thisnewday

So I had my first post-op office exam with the orthopedics doc who did my surgery. Along with the general Q&A about post-op progress, meds currently on board, etc., I got to see fresh x-rays of the repair site. Looks like I'll be setting off metal detectors three aisles to either side of me the next time I'm passing through O'Hare. And I can also understand why the doc was so confident, immediately after surgery, that not much was gonna disturb it.

Viewed from the back, there are two short metal rods set vertically to the left and right sides of the L-5 (upper) and S-1 (lower) vertibrae. Each rod is secured with bone screws through an end piece at its top and bottom so that the resulting structure boxes-in the disc between. And the sides of the structure are capped with the harvested hip bone.

So far, the doc is pleased and commented that we just have to hope that the majority of my pre-op pain was from the looseness of the fractured L-5 and the injury to the disc below it. I'm hoping the same but feel that I've already gained substantially with the increased stability of my lower back.

I was a little disappointed to learn that physical therapy will not start until after my next exam, six weeks from now, at the earliest. But the goal is to make sure everything is completely healed before that, which is added incentive to follow the guidelines and to take full advantage of the kind of exercise, primarily walking, that is permitted.

It also provides a specific time frame in which to consider what comes afterward. What do I want my new life to look like? What are my specific goals regarding training, education, and employment? What do I hope to accomplish with this renewed opportunity to participate in life...