[horsemommy]

Hello all,
I've recently been diagnosed with TOS (officially) although I've told the docs for 3 years that I have it,LOL. But hey, what do WE know about it????? ALMOST EVERYTHING!
I own a horse farm in NJ and live with my husband and 2 grown daughters. My hubby is in the Air Force and flies Kc-10 refueler & both my girls are in college. I work for vascular surgeons besides on our farm. I give lessons and still ride competitively. Fortunately riding doesn't require much hand/arm strength just alot of leg pressure, balance and good posture. So riding is actually therapy for me . What is good for my TOS is all the cleaning involved in owning a farm!
I was injured in an auto accident 10 years ago and have been getting steadily worse over the years. But what push me over the top was 3 years ago I was bringing my 1000 lb, gangly 18mo draft horse in from a snowstorm and my dog tripped me. Well, when I fell, I knocked skippy's feet out from under him and he pancaked me onto the cement floor. I was lucky he didn't kill me! I walked away with a couple cracked ribs, costochronditis and a major concussion. Only to discover the costochrondritis was masking alot of the TOS symptoms. Once the costochronditis calmed down, the TOS was very apparent. That's what started my long quest to proper diagnosis. I've done chiro, pt, massage, you name it. Meds are what get me thru the day now.
~Now here's a funny twist to the whole thing. My DAD had TOS from an auto accident 30 years ago and had surgery to correct it 28 years ago! same arm, same exact problem! THAT'S how I knew what it was. Personal experience.
(Just convincing the docs to listen to me!) My dad had surgery and hasn't had a problem since, so I'm hoping for the same!
Thanks for "listening" and having a great support forum.
Mary Lou