In fact, in the 12 months after that terrible shower, Abby received little from her doctors beyond patronizing behavior and misdiagnoses. However, they were unable to produce an accurate explanation or a cure for her pain, and they also failed to take her suffering seriously. Over the next year, Abby sought the advice of several doctors. Nonetheless, after seven days, her pain eclipsed her fears about money, and she dragged herself to the hospital.īut the doctors wouldn’t provide the answers for which she was looking, as we’ll see in the next blink.Ībby turned to doctors for help, but their knowledge and attitudes were inadequate. Financially independent and without family help, Abby was terrified of racking up medical debts.

While her college friends could stay on their parents’ insurance policies under the Affordable Care Act, Abby was totally estranged from her mother and father. Why did it take her so long? Well, like many Americans, Abby did not have adequate health insurance. When the weekend came, Abby went to her part-time job and collapsed as she made the coffee.įinally, after a week of agony, she sought medical help. Lying down comfortably was out of the question, as was sitting up. The rest of the day passed in a blur of pain and fitful sleep. And almost immediately, this mysterious affliction began to destroy her life. Overcome with dizziness and nausea, she managed to stagger back to her room.ĭuring that short but agonizing trip from the bathroom to her dorm room, Abby had little idea that she was also heading toward a new future as a chronically ill person. The agony radiated out from deep within her body.Īs she stood there, trying not to move, the stabbing sensations changed into a terrible ache that rolled over her abdomen and pelvis before snaking around to the base of her spine.

She quickly realized it was everywhere, though not anywhere her hands could touch. She desperately patted down her body with her hand, trying to determine the source of the pain. Suddenly, it felt like someone was stabbing a knife through her midsection. But the moment the water hit her body, she knew something was terribly wrong. Still only half awake, she climbed into the shower and turned on the faucet. Abby got out of bed as usual and headed to the shower. That fateful morning began like any other. But one morning in 2010, dreadful pain – unexplained and unbearable – would rip her new life away from her. A student at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College with a prestigious scholarship, her days were packed with literature, dance classes and friends. Abby Norman was just 19 years old when the onset of excruciating pain changed her life forever.

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