So, after talking over my surgery situation with my physical therapist (a family friend), he recommended one more orthopedic surgeon to get an opinion from before I made any decisions. Since he’s pretty familiar with most of the ortho’s in this area, I figured it made sense to follow his advice. So, I made an appointment with yet another doctor for this coming Monday, the 28th. However, since my surgery was scheduled for the 25th, that wouldn’t do much good! I cancelled the surgery for this Friday and didn’t reschedule at this time, so I could wait and see what the other two orthopedics say after reviewing my situation.
I met with Dr. Haider today, the doctor who did my uncle’s fusion surgery 6 months ago. My P.T. said this doctor tends to lean towards fusions more than alternate methods, so I was all prepared for him to give me a quick “Yes, you need surgery.” Thank goodness I was wrong! Though it does make things more confusing, it’s still nice to hear someone who is as knowledgeable as him tell me I don’t need surgery right now! Basically he said that my L4 disc is in really bad shape (as we knew already), but that there is no need to worry about paralysis. He said a fusion wouldn’t be needed at this point, but if I get really bad sciatica pain again sometime, a diskectomy might be appropriate, fusion if the low back pain is intolerable. He gave me a booklet of things to do to help keep my back in shape, plus encouraged my doing physical therapy exercises to strengthen my core and back muscles.
I see the other doctor on Monday morning, and now I’m not sure at all what to expect, but I’m thrilled to not be getting cut open this Friday!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Anything But Surgery
Had my orthopedic appointment and after seeing the newest MRI and X-rays, the doctor is recommending fusion surgery on three levels. (1) the level (L4) that has degenerated the most and shows major protrusion, (2) the level below that one (L5), not because the disc has any issues, but because my vertebrae are not aligned and the bones aren't giving much stability, and (3) the level right above the worst one (L3), because it's showing degeneration already and fusion below it will put more pressure on it. After much prayer and consideration, we went ahead and scheduled the surgery for Friday, July 25th. However, we wanted to get as much information in the meantime that we could.
I'm going to call my physical therapist from the last time I hurt my back (he's also a family friend) and see what he thinks. He knows all the orthopedic surgeons in the area, so his opinion about them is valuable. He also might think that I don't need to pursue surgery at this point, and might suggest more P.T. instead. I see my chiropractor on Thursday afternoon and plan on getting his input on the situation as well.
In the meantime, my uncle (who recently had fusion surgery on his L5 disc) was visiting us this evening and I wanted to pick his brain about the pain he had pre-surgery and how the recovery has gone since surgery. Basically, he was having some similar symptoms prior to surgery that I was experiencing this Feb-June: sciatica pain down the right leg, pain in the low back, etc. He said when he came to after the surgery, he was in so much pain he wanted to kill the doctor for not telling him how much pain he'd be in. He said the pain continued to be excruciating for a good while afterwards, though he was able to go home in 3 days. The part that got me was that he said today, six months after the surgery, though he doesn't have the sciatica or low back pain, he is stiff and sore and still can't/won't bend over. I can't imagine not being able to bend down for 6+ months! It's a zillion times a day position for a stay-at-home mom of an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old baby! As my uncle was leaving the house this evening, my mom (his sister) wanted to take a look at his scar from the surgery. We saw it and mom said, "You'll have one just like it!" to me. My uncle said - "Maybe. I had a friend who had to have fusion on several levels and they had to do a 14+ inch incision from his stomach to his side, plus the 6-7 inch one on his back in order to get at the spine the way they needed to. Maybe you'll have scars like that."
Okay, so I share all this because, before tonight, I was pretty scared about surgery. Now, I'm terrified. I'm willing to do anything to avoid surgery. I plan on checking in with my physical therapist and starting that up again. I need to find a nutritionist/accountability person to help me eat better, and someone (personal trainer, etc.) to help me exercise, since my weight is a serious problem for my back issues. Somehow we'll have to find the money to do this because I just can't face the idea of surgery if that's what I have to look forward to. At least not at this point while I'm still feeling pretty good. I covet the prayers of my family and friends - this is the toughest thing I've had to deal with in my life so far, which I'm grateful for! Some people have it much worse! But it's still hard for me and I'll take all the help and support I can get!
