Over Christmas break, many people chose to relax and to stay in good health, but Ms. McDonald decided to take an alternate route: surgery.

For many years Ms. McDonald has been feeling an abnormal amount of pain in her right arm and shoulder area. “I had a lot of pain in that area, lots of headaches, and it would cause my right arm to feel weak, tingly, and I would lose strength in my hand,” said Ms. McDonald.

Finally, Ms. McDonald decided to get medical advice. “Last year at this time, I had a MRI, and that is when I found out about the bulging disc in my neck,” said Ms. McDonald.

At first the doctors advised Ms. McDonald to try therapy. If that did not work, they said they would try a cortisone shot, and in the end they ended up having to do more work than they had hoped. “The cortisone shot worked for eight months, but one day in September, it just stopped working,” said Ms. McDonald.

The next step for Ms. McDonald was surgery, which took place over this year’s Christmas break. “They told me I would need two to three weeks for recovery, that is why I did it over break. Although, it was the worst Christmas break I have ever had,” said Ms. McDonald.

Following the surgery, Ms. McDonald experienced a recovery she was not prepared for. “I was not scared for my surgery until my recovery started to not go as planned. A few days later I found out I had a blood clot, and after that I got the worst flu of my life,” said Ms. McDonald.

As of now, Ms. McDonald is back on track with her recovery and will begin physical therapy soon. “I am feeling a lot better, but the physical therapy will really help me get stronger again,” said Ms. McDonald.