Sunday, January 31, 2010

I believe scars tell stories....


Well, this is the result of back surgery. You may just see a scar but I see change. I love this scar because it means an end to a long war with my body. I ended up going in to surgery about 2 weeks early so that is why I am feeling so great now. I wanted to make sure I told my story.
About 14 months ago I was diagnosed with a mild form of Spina Bifida that is known as a tethered cord. (Google for further explination of it.) After finally knowing what was happening to my body, I didnt know where to go. In August, it let me know it was time. I was losing control of my bladder and if I waited much longer than I did, the results could have been permanent and other things could have been "lost" as well. I was going back to consult the neurosurgeon who helped me find the real problem only to find out that he was on medical leave. This unfortunate event led me to Dr. Erica Bisson. She made time for me to discuss what surgery meant for me, downtime, and all that other jazz. She was so caring and her bedside manner was absolutely amazing. At this appointment we decided on January 4th. Fast forward to December. Things start to get significantly worse. I see Dr. Bisson for pre-op and I had an MRI that day to show her what she was doing, and where she was going for surgery. On the MRI they found 3 tumors on my spinal nerves. I ended up having 2 more MRIs that day alone. It was decided that day, that we would do surgery the next day.
We went to the hospital, and never once was I scared, nervous or anxious about this. I was wheeled back at 1pm and remember talking to the anesthisologist about getting "The Michael Jackson" special. The next thing I remember was waking up and they were asking to rate my pain. They helped me get it under control and gave me some ice to eat. I got to my room about 7pm.
To be continued.....