Megan Bettor is used to falling to the ground. For two decades, the mom of two has experienced back pain that would land her on the floor for minutes, hours, and sometimes days. "My back would fully go out and I would be immobile for days in excruciating pain, barely able to crawl to the bathroom, or get out of bed or off the floor," Bettor says. For the first 10 years of her health journey, these bouts of pain would happen on and off every couple of years.
At first, Bettor was diagnosed with torn and bulging discs, which tend to go away on their own or alongside physical therapy and/or medication like a muscle relaxant. Then, in her late 20s, she was diagnosed with early degenerative disc disease, defined as the wearing down of spinal discs or loss of cushioning in the spine, per the Cleveland Clinic. This is also typically treated noninvasively with things like physical therapy, medication, or steroid injections.
The pain would "come and go, so it felt manageable in a sense," Bettor says, noting that she was on pain medication through her mid-30s to treat the symptoms. Then things took a turn. The aching in her hips grew. The tingling in her legs became more severe. About seven years ago, Bettor's husband and children watched as firefighters picked her up off the floor, as the pain paralyzed her lower half, and took her to the hospital.
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