My Journey With Spinal Cord Injury
Hello, my name is Devi and I’m 27 years old. I was in two car accidents, which both took place days after my birthdays at 23 and 26 years old. I had several herniated discs throughout my spinal cord (pretty much all of the discs in my neck are herniated or bulged except for maybe one). I also suffered a TIA (mini stroke) and was born with a hole in my heart. I had a lower back disc discectomy at L5-S1, which almost made me a drug addict due to the medication I was given after my surgery. After that I became scared to take Narcotics, so injections and Ibuprofen became my life.
I fell into depression, had anxiety and PTSD after the first accident. I could not see a way out of my pain so I tried to take my own life. After the second accident, I realized I could not continue living the way I was, so I started on the journey to self-heal and that journey started with my mind.
I have since beat depression and anxiety to the curb, but I do still suffer from PTSD that has also gotten better. I still feel sad, and there is so much that I want to do but cannot. However I learn to appreciate the things I can do instead, and everyday I tell myself it could be worse.
Doctors wanted to do a disc surgery on my C6, which has gotten worse and continues to worsen. I was told if I did not do the surgery, I will eventually lose control of my bladder/bowel and my arms, which has already start happening. I currently deal with a lot of numbness, radiating sharp pain and muscle spasms.
As of a year ago I started the journey to becoming medication-free. This decision came after I had steroid injections for my neck, which did not help but completely messed my body up from the inside out. I was also eating Ibuprofen so much that I started noticing I was having stomach pain and bleeding. After doing extensive research on all of the injections I did, I realized I was slowly destroying my body in an attempt to REDUCE pain since none of the other medication gave me significant relief. I now realize if my body was stronger and healthier, I would have the pain relieve naturally. My story is just the beginning as the road to natural recovery continues. It has not been an easy journey so far, but it gets better every day because I refuse to give up.
