A few weeks ago, I got sick and decided to do all the tests — RSV, flu, COVID — nothing special… just enough to flatten me for days. 

I had my annual Institute for Jewish Spirituality retreat on my calendar, and although I was still getting my strength back, I decided to get on my flight and go. 

Before we took off, the captain said:

“Welcome aboard, United flight 311 to Los Angeles. Flight time will be about five hours and fifty-six minutes.

“Boston temperature is 9 degrees, Los Angeles 79.”

An easy 70-degree decision!

But during the flight, I developed a weird, sharp pain down my left arm — from my triceps down to the forearm.

But I figured all that meditation, healthy food, sun, yoga, davening, rest, singing, and learning would take care of it.

But it just kept getting worse, to the point where I left the retreat early and flew home.

Amazingly, my PCP saw me right away and said I needed to go to the MGH Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 

Miraculously, they had an appointment the next morning. 

They x-rayed my arm: nothing. But when I described the sequence — virus, then sudden nerve pain down my dominant arm — the practitioner said, “I think you have Parsonage–Turner Syndrome.”

I nodded: “That makes sense. I’ve been living in a parsonage for 27 years!”

She said, “What’s a parsonage?” 

She recommended physical therapy.

As luck would have it, I already had a PT appointment scheduled for a torn meniscus (yes, I know — I am a bit of a mess), so I went right to my physical therapist, Al Visnick — truly one of the best. 

There’s a reason there are always Emunah members there every time I visit him.

I told him I had a new problem. He just smiled. He knows me.

I described the pain and the diagnosis of Parsonage–Turner. He examined me, paused, and asked: “Was the person who diagnosed you… on the younger side?” I said, “Yes; they looked right out of school.”

He said, “It’s a very interesting diagnosis — but you just have a pinched nerve in your neck.”

So the pain was in my arm, but the problem was somewhere else. The symptom was obvious; the source was hidden.

Sometimes, there is a deeper........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)