Life goes on. And of course…wait for it! So does the pain. A tiresome subject for someone reading this and very tiresome for the one living it. Pain; it's making me old. I know my appearance has changed dramatically over the past 12 months. Of course I'm still the same guy under the new wrinkles, but a tired guy now. I didn't realize how tough it was to get old. It was easy to pass from childhood to the teenage years; easy and very much desired. The same with adulthood; I wanted to shed the teen image and take on the important role of adult and citizen of the world. But elderhood…that was something that I never really thought about. Until it was happening to me. The only planning I had was financial and nothing at all for the physical at this stage of life. My role models for elderhood were all fit and smiling at the age of 90. I never thought that they represented a miniscule percentage of the elders. And so I learned…and keep on learning.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Spondylolisthesis and Stenosis
Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment:
"Spinal fusion surgery for a degenerative spondylolisthesis is generally quite successful, with upwards of 90% of patients improving their function and enjoying a substantial decrease in their pain. The hospital stay typically ranges from one to four days. It is a difficult surgery to recover from as there is a lot of dissection, and it can take up to a year to fully recover. Usually, most patients can start most of their activities after the fusion has had three months to heal. Once the bone is fused, then the more active the patient is the stronger the bone will become."
An interesting article. And I have to say that the internet is a great tool for medical research. My kind of research… no rocket science, just facts. But, at the same time, I find all sorts of advertising on the sidebars that leave me conflicted; will my surgeon use the latest and greatest of the various hardware sets available? (Instrumentation) Sometimes too much knowledge is a real pain. Did I say that?
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Decision Time
OK, I have made the decision. We went to the 'second opinion' surgeon yesterday and he told us just what the first surgeon had told us, 11 months ago. A laminectomy was needed, with fusion. L3 through S5. He explained it all while we looked at the MRI views and there didn't seem to be any way out. If I want quality of life later, I need to do this now.
As he explained; it's big surgery. 5 or 6 hours in the OR and then the possibility of a week in the hospital. Then 6 months to 1 year of recovery. He also explained that it may be possible to return to racewalking. If that's what I want to do and if I heal properly; a slight chance…but no guarantees. There was also the distinct possibility that I would have to give up that dream altogether. I liked that; he wasn't telling me fairy tales.
11 months ago, the first surgeon told me to explore all conservative methods of treatment and I've done that; PT, acupuncture and epidural injections. Nothing worked and so I had the choice of living with it forever or doing something about it. I've seen too many elders that have decided to live with it rather than have the surgery. I don't want to be one of them.
So it's onward and upward…as soon as the first surgeon, the one I like, comes back from vacation and works through the backlog of appointments. I can see him on May 8th, a month from now. And then the surgery comes later. How much later? I think I will call today and see if he will see me when someone cancels. If someone does.
Why not the second opinion surgeon? It all comes down to likeability. And I didn't like him. He has a great reputation in the community, everyone knows of him, but I want to be comfortable with the guy that holds the knife…silly, I know that.
