Three weeks after

Hey I have survived my first week back at work!
Not too hard since I am working from home.
Am able to move around much more now.
I can even ride in Ethan's car!
I haven't been able to sit in his car since August.
All the Steri-Strips have fallen off and the scar is looking like it is healing very well.
I think that this scar is longer than the older one. I think it will be a cleaner looking scar.
The old one had stitching marks. This one is just a line.
(I will add photos after Mary takes a couple)
I am still thrilled that I can stand straight up and put on my own socks.
That sounds funny, but when you can't put on your own socks for a few months it means a lot.
Starting Physical Therapy soon.
That will help me get myself to a condition where I can start doing more normal activities.
Have to go now.
Jordan says I have to take 10,000,000 seconds to help him finish his Jack-o-lantern.
Ethan said, "That's about an hour I think"

1 week after I came home

Well here we are. I have made it to 1 week after my first walk in the Hospital.
Then I made it to the nurses station and back.
Monday I took a walk with Jordan. I got from the house to the corner and back.
The rest of the week, I was on my own. That meant I was not able to go outside for a walk.
Not supposed to go out by myself.
I got to take a walk with Jordan today.
I made it all the way around the small block in my neighborhood.
It felt so good to be outside, and to get to walk that far. There was one place where the sidewalk was tilted. That was hard to navigate, but I made it.
Now I have till Wednesday to find out if I am able to drive.
Dr. said he didn't want me to work till then. So I have been here sitting or walking around the house.
There are two questions I have for the Dr.
1. how long till I can bend forward. (it makes it hard to put on socks and shoes and a couple other things)
2. How long till my toes start to feel normal. Right now they feel sort of like I have a thread from my socks stuck between all my toes, and a little swollen. They are not really swollen, they just feel that way.
I will post again when I have the answers.

Here is what I remember the Dr said about the surgery

Dr. D said that when he opened me up and was checking out the disc, one nerve was so compressed that it was twitching. He started on the other side and when that was cleared out the other nerve settled down. Then he was able to go in on that side to clear that out. There was some old scar tissue above one of the joints but was not impacting any nerves so he was able to leave that small bit. He cleaned out some other scar tissue that could have caused problems. He had said that the scar tissue could be the most difficult part of the surgery because that could most easily cause tears in the lining of the nerve.
If I recall correctly what he said, this bulging disc was worse than the original surgery I had in 2001. He seemed surprised at how much the disc was bulging considering how much had been removed in the previous surgery.
The nurses and PCA's were wonderful. They were very positive and made every effort to make sure I was comfortable. Thank you ladies.
I am now able to stand up straight. It feels so good to be able to do so.
No more leg pain! so happy about that.

Home from the hospital

Had a rough night had to get up about 4 times to go to move around. Was having some tummy trouble from just laying there...
But then this morning I got to sleep in.
Mary came and picked me up about noon.
When I got home Mom and Dad were here, Mom had made some homemade tomato soup. It was very good. Mary made me a grilled cheese....
Grilled cheese and tomato soup just go together so well.
Marvin was working with Jordan to put in the new water heater. They needed a tool so were waiting for me to get home to tell them where it was.
I told them it was in the tool box they were using.
Dad said he hadn't looked there yet.
Now Marvin and Jordan are off getting fittings at Home Depot to finish up.
Mary is at the pharmicist picking up my perscriptions.
Phyllis has stepped out to go to the store for something or other she needs.
So here I sit. Just so happy to be home.
Now the dog is leaning on me. But now it doesn't hurt to have him lean.
So happy the leg pain is gone. I am still a little weak but that will pass over the next few weeks.
Thank you to everyone who has said a prayer for me.
I don't think I will be able to go on the Autism Speaks ride this year.
It is tomorrow. I am not supposed to drive for two weeks, so I guess Mary is going to drive over and pick up our kits. The donations have been made so we should still be able to get our kits for participating... hopefully.
Oh well.
Just happy to be home.

Day after surgery.

Well I am in my room now the day after back surgery.I have very little pain in my legs now. I have some strange sensations as the nerves that have been shut down for a while are waking back up. I don't have very good balance yet but that will come as I get back used to walking straight up and down rather than leaning over at 2:30 angle.Dr says I may be able to go home Saturday or Sunday. All depends on how well I do over the rest of today.
Ok now the funny stuff.I told them that every time I have come out of anesthesia it has been sooner than they expect and I am a jerk and irritable.Well I woke up and started to pull out tubes and tried to get up. It took two nurses to hold me down. (they said I am very strong) After they got me settled down and resting they said I started singing. OK not so strange to have me singing.But it is what I was singing.
I sang "The Scotsman's Tale"
A song about a drunk Scotsman lying by the side of the road.and the two girls that find him and leave him a surprise.
of course i don't remember that.
I got up and walked a little this morning, then before lunch, I was able to walk around a great deal further. Now Mary and I have just finished lunch.And I thought I would put up an update.

OK Now it is official

I have to go back under the knife again for my back.
Scheduled for OCT 8th.
Next Thursday... Seems so close.
I am not happy about it but the MRI does not lie.
It shows a definite bulge of a disc pushing on the nerve.
here are a couple of the images from the MRI with the different contrasts





According to the Dr, it is fairly severe. Looking at the images I think I can agree...
But on the good side, it is not as severe as the last time I had to have this done.
The bulge is in the middle of the disk so they cannot go in from one side this time.
They have to go from both sides to get at everything.
It will be open back and full on removal of the bulging material.
Dr. says there is plenty of disc left so that fusion will not be needed.
But I may loose another 1/4 inch.
Lost 1/2 an inch on the last surgery.
I am looking forward to being able to stand up straight again.
Also to not having pain in my legs anymore.
Also the Surgeon said it is rare for the disc to bulge out again like mine did.
But he did say it will be extremely unlikely for this to happen a third time.
During the procedure they are going to check the disc between the last vertebra and sacrum, as there was indication of swelling there also, but if it looks OK they will do nothing there.