I have an old injury from my military days, which contributed to the degeneration of discs in my L4/L5 spinal segment. In October 2013, issues with my lower back flared up again. By February, one of the discs had herniated severely compressing my thecal sac and left lateral recess, causing a horrible case of sciatica. For almost two months, I’d lost the ability to get myself out of bed without assistance (and it still took about 30 minutes or so before I could calm my leg down enough to move). I could barely dress myself, sit or stand, and spent some days on crutches or used a cane. I hated the thought of going to bed, because I knew I’d be trapped in there, not to mention the pain worsened during the night as my body temp dropped and my muscles stiffened.