Back Blogging

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I know, I haven't blogged in a million years. But the last three days of my life are definitely blogworthy and something I'd like to reflect . Because Tuesday evening was one of the most significant things of my life. Definitely a top-tenner. I finally had my back surgery. So kinda like a race report, this will be a blog chronicles how I got here, my thoughts on the surgery, my meltdown, and finally, my release. WOO HOO! I was only hospitalized for three nights!

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Waterskiing Woes

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So ten years ago, while living in Saipan, I was out waterskiing. Only the driver of the boat took a hard right to avoid a wave, making my flex and crunch my L4, which is the one of the lower back vertebrates. The first several months following that accident were horrible. Sharp shooting pains, an inability to workout, etc. But eventually, through much physical therapy, I got through that and was able to resume running, which at that time was my only physical passion.

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Through the years, I simply sucked it up. Some days were better than other, and I tried just about every therapy out there. While they helped releived the pain, it always came back. And I refused surgery, since it was manageable.

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Fast forward to 2005. I think I was running my fifth marathon and simply couldn't do it anymore. I was taking tylenol like candy and the pain was unbearable at time. So that year I commited to diversifying my workouts by taking up triathlons. The irony.

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Of course I got bit by the ironman bug. So how did I manage the pain for the last few years? I discovered cortizone injections and vicoden. Now people give V a bad rap, but it's a godsend. Vioxx was too, but of course that was taken off the market.

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This past year, things got as worse as they had been. My vertebrate now revealed fracture lines on both sides, slippage between my L4 and L5, and my L5 disc was deteriorating. Simply put, my body took a pounding from doing triathlons. But it sure was worth it.

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I also commited, or my doctor commited for me, to stop getting injections. He didn't like the V idea either, to which I concur. Best take care of this problem by no longer band aiding it, but to consider an alternative.

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As fate would have it, my neighbor and I happened to be speaking as I ran by her house. She has also finished an ironman. I told her how bad my back had gotten, to which she beckoned her husband to come outside. Turns out, he's a neurosurgeon who has performed thousands of surgeries and is considered among the top doctors in fixing bad back.

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Four or so months after that fateful meeting, here I am getting wheeled into my first ever surgery. And it was a serious one. Pardon me for my plain spoken language when it comes to what my doctor did, but it's easier to explain it this way.

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1) Shave off the fractured part of the L4

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2) remove bad disc, crunch up the shaved off L4 bone and place into disc

3) allign the slippage area and insert rods, forming a cage like concoction.

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And of course I was nervous. But I want to live my life to the fullest, I want to keep training, doing races and eventually, my lower back area would get to the point I'd have to have surgery anyhow, so why wait. And trust me, I really have tried just about every form of alternative treatment out there. There's not a whole lot doctors can do with a bad disk, fractured bones and slippage. Medication may quell the pain, but that was it.

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Surgery Summary

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The surgery, according to my doctor, lasted four hours. He told me was a perfectionist and wanted to do it right. That was comforting to know. I mean, he is my neighbor... he wouldnt want me to walk by giving him the finger or something.

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I was pretty woozy when I came to, a bit sore in the lower back area, but i was good. The first night was pretty tought, since I was still tender and couldn't get comfortable. With the help of a morphine drip , I was on my way to recovery.

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The next day was an entirely different story.

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I thought I was ready. I had confidence that two nights in the hospital were all I needed. But a series of things happened that led to my....

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MAJOR MELTDOWN

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That morning I took my first steps. I told the doctor I was feeling good. So we decided to get me off the morphine drip and switch to vicoden. Then it was suggested I remove my catheter and start urinating on my own. Major rookie mistakes on my part.

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By early afternoon, I couldnt pee. I would sit on the toilet for what seemed like forever. Then I was starting to feel more pain and it didn't register to me i needed more medication. Or maybe i wasn't vocal enough. Or maybe my nurse that day was an inexperienced BEE-OTCH.

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Anyways, by that evening, I had a bladder full of pee, I was miserable and I couldn't even move or get out of the bed. I was in so much pain that by 8:30 that even, I started bawling and getting scared. Thankfully Rob called my doctor and I was back on the morphine, not to mention my catheter was reinserted. They say that it takes 6-8 hours before one can pee again after removing that darn bad, but I guess the nurse figured I would hold it and take it. Anyhoo, it was a bad few hours. Once the morphine kicked in I was much better. It just wasn't fun.

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The following day, I got a new nurse. The doctor wouldn't allow me to leave if I was going to stay on morphine, so I took a chance and went to the vicoden instead. Only this time he doubled up my intake. I was taking pills every four hours and by last night, I managed to pee on my own again.

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So this morning, much to my excitement. I checked out. I'm very grateful to my doctor and the great nurses who nursed me back from my meltdown. Im grateful to those who stopped by to visit, and I will forever be grateful to Rob, who served as not just my partner, but my advocate through this process. He was there the entire time and hardly left my site.

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It's been less than 72 hours since my surgery. I am home, medicated, but I am walking around and ready for a speedy recovery. I'm amazed at my progress, from barely walking to now walking quite a bit. That's not to say I don't feel pain. I do. But it's under control.

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I am homebound for the next two weeks, and I am not allowed to drive or do anything strenuous. I am relegated to just walking, but it's okay. I'd rather be sacrificing this time healing than in the condition I was previously in, and that's slowly deteriorating.

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I think this is the longest blog I have written, but I wanted to chronicle my thoughts.

Cheers and happy training...or recovery on my part!

"Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it."

Tori Amos