I'm going to call my physical therapist from the last time I hurt my back (he's also a family friend) and see what he thinks. He knows all the orthopedic surgeons in the area, so his opinion about them is valuable. He also might think that I don't need to pursue surgery at this point, and might suggest more P.T. instead. I see my chiropractor on Thursday afternoon and plan on getting his input on the situation as well.
In the meantime, my uncle (who recently had fusion surgery on his L5 disc) was visiting us this evening and I wanted to pick his brain about the pain he had pre-surgery and how the recovery has gone since surgery. Basically, he was having some similar symptoms prior to surgery that I was experiencing this Feb-June: sciatica pain down the right leg, pain in the low back, etc. He said when he came to after the surgery, he was in so much pain he wanted to kill the doctor for not telling him how much pain he'd be in. He said the pain continued to be excruciating for a good while afterwards, though he was able to go home in 3 days. The part that got me was that he said today, six months after the surgery, though he doesn't have the sciatica or low back pain, he is stiff and sore and still can't/won't bend over. I can't imagine not being able to bend down for 6+ months! It's a zillion times a day position for a stay-at-home mom of an almost 3 year old and a 7 month old baby! As my uncle was leaving the house this evening, my mom (his sister) wanted to take a look at his scar from the surgery. We saw it and mom said, "You'll have one just like it!" to me. My uncle said - "Maybe. I had a friend who had to have fusion on several levels and they had to do a 14+ inch incision from his stomach to his side, plus the 6-7 inch one on his back in order to get at the spine the way they needed to. Maybe you'll have scars like that."
Okay, so I share all this because, before tonight, I was pretty scared about surgery. Now, I'm terrified. I'm willing to do anything to avoid surgery. I plan on checking in with my physical therapist and starting that up again. I need to find a nutritionist/accountability person to help me eat better, and someone (personal trainer, etc.) to help me exercise, since my weight is a serious problem for my back issues. Somehow we'll have to find the money to do this because I just can't face the idea of surgery if that's what I have to look forward to. At least not at this point while I'm still feeling pretty good. I covet the prayers of my family and friends - this is the toughest thing I've had to deal with in my life so far, which I'm grateful for! Some people have it much worse! But it's still hard for me and I'll take all the help and support I can get!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Grain of Rice Principle
Okay, so I'm sure you've all heard of this already - the grain of rice thing. If someone gives just one grain of rice, it's not enough to feed anyone, but if large numbers of people each give a grain, then we can make some dinner (or at least a side dish). Now obviously there's a deeper meaning to this principle than just rice... we're talking about money, of course! I remember thinking through this one day, how if all the students at CBU (my alma mater) would give just $1 each month, they could sponsor 100 kids through Compassion or a similar program. If all the churches in the U.S. would do the same, - heck, even just the churches in Riverside - we could start to seriously address the issues of poverty and hunger in the world!
This is all on my mind because a good friend of mine, who is getting married this Saturday, asked that in lieu of a gift for the wedding, for people to sponsor a child through Compassion. David and I have been sponsoring a little boy in Ethiopia since 2004 (Nahom), and decided to pick a little girl from Ethiopia as our gift for Rose & Aaron's wedding. I'm very excited about it - have a whole wall and shelf at my house set up to display "our kids'" pictures and to remind us to pray for Africa, Ethiopia in particular. We picked a little girl, 7 years old, named Kalkidan who loves music (plays an instrument and loves to sing), since music is such a big part of our lives. I think sponsoring a child in this way is great thing to do, not only for David and I, but for our kids to be a part of as they grow up.
Now, to bring this principle down to home, I'm thinking it'd be a great thing if everyone I knew would give me just a couple bucks a month...
This is all on my mind because a good friend of mine, who is getting married this Saturday, asked that in lieu of a gift for the wedding, for people to sponsor a child through Compassion. David and I have been sponsoring a little boy in Ethiopia since 2004 (Nahom), and decided to pick a little girl from Ethiopia as our gift for Rose & Aaron's wedding. I'm very excited about it - have a whole wall and shelf at my house set up to display "our kids'" pictures and to remind us to pray for Africa, Ethiopia in particular. We picked a little girl, 7 years old, named Kalkidan who loves music (plays an instrument and loves to sing), since music is such a big part of our lives. I think sponsoring a child in this way is great thing to do, not only for David and I, but for our kids to be a part of as they grow up.
