Post Op Visit

[Guest guest]

I visited Dr. Errico yesterday after approx. 2 1/2 months and everything

went great. He was so thrilled that I could move as well as I do and

basically said that now it's just a matter of time until the surgical pain

goes away. The xrays looked fine. It's kind of weird seeing all the

hardware that I have in my back now. Before, it was just the 2 Harrington

rods, but now there's rods, screws, things that look like bolts, connectors,

and one remaining Harrington rod. At the time of surgery the lumbar

Harrington rod was removed, but they were unable to remove the thoracic rod

because it was so encased in bone. The xrays are really a sight!

He said I could drive, fly or ride on trains and lift 10-15 pounds.

Ecstatic, I took the car for a drive today (last week my cousin had to bring

the car in for a new battery because it died after being idle for these few

months) and went to the mall and actually enjoyed walking around and being

able to stand in line. Recently,I walked as much as 5 long avenue blocks

with no pain; something I haven't been able to do in many, many years. I'm

starting to feel like a person again!! It's nice going places without having

to plan the logistics of it all before you go.

Dr. Errico said that the pain I feel in my shoulders and at the bottom of my

neck is muscular pain because he did a lot of work there; he said it would

go away in time as my body heals.

By the way, for those of you curious about antibiotic use for dental work,

the doctor said I must take antibiotics prior to any dental work.

I have been teleworking at home for 4 hours a day for six weeks now and hope

to return to work at the beginning of Dec. I'll see how that goes. If I'm

unable to work a full day, and need to put my head down, I'll go home. My

office is being very supportive.

And I have one more thing to add. Kirkaldie (Colorado), with all of

her wonderful posts, has become my hero!! She is so positive despite all

the surgery she's gone through. But, I understand it when she says it's

wonderful to be able to walk again and that alone makes the surgery

worthwhile.

Caren

[Guest guest]

Caren,

Fantastic that you have had such a good check up. You sound like you

are doing well and hitting lots of milestones.

It is a little shocking to see all the implants in your when they

are done doing their little surgical " lego " builds! If you can get

your xrays into a managable sized file, it sometimes helps to have a

ready reference photo to share with co-workers who might not

quite " get " why you are working at home sometimes, or unable to do a

particular project, never mind be able to pick something up that has

dropped, long into this year. I think a lot of people begin to think

we are " slackers " instead of realizing that it is a good 12-18

months before you are going to have a fairly normal stamina and

function at work. A key chain sized photo, or a small copy tacked on

your memo board might be just the thing.

You are making great progress. Keep up the good work....just don't

over do! Once the surgical healing pain goes you will still have

plenty of healing and stenghening to do. Don't assume that just

because that first part is over you should be good as new....it

takes some time!

Take Care, Cam