I had a three-level CED (minimally invasive surgery) in January of 2000. My hope was that I would be able to regain my life. I did not expect perfection. I wanted to be able to live a normal life and expected some limitations. I was very happy with the results of the surgery. I was told not to lift, carry, push, or pull heavy objects. I was told to have an ergonomic chair and work set-up. For the most part, I followed those instructions. On my own, I gave up running because I believed the constant jarring would not be good for my spine. I thought about risks before I did things that required a lot of physical effort and sometimes did not do them because of those risks. I became less active and gained weight. A few times a year I would suffer bouts of muscle spasms. Other than these limitations and the muscle spasms, my life did return to normal and I was 100% pleased with the choice I had made re CED and the surgeon. I am STILL satisfied with those choices.
However, in the late summer of 2006, I lifted a heavy box over other boxes and turned to lower the box and place it on a cart. I felt an immediate pull, but did not realize what had happened. Over the next few days I felt worse and worse and was soon in the worst pain by far of my entire life. I developed a dropped wrist and a twisted, paralyzed hand that is sometimes referred to as a claw hand. An MRI revealed a new herniation at a fourth cervical level and that the injury had worsened the three discs that had already been operated on (the compressed nerves that caused the claw hand were at the location of the already operated on discs but prior to the box incident I hadn't had any hand problems since the surgery).
Now I am about to undergo spinal surgery once more, but this time it will not be minimally invasive. My hope is to once more regain my life and to get back the use of my hand. But more than that, I realize I HAVE to have surgery because of the severe spinal cord compression. And regardless of my hopes, I do not expect to regain my life even to the extent of a few years ago. I expect that I will be semi-handicapped the rest of my life and that the best I can hope for is that the surgery will be successful enough that I will not need further surgery. I am having a laminectomy in the hope of avoiding a four-level fusion. I am not a good candidate for ADR due to facet problems at my worst level.
So I do not expect perfection. I know I will have limitations.
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