a little pom pom trim sample board found at the flea market last year
Hi all. Hope you've been having a lovely summer. Me, not so much due to my back. I was being soooooo good, and only doing the very minimum required of me, letting time pass to heal. I pretty much lay on the floor all day on an ice pack or hot pad, trying to avoid the recommended discectomy and laminectomy recommended by 4 different doctors that read my MRI (I kept trying to find one that would say what I wanted to hear :) ) It's just that the surgery did have a couple risks to my spine and nerves, and having the surgery did not mean that I wouldn't stop the same thing (ruptured hernia) from occurring again anyway. And really, I just didn't want to open the Pandora's box of back issues if I didn't have to.
My Dr. was kind enough to consistently recommend surgery, but support my decision to try to let it heal on it's own. Bulges shrink back, and fragments (the piece embedded in my sciatic nerve ) "reabsorb", usually in 3-6 months. Unfortunately, I had to miss a scheduled vacation with my kids and my Dad, and also a girlfriend's creative vacation. Boo hoo. Anyway, healing without surgical intervention was not to be the case. After being good for over 2 months, something snapped and I found myself in a new kind of excruciating pain two weeks ago tomorrow. The next day, Saturday, when I was admitted into the ER, my new MRI showed "record setting" herniation. Super. Not exactly the records I'd like to be setting. Due to possible permanent problems with my nerve being pinched as it was, they gave me no choice and operated as soon as the neuro surgeon could get in. It all went wonderfully, and I went home completely out of pain for the first time in months. The doctor said that if I'm good (no bending, lifting, twisting, carrying or sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time), I should be feeling great and back at full speed within 6 weeks. I sure am looking forward to that. For now though, I am trying to follow those rules as much as possible, and I am thrilled to be out of constant pain.
I've been off the blog forever, so I just wanted to give you an update. I had my post surgery check up today, and everything is looking great. The Dr. begrudgingly gave me the ok to fly to Oregon, but I must promise to walk around every 20 or 30 minutes of sitting on the plane, and lift absolutely nothing. I'll be seeing some of you in Ashland, for anyone else popping by, I return home late Wednesday night.
Again, thank you for all the well wishes and prayers. The creative community on these art blogs is so very supportive and it's very encouraging to me to hear that no matter what I'm experiencing, I am not alone.
And as for my husband? He's doing great. His never got too bad after the first month or so...although I tell him (much to his displeasure) every day that he's doing too much and asking for trouble...hope not.
Have a good week...
