say, " I can do this, I know why I'm doing this - and Mikal gets it."

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. . .

The play is really enjoyable. And as we leave, on the wall of goodbyes, I write "ASR because that's all you'd allow". The only people that need to understand that are me and ASR.

You aren't alone (really even when you think you are).