Chronicles of a couch writer

Would it surprise you to know that a significant amount of the newspaper has been written via iPhone these past few weeks?

Well, unfortunately it has.

In fact, any article written by me since the Oct. 16 edition appeared in your mailboxes has been typed out from my living room and on a cell phone app, and I’ve hardly been at the office for over three weeks now.

All because I've been dealing with severe lower back pain, which has had me in and out of the doctor’s office, chiropractor and hospital ever since.

Even as the Rockets football team have embarked on their incredible playoff journey, I’ve been stuck at home – all but bedridden – and forced to watch a live stream or listen on the radio.

To say I’m emotionally and physically drained after weeks of being stuck in bed and unable to do much of anything, would be a massive understatement.

And this isn’t the first time my back has gone up in flames and left me stuck at home for a while. I’ve been dealing with chronic back pain and the occasional flare up for several years.

This latest episode, however, has been by far the worst, and has taken much longer to recover from. Even now, three weeks later, I’m writing this editorial while lying down on the couch in my living room.

I know what some of you are probably thinking. “Isn’t Nathan a pretty young guy? Isn’t he too young to be dealing with chronic back pain?”

Yes, I am. I’m only 25 years old and I have a relatively cushy job. Yet I seem to have the spine of a 75-year-old man who spent a lifetime working construction.

Even before my back pain started, I had neck issues that sent tingling down my right arm for years – and still does if I leave my head in certain positions for too long.

But pain in my lower back started in 2020, and has been a constant in my life ever since.

I had just graduated college when the COVID-19 virus took over the world, so I moved back in with my parents and got a job helping unload trucks and stocking shelves at a grocery store.

I was only working there for a few months, which was always the plan, but apparently that was long enough to begin causing minor back pain in the mornings.

Then, I was lying down at home one day and when I got up, I felt something give.

Ever since, I’ve had to watch what I do, what I lift, how I sleep and how I sit. And if I do any particular thing wrong I could find myself stuck at home for up to a week.

I’m sure there are plenty of you out there who are dealing with similar issues – I’ve learned that back pain is fairly common since beginning my own struggle with it.

In fact, almost worse than the excruciating physical symptoms is the toll chronic back pain takes on someone's mental health.

The flare-ups themselves are miserable. Being trapped at home, incapable of doing virtually anything, and the feeling that you're letting people down as you're forced to continue asking for days off – it can be truly debilitating at times.

Having been through such severe flare-ups, and knowing that any wrong move can put me in that awful position again, it can also feel like every move is a guessing game even on the good days.

It seems like there’s not a day goes by when I’m not constantly thinking about back pain and how to avoid it, and this most recent episode drove me to finally seek more serious medical help, to hopefully put all this behind me.

An MRI revealed that my L5-S1 and L4-L5 discs are “desiccated,” meaning there’s decreased disc height between my vertebrae. I also have a slight disc bulge pressing on the spinal cord and a couple of bone spurs.

All things considered, it's not such a terrible test result. If I can make some lifestyle changes and take better care of my posture, I should be able to manage pretty well with some physical therapy.

Thankfully, there are some fantastic professionals in the area that are already helping me get through this.

Liza Ystaas, a family nurse practitioner at the Dakota Regional Medical Center’s satellite clinic in New Rockford, has been amazing these past few weeks helping me get through this ordeal of mine.

So has Kim Weber at Nicolai Chiropractic, and Melissa Ystaas at Peak Performance is helping me with exercises that I can use to stabilize and strengthen my back.

Anyone else who’s struggling with back pain who isn’t already working with them, should absolutely take advantage of the fantastic medical care available right here in the area.

Even the staff in radiology at CHI St. Alexius Health in Carrington were very kind and professional when I went in for my x-ray and MRI.

We’re pretty lucky to have such great providers in our communities who can help us get through whatever’s stopping us from living our lives to the fullest.

Hopefully, now that I have answers about what exactly is going on in my lower back, I’ll be able to return to normal pretty soon with their help.

I’m certainly looking forward to getting back on my feet, back to taking pictures at ball games, and as far away as possible from writing a newspaper from my living room couch!