To the brink of tears

I learned some interesting Japanese in the past week or so:

腰 (こし）lower back
痛み (いたみ）pain
傷み (いたみ）damage, injury (same pronunciation as above)
鎮痛剤 (ちんつうざい)　painkiller
アスピリン aspirin
背骨 (せぼね）vertebrae
曲げる (まげる）to bend

and a phrase from CLAIR Japanese course week 22 day 2, which I used for the first time today and got a reaction out of Kaneda-san that was very satisfying to me:

涙が出るほど to the brink of tears.

Yes. I have learned much. And practical stuff too.

Last week, all the students had gone through a sports test. They went through stations and were tested/timed on 50ms, 2kg medicine ball throw, shuttle run, sit-ups, etc. It was like a NFL combine for junior high kids. Anyway, I was manning the flexibility station testing how far they can reach beyond their toes. I demonstrated the stretch for my last group...

I felt a distinct pop/buck/crack/snap in my right lower back. I could almost hear it and I certainly felt it. It wasn't bad immediately afterwards, and I left school early that day (Wed) and made an emergency chiropractor appointment "just in case," since my back was really feeling so much better up to that point I was actually considering returning to basketball practice that night.

The chiropractor said that there was a new inflammation in my left hip joint in addition to the 3rd vertebrae (starting from bottom) inflammation which was causing the initial back stiffness. He said that this wasn't necessarily a step back on my road to recovery...it's just that, well, I'm simultaneously travelling on two roads now.

It has gotten worse. Yesterday I dropped to the floor in pain while I was cooking. During my commute this morning, I felt sharp pinches whenever I stepped on the breaks. I went to the bathroom this morning and barely got out. Breathing deeply and bending gingerly, while wiping my ass, felt like an ashtanga yoga pose.

And now my parents are in town. They should be sitting pretty in my apartment right this moment. I'm genuinely undecided whether I should suck it up so that they won't worry about me, or should I comfort myself in their sympathy...