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+-- Thread: It feels so good (/showthread.php?tid=7350940)
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It feels so good - jteneyck - 10-26-2019
to be back in my shop after 5 weeks recovering from surgery to replace 3 disks in my neck with plastic and titanium to hold it all together until the bones fuse over the next year. Occasionally my hands would go numb, my shoulders and neck ached, and I lost a lot of strength in my arms sometimes. My dad had the same problem later in life, so I knew the symptoms and knew I needed to see a good neurosurgeon. Fortunately, one was recommended to me and it didn't take long before I trusted him to do the surgery. This actually started about 18 months ago and the first MRI showed where the problem was. But the symptoms (temporary numbness in one hand) went away in a few days so we decided to just wait. A year on it came back, plus the other stuff I mentioned above, and a new MRI showed the degradation was a lot worse. Waiting longer didn't seem like a good option because some really bad things can happen so I decided to have the surgery. The surgeon told my wife afterwards that it was even "crummier" in there than the MRI indicated but he was happy with how it turned out. I was happy when I woke up and my hands and legs all worked and the symptoms I had before surgery were gone.
Wearing a neck brace 24/7 for 4 weeks was the worst part of the recovery. Not much pain, none in my neck actually, and nothing that Tylenol couldn't handle. No way I was going to take opioids if I didn't really need them. It wasn't all smooth sailing after surgery, though. I couldn't tolerate lying down in bed so I had to sleep in a recliner. Since I've never been able to sleep on an airplane it was only after I was completely exhausted that I finally learned how. I could hardly swallow anything for the first 3 or 4 days after surgery and it's still not as easy as before. Ever try to swallow water and have it shoot out your nose? After two weeks, just as I started to feel pretty good, I developed phlebitis in one leg and that led to a quick trip to the hospital for a doppler test to make sure I didn't have any blood clots. Thankfully, there were none, but it's taken quite awhile for it to subside; not completely gone yet but much better.
I celebrated my 65th birthday in that darn neck brace. While I was wearing it I wasn't allowed to drive or lift more than 1 lb, so that meant no woodworking, or much else for that matter besides walking. Fortunately, a can of beer or glass of wine both weigh less than a pound. Otherwise, I would have used a straw.
My month in purgatory ended about 10 days ago and every week I'm allowed to lift 10 additional pounds, so I'm up to about 20 lbs now. Today was my first day back in the shop. It felt so good to be able to really do something again, even if still light duty. I'm so lucky and grateful that medicine has evolved enough that problems like what I had can be fixed. Even just 50 years ago the future probably would not have looked so good.
John
RE: It feels so good - petertay15 - 10-26-2019
John, thanks for telling us of your travails and progression into full recovery. Welcome back to the shop!
Peter
RE: It feels so good - Admiral - 10-26-2019
John: you've been through a lot; orthopedic issues are very difficult, but press on, as you have clearly done. I've had my own 'issues' with multiple surgeries, medical not orthopedic, so I feel for you, and wish you the best. Good call avoiding the opiates, they gave me some after each surgery, used for the first day or so, then flushed them and took tylenol, but I'll admit I gritted my teeth every now and then. Take it easy and work into things slowly, these things take time, but there's plenty you can accomplish that does not involve 20 pounds!! Keep the faith!
RE: It feels so good - Mr Eddie - 10-26-2019
Welcome back John. Back and neck problems seem to get a lot us as we age. Glad you were able to get fixed. And it's always good to be back in the shop even if you can't do much- if only to watch tv in a different location. I hope you keep feeling better.
Lonnie
RE: It feels so good - BrokenOlMarine - 10-26-2019
Thanks for sharing. I had shoulder surgery on the 17th and have several projects on the bench calling me, but have resisted picking up anything and working on them. The pain makes my hand unstable and I don't want to ruin weeks of work.
. I have a followup this week, bet the doc can give me an idea when I will be back in the shop.Congrats on your progress.
I know it's killing me not to be in the shop.
RE: It feels so good - Big Dave - 10-26-2019
Glad it went well enough to get you back in the shop, John!
RE: It feels so good - Hank Knight - 10-26-2019
John, I had no idea you were in trouble. Very glad you found a good surgeon and are on the road to recovery. There's not a lot to celebrate about getting older, but, thanks to modern medical science, it's getting easier. I'm happy to know that you'll be back in the shop soon and sharing your work with us. Here's wishing you God's speed with your recovery.
RE: It feels so good - Stwood_ - 10-26-2019
So what do you have going in the shop today. And, what's on your bench?
RE: It feels so good - fredhargis - 10-27-2019
It's good to hear you're though the worse (?) and things look spectacular. You make a good point about the advances in medicine and we can only hope they will continue to discover how to treat all the things that inflict us. Best wishes for a continued, speedy (I'm sure it didn't seem speedy) recovery!
RE: It feels so good - shoottmx - 10-27-2019
Congrats on a successful repair and returning to the shop, that has to feel good even with the 20# restriction. We all appreciate your build alongs and look forward to the next one.
g