Super Power ( Part 1)

 Our doctors and therapists absolutely can make or break our approach to this journey.

I have the honor and privilege of living in the Northwest Suburbs of Chicago where I have the opportunity to work with THE BEST providers.  By the way, if someone isn't on "team Gail" they get replaced.  I know and appreciate that living where I do I have my choice of outstanding providers.

Before I was diagnosed with AS I was in PT because of some unexplained hip pain.  After 3 months of working on this mystery pain with my therapist who I'd worked with previously for other injuries I decided I was done spending all this time PT and just get back to doing "me".  Well, the forces in the world had other plans for me. 

Literally about a week after I decided I was done with PT I woke up with the most incredible chest pain I had ever experienced.  My shoulders were curled forward as if to protect my chest.  When I went to move my arms , electric shocks ran through my body.  Taking a full breath would cause pain throughout my entire chest cavity.  I turned to my husband and said, "I either have breast cancer or I'm having a heart attack.  Not sure which, but either way I think I'm going to die.  Soon".

When  I have pain- I either exercise or go to PT.  I arrive at my appointment and my PT takes one look at me and knows it's NOT good. I try to describe the pain. But I add one more detail.  I said, "It feels like flames are shooting out my boobs".  Without missing a beat he replied "Wow that's a cool super power". 

Little did he know that this would become my battle cry! Whenever I flared with a bout of what I now know to be costochondritis, inflammation of the cartilage between your ribs and sternum, I just think about my SUPER POWER.  

His humorous comment completely changed my paradigm on these painful flares. Now I imagine myself  hands on hips, hair blowing in the wind, cape flapping behind me and flames shooting  out my boobs through my super hero costume, My costo flare just isn't that scary anymore and I can get through it a little bit easier due to my awesome PT.




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