Compression Fracture Set-Back

I don't use it very often, but today I wrote an entry on my CaringBridge site. Many of you may be familiar with CaringBridge- the nation's leading journal site for seriously ill patients and their families. Since most of our blog readers don't read CaringBridge I felt it would be appropriate to reproduce the entry here:

Hello everyone! It has been a number of months since I have written on my CaringBridge site. I post daily on our www.HelpWithCancer.Org site but it is rarely very personal. Since I have been doing so well I haven't felt a need to post here... As a holdover from my dangerously ill early days immediately following my diagnosis, I have always looked at CaringBridge as a place to report dramatic news, good or bad. Up to now I have been stable, feeling fine, exercising and getting stronger. That may have been my downfall! Because although my cancer is under control, the bone damage it left is still there. Improving, slowly healing, but still around. Recently, Pattie and I purchased a second home in Florida. You may remember how hard it has been for me these past two winters, living here on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. The cold tightens my muscles up like a board. And frigid temperatures cause a bone pain that is hard to describe! So, we found an nice, very affordable home on the Gulf Coast. We have spent much of the past month moving some of our belongings there, doing repairs and landscaping. My body feels so good in the Florida heat! Last week I walked into the house, dripping sweat, with a wide smile on my face. I told Pattie "It feels so good to be able to physically work again... To mow the lawn, plant trees, clean and paint!" Unfortunately, the hot, humid conditions may have allowed me to do much more than I should. Let me explain. My last series of x-rays in January revealed a worsening compression fraction in my L-3 vertebra, caused by my multiple myeloma years ago. Now I am afraid all of my recent physical activity has aggravated the fracture. The fracture has begun to place pressure on my sciatic nerve and has left me with serious, intermittent pain in my right leg and hip. It comes and goes, depending on my body's position at the time, changing by the minute. Very depressing to think I may have caused myself serious and painful injury that could have been avoided. I often feel painful twinges in my neck and back. But one of the positive things about my condition is that these pains are usually better the next day. The pain has never gotten worse with activity- there hasn't been any cumulative damage- until now. It has been unusually cold and rainy here the past few days. That probably doesn't help! My careful weight training and rehab have left my muscles stronger. But obviously my bones have not cooperated and come along for the ride! I am trying not to over-react, but the pain and numbness has been getting worse for two days now. If it gets any worse, I may be forced to take a few days and do nothing but rest- something that isn't easy for me to do! If that doesn't help, a trip to Mayo Clinic may well be in my near future.

Feel good, keep smiling and I will report back on my progress soon- Pat