Surgery

Surgery day is upon us on Ground hogs day. In just over 12 hours, the surgeon will start cutting but I wont really feel it till later. The actual procedure will take about 1 ½ to 2 hours, followed by 2 hours in the recovery room. The surgeon will cut out the entire L-4 disc in my back and replace it with a synthetic disc, attached with 4 titanium screws. The entire idea of the procedure amazes me.

Growing up as a child in the 60’s, just knowing someone who had gone through a surgery was not very common. In fact, Going to the doctor was not even that common of an event. With a back problem like mine, the surgery would have been a fusion, keeping the patient hospitalized for a week. Now, 1 night and go home.

The best part of having the surgery is the anticipated results. My prognosis is to have 97% total mobility in less than 5-6 months, something I have not had in 5 years. My surgeon is very good at what he does and has a high success rate, so I feel pretty good about it. Based upon my prior surgeries, I know this will be a rough time of recovery over the next 4-6 weeks. I really pray that laura, my loving spouse, can tolerate me through all this.

As I recover, I will keep this blog site posted when I can bear sitting at the computer.