Posterior C3 - C7 laminectomy and fusion with local bone graft and hardware

Abilene so glad that Taller Now brought the posture to your attention. Even better that is all it took to turn things back around for you. You know I think its just second nature to be somewhat protective after surgery. Its awesome to read that you are better than what you were a year ago.

Are you doing all of the cooking Thanksgiving? I sure hope not. My house use to be the place everyone congregated at for all of the holidays. Well, I turned that over to my DIL & son several years ago & have never regretted it. We all pitch in & bring dishes so that one person is not doing all of the cooking. I actually enjoy the holidays now, before I was always so tired because between working, being in pain & then doing all of the cooking, it was overwhelming. I do a lot of my prepping the day before & then bake whatever the next morning. Its still hard because you never know what sort of shape you may wake up in that day.

Keep up the good work it sure is paying off & we will just keep thinking will continue to get & better for you. Take care.

He, he, I had to laugh about the walking it off after eating & then going back for more. I can sure relate to that one, lol. Except when I go back I want the desserts, the most fattening thing. It is much easier when everyone pitches in with the meal. I make two different types of dressing, fresh baked sweet potatoes & usually another vegetable. I think this year I will make a cherry cheesecake that seems to be a big hit when I make it. I don't care for turkey, however, my son deep fries the turkeys & they are wonderful. He just puts butter & garlic on it & then fries it. I have never seen a turkey as juicy as these are. We have tried all of the injectable stuff including some home made recipes & none of us care for it. I am so glad this year is going to be much better for you. Take care.

ALMOST 1 YEAR FOLLOW UP WITH SURGEON

X-rays show that all 10 titanium screws are right where the doctor left them, not pulling out, bending and certainly not breaking as he says is possible and does happen with some. He is very pleased with the fusion he sees happening now. I did not think to ask how long total fusion might take. The pain I still have is muscle pain that does seem to be improving very slowly. My 80% Range of Motion is not expected to improve since I have 4 fusions.

Most people who have cervical fusions talk about walking for exercise. I was not told to do that so I have not pushed myself to walk much. Honestly I began to wonder if I was told to walk and I just forgot, so I asked him. NO, walking is ok if you feel like it but upper body strength is going to help you heal. I remember he was very serious about it when he released me for PT at 3 months-they were not to do anything that hurt me! So all the resistance band workouts, stretching shoulders by standing in doorways with arms on frame and leaning forward, push ups leaning on the kitchen counter that PT still has me doing at home were just what the doctor ordered. I do notice I don't feel as well if I skip a day of this routine.

We told him I'm still not driving. He said that's my decision, but I CAN if I want to. I probably will soon but it has been nice to have my husband as a chauffeur. I quit driving 2 months before surgery because of the pain and lack of ROM. Pain is sooo much better now but ROM is not. I've had several tests recently of the "bumpy road pain" and I passed each test with no problem.

My doctor saw me at 2 1/2 weeks post-op, then at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months with x-rays done at each visit after the first one. He released me now but says I can always come in again if I need to. He is moving down the road to join the practice that treats the Texas Rangers Baseball players. So if I need to see him again that could be very interesting.

What a year this has been! I hope reading about my journey will help someone else, even though each case is very different!

Whoop, whoop for you Abilene. You are giving so much hope to others by posting your journey here & it is very much appreciated by others too. You know a lot of people come to Healing Well just to read, they are do not have to be a member to read the posts here. All they have to do is use good ole google & it brings them here.

Keep on doing what you are doing because its working for you. I do hope you will continue to update us & above all keep posting here. You are an asset to the forum.

Take care.

Thanks Ladies, I do appreciate your comments. I will continue to hang around here and check in on others.

I missed all the Christmas concerts and school programs last year. It seems I'm making up for it now-3 this week. But I love it and am so very thankful I'm able to go to each one.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Just discovered that wrapping presents puts me in that same awkward, painful neck position. Guess the wrapping will take a bit longer than expected since many breaks are now necessary. That's ok. I'm just thankful I'm able to do it!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH OF YOU!!!

Abilene that is wonderful news that you have resumed driving. Even better news that you feel so good & of course we all will hope & pray things just keep getting better for you. Did the dr take any xrays? A lot of them will say usually at the 18 month mark whatever you feel at that point pretty much will be the final outcome of the surgery. But, this can change from person to person because people do not heal the same way. I think doing your home PT as you have is probably something I would keep on doing just to help keep things moving.

I hope you will continue to keep checking in. Take care.

Abilene, I completely forgot that you were released by your dr, lol. We have not heard from Taller Now, the last post from her she was not in a real good place & was having some problems. Hopefully she will check in soon.

We hope you will continue to check in with us. Take care.

Thank you Nick. It's been slow but compared to so many others on here I feel I've done well. Being older is harder for some things, but I believe it may have been an advantage with this recovery. Less responsibilities allowed me to take a year to recover if that's what I needed.

I've adjusted to my "new normal" of having less than full range of motion BUT it still bothers me when some well meaning person says When are you ever going to get well? That usually happens at church. I'm just glad I have a few close friends who are quick to remind me of how far I have come. My new normal is a little stiff but with very little discomfort, so I'll take that!

Bumping this for a new member.