Decision made

We're back from seeing the doctor (yesterday) and I have lots of news. First; I'm going to have the back surgery, just as I anticipated. The surgery will take place in about 2 months time and it will be, in the surgeon's words…

"An L3-L5 Decompressive Laminectomy, Foraminotomy and Instrumented Fusion using PEEK Cages anteriorly in the disc spaces and pedicle screws posteriorly.

I have explained to the patient that this is a huge undertaking and would require about a 5 to 6 hour operation, hospitalization for about a week, maintenance in a brace for two to four months and restriction of vigorous activity for about 6 months."

Well…life goes on. And I'm quite happy this morning, but with an undercurrent of fear. Slight fear. That was a big decision that we made yesterday. My life will change, our lives will change. But hey, that can happen accidentally anytime, so changing it on purpose is just part of the rhythm of life. And life will go on as before. But better.

And I've done all, or most, of my homework on this. I've had plenty of time to do the research and since I still have my interest in all things medical; ever since my days as a Hospital Corpsman, (I used to work for a neurosurgeon and we had to take care of all of the spinal fusion cases on our surgical ward.) I have found this research to be both enlightening and fascinating. It's been close to 50 years since I last worked on those cases and surgery has changed a thousand times over since then; except for the basics. Anatomy and Physiology are still the same, so my A&P classes weren't wasted, and the goal of the surgeon hasn't changed. But the rest of it? Wow!

During the past year I've read all sorts of papers on the techniques used and watched many of the different videos on laminectomies and fusions. Yet Google tells me that there are even more papers to research and more videos to watch. When it comes time for the actual surgery, I will be a very well informed patient.

And now that we've made this decision, the daily pain is no longer an issue for me. I will do what I can; vacuuming, cooking, painting, etc, and when the pain arrives, as it will, I will stop, take a pill and not worry about it. Real relief is now in sight; just weeks away.

And a year from now? Will I be training for my 6^th marathon? That's still the plan. Even if I have to walk the 26.2 miles at a very slow pace, I want to do it again.