Oh My Neck (but not my back!)

Neck issues are never fun to deal with. Especially when you can't sit up to get out of bed. Especially when it is painful just to brush your teeth. Especially when the thought of sitting through church makes you cringe. Especially when you wake up each morning unsure of whether or not you can move.

This was just how I felt during February. Nothing really seemed to be making my neck feel any better. I had been seeing Meghan at Jewish Hospital's Physical Therapy office. While I felt relaxed when I would visit, by the time I arrived back in my office I was back in pain. So much pain that I ended up receiving an MRI and then being referred to a Neurosurgeon.

But, Meghan saved the day! She started doing traction on my neck. When she did, as I left the office, it felt so wondeful to be able to move my neck in any direction without much restriction. Meghan did such a fantastic job that when I visited my Neurosurgeon he said he wasn't too worried about my neck since PT inproved my condition. So good that when I asked the Neurosurgeon if I could enter a fitness competition in two weeks where I would be tumbling, he said "Go For It!"

So good that my neck has started hurting much less. But, unfortunately so good that I may not need any more physical therapy visits. Meghan- you are the greatest eva!!!

At The Car Wash

The ice storm was not pretty. Although the trees were nice to look at, the salt on the road completely tore up my car.

I'm one of those people that hates to wash my car. I call it a "present" for my car whenever I give in a decide to wash it. This time it was definitely needed.

The temperature was under 32 degrees so I was unsure if they would be open. Surely enough, there was a sign on the garage door of the facility that said they wash as long as it is over 15 degrees. Good stuff.

I pull up slowly to the machine to put my credit card in. I feel a shadow walk up to the car. The owner of the facility asks if he can help me so I don't have to get out and stand on the ice. He takes my card, swipes it through the machine and hands it back to me. I was impressed by his kindness - especially when I looked down and saw that he had on no gloves. I asked, "where are your gloves?" He told me that he couldn't swipe the cards with gloves, so it was a sacrifice he had to make.

As I sat in my SUV and watched the suds clean my ride, I thought about the dedication this man had. It's a self run car wash so he really didn't have a reason for needing to be there. But he chose to. He chose to greet customers and make sure their experience was enjoyable - even if it was just a car wash! That's the type of service that makes you want to return! He didn't do it because he had to, he did it because he cared!