Over the last few months, I have been going to Physical Therapy (PT) for my neck. Turns out there is a nerve in your neck that runs up to the side of your head and when it gets pinched you receive a sharp pain. All of a sudden out of nowhere I will get this feeling of someone or something, because it could be an alien or superbug, trying to push a phillips-head screwdriver out the side of my skull. I have actually been in tears over this because it really sucks!! So my wonderful neurologist decided that PT would be able to fix my problem.
I started seeing this amazing therapist (Mrs. SouthernLiving aka Mrs. SL) and, good for me but bad for her, she suffers from the same exact thing so I knew she would be able to fix me up. Little did I know that Mrs. SL was going to be able to do so much more for me than fix my neck! She has become my friend. When I have an appointment I get so excited and it is not because she beats on me, no I am not a masochist …really…I’m not, but because I get to hang out with adults and talk about new and interesting things. This has become the mental therapy that I need to survive the week. When we skip a week I feel all out of sorts and don’t know what to do with myself.
Side Note: I am calling her Mrs. SL because she has this cool southern accent and when she tries to be mean it doesn’t work because of the accent. I bet she would make a fortune out of recording the audio tracks for romance novels based in the south with that accent. If she does decide to do that then I think I should get a cut for coming up with the idea. Just 20% of what she makes for each recording to cover my idea fee is enough. OK…I will be generous…19.99%
Let me say that my PT sessions are hard work and every time she beats on me she says “Love You…Mean It”. (Wait…maybe she’s a sadist…nah she is too nice for that plus with that accent no one would believe it if I said she was.) She has also added a new clothing line (Matilda Jane) to my shopping addiction. Yes before you ask it is on Zulily but not often and the selection isn’t great. Now she is tempting me with her rave reviews of Hello Fresh. I did get her into Zulily so I look at it as a trade-off. We are both bad influences on each other but yet we have such amazing things. In addition, we have the other patient that is there with us during my time. Let’s call him Mr. PressureCooker aka Mr. PC since he is the one that introduced me to that amazing gadget. He is so funny and gives great cooking ideas. On top of that, he has some great stories about being in the military which leads to other interesting topics. (Yes they include drinking but don’t judge us. Everyone should have interesting stories from their 20s involving alcohol. If you don’t then sorry for you but maybe you can make up for it in your 40s or 50s.) Honestly, the only thing that could make our sessions better is if we drank wine or margaritas. (Yes again with the alcohol but again don’t judge it because you know you want one too.) Then who knows what would come out of our mouths.
Another Side Note: I would like to thank the owner of my PT office for not separating us or recording the things we talk about. It’s nothing bad, but it is funny. Plus that would be an invasion of my privacy which I would not take well. It’s OK for me to talk about everyone else but it is not OK to do it to me. I know that sounds very one-sided but that is the way it is. Now please don’t kick me out of the practice! I promise I will behave or will try to the best of my ability.
The hubby (Odin) doesn’t think I should go anymore because it costs so much money above the co-pay, but I think it is the best type of therapy in the world. Not only has the frequency of my headaches gone down but so has my level of irritation towards our family. This is my only time outside of work to talk to grown-ups that I am not related to. Yes, it may lead me to buy things that I hadn’t thought I needed until I hear it about it and then had to have it. Yes, it may make me crave Greek or Thai food or a certain wine. My therapy is completely necessary for me to be in a happy state for at least one night a week. No homework, kids, spouse, grandchildren, work, etc. Just me and two people that make me smile and forget about all the other crap. I think it is worth it and as long as my neck hurts I will be there every Wednesday. (I would say that I would continue going once it is healed but I can’t because my insurance company might see this and get mad. Trust me insurance guys…it really does hurt.)
Yet Another Side Note: I hope my therapist and co-patient are OK that I wrote this. If not then be happy that I at least changed your names and next time I come in I will bring cookies!! I also need to mention that there is an amazing receptionist at PT. She is always so friendly when I walk in and tells me that she misses me when I am not there. (Obviously I have her fooled but let’s not tell her because I want to keep this good thing going.) She gets the benefit of listening to all this and I think she deserves an award for not running out the door because she thinks we are all crazy.
Thanks for reading!! Please feel free to share this!
Karen G.
