In early April of last year I was concussed while on the job. While attempting to go through a door, the person on the other side kicked it open as hard as he could right into my head as I went to open it. That situation caused a herniated disk and two bulging disks in my mid spine. I haven't been back to work since. At that point I was in my second year of schooling through Trident Tech and set to graduate in December. The injury ultimately changed my life.
The spiraling didn't happen immediately. It took about a month for things to get really bad. That summer ended up becoming one of the hardest periods of my life. My mental health was at an all time low. I suddenly was overwhelmed with this paralyzing anxiety. I couldn't go outside. I couldn't talk to strangers. The urgent care doctor had told me the only physical activity I could do was walk. I quickly gained 40 lbs. I had to change all of my screens to zero blue light and limit screen time to 20 minutes which was an impossible feat. I quickly became a recluse. All of my friends were at my job, the only things I loved to do for fun I could no longer do, and I had to find a way to be as productive as possible in the limited time I could handle looking at screens. Migraine's still plague me to this day. I can't sit or stand for too long, and I haven't gotten a full night of sleep in almost a year. Just that alone coupled with taking one of the hardest courses over that summer remotely was enough to make me want to quit. All of it.
I only saying any of this because I truly understand how important your home setup needs to be. The kids were home so I had to be flexible enough to work from any location and drown out any background noise while carefully keeping my brain on the lookout for buzz words like mom, help, ow, oh no, and of course eerie silence. I had to really prioritize taking breaks even when I really couldn't afford to, otherwise the pain would be so severe, I couldn't even lay down. After many nights of tears and complaining, my boyfriend surprised me with a new setup for my desk. He had gotten a long mousepad that spans the entire desk, a wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as a computer stand that elevates my laptop. But nothing could truly compare to the chair. It made all the difference. I had been using an old kitchen table chair and it was ruining me. Now I finally had an office chair with all the bells and whistles that leans so far back I could nap in it.
These little things didn't fix my back overnight, not even a little bit. I'm in an office now with just as great a chair, and a desk that's able to rise to any level, and I have days where my back still kills me no matter what I do. But those little things made all the difference, not just physically, but for my morale and spirit. To know you have people on your team cheering you on in the background who can see you even in your darkest corners, it's life changing. For my graduation he surprised me with this neck and back massager that heats up and can be used in the car or on the plane. It's been amazing. I haven't brought it out at work yet, but I will soon, don't worry.
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