Tomorrow is two weeks since I put my life in the hands of a neurosurgeon and his team.
This is not hyperbole - over the past six months, I'd been slowly losing function, mostly in my hands and arms, but also my balance. Turns out my spinal cord was being compressed in 2 different places in my neck. I needed laminectomies and fusions at c2-3 and c6-7.
I'm a retired physical therapist - I know full well how serious this is. Plus, you know it's bad when the surgeon apologizes that you have to have this operation. And when he tempers your expectations by saying 1/3 of patients regain function while 2/3 just don't get worse.
Yikes.
4 1/2 hours in the OR, 3 nights in the hospital, and 9 days home and I'm doing great! I'm already seeing gains in the strength and feeling in my hands/arms. My balance is better, too. And now I'm truly metal. :)
I will need to be patient with the recovery process and I suspect that will be the most difficult part of this. I'll be on activity restrictions for at least another 6-8 weeks.
*I haven't had hair this short ever in my life! They buzzed most of the back of my head to expose the surgical site so I had the scraggly leftover hair in front cut to blend in with the rest. It's kind of radical and I love it. :)
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