Arm Deep in Adventure

MY REIKI STORY
Welcome to my adventure in healing. For a long time, I have been on the opposite side of the fence: pain free, energetic, unstoppable in doing what I have wanted to do. Often working with others who are not feeling pain free, energetic nor doing what they want to do because of a challenge they have been experiencing. Well, since I have now, jumped to the other side, I thought, maybe I should chronicle this adventure. Hopefully it will be a short one, a post or two, then faded away into memory.

So why not join me in Arm Deep in Adventure! People invariably make the mistake that if you work in the holistic field, you are always a vibrant picture of health, and I would like to dispel that myth--it couldn't be further from the truth, especially today.

Monday Morning...4/7/08
As I sit here this morning in excruciating pain, I figured maybe I should chronicle the adventure. I have been healthy and pain free for so long, it feels so unusual to be in this condition.

The awareness of this adventure began a few nights ago. I was laying on the sofa watching TV and feel asleep. When I woke up I noticed an ache in my right shoulder, upper back, and upper arm...the type that you get when you sleep on your side for too long. I got up, went to bed, and assumed it would be gone in the morning.

Wrong! Next morning, the ache was still there, noticeable but bearable, able to continue my normal activities. This continued for a few days. Fast forward to Sunday, mid afternoon. For the past few days I have been working with the pain, but not really consciously. As I am doing other things, I'm also doing some Reiki with crystal work. The pain subsides a bit but then returns. Hello! I should know better, pay better attention before it blows up to more than I wish to experience.

Suddenly the annoying, nagging, bearable pain is not getting its message across so it notches it but a bit, well...actually quite a lot. Ok! Now I listening:throbbing pain from the right shoulder blade area, moving up and around into the shoulder/arm ball and socket, going down outside of the arm, through the elbow, into the wrist, and then over to the thumb.

OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! The pain on a scale of 1 -10 is a 14+. As I move my arm around I notice more pain. Then I try to reach up to grab something and yikees! Searing pain...I could not lift my arm up. Hummm. Now what's going on!

All this adventure has driven me to the couch for recovery. Let's see...we will start with Reiki, do a cold pressed castor oil treatment and then add in some meditation. The pain from afternoon, through evening, through late night, becomes progressively worse.

My daughter was returning from a school sponsored trip for a national competition and was due to arrive back at school at 1:00 AM. How would I ever be awake to pick her up? No problem!

The first recognized gift of my pain...keeping me awake so I not miss the call to go get her. The only problem was trying to put my coat on. Driving was a bit challenging as well when I had to shift gears.

Came home, went to bed... lathered in Tiger Balm...woke my husband to help me get undressed..took 2 pain relievers... which I normally never do... slipped a Slim Spurling ring around my shoulder and prepared for sleep. Well actually. prepared to lay in bed, fading in and out of light sleep...more out than in.

Woke up. Okay enough of this! Called my friend Kim who is an awesome energy healer and booked an appointment with her. Called my chiropractor, my first line of defense when I think I may need an extra boost of outside help, and set that appointment.

Then received a phone message from another friend asking for the number of my chiropractor, she has this terrible pain, running down her arm and she is ready to gnaw her arm off. Hmmm! I called her...our symptoms are similar...hers on the left, mine on the right...but we chuckled as we described the last few days of our attempts at healing ourselves...Misery loves company.
Be sure to check back later to see how I have made out at my appointments. I am also getting ready to go in deeper and do the soul searching connection work, for there is where the key to recovery lies!

Healing Begins...Evening 4/7/08
Well I saw my energy healer friend. She assessed where my energy was not flowing optimally, she did her magic and got my energy opened up. By the time I left working with Kim, my right arm could be elevated to chest height with less pain and I could begin to move it in slight motions side to side. The pain was still present but much reduced in intensity. On a scale of 1-10, I would say I was at about a 6 when I left, a very significant drop from the early morning rating of 14+.

Next stop--the chiropractor. Her assessment--frozen shoulder--a little lit of this, a little bit of that...she worked her magic and I scheduled another appointment for Wednesday morning. She felt it would take 2-3 days before I would start to feel myself again. The pain remained about the same at about a 6.

A few hours later...the real magic kicked in...the frozen shoulder began to thaw, the arm could be elevated without any pain to chest level, tender spots were relaxing, and my energy level has returned. Yipee! Now that did not take too long... Am supposed to put a moist heating pad on it as frequently as needed, but have not needed to do so tonight.

So the day ends with a pain rating of a 2. Wow, pretty amazing! Had I gone a more traditional route, it would have looked more like...visit...off for some tests..handed a script for pain...see you in a week or so...oh, and by the way, what was your number, opps, I mean name?

Now I am off to bed, even through I am on the road to recovery, I think I will still tuck my self in with some tiger balm to keep the process working. Nite!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Well, I slept through the night comfortably and woke up this morning feeling full of energy! Hopped into the shower. Amazing! I can now wash my hair with 2 hands, really made me think about what I couldn't do when in pain. There is a wee bit of tenderness at the shoulder when touched, but other than that, my arm goes straight above my head with no pain.

Now my chiropractor said 2-3 days before I would be feeling normal again, but I hadn't mentioned I went to my friend the energy worker before her appointment. With Kim getting that Ki moving around, things then had a chance to rebalance alot quicker. This is one of the reasons why we say Reiki combines so well with other modalities to help with the healing process.

So this little experience brought up several things for me to look at once again:

When my body whispers, pay attention...don't wait for the screams

What parts of my life have I placed into deep freeze that need to be thawed out to move on?

I knew I was having problems staying grounded, pain brings an end to that right away, so what other ways can I choose to be more in my body that are joyfully?

When fully anchored in the moment, it is easy to feel gratitude for the simple things I take for granted, such as having two hands to wash my hair, putting on my coat without asking for help, driving my car and shifting without creating tears of pain, etc

Keep your appointment with the chiropractor, don't cancel just because you feel better, continue to work on the healing.

Guess this is the end of this leg of the journey, but the trip continues. Hopefully, these learnings will continue to have a strong impact and I won't slip back into a state of forgetfulness.
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