Healing from chronic illness is so much more complicated than just treating the symptoms. Prescription meds may help us cope, but they do not correct the original imbalances that led to dis-ease. And with difficult-to-understand illnesses like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, it is not always possible to pinpoint just one specific cause. Often it is a series of causes like a traumatic event experienced while in the midsts of some other type of recurring life stressors. There are many different types of traumas that can lead to chronic illness – physical, emotional, viral, environmental. With so many possible factors, it is easy to see why treatment is so difficult.

Knowing your trigger.

When putting together my blueprint, it was easy for me to pinpoint the exact moment when my trigger was switched – the day I broke the porcelain toilet with my head. Yes, I would definitely say that qualifies as a trigger. And the immediate downward spiral of my health from that day on is a clear indicator that the physical trauma opened the door to chronic illness. So I can with confidence say that my trigger was physical. That is the easy part. But what I must also consider is how my lifestyle leading up to the trauma left me predisposed to developing chronic illness.

Not everyone who suffers a debilitation head trauma ends up with fibromyalgia.

The concussion and brain trauma that resulted were expected outcomes to the physical trauma, but the pain and fatigue that increased daily were not. So why did I end up with fibromyalgia after the head trauma? Was I genetically predisposed to it? Did my lifestyle leading up to the accident leave me vulnerable to chronic illness? In both cases I believe the answer to be yes. But I am not a medical professional, and I cannot change or debate my genetics, so I am only going to focus on my lifestyle leading up to the event.

Busier is not always better.

I had what I thought at the time to be a very healthy and active lifestyle. I had a great job, a fun and active social life, I exercised regularly, ate well, was in a healthy relationship  - sounds pretty perfect, right? Well upon reflection it was not so perfect after all. In reality I was wound so tight that I was just waiting to snap. I never said no to anything. I was always on the go, never really taking the time to relax and enjoy my life. I was simply pushing through one experience to get to the next, like a small child who won’t drift off to sleep for fear of missing out on something. I had to be engaged and involved in everything because it was how I defined myself – “I am Dannette, the girl with the most active and full life ever!” With or without the head trauma, my lifestyle was eventually going to catch up with me. A crash was inevitable.

So while I can easily state that my trigger was physical, the depleted state of my being leading up to the physical trauma likely left me vulnerable to the prolonged crash of chronic illness.

Why is it so important to understand all of this? Again, I am not a medical professional, so this is all theory on my part based on living many years with chronic illness, and my current experience with improved health. The reason I think it is so important to understand the trigger is because I believe it will best inform how we should approach our own unique blueprints for healing.

My trauma was physical and so is my treatment.

Unless this is your first time reading my blog, you know that I directly attribute the healing I am experiencing to my regular practice of yoga. I was very athletic leading up to my accident, and tried many times over the course of the first 13 years of my illness to return to my former athletic ways, only to fail and end up in miserable pain. When I discovered the healing powers of gentle and restorative yoga, my body responded immediately. I found movement without pain! And because of the neurological nature of FM, yoga is an excellent mindful movement to practice as it regulates and balances the central nervous system.

I did not have any viral issues to address, like so many people with FM and CFS do, so in a way I am fortunate. My blueprint is pretty direct. I have seen tremendous improvements by incorporating gentle movement back into my life, and by addressing several other contributing issues like food allergies (eliminating gluten), and toxicity (heavy metals).

Of course this is a simplified explanation of the many years of trial and error it took me to piece my blueprint together, but I believe if each of us take the steps to really address and acknowledge our triggers, we can begin to piece together a blueprint for healing. Take a long and truthful glance back on your life before the trigger. Were there other factors of your lifestyle that may have left you vulnerable? A difficult marriage or childhood? This would require adding an emotional healing component to your blueprint. Do you see where I am going with this?

I am no longer the girl who thinks I need to say yes to everyone and everything. In fact I try very hard to participate in only things that nourish me, and eliminate people and activities from my life that do not. Healing requires effort, and sometimes we have to make hard choices. It also requires us to be able to honestly reflect on how we, unknowingly or not, contribute to our own illness. It is only with awareness that we can make progress. So if you are ready to begin you blueprint, start here: What’s your trigger?

