Asking for help isn't always easy for me, but when back pain from pinched nerves sidelined me last year, there was no way around it. I needed help from coworkers who jumped in to help both virtually and in person. I was able to continue working from home, but my mobility was limited and the pain was unpredictable. With a little (a lot) of love and support from my fiance and family, help from my work family, and lots of grace from my school partners I made it to and through surgery, recovery, and physical therapy~stronger than before.
One coworker-friend, Jenny from Indiana, especially had my back...especially since she'd had the same surgery a while before. Beyond help with my work obligations, she would text to check on me at random times during the day. During recovery she'd check in to make sure I was drinking plenty of water, moving around and staying cautiously active. She assured me that the nerve pain would subside and that I'd eventually start moving normally, again, and she was right.
Fast forward to a few months ago, she felt a twinge during a workout. The twinge became much worse pretty quickly. She was sidelined, again, and finally had her 2nd surgery, this time with a spinal fusion involved, last Friday. You'd best believe I was clearing my calendar, getting my school partners in Texas smoothed out, and booking my flight to Indiana before she could protest. Our whole team has rallied around her and will continue to do so until she's, "back" to 100% again. I'm grateful for a wonderful work family that had my back when I needed it and more than happy to do the same for them when the time comes.
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