So over the summer, I started experiencing some shoulder pain when moving or rotating the arm in certain positions. It's gotten better since its worst point, when I'd hardly be able to move my arm anywhere between the relaxed state with hand at my waist and raising the hand up to shoulder level without feeling pain. Nowadays, it's only, again, painful in certain positions, some of which are unfortunately practical (such as pouring from a milk gallon - breakfasts are quite unfortunate).

So of course, at the beginning I ignored it for a while, and figure it'd go away, thinking I probably just slept on it wrong. But sadly a few months later it's not gone away. Faced with the risk of serious shoulder injury, particularly in my dance competition season, I decided I needed to explore medical treatment. My options after surveying some colleagues (including my dance partner) included chiropractic care, acupuncture, and surgery (ouch). Since I didn't wanna be cut open or poked with needles, chiropractic care seemed to be the way to go, and my partner was able to refer me to her own chiropractor (and the very one who has encouraged her to pursue her doctorate in chiropractic science).

Of course, these kinds of places aren't quick-fix places, and my injury isn't necessarily a quick-fix problem either. After an initial set of tests, we learned that there's pretty extreme stress/pressure in my neck, and that there is imbalanced muscle tension along my neck and back that seem to agree with either causing my shoulder pain or are my body's reaction to compensate for the shoulder pain. I had gotten X-rays to see if there's anything about the skeletal structure to explain the issues that seem to stem from the neck area.

Apparently the curve of my cervical spine is curved in the wrong direction. Some of my critical vertebrae in my neck have started to degenerate, and I'm prone to some serious issues if left untreated. So in addition to the chiropractic adjustments I'll be receiving a couple times a week, I will have to perform some daily exercises to attempt to correct the reversal of my cervical spine curve.

I feel like I went to a car mechanic for an oil change and learned about a bunch of other things that are going wrong. And charged accordingly. But I suppose it can't be an issue ignored if it's discovered now, so I've got this massive medical expense ahead of me (to the tune of greater than $4000), and I've gotta figure out a way to deal with that.

So needless to say, I will be open for commissions and will set myself a personal goal of accepting and completing $350 worth of commissions a month, though I ideally would like to earn faster than that because my financial commitment for the treatment is accelerated. Donations are welcome too, though you will definitely receive something of comparable value in return in artwork, even if you do not request it!

Here's to hoping that I can get everything fixed. And that my shoulder stops hurting :P

You can view my commission prices here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9054385/

And, tips always welcome and much appreciated

Please definitely share with people you know who may be interested in contributing in exchange for art!