www.christophersimon.com
404-259-7635
JUNE 2018
An Injury Can Be a Gift
s some of you know, I have a very serious L5-S1 low back disc herniation that pushes on nerve roots in my legs. I have lived
epidurals for pain management instead. The numbness and pain that I feel on bad days can be debilitating, to the point that I have to work on a couch for the most part and rarely sit in an office chair. It makes exercise a mental struggle, and frankly, by the evening of a bad day, I’m often drained from putting up with the discomfort. For many years after the injury, I felt sorry for myself and would complain to God about my plight. As I have matured, I have realized that it is a gift as well as a misfortune. Having the pain and the procedures reminds me that I am lucky to be alive. Most importantly, in my line of work, it allows me to stand in my client’s shoes and understand firsthand what living with pain and physical limitations is truly all about.
taking people’s depositions and hearing them mention that they had trouble picking up their children and that the limitations would bother them more than anything else about the injury. While I heard them, I could not emotionally connect to the problem until it became a limitation that I struggle with myself in picking up my own kids. That is the difference between hearing and listening. Looking back now, I also realize that the gifts of an injury can be many. It has taught me to take opportunities. I do not have forever to be healthy and have sped up my travel timetables with my kids. It has taught me to be careful with what I eat and how I treat my body. A stable core and good diet choices allow our bodies to handle pain more readily. It has taught me patience. I realize now that improvement is more gradual than I would like in work, family relationships, and in healing. It’s okay to make gradual gains every day — just stay on course. The sum of that philosophy is asking myself, “How do I just win today?” and then stringing a series of winning days together. Oh well, I have to go — doctor is here with the needles. Have a great summer, and I’ll take pictures in Paris next week for the July issue!
with this for seven years now, and as I write this I am getting ready for yet another epidural lumbar injection at Peachtree Orthopedics. As car accident lawyers, we know a truism of the business is that the cervical and lumbar regions are the most frequently injured parts of the human body in vehicle wrecks. These injuries are infuriating because they affect the entire body and outlook of the patient and can be incredibly difficult to correctly diagnose and treat. Moreover, the treatments themselves can be scary. My doctor wants to do a double level fusion, but I don’t want to go that direction; I use
Life is funny like that. My disc herniated not due to any accident, but just getting older. As I sit here at age 46 and look back over my 20-year career, I think that it is one of the most enlightening experiences I have dealt with, as it truly helps me to see things from my clients’ perspectives. I remember working as an insurance defense lawyer for 10 years,
–Christopher Simon
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