Getting ready for surgery

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone:

I know my posting here has been inconsistent and nonreciprocal. I feel bad for

that. Now I really need your help. My condition has gotten significantly worse

over the past year and I need to have surgery.

I have scheduled my surgeries for July 12th and 15th with Dr. Bobby Tay at UCSF.

I'm really scared.

It has been almost 30 years since my original surgery. I was fused from T3 to L4

at age 13 by Dr. Odom in Denver, CO and a Harrington rod was put in place

to hold the fusion.

Now I have developed kyphosis and scoliosis and disc degeneration above the

fusion. I also have spinal stenosis, disc degeneration below the fusion, a facet

cyst, a fracture on either side of L5, and a few other things I can't remember.

I had two steroid shots last month and I was able to walk around again, which

was great, but I overdid it and I think I wore out a disc.

I feel like I can't hold up my head and shoulders. Sitting at a desk and typing

is excruciating. I can't function without taking heavy pain medication and I

feel crazy. I'm falling behind at work, which brings me to my next problem.

Work is giving me a difficult time about taking leave for surgery! I have been a

devoted employee for 9 years. They have asked me to postpone the surgery until

September because we will have a fresh batch of interns to cover the workload.

Additionally, the director of our program said yesterday at our work retreat

that I was taking a three month paid vacation. I was furious. Here I almost

didn't attend the retreat because I was in such awful pain. I was crying in the

morning and the only way I could attend was by taking a percocet.

Dr. Tay also told me the recovery period would be 3 months. The director asked

me to take 6 months leave so we could hire a temp. The irony is that I work in

the health care industry.

Thank you for listening. Any words of wisdom you can offer would be greatly

appreciated.

There may be some confusion over my name.

My first name is , but I go by my middle name which is Liesel.

Thanks for listening,

Liesel