Things have been a little busy lately so once again I have fallen down on my blogging duties. I've been back at work for almost a month now and it's been great to get back in the swing of things. I'm starting back to full days this week which is exciting, even if it's only one day since Thursday is Thanksgiving. I was also released last week from PT!!! My physical therapist, Leslie, was surprised with how quickly I progressed over the course of our work. I'm still having to work on exercises at home, but overall I'm doing a lot better. Being able to move my neck around more is very helpful when driving, especially with the winter weather we have been having. I'm definitely cautious right now with driving and in general walking around on the ice we've had over the past few days. I don't want to compromise any work I have done so far by having a fall damage my back or neck right now.
Yesterday was also a milestone, having my first follow up MRI after surgery. The doctor ordered a MRI of both my cervical and thoracic spine, to make sure no tumors are appearing anywhere else and that Oscar has not tried to show back up. Dr. Smith has been pretty optimistic that we will not see any regrowth and ependymomas are usually not the type to show up somewhere else in the spine.
After meeting with Dr. Smith, he gave me the all clear for my MRI; no tumors, no regrowth and no other problems showing up post surgery!!!! Aside from mixed-martial arts, race car driving, or any other activities that violently move my head/neck I am good to go! He was very pleased with the strength, sensation, and motor tests that they conducted. I will go back again in 6 months and again at a year for follow-up MRI's to ensure there is no regrowth. They will also be monitoring my neck to make sure I'm not having any problems with stability in my neck after the laminectomy. It's possible I could need to have my C5-T2 vertebrae fused together, but he is hopefully that it is a small possibility.
It's still crazy to think it has been nearly 2 months since my surgery. Everything happened so fast and that has continued with my recovery. Still can't do a few things and I have a couple little quirks with numbness/strength issues, but they continue to get better. I may always have some quirks from the surgery and of course my scar, but that can just lead to a crazy story about that time I had spinal cord surgery! :-)
I'll keep updating on here as more milestones happen and to check in with how things are going. I've still got some recovery to go, but I'm well on the way there.
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Thursday, November 7, 2013
It's Back to Work I Go
Seriously, I'm really bad at updating. Sorry again for the delay, but I've got some great stuff to share. So the last time I posted, I talked about the benefits of rest. Since that post I have gotten my sutures out (woohoo), working on resting and taking part in physical therapy twice a week. I'm into my second week of therapy and the improvement has been great. Most of the therapy is to help me have a more relaxed posture (I was described by my dad and surgeon as a etiquette schoolgirl since I was walking so tall and straight) and natural movement. We are also working on being able to reach above my head better and of course neck rotation. I have lots of fun exercises to work on at home to keep the improvement rolling. My movements definitely have been getting better and it's nice to be able to turn my head more without having to move my whole body. I've improved from Michael Keaton Batman to Christian Bale Batman (we'll just skip Val & George versions). Both my physical therapist (wonderful woman, if you need PT Spectra in Lubbock is a great place) and my surgeon have been happy with my improvement and agree I'm ahead of schedule with recuperation from the surgery I had. Some comes from my age and otherwise good health, but all the praise goes to God for his blessings during this time.
So onto the awesome news...I know you are waiting with such crazy anticipation. I started driving again!! I began with just a few short, supervised drives at first in areas without a lot of traffic (especially the crazy Lubbock traffic - never know when someone might backup in the middle of an intersection). Driving can still be a little bit of a challenge since there are still some problems with rotating my neck and shoulders around, but for the most part it's been fine. I also, as of yesterday, started back to work for half days!!! Yesterday was great; it was nice to be back in at least part of the routine again and see everyone at work. Sitting at home and not doing much can only last so long before I go crazy. I'm working on not pushing myself further than I can handle. I definitely don't want to have another setback. Today should be a good test for my endurance since I work half a day and then have a PT session this afternoon.
A lot of things going on in the next few weeks (all leading up to Thanksgiving!!). I'll have my first post-surgery MRI to see how everything is looking and checking to see no re-growth has occurred. I'll be doing a few of these over the next year to ensure that Oscar doesn't try to make another appearance; Dr. Smith said the chances are low, but always good to check. I'll also be finishing up physical therapy and going back to full-time at work. I'll do my best to keep you guys updated as things go along.
So onto the awesome news...I know you are waiting with such crazy anticipation. I started driving again!! I began with just a few short, supervised drives at first in areas without a lot of traffic (especially the crazy Lubbock traffic - never know when someone might backup in the middle of an intersection). Driving can still be a little bit of a challenge since there are still some problems with rotating my neck and shoulders around, but for the most part it's been fine. I also, as of yesterday, started back to work for half days!!! Yesterday was great; it was nice to be back in at least part of the routine again and see everyone at work. Sitting at home and not doing much can only last so long before I go crazy. I'm working on not pushing myself further than I can handle. I definitely don't want to have another setback. Today should be a good test for my endurance since I work half a day and then have a PT session this afternoon.
A lot of things going on in the next few weeks (all leading up to Thanksgiving!!). I'll have my first post-surgery MRI to see how everything is looking and checking to see no re-growth has occurred. I'll be doing a few of these over the next year to ensure that Oscar doesn't try to make another appearance; Dr. Smith said the chances are low, but always good to check. I'll also be finishing up physical therapy and going back to full-time at work. I'll do my best to keep you guys updated as things go along.
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