Hello fellow Gather friends. I know that I have been away for some time now. As many of you know, I was scheduled to have back surgery on July 28th. I did have the surgery, and am in the process of my recovery now. They removed the L5/S1 disc and fused me up. They went in from my stomach which provided them with more surface area to work with and they did not have to cut through as much muscle and bone to get to it. The surgeon says that things went beautifully. He placed a metal plate and 4 screws in to hold the "cage" that houses the donor bone so that it holds it all in place for the fusion to take place.
The incision site is extremely sore, but it is getting better each day. I have lots of achy/throbbing pain from mid-waist to mid-thigh, BUT I HAVE NO MORE NERVE PAIN shooting down either of my legs!!!!! That is a blessing beyond belief. That in itself makes everything worth it. I was so terrified of going through with this, but so far I think it was the right choice. I stay pretty loopy still, with the pain meds that they have me taking, so I had held off on writing this. Even now, I am having to watch my every keystroke. This may not end up being a very long article, but I promise it is taking a lot longer to write it than you would think. LOL
I tried to take a picture of my belly before the surgery and then tonight...since I finally got all the tape off, I took a picture of the incision. The pictures are not the best, but it gives you an idea of what my belly has gone through. I think the surgeon did a pretty good with sewing me back up. It does not look like the scar will be too ugly. LOL
Thank you all for all of your thoughts and prayers. It has meant more to me than you will ever know. I do not know when I will feel up to getting back in the swing of actually going through and looking at everyone's content, but hopefully it will be soon.
Thanks so much, again, to all of you!
**I apologize in advance if I accidently submit this to any wrong groups. I am afraid I may be a little too loopy to get it perfect.**
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Comments: 79
continue to recover!
hugs 2 ya
Keep up the good work! Get lots of rest and may God bless you.
Take care!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I am so glad to hear that it went well. Thanks for the update and keep up with the healing.
I can't say enough how happy I am for you! What was your docs name? Maybe we could name something after him:)
Gwen, the surgeon's name is Dr. Erik Bendiks. He has been great. I am so glad that I stuck with him and did not end up switching doctors. The general surgeon he had working with him was wonderful as well. I really did end up very blessed.
Thanks so much to you all. I am gonna go post a couple of hummingbird photos that I got this morning, and then rest for a bit.
Take it easy...we'll be here when you return!
She had 5 back surgeries all together. How times have changed. I'm really glad for you.
I pray you continue to improve.
Good for you with no more leg pain! That scar will mostly melt away, besides that's a cute kissable belly no matter how you slice it! .. I know I know a bad joke .. I just couldn't resist! lol!
Alexander
God Bless You!
(This is a comment link for A Stone’s Throw Away. It was written for you’re entertainment. Go enjoy!)
If they went in from my stomach I would provided them with a lot more surface area. LOL my belly is bigger then yours.
We can both, hopefully, look forward to a much fuller life now.
Listen to the docs, take pain medicine on time each time and allow people to help you ;)
Good luck and if you need an ear I am here for you.
xox
Karla
Hope everything goes well and continues to go well for you...
:O)
And...actually...you write pretty darn well for being loopy!
Praying for healing from the top of your head to the tips of your toes.
Carrie
(www.WordsToMouth.com)
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.
With love to all of you!
Tess
PS...still no nerve pain. The aching and throbbing is a breeze compared to the hellish days before the surgery! :-)
Thank you all for your support!
thanks for including my family in yours
Nerve pain sucks - no matter where it is...but both legs must have stunk!
Take care on your way through recovery - enjoy!
My husband just had fusion on c4 & c5, also a disk replaced on c6.
that was one long horrible 2 months for us!!
Glad you are doing better now, I will keep you in my thoughts