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!