Feeling Good

On one of my Facebook posts, I asked my friends to pray for a close friend of mine. I have known her all of her life and she has known me most of mine. Her parents and my parents went to the same church. She was born during that time, so I have known her since her birth. Our friendship has grown closer over the intervening years and she is one of my best friends. Because of multiple health problems caused by several and various accidents, she needs to have a service dog for balance and I have become a sometime travel partner and sometime chauffeur.

Last Saturday she developed a severe episode of vertigo and spent much of Saturday night in a local hospital. One automobile accident caused head injuries that gave her a compromising concussion. The force of the rollover impaired much of her normal life. The amount of trauma she received from the accident was like a football player being concussed four or five times in a few minute time span. Periods of vertigo are only one of the residual problems that remained.

After consulting with her primary care physician, an appointment was made with a therapist that deals with the realignment of the crystals in the inner ear. She needed someone to drive her home after the treatment. I was available and took her to the appointment.

When the crystals of the inner ear become misaligned, tinnitus or ringing in the ear or extreme dizziness and vertigo can and will often occur. I’ve had similar, but lesser bouts of vertigo since my fall in 2015 that caused 2 bleeds in my head. Once you’ve felt these incidents of disequilibrium that happen without warning, dealing with heights or driving can be intensely unnerving and frightening.

A local clinic was able to treat her today. We went to see the therapist who manipulated her with the Epley maneuver. The maneuver consists of turning the client’s head, then placing them on their back. The therapist then rolls the client from one side to the other, repeating the motion a few times as needed until relief is obtained. Afterwards, the client must limit head turning, bending down, several and other body positions. Because of this I became my friend’s chauffeur.

I had several Dairy Queen gift cards from my birthday party and decided to treat her so she could relax when she got home and wouldn’t have to prepare a meal and worry about making a restricted move. It’s something one good friend does for another.