I went to bed so late, so tired. I didn't finish Benjamin Button and I had been anticipating this movie for half a year. I paused it halfway at 11:30pm and hoped I'd have a chance to finish it before heading to New Jersey for my daughter's graduation.

At 12:30 my daughter came into my room, so wired I could have plugged my cell phone right into her bellybutton and charged it for a week. "My arms!" she wailed. "I have shooting pains up and down my arms and it won't stop!!!"

She went on and on and I swam to the surface of reality with the reluctance of a GM personnel manager. I could tell she was in extreme pain and there was nothing I could possibly do but take her to the emergency room. With a huge deductable, that was going to cause my husband a heart attack which would add considerable to our financial woes.

I tried the warm hands warm heart method but it failed miserably. I sat helplessly on the bed, unable to jump start my brain. I could not think what might be causing such terrible, shooting pains. Comets might set off a display of shooting stars, but what set off arm pain? A heart attack? She was only 17.

She was pleading me to do something anything now now now and leaning on me and turning away from me and attempting in some fashion to be comfortable and the clock was ticking and all I could think of was oh my god what am I supposed to do, I am clueless.

Finally it occurred to me that there might have been someone online with a similar experiencein the years since the Internet became a viable diagnostic tool and I asked her if her laptop was on. Yes, she moaned. She remained on my bed while I headed to her room thankful for some space to consider the events of the past half hour.

I googled "shooting pain in arms" and was gratified to see several sites pop up. I began to regain my rational mind and read each and every relevant article, not caring how long it was taking me to find something fitting my daughter's situation.

She joined me on my fifth site, still breathing in sighs and moaning, but evidently desiring my companionship and sympathy. This is when I found what I now consider a godsend: a medical site with 300 diagnostic questions.

I say godsend because this site gave both Lexie and me a focus. I was able to begin asking her questions that took her mind off her pain finally and also gave me a sense of control over the situation. She answered questions until 2:45 am, when, nearly collapsd with exhaustion, she startled. "Mom, the pain has stopped!" she said. "It's back to where it was when I was at Jesse's graduation party- my neck is sore!"

I wanted to leap and shout "Halleluia!" but I was past sluggish. Instead, I went downstairs, got her a second Advil and a glass of water and collapsed into my own bed, alone at last.

Lexie is a dancer and in fairly good shape. But that afternoon she had gone swimming with friends after school for the first time in maybe a year. It's possible she pulled a muscle in her neck, as she remembers her neck being sore at the graduation party she attended later in the evening. But the shooting pain didn't begin until much later. Was there nerve damage? She awoke this morning feeling fine. Of course it was 11:30 by the time she got out of bed. I, unfortunately, had to get up and active at 8, yawn.

Sites I read indicated that shooting pain has many possible causes. It could be a heart attack, but that generally causes pain in one arm not both arms. Some sites suggested carpal tunnel. Others scared me into thinking my daugher had some horrific disease that would debilitate her for life. Well, it was the middle of the night and my brain was not functioning, as I said.

I thought I visited the second site, Wrong Diagnosis, but reading it now I see that this would have been a perfect site for me to begin this exploration but I was a bit specific in my description and I didn't come across it until I had already read lots of other sites much less helpful.

Had I googled arm pain, it would have been the third site on the list and I might have skipped the first two. The first one talks about the Silent Killer, among other terrifying responses. Well, I would have zeroed right in on that one.

Anyway, the Wrong Diagnosis site gave us a few laughs as it asked bizarre questions at times. But I have noted this site and referred my husband to it. They offer four information delivery methods, all under $78. I think with our medical health HSA being mostly catastrophic, it would behoove us to keep this site Bookmarked.

The first delivery method is a simple email sent with graphs describing the level of concern an initial computer analysis arrives at once it's compiled all the information. The other three choices cost, but as I said, not much. The first is a detailed computer analysis for $25, the second actually has a doctor review the information for $55 and the final option is a full doctor review for $77.

Like I said, this site is now at my fingertips, although the information is not received until the next day when you submit the information at 3am.