To the new folks: I had a spinal fusion in my neck in April, due to disks that had ruptured so badly that my left arm was pretty much paralyzed. The paralysis is gone, but I still have residual pain. I've been wearing a hard cervical collar ever since, and it was scheduled to come off today.
I got to Boston Medical Center bright and early, only to find that my doctor's office was being renovated and his new temporary quarters are several city blocks away. DH drove, and amazingly found an on-street parking spot. I then had to go for X-rays, and for the first time in my life had a painful X-ray. The technician needed to see my neck all stretched out, so she had me hold heavy sand bags while my head was in some sort of a clamp. (Remnants of the Inquisition) Ow.
Finally, I brought the films up to the doctor's office. The doc's Office Assistant, a total sweetie named Joann, reminded me that today was the day to get rid of the collar and brought a trash can into the exam room so I could be rid of it right away. The doc took the films and put them on the light board. When he started frowning, I suspected the news wasn't good. When he broke out the sharpie and started circling areas on the X-ray film, I knew it.
Unfortunately, my spine has not completely fused in the surgical area, and the bone grafts haven't completely "taken." As I think about it, I'd bet that it's because of my decades long steroid dependency, which dramatically slows down healing. Anyway, the upshot is that the hateful collar has to remain in place at least another month, to give the area a chance to heal naturally.
After the month is up, I have to have more of the stretch X-rays, and we'll see where to go from there. If the donor bone grafts aren't going to take, I'll need the surgery again, this time with metal plates and rods holding my neck together, and possibly a graft taken from my hip. The hip thing is supposed to be unbearably painful, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen.
Oh yes, I am not allowed to go to the pain clinic right now -- my appointment was scheduled for Friday of this week. My surgeon feels that the neck is too delicate right now to let people massage it or do any manipulation. He really wants me to wait until such time as I am totally healed. I am not thrilled, but I see where he's coming from. I'll call and change my appointment to sometime in September, which is the earliest the doc feels I can even consider the pain clinic.
Actually, I'm okay with that, because my pain has substantially lessened in the past week or so. I have been taking Singulair, an asthma medication that has the rare side effect of causing joint pain. Accidentally, I missed a dose and noticed that my pain was a lot less horrid. So, I skipped a few more doses, and the pain kicked down from about a 9 (at times) to maybe a 4. To be sure it was the Singulair, I took a dose as an expiriment -- the pain was at full bore within hours. I expect that it's something in the inflammation reducing qualities in Singulair that's zeroing in on my injured areas and really hurting me.
Anyhow, the collar stays. I am still prohibited from driving, and flying to Germany (I haven't given that idea up at all) is "out of the question." [Insert sound of my heart breaking. How many of us have living grandparents, especially ones who are well enough to have big honkin' 90th birthday parties? God, I want to be there.] I am still forbidden from going back to cardiac rehab or walking more than the length of a room without support.
My mom called to see how the appointment went, and was trying to be chipper when I told her that the collar stays. "Well, it's only a couple more months."
Not very nicely, I snapped back: "A couple more months when it's a hundred freakin' degrees outside is not nothing!" A moment later I realized that it's certainly not her fault and I apologized.
The only one who was moderately happy is DH. He has long suspected that my healing wasn't going as well as it could have, and feels relieved that the doctor is taking the conservative route in treating me. To be sure, he's rather enjoying driving my Bug, which would go away instantly if I had lost the collar today.
So, I'm lying low, keeping my fingers crossed to ward off further surgery (Which would suck, big time.) The last "overnight" surgery kept me in the hospital for a week. Any follow up surgery, where I'm already weakened would mean much more hospital time. My rented hospital bed is remaining in place for now, too -- the doc is worried about me getting whacked in the head or back while sharing a bed with Bob, and he hates the idea of my using a waterbed at all.
We're considering buying "twin queen" beds. Our bedroom is enormous, and would easily accomodate two queen sized beds. That way, we'd still be together, but we could accomodate my special needs and his desire to have a soft and squishy mattress. Sounds wierd, but it would work. Normal twin beds would be out of the question: Bob is a seriously big person and would drape all over the edges of the little bed. And... the beds are close enough for ahem, visiting.
So, same old, same old. I'll have to be patient a little while longer. I'm concentrating on visualizing my neck healing and the graft taking -- it can't hurt, and it just might help.
Kathy N-V