My Journey ~A Daily Struggle:
Have you or a loved one under gone a major spinal surgery, whether it be cervical or lumbar? I would love for you to share your story in the comment's section below.
I want others to be able to know my story & know that your not alone & follow me, while I struggle on this long & tedious journey.
It all began about 15 years ago, I was at work & bent down to pick up something that was a little to heavy & felt something pop in my back. Well, of course, I kept my mouth shut & when I got home, I applied some ice to my aching back & rested for a couple of days, thank goodness for days off.
Days to weeks, weeks to months & then months to years before you even know it. Of course, throughout all that time, you had your usual bumps in the road, such as, pain, stiffness, etc. You continue to push through it until it brings you to your knees, literally. Just one day, your cleaning weeds out of your flower beds & you cant bring yourself to stand cause the pain is to unbearable. Guess now, its time to complain a little more to your doctor & then comes the blood work, x-rays, MRIs & CT Scans. I have explained my issues to so many doctors or specialists that I just say, "Its all right there in the folder your holding, open it up & see for yourself!" Gets so old, doesn't it? Just for them to say, "Well its not THAT bad." Hmmm.....
Anyways, I finally gave the go ahead to see a surgeon & he informed me that my spine was in serious condition, degenerative disc disease & herniated discs. We discussed my options, my chances, what to expect & yada, yada. Scheduled my surgery, had all the required tests & such done the day before & had to be back at 6 am the next morning.
On August 5th, 2014, I arrived at the hospital with my family. Got all the check ins done & was setting around playing the waiting game. That was when the nerves really kicked in! After about 20 minutes or so they came to take me back to the post op area to ask more questions, place the IVs, talk to the whole team that will be working on you or close by. Seems like forever your setting there waiting, of course, its a couple hours! Letting you starve some more, lol! I hear my surgeon coming! Last thing I remember is him telling me there will only be 3 incisions & surgery will be about 5 hours long, wheeling me to the OR, & giving me something to relax me. Oh yeah, I seen the operating table but I have no clue how I got on it, LOL!(THEM, OF COURSE)
O.M.G.!!!! SOOO MUCH PAIN!!! WHAT IN THE HE!! DID THEY DO TO ME!!!! Just thinking about that moment & setting here typing away, telling you, all about it ,makes me nauseous. Was the most horrible pain I have ever felt & that's saying ALOT(I had a 11lb baby, naturally!) My eyes are so, I don't know, I can barely open them! I hear the nurse & my family is here with me. They're asking me how I am feeling, I want to cry & vomit, is that what you want to hear! The nurse injects more pain relief in to my IV but it cant get there fast enough! OH MAN! WHY I DID I DECIDE TO DO THIS!! My sister is snapping pics at me, my daughter is crying cause I'm in pain & she doesn't like that & I see my parents looking at me & my dad looks ready to go, lol! Which he was!
BEFORE
Before they wheeled me to the OR!
Days to weeks, weeks to months & then months to years before you even know it. Of course, throughout all that time, you had your usual bumps in the road, such as, pain, stiffness, etc. You continue to push through it until it brings you to your knees, literally. Just one day, your cleaning weeds out of your flower beds & you cant bring yourself to stand cause the pain is to unbearable. Guess now, its time to complain a little more to your doctor & then comes the blood work, x-rays, MRIs & CT Scans. I have explained my issues to so many doctors or specialists that I just say, "Its all right there in the folder your holding, open it up & see for yourself!" Gets so old, doesn't it? Just for them to say, "Well its not THAT bad." Hmmm.....
Anyways, I finally gave the go ahead to see a surgeon & he informed me that my spine was in serious condition, degenerative disc disease & herniated discs. We discussed my options, my chances, what to expect & yada, yada. Scheduled my surgery, had all the required tests & such done the day before & had to be back at 6 am the next morning.
On August 5th, 2014, I arrived at the hospital with my family. Got all the check ins done & was setting around playing the waiting game. That was when the nerves really kicked in! After about 20 minutes or so they came to take me back to the post op area to ask more questions, place the IVs, talk to the whole team that will be working on you or close by. Seems like forever your setting there waiting, of course, its a couple hours! Letting you starve some more, lol! I hear my surgeon coming! Last thing I remember is him telling me there will only be 3 incisions & surgery will be about 5 hours long, wheeling me to the OR, & giving me something to relax me. Oh yeah, I seen the operating table but I have no clue how I got on it, LOL!(THEM, OF COURSE)
O.M.G.!!!! SOOO MUCH PAIN!!! WHAT IN THE HE!! DID THEY DO TO ME!!!! Just thinking about that moment & setting here typing away, telling you, all about it ,makes me nauseous. Was the most horrible pain I have ever felt & that's saying ALOT(I had a 11lb baby, naturally!) My eyes are so, I don't know, I can barely open them! I hear the nurse & my family is here with me. They're asking me how I am feeling, I want to cry & vomit, is that what you want to hear! The nurse injects more pain relief in to my IV but it cant get there fast enough! OH MAN! WHY I DID I DECIDE TO DO THIS!! My sister is snapping pics at me, my daughter is crying cause I'm in pain & she doesn't like that & I see my parents looking at me & my dad looks ready to go, lol! Which he was!
BEFORE
Before they wheeled me to the OR!
As you can see from my face, it was very swollen. It was where they were pumping plenty of fluids in me as well as the position they had me in on the operating table.
My back was healing nicely, on the outside but nerve damage occurred.
Hey guys!
Just wanted to update everyone on how things are going. I had my third & final spinal surgery in July 2016 & it's been a slow process of recovering. The Spinal Cord Stimulator is placed & I have a remote to adjust the stimulation to my legs, back & hips. I have a battery placed under the skin of my right butt cheek, that I have to keep charged. I have to have another adjustment done to it so I won't have to continually charge it every other day, it will be weekly instead. It helps with my leg pain but of course nothing is 100% .
I haven't been working on any new projects lately. Mostly mending's & fiddling here & there on little things around the homestead.
I am still wanting to get this blog up & going to greatness so I can share my love of sewing & crafting. In between my studies(I went back to school!) & getting better, I WILL continue my dreams!
It's been a long & agonizing journey that I am fully going to complete one way or another!
Happy Creating with lots of Love, Debbie
Just wanted to update everyone on how things are going. I had my third & final spinal surgery in July 2016 & it's been a slow process of recovering. The Spinal Cord Stimulator is placed & I have a remote to adjust the stimulation to my legs, back & hips. I have a battery placed under the skin of my right butt cheek, that I have to keep charged. I have to have another adjustment done to it so I won't have to continually charge it every other day, it will be weekly instead. It helps with my leg pain but of course nothing is 100% .
I haven't been working on any new projects lately. Mostly mending's & fiddling here & there on little things around the homestead.
I am still wanting to get this blog up & going to greatness so I can share my love of sewing & crafting. In between my studies(I went back to school!) & getting better, I WILL continue my dreams!
It's been a long & agonizing journey that I am fully going to complete one way or another!
Happy Creating with lots of Love, Debbie
