Time is flying by, and I am now three months post surgery.
I have been prescribed physical therapy which I'll begin upon my return to North Carolina. I also am cleared to swim and use the elliptical. Last night, I tried my first day back in the pool....I don't think I even have back muscles anymore, or at least, that's what it feels like. It's tough, tougher than normal. I guess I've been swimming regularly for about three years, and to hardly be able to anymore is discouraging. With time, I suppose I'll improve, but I am very, very weak when it comes to using my back. Cleaning is another obstacle I struggle with, mainly because of not being able to pick things up from the floor with great ease.
Not too long ago, I was getting some grocery's in NC's Harris Teeter Grocery Store, where I saw an older man. He was probably in his seventies, perhaps older. He calls out "ma'am" and obviously I turned around, as would anybody who heard it. I didn't know he was talking to me; it was simply a reflex. He looked straight at me, and I noticed he had dropped his cane under his shopping cart.
"I dropped my cane. Are you a young and otherwise healthy woman?"
Before I could think about my answer, I reached to pick up the cane. I could not bring myself to tell him I couldn't really bend, and all of a sudden I felt a jolt of pain that I am still paying for over a week later. When the doctors tell you not to bend, twist, or lift after a spinal surgery, they really mean it. I mean, I've never been one to follow specific instructions. When I had braces, I would eat apples all the time, occasionally breaking the wire, and I was repeatedly scolded by my orthodontist. He was still too kind to me and never made me pay, not for the braces nor the countless repairs. But I reminded myself that this isn't like braces. I can't just go in for a repair; that would call for surgery...again.
But there was no way I could tell that man that I was unable to help him nor would he have believed that I was not a healthy young woman. I have recovered far too quickly for having had such an extensive surgery, and because of that, I sometimes forget the cautions I am to take.
Overall, however, my surgeon, physicians, and I are all very surprised with the progress since surgery, and for that I am thankful. I've gotten my blood level back to normal (I lost a lot in surgery), my blood pressure isn't dropping, I'm not as dizzy (except here and there), I'm able to hold down food, the pain in manageable for the most part with rest and medication, and I can walk a good five to six miles easily.
So, at three months, I'd say, I'm doing pretty well.
Can't wait to get back to my normal life!
Love,
Esha
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