My name is Molly Jo. I have three amazing children, plus a freebie, my boyfriend's 6 year old boy who has been living with me since he was 2. His biological mom is rarely involved in his life and the father of my children pops in and out, so as far as a rock, I am it.

I love any physical activity and since this injury started I have had to give up everything I love about being physical piece by piece. Two years ago I was riding my bike or jogging to and from work, hiking the beautiful landscapes of the Northwest, & doing workouts on my lunch breaks. My release was cardio, yoga, kettle bell, weights, but running has by far become my greatest joy over the years. By the way, "runner's high", it not only exists, but there is no other feeling on this planet that I have felt that feels quite like it.

I love to garden, and being originally from Dallas,Texas, I'm not sure I'll ever get used to how effortlessly things grow here. If you drop a seed, it grows. I tell my friends & family back home if you have a bird feeder, you have a garden. The beauty of the northwest is one of God's most extraordinary works.

Another hobby of mine is cooking, but mostly for others. I've made somewhat of a name for myself over the years supplying cookies and other goodies to the staff at my kids' schools. Teachers, principals, office staff, custodians, coaches, and school bus drivers. A motto of mine is, " take care of those who take care of your kids."

I worked my way through school one class at a time starting when I was pregnant with my youngest. The first class I enrolled in was by mail, then I progressed to night classes, and by the time my youngest started kindergarten I was able to attend classes on campus during the day. I completed my first associates degree in 2009 and then went on to complete nursing school. I currently work as a registered nurse at the Oregon State Hospital with a population of patients deemed criminally insane by doctors and the legal system alike. Psychiatric nursing can be extremely trying, mentally draining, and at times dangerous. I feel that despite some of the struggles, it is rewarding work and that I make a difference in people's lives and contribute to their recoveries.

A little over two years ago. I got a back ache. By the end of the day I was the shape of an L, not able to stand up straight. I went to my MD . It was a Monday, and the previous weekend I had ran in 2 races, both 10ks, which was not super unusual for me to run that distance back to back days, since by that point I was running almost daily, had completed two half marathons, and was aspiring to complete a full marathon. Despite all that, my MD immediately attributed my back pain to running, gave me some pain medicine and sent me home. Over the next year I saw 4 different doctors at my clinic.  My back would get a little better, then get bad again. They all said, no more running. One doc ordered an x-ray, another have me a round of oral steroids. I took pain medicines, muscle relaxers, and buckets of ibuprofen. In December of 2015 I could no longer put on my own socks and shoes. I was miserable. I was doing some Christmas shopping with my 14 year old daughter when out of no where I peed my pants. We left the store and I didn't know what to think. I remembered that each time I had seen someone about my back pain they asked me if I had problems using the bathroom, so I thought there was a chance this was related to my back pain. When I got home my boyfriend called the clinic and after paging the MD they instructed me to go to the ER, so we did. They gave me Ibuprofen, I had an MRI done, and then did a lot of waiting. They discharged me with a herniated disc diagnosis. They informed me that the on call neurologist wanted to see me in his office right away, so to contanct him. That week I went and saw him. He said I had a large disc herniation of the L5 disc that was aggravating the S1 nerve, which was most likely why I was losing control of my bladder. He stated it was one if the largest herniations he had ever seen and was amazed I had been functioning this long. I told him my story. He was the first doc I had seen that said I would run again. "We will fix this," he said. He expedited the process and operated removing the disc10 days later. The recovery was going well, then three weeks after the operation the same disc re-herniated, while I was sleeping. This was in January of 2016. The plan after that was to try some treatments in an attempt to get the disc to re-absorb on its own since it wasn't as large as the first one. I tried more oral steroids, aggressive steroid injections weekly, upside down machines, acupuncture, tens unit, and lots of pain medicine.
In September, a new and worse pain developed in my back. My neurologist had referred me to a pain clinic where I had been receiving steroid injections and pain medicines for some time. When I reported I needed an appointment right away because I felt something had changed they saw me within a day or two. During the appointment they implied that I was "drug seeking" and stated they would be referring me back to my neurologist. This was frustrating and insulting to say the least. I called my neurologist's office to make an appointment, but was told he was out of the country for 4 weeks, the soonest they could schedule me was for when he got back and placed me on the cancellation list. Over the next 4 weeks the pain got worse. I developed what felt like a cramp(charlie horse) in my left calf that never went away. Then the numbness came. I lost feeling in three of my left toes and it gradually moved up my leg, first to my calf, then my thigh. My leg literally felt like it had been chewed on by a bear. I had another MRI and saw my neurologist on 10/3. The MRI revealed that what was left of the L5 disc had completely blown out on the left side. He stated it was in the top 5 largest herniations he had ever seen. He again, expedited the surgery and on 10/10 he removed 1.5 inches of disc matter. He stated there was a lot of cartilage in the disc matter they removed which is unusual, so what was supposed to be one overnight in the hospital turned into three. After the surgery, there was not only much improvement, but my left leg got worse. It was still extremely painful. I could not walk on it at all and it was still numb. My MD ordered another MRI and from there he we decided a spinal fusion was the only option at that point. As we talked, he expressed his reluctancy to do that procedure because of my age, because he fears it may set me up for additional back surgeries in the future. With tears in my eyes from both fear and pain I signed the consent and on 11/4 I had a spinal fusion preformed. I spent 6 nights in the hospital at which point I pleaded with my MD to let me go. I went straight from the hospital to my son's high school and was able to see him in the opening night of the school musical he had gotten a major role in. I only made it through the first act before pain sent me home and into bed. I was so proud of him and had tears in my eyes watching him on that stage. This is not a new feeling for me because I am blessed with 3 talented kids who are constantly making me proud.

So that's my story. I can't work. I have 4 mouths to feed & the bills are piling up. Even though I have short term disability, they denied my claim for my first surgery saying it was a pre-existing condition. Not sure how, but that's insurance companies. I have filed another claim for this surgery, but I have little hope that will come through this time. I have heard people have gotten help this way from those who have it in them to pay it forward, so I'm giving it a try.