On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?

The only time I ever rated my pain a 10 was for the two weeks after my back surgery.

At least, until now.

Back in April, I fell off my horse and fractured my lower back. The pain was so intolerable that I ended up taking a sick day from school, which I have never done in my entire life.

When I got an x-ray back in June, the doctors told me that my back would heal itself over time, but no one told me the consequences of that process.

Nor did they tell me that the pain in my back would be everywhere but the location I had my injury.

Now, the pain is a 10/10 and I would not do it again.

But, it’s just not muscle pain, it’s nerve pain. Aches at the top of my back that feel like burning needles prickling all over my skin. The pain only comes every two months, for five days to a week, but, when the pain comes, it makes every moment of my day-to-day life absolute hell to live through.

I used to have such a high pain tolerance, at least for everything else, but, when it comes to my back, I’m so vulnerable. I can’t even sit through a class without being on the verge of tears because of the pain.

Thankfully, it doesn’t last. In a couple days, the pain will completely vanish and I can’t wait.

But, in just a couple months, the pain will sneak back up on me and I will dread it when it does.