Hello everyone,
Its been a while since i updated my post and recovery from my 3 level cervical ADR surgery in Barcelona, Spain with Dr. Clavel. I have had a roller coaster ride for recovery but things seem to be looking up.
To start Dr. Clavel is amazing and a very good surgeon with outstanding bedside manner. Also he has no problem responding to emails in a timely manner. As it stands now I have had spinal epidurals at levels c5/6, and c7/t1 with no improvement and also had an ulnar transposition surgery to move my ulnar nerve from behind the elbow. My hand dexterity is almost back to normal but yet my last three fingers still have numbness in varying degrees. This damn shoulder blade/ trap pain is still there but less intense as before. I noticed that it did not seem to matter what activities I did it would just come and go at will nothing really sets it off. I am back weight training but at a lesser degree than before. I do this because I dont hurt any more than just sitting around so why not be active.
My back ache pain has taken me to Dr. Robert Thompson (Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Specialist) to see if maybe my pain is due to my bracial plexus being impinged. He thinks that I have TOS and would like to operate when I am ready. Just not sure if I can do another surgery yet. Also I am going to St. Petersburg Fl. in August to get an MRI neurography scan of the nerves that make up the plexus to see where the impingement is before I commit to surgery.
Overall I am doing ok but life is different and i try not to get discouraged and keep trudging along until I find my pain culprit. I also must mention that I had a myleo ct done and everything looked ok, a little foraminal narrowing at c5/6 and c6/7 but nothing for alarm. C7/t1 looks great. I still feel very blessed to come out of a major surgery and live a somewhat normal life, but will never give up trying to get pain free.
Sorry for the delay in posting, but I had to get through the negative part of recovery before I could give any real advice. The United States is so far behind in terms of real patient care and the insurance and political bs is really holding up progress in our Great country. I have the spinal kinetics m6c which is made in CAliforina but not fda approved. It is the most widely implanted disc in Europe as we speak. Anyway i wish everyone I great and quick recovery. God Bless.
Sincerly, Jarrod
|