In November 1993, I had a spinal injury. I sneezed and ruptured the L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs in my back. I ended out missing eight weeks of work. Fortunately, I also had more than enough sick leave to cover all the time away from work. (Now, back to the subject of sneakers.)
My neurosurgeon (who ended out not needing to do any surgery... my internist had personal business, and his backup felt like I should go straight to an expert
in back problems) wanted me out walking as much as I felt like. I wasn't supposed to lift more than ten pounds at the time, which I didn't. Well, I ended out doing most of my walking at the Mall of Abilene. So, every day, I got to walk back and forth in front of the new Nike Air Jordan 9 sneakers.
I resisted buying them until I got into physical therapy and was working really hard; then I felt like I deserved a little treat. One of my physical therapist's assistants immediately wanted a pair; on the other hand, she didn't have any interest in my beat-up blue Nike Air Flight sneakers. She ended out talking her husband into buying her a pair as a Christmas present! I remember that my dentist also thought they were neat, but I don't know if he bought a pair. I also wore them the last time I saw my neurosurgeon. His comment about them: "Great sneakers! Just don't play any basketball in them or your back will get messed up again!"
Laymen (and at least one doctor I've been to) have trouble comprehending that a sneeze can cause a spinal disk rupture. Neurosurgeons and physical therapists, on the other hand, have seen it all and aren't surprised. On the other hand, anyone who has heard or watched me sneeze knows that a LOT of shaking is going on...
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Last Updated: 27 May 2017
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