The Girl Behind The Blog: Part 2

The following post is part of The Girl Behind The Blog series that will continue each week detailing my story of illness and recovery starting in March of 2007. I believe that God created me for a reason and each experience I have can draw me closer to HIM and be used to encourage others. This post and those that follow detail a pivotal moment in my life that changed me forever.

Need to catch up in the story? Read Part 1. 

Psalm 139:13-16
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.

Since I was little I have always been fascinated with the human body and the intricate systems that allow our bodies to function daily. In college I was several courses shy of a Kinesiology minor, the study of human movement, but the fact that I wanted to graduate and that I really didn’t want to take anymore science classes swayed me to not pursue the minor.

During college I started exercising on a daily basis partially because I had enrolled in a few too many Kinesiology courses because they sounded interesting. To my surprise I discovered I enjoyed working out and pushing myself in ways I never had before because I knew my body would adjust to help me perform to my best ability. I began to want to do things that shocked even my parents because I had never been a super active kid. For instance my Dad and I took a road trip to Yosemite National Park in California to hike and climb the cables to the top of Half Dome in 2005. Hiking became a weekly part of my life as did trail running.

Earlier that day I made mention in phone conversations to both my parents and Josh about the peculiar feelings I was having in my feet. My parents and Josh had grown used to me being slightly melodramatic when it came to describing how I was feeling. I was trying to not overreact to what, at the time, was just a few odd sensations in my feet and toes. I tried not to sound panicked or overly anxious when describing what I was feeling and felt reassured after getting off both calls that whatever was causing these feelings would correct itself in a few days time.

Tuesday came and went with no noticeable difference. I went about my daily routine of going to the gym after eating breakfast because I didn’t see a reason to skip my workout for the day. I wasn’t sick with a cold or the flu and other than the tingling in my legs I felt fine.

Wednesday morning when I woke I discovered that the tingling sensations had not gone away but in fact seemed to be a little more persistent in my feet.  I went about my routine of eating breakfast, going to the gym, and heading into work. I called both my parents and Josh once again to let them know that my feet still felt funny and made plans to see Josh after I left work.

That night as my co-worker and I were locking up all the rooms in the building my legs started to feel very wobbly. I can remember thinking that it wasn’t the best idea to have worn my Steve Madden heeled boots; and I told myself that tomorrow I would need to wear more sensible shoes to work. I walked to the parking garage stumbling a bit over my feet and attributed it to the fact that I needed more practice walking in heels.

I called Josh when I got into my car and let him know I was on my way over to the townhouse he was sharing with his brother. My feet weren’t feeling any better and I was hoping for a sympathy foot rub and also to show him how cute I looked in my boots. I arrived and upon entering the house I immediately removed my boots. They were killing my feet and I didn’t care how cute I looked, I wanted them off. I again mentioned to Josh how weird my toes felt.

Thinking it might feel good to soak them in warm water we walked outside to the community pool and I sat on the edge of the jacuzzi giving my feet a good soaking. It didn’t help and I was starting to get more annoyed that they weren’t feeling better. It had been three days since the tingling had started and I was ready for them to return to their non tingling state. I said goodnight to Josh and went home. I was in bed 15 minutes later praying to God for my feet to be healed in the morning.

Thursday, March 15, 2007, I woke up and was highly disappointed and starting to worry because not only were my feet not better but the tingling sensations I had been feeling had gotten worse. Plus the odd sensations had traveled further up my leg to just above my ankle and were feeling a tad more uncomfortable. It was a pins and needles sensation that I had only experienced before when sitting for long periods of time in one position. I got out of bed and thought about going to the gym and debated if I should go or stay home before work. Opting to go I quickly got dressed but had to steady myself when I put my pants on. I walked to the gym, did cardio on the bike, and walked home.

Back home from the gym I stepped into the shower to get all squeaky clean. I shampooed, lathered, rinsed, and repeated, and was letting the conditioner seep into my hair. I picked up the razor and started shaving my legs and did a double take to look down at the razor.

I could not feel anything as I slid the blade from my ankle up to my knee.

I tried again.

Nothing.

I pressed the razor against my calf.

Nothing.

I was starting to freak out.

I tried the other leg.

Nothing.

I dropped the razor and started touching, poking, and pinching my leg at various places.I had lost all feeling in both legs from the knee down.