Laura O.
Well, hello again everyone! I am sorry it has taken so long to reply after my surgery. I was in the hospital for 9 days! I had diskectomy & fusions from C-3 to C-7, donor bone (thank heavens!), and a titanium plate screwed over it all. ALSO, I was essentially "roto-rootered" from C-1 down to T-2 to widen the spinal canal and remove excessive bone spurring that was pinching nerves all over the place. Surgery lasted for 5 hours and Dr. Arnold said it was the worst cervical spine he had ever worked on. When I finally came to, I couldn't move anything from the neck down. Doc said there was so much swelling around the whole area that it would be hard to tell at first if there was any permanent damage. I was told that a few hours later, I could move my left side again pretty well, but it took a couple of days before I could wiggle the fingers of my right hand. Feeling returned to my right foot and leg pretty good, but right arm and hand has been a slow process. I had to go to physical therapy the last 5 days of my stay to learn how to walk with my walker, how to manage stairs, and how to get in and out of vehicles. I am in an Aspen collar, 6 - 8 weeks, no driving, no lifting over 5#. My first checkup was rather quick but Doc said x-rays looked great and incision looked great. My incision is about 3 inches long vertically, slightly left of center. I am allergic to the steri-strips they normally use to close the incisions, so they used the medical grade super glue on me and it worked great! I am still sort of like a person recovering from a stroke, but my neck doesn't hurt anymore. I didn't know just how bad it was until now that I feel so much better by comparison! I won't lie though, I have had a few days that I cried and wondered why I ever done it (like I really had a choice). It is so frustrating to be so dependant on those around me. No one had prepared me for the fact that I might have the temporary paralysis and the strange nerve responses. My left side can't feel temperature. I almost burned my hand in the hospital when they walked me to the bathroom to wash my face of a morning the first time. My left foot is so sensitive on the bottom that if I move it just right the whole leg spasms for a bit. I also can't distinguish something sharp from something dull on my left. My right side feels temperature, but is still weaker than the left. Also the fingers of my right hand are all numb and tingly so much so that I can't tell how tightly I'm gripping things which results in me dropping things a lot! I don't know how much longer I will feel this way. The drs. say it could take "a while" for the swelling to go away... whatever that means. I don't know if it's because the worst disk was pushed so far into the spinal cord that it had fused to the spinal membrane which tore as they removed it. They just keep saying that it was a really rough surgery and to be patient. Well, I need to go. It's time for my bone growth stimulator treatment. Post when you can. Thank you for the well wishes, Laura P. I appreciate it more than you know! Bye for now! Laura O. :)