Some people may think the story here is the unlawful and dangerous risks Mr. Palmer took acting out on behalf of his wife, but it is the story within the story that is really important. It is key not to miss this point; Walmart gave his wife Fibromyalgia!

A Linden man is under arrest after he climbed up into the rafters at Wal-Mart in Dunn and allegedly caused a public disturbance.

William Arthur Palmer, 46, of McBryde Street was charged with injury to real property and disorderly conduct.

“He was climbing around in the rafters cutting down Wal-Mart signs, and shouting profanities at the officers and people who worked there,” Dunn Police Chief B.P. Jones said. 

According to the arrest report, police were called to the store about 11 p.m. Saturday where they found an “extremely irritated” Mr. Palmer in the rafters over the paint area of the store, cursing officers at the scene, Wal-Mart employees and the “entity Wal-Mart.” The store was reportedly evacuated in the name of public safety.

The report said police witnessed Mr. Palmer cut down at least two signs above that department and store employees said he had already cut down several signs in the Garden Center. Damage to six of the store’s signs was estimated at $3,000.

To accomplish the task, Mr. Palmer apparently used a pair of cutting pliers and snips he removed from packaging at the store before beginning his climb.

“William Palmer advised that it was humorous in his opinion to use Wal-Mart’s tools to cut down Wal-Mart signs,” Dunn Police Officer James Brannan wrote in the report.

Mr. Palmer said he was upset with the store because they had refused to remove hanging signs after a similar sign fell on his wife in the grocery section of the store in August 2005, landing squarely on her head and back.

Since then, Mr. Palmer said, his wife has been in near constant pain and was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome and fibromyalgia, chronic pain syndromes associated with muscle, tendon and ligament trauma.

“She was hurting really bad Friday and Saturday and it just got to the point where I just flipped,” Mr. Palmer said. “It just made me feel better. It was like therapy.”

Mr. Palmer said he and his wife filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart last year. The case is currently awaiting arbitration, he said.

“The safety of our customers is always a top priority, and that includes making sure signs in our stores are properly secured,” Wal-Mart Media Relations Manager Michelle Bradford said. “We’re cooperating fully with the Dunn, N.C., Police Department in their investigation of what happened Saturday night. We’re grateful that no one was hurt.”

According to the arrest report, Mr. Palmer finally climbed down from the rafters after about 45 minutes at the request of Erwin Police Officer Bill Morris.

Mr. Palmer said even though he “flipped,” his primary thought during his actions was to act in the public interest.

“I think they should at least let people know they need to wear hard hats in there, or post a sign that says, “Watch out for falling objects. Enter at your own risk,’” Mr. Palmer said. “I just felt like I was doing the community a service by taking them (the signs) down.”

Mr. Palmer was released on a $1,000 bond with a court date set in Dunn District Court for March 11.

 

Have you ever stubbed your toe on something and became so angered by the pain that you turned around and kicked the very thing you stubbed your toe on? And didn’t you feel better after you kicked it? Even though it was probably not the safest and smartest thing you could have done in the moment? Well that is exactly what Mr. Palmer did. If my husband or I had one place, one entity to direct all of our anger and frustration I am not sure there haven’t been times over the years that we wouldn’t have done something similar. This story demonstrates so clearly the emotional impact of living with a chronic illness, not just to the person suffering with it, but also to the people who love them.

I LOVED this story! Bravo Mr. Palmer. I am so sorry that your wife is suffering so greatly. Her pain is tragic in that it was brought on in such a random  and possibly avoidable way. I hope you get a HUGE settlement in arbitration so she will have the funds available to seek whatever treatment will help alleviate her symptoms and bring you both some much needed happiness and peace of mind. Although you already “kicked that table” pretty hard, and from your statements, it sounds like it was the exact therapy you needed! Bravo!