acute to chronic.

So, as a 23 year old, I'm not supposed to be living with acute back pain, right? And, at what point does that acute pain turn into chronic pain?

I'm so over this back hurting business. It has got to stop. Like right now.

You're wondering how this happened? Well, here's the story.

It was the weekend of May 17, 2008. (So a year and a half ago. Today. Holy cow. Didn't know that when I started this post). Anyway. My awesome brother was in town for the weekend, and boyfriend had the weekend off, so we decided a boat day was definitely in order. So we launch the boat and get going in the no wake zone right by the launch. I had done this a dozen times before, so nothing new was going on. Except for the fact that I wasn't paying attention and not holding on to the rail where I was sitting. Boyfriend hit the gas and off we go. Literally. I fell backwards off the bench I was sitting on, falling the few feet towards the floor. As I was falling down, I was also moving towards the back of the boat. You all know what's in the back. Yep, the engine. So, I simultaneously hit my head on the engine, hit my back and tailbone on the ground/little door hinge thing by the engine. I SCREAMED. It hurt sooo bad. I couldn't move and it hurt to breathe. After a few minutes of laying on the floor of the boat, I got myself up and in a seat. We tooled around for a little bit before I had to get home. I couldn't take the pain anymore.

We get to boyfriend's parents house (where the boat is kept, and his dad is a retired USN Corpsman). We immediately got me out of my bathing suit into some PJ's so I'd be more comfortable. He was worried about kidney damage, so I had to monitor the color of my pee (oh hey TMI). No kidney damage, whew. I eventually made it to my condo and settled in. Around 11pm, I decided we had to go to the ER. After multiple trips to get XRays, and a broken remote, I had a diagnosis. There were a few cracked ribs, which nothing could be done about. I got 2 kinds of painkillers (one of which made me sooo sick) and was on my way home. I slept all the next week. And, within 3 weeks of the accident, I had 2 major trips planned, and would be sitting for more than 4 hours at a time, in a car or plane. Not fun. Over the course of the next week, the whole lower half of my back was one giant bruise. Ugly!

Anywho, my back still gets angry with me sometimes, and it all stems back to that day. If I sit for too long, or stand for too long, I get sharp pains. If I lift anything heavy, or do anything too strenuous, I get dull pain. I just can't win. I hate having to monitor and watch what I do, because I don't want the pain.

I didn't mean for this to be a pity entry. But this injury has become a day to day thing for me, and has become a part of who I am or what I can do.