Healing Hands

On Thursday morning, I awoke with severe back pain.  I struggled to get out of bed, to use the bathroom, and to put on my clothes.  With a trip to camp only hours away, I decided that I should go to the doctor.  The doctor checked out my back, prescribed some pain killers, and suggested that I see a chiropractor.  A few hours later, I saw the chiropractor who prescribed several more sessions of slow moving therapy.  He was not impressed with my plans to ride in a car for four hours within the hour.

I do not recall most of yesterday.  It is honestly a blur created by pain medication and the fog that accompanies it.  I do know that I was in pain.  Even sleeping was a struggle.

This morning one of the camp employees asked my husband if there was anything she could for him.  His response was, "Yeah - fix my wife so she can enjoy the rest of the weekend."  When I saw her a few minutes later, she offered to call a friend who is a massage therapist.  Soon afterwards, I had a confirmed appointment.

I drove thirty minutes to the home of the massage therapist.  She was in the middle of canning and preparing for a large group of people for dinner.  When I had arrived in the driveway, I was filled with doubt.  My back hurt so much that I could not imagine that relief could be on the way.

An hour later, I left the therapist's home with a range of motion that I had not had since Wednesday.  With exacting movements, she had released whatever was locked inside of me and had worked in relief.  At no time during the massage did I feel pain.  I also did not realize that pain was leaving me.  But when I sat up from the table and set my feet on the ground, I felt better than when I had crawled onto the bed an hour before.

I have been to massage therapists in the past, and I always leave feeling better than when I had arrived.  Touch alone is an amazing tool.  Touch guided by the knowledge of massage therapy school is even better.  This particular massage therapist combines knowledge with an intuition that I have never before experienced.

I am grateful for her healing hands.