Poetic justice

I went back to my hand surgeon because I've been having some pain in both arms, and wondered whether I might need more surgery. He didn't think that even my left hand--the one on which I didn't have surgery--looked all that bad in terms of carpal tunnel syndrome, but sent me off to a neurologist for nerve testing, just in case. The nerve tests showed "denervation," a drop in nerve activity(?), particularly in the right hand and arm. So he sent me for an x-ray of the neck to try to see what the problem was. Sure enough, I have two flattened discs in the neck section of my spine (cervical spine?), and, as a result, the nerves that run through that section are now pinched.

Not only does this explain the pain in my arms and hands, it also explains why my neck bothers me whenever I bend my head forward for too long, such as when I'm reading a book in the subway or davvening (praying) in synagogue, in both of which cases the book/prayer book is on my lap rather than on a desk or table. In recent months, I've taken to saying the Aleinu prayer from memory just so that I can literally keep my head straight.

I told my husband that this may be a case of poetic justice--all my life, I've been a pain in the neck, so now, I have a pain in the neck!