An Approach to Managing My Pain

By Jeffrey Berger  

On February 14th, 2010, I woke up to find that my right hand had fallen asleep and just wouldn’t wake up. I felt like a thousand needles were poking me every second. So began my strange odyssey of going from a hard-working man to a guy just struggling to catch his next breath. Each week, I had another body part affected by this strange disease that had my doctors stumped, and I went through a series of doctor visits and tests. On April 8th, the doctors discovered a lesion in my spinal cord (at C2) and I finally had a name for this horror show, Transverse Myelitis (TM). Initially, the doctors thought I might never walk again, but after treatment with steroids and a year of therapy, I was able to walk with some issues. Now, I can walk up to four miles a day.   

TM has changed my life. I have had ongoing pain in both of my hands – around a level 5 out of 10 on the pain scale. I typically have no feeling in my hands, and if I stress them, the pain will zip up to a nine (never a 10, as that was only surpassed in 2010 when I was at a 13). My hands are clumsy, and I have to use my eyes when chopping vegetables or working out in my shop with machines. I try to use what I have to the best of my abilities.   

My normal pain level had increased to a seven in my hands, and my physician found that I had damaged both ulnar nerves in my elbows and referred me to Carrie for physical therapy (PT). On my last PT visit, I was really working hard to show Carrie how much progress I had made with my hands when the pain went up to a nine, possibly higher. Her next patient had canceled, and Carrie told me she wanted me to try something new.   

After washing my hands thoroughly and removing my rings and watch, Carrie had me dip my hands ten times in a small tub of paraffin wax heated to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the wax dried, we covered them in a plastic bag and thick mittens. The warmth was exquisite, and I kept my hands covered for fifteen minutes. When I removed the wax, my hands were at a level 2 on the pain scale!!! When I made a fist, it didn’t feel how it typically did, like I was crinkling crepe paper. I was amazed that I could feel things with my fingertips for the first time in many years. The relief lasted for about 5 – 6 hours.