Irreparable Damage...Forgotten

I thought I'd post this observation of my sister as proof of the power we give to TMS.

Yearly, we gather at my parents home for their anniversary. My older sister, now 64, has had bouts of plantar fasciitis off and on for the last decade, supposedly from being flat-footed. Two years ago her foot specialist told her that the tendon was irreparably damaged and because tendons have no blood circulation it would never, ever heal.

They had her immobilized in a brace that went up to her knee for 3 months and then prescribed a very invasive surgery. After googling everything, my sister was terrified as people on forums lived lives of horrific pain pre and post surgery. She didn't choose surgery. The doctor told her to only wear big orthotic shoes with a brace inside of it and stay off her feet as much as possible. This is really "off" advice, as my sister is very overweight and doesn't seem to be interested in denying herself to take off pounds. So, her weight increased.

I sent her both The Great Pain Deception and The Divided Mind. An avid reader, she read both, but said that according to her MRI's neither book applied to the truth of her condition. Although, ironically, she said that her pain decreased for 4 days.

CUT TO: This month we all met for their anniversary once again. In the phone calls since I saw my sister last, she told me she had frozen shoulder now, which had become worse and worse over the course of the six months. She was in constant pain with that and couldn't lift her arm to even put on a shirt. The doctor prescribed surgery. Again, she is terrified.
I was really concerned how she would travel by plane with her foot and her shoulder both immobilized.

Here's the kicker: I first see her, walking up my parents driveway, holding her arm to her stomach in protective mode. However, she is NOT limping. She is wearing regular sandals with socks. She does not have a brace on her foot.

I asked her about her foot. She said that the brace was uncomfortable and the shoes were too ugly and she said, "Screw it. I'm not wearing that." She said she decided to live with the pain.
I said: "You don't seem to walk like there's pain."
She answered: "My shoulder is in terrible pain, now."
When I pressed about how her "irreparable foot tendon" could suddenly stand sandals, she just shrugged.

My sister is a highly intelligent woman who graduated at the top of her college class and has a Master's in Education.

So, TMS gets us all and fools us all. This is why Sarno advises "hearing" what the doctor says but not accepting that it is the cause of our pain.

BTW: Even the Mayo Clinic website about "Frozen Shoulder" says that it seems to resolve itself in about 2 years with or without surgery. They don't know why. It's "idiopathic."

Wishing you all well.

 

Hi MWsunin12,

I have found observing others to be very helpful in understanding some of my own TMS issues. Your sister’s foot doctor surely planted the seeds of doubt about her chances of recovery.

I recollect a therapist once told me my broken foot would always cause me pain when I had twisted my ankle during a physical therapy session. I did not know the word “nacebo” in those days. Of course I healed, but two years later out of the blue the same ankle twisted for no apparent reason, my thoughts went back to her words. I remember stamping my foot on the ground to affirm that all was well.

Perhaps without knowing it, your sister absorbed the foundation of TMS theory she read two compelling books, she could have stopped at one! One can also question your sister’s decision to reject surgery, did she have doubt in her mind as to the seriousness of her condition or was she afraid of the irreversible decision to have surgery that according to Google would be ineffective? We can only observe, compare and surmise.

Observing others can also be fun. Such was the case with Jackson Galaxy of: “My cat from Hell”. On one of his shows a cat owner dressed up her two cats in costume and clothing. Jackson stated he considered this inappropriate because it defaced the cat’s image. Now look at the tattoos down Jackson’s arm, split standards no less! I like Jackson’s program, it has a TMS psychological leaning.


Thank you for posting