Joey Dweck

Pain, pain, and more pain.

I'm a 25 yr old guy who loves to be athletic. I am as competitive as anybody else when it comes to sports, especially triathlon sports. I have always been that way but I was always the shy kid growing up. Only when I moved out of my parent's house for a year to study abroad at the age of 18 did I truly become confident in who I was and started to put my mark on the people around me. I love to be involved in organizing events and just generally being a leader. (2 years in a row I spearheaded an event in the summer that raised $250,000 for families who can't afford food) But I am by no means a public speaker. Major stage fright.

I currently manage a relatively small fine custom cabinetry company with my father, but I feel like I sit on the side while he does all the work. It doesn't work well with me as I always want to be involved in everything around me. This probably encourages the laziness in me which, even though I know I have accomplished a lot, is still very strong inside me.

By the time I reached 20 I had developed a back knot that was so severe when I would go bike riding I would feel a sharp tingling pain near my left scapula that would only go away after some rest. But knowing me, I would just push through it. I am someone who doesn't let something small such as pain stop me but that mindset never truly helped. By age 22 I had my first hip surgery. Torn Labrum. At least according to my Dr. Age 23, second hip surgery but this time the other side.

Today at the 'old' age of 25 both my hips still hurt; one more than the other. Both my shoulders hurt quite a bit now too. In my line of work lifting heavy cabinets or moving some heavy equipment around is not uncommon so the pain only gets worse. Rest has been tried time and again, but I know that it won't help so I rest to appease the people around me who just say that I need it.

The back knot I mentioned earlier has been one of the most serious issues I have had. The knot pain has risen up to my shoulder and now it's a pain I feel on my neck as well. I feel a tightness of the muscle around my throat which now really worries me but I know nobody understands what I would mean when I talk about it.

I'm being pushed to my limits and at the age of 25, I have the rest of my life ahead of me. I do not want to live a life of pain, rather a life of great adventure and happiness. On top of all this, I am very scared to call this TMS since, at least in my mind, there is a true physical issue that needs to be resolved by a physical doctor.

I hope one day to live a life in which I won't have to worry about pain the way I am right now.