[Maria]

Jamie,
I have to tell you that I wasn't able to work as an RN after injuring my back in '82 working in Neurosurgery so I went back to Grad school and got my MSN/NP but I couldn't sit in chairs or at desks so I brought a bean bag chair with me and semi reclined for my classes. Did people think I was weird? At first but who gives a rats arse was my stance. I had a goal and I was going to get there.. In my statistics class I had to lie across the long table in class so I could see the board. My instructor was most kind about this after intially telling me I could not attend class like that. Or to any other instructor that took that position I always said ~ Ok I'll go to the Disabled Students Resources Dept and get what I need to be able to "lie down" in class.

Well, I graduate and now have to find a job where I don't have to sit and I do as I was seeing patients in ambulatory care tho I became the clinic coordinator/manager and I then had to start sitting at meetings and so forth and had an office that I had to "sit" in .. oh yeah~ everyone quickly learned I didn't do sitting well and would avoid it at all costs because my comfortable limit was about 2 minutes. I stood at meetings, stood in my office and so forth.

My last position that lasted 5 years and would have gone on if I could have remained at work was as a Telephonic Triage/Advice Nurse for a Managed Care co. and they hired me even tho I said I had to stand at my station as I couldn't sit so my station was adapted for standing altho there was a chair there as well in case I had to sit. I had one arm removed so that I could usually place my knee on it and sort of stand and support myself that way and had a cushioned mat like hairdressers use at my feet for greater support. I had a step stool under the desk and could shift my weight regularly. When I took my breaks I went to my van and laid down to rest my back.

It can be done. I avoided sitting for years and years and now within the last few years I can sit again socially as in going out to eat and so forth. I believe it's from L5S1 autofusing.

Still when I travel coast to coast I buy 3 plane seats to fly so I can lie down or else I couldn't manage the pain from that length of sitting even with getting up several times. I used to stand most of the 5 hour flight but now people are not allowed to be out of their seats most of the flights so that's not really possible.

I don't know where your pain is originating from tho I do just want to give you hope ~ believe me I have suffered greatly with pain and I have gone thru much tho I'm real glad I stuck out the bad bad dark times and kept hoping life would get better pain wise. It did. Sure I use some pain medication and Neurontin tho I'm just glad to have this much relief.

I stopped working about 8 years ago and maybe if I had pursued further spine surgery recommended I would still be working altho I hope to one day return anyway somehow.

Wishing you the best and please hang in there. Life can really present some intense challenges tho when the tide changes for the better it's really good to still be here~