01/20/2026
This is the story of the war of 2025-2026. It is my personal war with my funky back. I ruptured my first disc when I was in my early 30’s. I was bent over brushing my teeth and I coughed. I had immediate sciatic pain down my left leg. Once it was diagnosed I had my first back surgery - a laminectomy to free the nerve. Two weeks later I stood up and was in incredible pain - ended up having surgery the next morning to free the nerve root that had gotten trapped in the hole in my spinal cord. The years went by and I ruptured more discs but chose to rest them instead of surgery. I had never been able to go back to my job of following up to 40 patients up and down the hall at a busy on/gyn office. I had an appointment at Mayfield but they told me they had no idea if they could help the pain. I started seeing a pain doc and got relief from injections, spinal cord stimulator (a surgery) and spacers, at least two surgeries. Then I ruptured a disc big time. It would not resolve. I had a new primary care doc at that time and he sent me to a neurosurgeon, Dr. Adogwa, who I love. He showed me on my x-rays why I needed a complete lumbar fusion. I was in so much pain I agreed. It was the first time in 30+ years that I wasn’t in pain! After a while I did what ever I wanted to do. When we moved last year I was lifting and carrying for days. The old nemesis returned and I was experiencing back pain. I went to see Dr. Adogwa and had x-rays done. My screws were coming loose (I know, don’t say it). Long story short I ended up with a fusion of my entire lumbar spine up to my thoracic 10 vertebrae. If that doesn’t mean anything to you I had Tom measure my incision and it is 1 foot long. It has been the most painful surgery that I have ever had. I was in the hospital for about 5 days. When I came home on heavy duty drugs I started therapy with my at home therapist. Lynda got me from walking with a walker, to a cane to upright. It wasn’t easy. I had a large scab at the top of my foot long incision so I needed to see a wound doc. Kavita introduced us to the healing power of honey. Medical honey that comes from New Zealand. I have been doing this for about 5 weeks now and hope that my appointment next week will be the end. Today I had a young lady here to introduce me to my very own bone growth stimulator. It goes onto my spine for 30 minutes a day for several months to encourage the cadaver tissue used during surgery to form good bone. If you are having a medical issue take advantage of all that medical science has to offer. To get your independence back buy a grabber for every room. I drop everything and am not allowed to bend over for 6 months. Sketchers slip ins. I remember thinking these were so funny when they were first marketed for folks taking planes that didn’t want to take a lot of time at airports. They are awesome for being able to put your own shoes on. For ladies I bought bras that closed in the front so I wouldn’t drag anything on my incision. I’m sure everybody has their own tricks for surviving medical issues without losing too much of your independence - or your mind. You can list them in the comments. This is one of my abstracts and it kind of reminds me of a spinal cord.