Now, to bring this principle down to home, I'm thinking it'd be a great thing if everyone I knew would give me just a couple bucks a month...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Incredibly smart, or incredibly stupid
One + Two = See Above Title
One: I'm very tired. Jonathan has gotten in the habit of dropping his pacifier 2-5 times a night and crying loudly for us to replace it for him. In addition to these wakings, my back still doesn't let me sleep in one position for very long, so I constantly rotate back and forth like a rotisserie chicken throughout the night (*ding!* That side is done! Now roll!). At least the late pregnancy bathroom breaks throughout the night have ceased! It's amazing how I can go 8+ hours without peeing now... (I'm still close enough to the experience to be astounded by this).
Two: I love to read. My parents instilled in me a great love of reading from my early childhood. Apparently my sister taught me to read when I was 3 years old. She came home from kindergarten every day and spent the afternoon teaching me what she'd learned (I have to take my parents word on this evidence of my early genius since said genius does not extend to my ability to remember things.). Since then I have spent countless hours reading - historical fiction, devotionals, non-fiction, foodie books, romances, mysteries, law novels, fantasies, etc.
One of the side effects of all this reading is that I have come down with CPD syndrome. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, let me break it down for you. Half the world's readers have Can't Put it Down syndrome*. This terrible disease compels the reader to complete an entire book without putting it down regardless of circumstances around him or her. None of the prissy "I'll just read til the end of the chapter" stuff - this is hard core, can't stop reading until the final page. It's incredibly difficult to live with.
Here's the dilemma: "they" say it's important to instill a lifelong love of reading into your children by reading to them at least 20 minutes a day. My parents did this for me - in fact, they probably exceeded this amount 99% of the time. As a result, I have CPD, and though I'm ridiculously tired, I spent 3 hours last night finishing a book when I should have been sleeping. So, tell me, am I incredibly smart (i.e. "lifelong love of reading" wins out) or am I incredibly stupid!?
*This statement does not have any valid research to support it... I made it up... so sue me.
One: I'm very tired. Jonathan has gotten in the habit of dropping his pacifier 2-5 times a night and crying loudly for us to replace it for him. In addition to these wakings, my back still doesn't let me sleep in one position for very long, so I constantly rotate back and forth like a rotisserie chicken throughout the night (*ding!* That side is done! Now roll!). At least the late pregnancy bathroom breaks throughout the night have ceased! It's amazing how I can go 8+ hours without peeing now... (I'm still close enough to the experience to be astounded by this).
Two: I love to read. My parents instilled in me a great love of reading from my early childhood. Apparently my sister taught me to read when I was 3 years old. She came home from kindergarten every day and spent the afternoon teaching me what she'd learned (I have to take my parents word on this evidence of my early genius since said genius does not extend to my ability to remember things.). Since then I have spent countless hours reading - historical fiction, devotionals, non-fiction, foodie books, romances, mysteries, law novels, fantasies, etc.
One of the side effects of all this reading is that I have come down with CPD syndrome. For those of you unfamiliar with this term, let me break it down for you. Half the world's readers have Can't Put it Down syndrome*. This terrible disease compels the reader to complete an entire book without putting it down regardless of circumstances around him or her. None of the prissy "I'll just read til the end of the chapter" stuff - this is hard core, can't stop reading until the final page. It's incredibly difficult to live with.
Here's the dilemma: "they" say it's important to instill a lifelong love of reading into your children by reading to them at least 20 minutes a day. My parents did this for me - in fact, they probably exceeded this amount 99% of the time. As a result, I have CPD, and though I'm ridiculously tired, I spent 3 hours last night finishing a book when I should have been sleeping. So, tell me, am I incredibly smart (i.e. "lifelong love of reading" wins out) or am I incredibly stupid!?
*This statement does not have any valid research to support it... I made it up... so sue me.
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