A Week of Back Pain and My Unexpected Trip to A&E

Well, folks, it’s Thursday, and if you’ve been following along, you’ll know that this is usually the day I pop up with some fun new tech tidbit or maybe a rant about a new piece of gear on the market. This week, however, things have taken a bit of a detour. I’m afraid you’re getting something a little different, a bit more… personal. And for that, I do apologise. I’m a bit of a private person, and writing about myself or my family isn’t something I’d usually put out there for the internet to see. But given the week I’ve had, and the fact that I’ve barely had a moment to myself, let alone time to research and write about a fun topic, a health update is all I have.

So, let’s just dive right in, shall we? This has been, to put it mildly, a rather “fun” week. And by “fun,” of course, I mean the kind of fun you have when you’re trying to explain quantum physics to a goldfish while simultaneously herding cats. My back, bless its compressed little heart, has decided to throw a full-blown tantrum.

It started a few weeks ago, a nagging ache that slowly but surely escalated into something far less ignorable. I tried everything. Resting, not resting, stretching, not stretching. Nothing seemed to work. My wife, who has the patience of a saint (most of the time, anyway!), eventually got fed up with my constant moaning and, with a look that left no room for argument, sent me off to the doctor’s. I’m telling you, that woman knows me too well.

I hobbled into the GP’s office, feeling a bit like an elderly man who’d just attempted a marathon, which, funnily enough, is exactly what my body felt like it had been through. A couple of hours later, I was sent home with a diagnosis of root disk compression, a bag of meds, and a very specific set of instructions: “If you feel any numbness or pins and needles in the lower half of your body, you go straight to A&E. No questions asked.”

I remember thinking, “Right, got it. Numbness, pins and needles, A&E. Simple.” I took my meds, made sure I was moving about as much as I could, and even managed to do a few of the physio exercises I was given. I was doing a good job! I was being responsible! My wife was even starting to look less fed-up. Life was, dare I say, almost back to normal.

Then Monday night rolled around.

I started feeling pins and needles in my feet and a worrying numbness in my backside, my anxiety levels (which, let’s be honest, are never exactly low) shot up. The GP’s words echoed in my head, and I knew what I had to do. On Tuesday morning, I found myself back on a medic’s radar, this time in the bustling world of A&E.

Now, my body is a bit of a drama queen when it comes to foreign objects, especially needles. I have a rather… unique response. It’s an instant cold sweat, followed by clamminess, and then, nine times out of ten, a technicolour rainbow of vomit for the poor, unsuspecting soul who has just jabbed me. It’s a truly spectacular display, and I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s not a proud moment, believe me, but it’s an honest one.

I braced myself for the worst. The hospital is a place of endless queues and uncomfortable waiting room chairs. I was pretty sure the chairs were designed to make you want to go home, regardless of how sick you are. But to my surprise, and my back’s great relief, I was seen relatively quickly. A nurse came over, and I prepared my usual pre-jab speech. “Just so you know,” I started, “I have a bit of a thing with needles. I might, um, get a little… nauseous.” She just smiled, as if she’d heard it a million times before. She was so calm and professional, bless her soul, that she managed to get the IV in with just my usual cold sweats. I can happily report that she was spared the technicolour rainbow on this occasion, and my stomach was incredibly grateful.

From there, it was a whirlwind of tests. I was wheeled off for an MRI, a strange and noisy experience that makes you feel a bit like a human-sized sandwich being prepared. Though after a while it started to feel like I was listening to 8-bit techno music. Then there were the bladder scans, which were just as fun as they sound. I was beginning to think I should have just written a blog post about the latest software update, but here we were.

The results, thankfully, came back better than expected. The doctors confirmed that there were no further issues with my spine; it was just the original disk problem, which, thank goodness, had not gotten worse. The numbness and pins and needles were a worrying symptom, but the scans showed no immediate, pressing danger. The main instruction from the medical team was to keep moving. I needed to make sure I was walking, stretching, and doing my physio exercises regularly.

And so, here I am. Feeling a bit of a fool for thinking I was off the hook, and a bit of a bore for telling you all this. My brain also starts to fog over when I’ve had to navigate too much real-life admin, which is exactly what this week has been. The whole ordeal just highlights how important it is to listen to your body (and your wife, obviously!). It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind and think you can just push through, but sometimes, you really can’t.

So, while this post isn’t about some fancy new AI or a cool gadget, I hope it’s a good reminder for all of us to take our health seriously. And to appreciate the nurses who manage to jab you without getting a “technicolour rainbow” in return. It’s the small victories, right?

And hopefully, next week, my back will be in a much better mood, and I can go back to writing about my usual brand of tech-y nonsense.