2020 Updates

Warning: this may be a bit lengthy. I’ve attempted to draft this post quite a few times, but I think putting it on paper makes it more real, which at times is something I’ve struggled with. When you imagine how your life is going to pan out.. you don’t always dream about the bumps in the road. 

Six years ago I herniated a disc and bulged another. I used to think I was fairly resilient but after that incident, was never able to get back to my normal. I was making strides towards getting stronger and more mobile but two years ago, my back started to flare up. After endless appointments with surgeons, pain management doctors, physical therapy, chiropractors; most practitioners told me I wasn’t a surgical candidate because there was “nothing to do”. About a year ago, I met my spine surgeon who told me he could fix this. Until this point, I had multiple “failed” injections, been told that I needed to take antidepressants and just live my life. I was even tested for MS. Having few medical professionals believe me, left me questioning my symptoms although deep down I knew my spine was the culprit. 

In April of 2019 I had a disc replacement at L5/S1. The disc that was replaced was less than 1/3 the height of a normal disc and severely compromised. Prior to surgery, I could hardly move at my lumbosacral junction. If I tried to flex, extend or sidebend; I felt a hard stop along with pinching in my spine. My PT described it as a Chinese fingertrap which was 100% on point with what I felt. I also couldn’t sit for longer than 30 minutes. Post surgery, a great deal of my range of motion had been restored and part of my symptoms were gone but I still had pain, numbness and tingling down my legs. I also felt unstable in my spine and any time I tried to fire my core muscles, sneeze, laugh or cough, my shins would ache and burn. I wasn’t able to lay on my left side or extend my spine without leg symptoms or a pinching in my back. I still couldn’t sit for longer than 30 minutes. 

I knew deep down that my issues were coming from more than one level of my spine. In November I had a diagnostic test done to confirm that the disc at L4/5 was torn, leaking and couldn’t handle 20% pressure compared to the healthy disc above. We submitted a request for surgery; only for it to be finally approved 10 days prior to my scheduled date. In late December, I underwent a lumbar fusion L4/5. My surgeon then also confirmed this disc was as “crappy” as the first one he replaced. Currently, I am still in recovery mode but have already noticed some positive changes. 

I held off on this post and telling people for many reasons... I’m not sure if it’s that I was afraid of jinxing my outcome or because I didn’t want to hear other people’s fears of spinal surgery. To be honest, this has completely rocked my world the past 2 years. While it has altered my everyday life and tested my faith, it has also shaped me and for that I am grateful. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out and helped us during this time. It means more than you know.