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Recovering from Spine Surgery: Patience required
Spine Health | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (16)Comment receiving replies
@lilypaws I've had a lot of the same feelings because recently I've been disabled by a bad ankle fracture and I had my second surgery for that at Mayo just a few days before your surgery and now own some titanium plates and screws. Healing sure does take a lot of energy, and it's difficult to be disabled, but we press on as best we can. Good for you for walking and making progress. That is good for recovery and for emotions. Just getting outside and hearing the birds sing and enjoying some sunshine is good for the soul. When I was recovering and rehabbing from my spine surgery a few years ago, what helped me a lot was riding my horse on trails through the woods, just at a walk. I sat with good posture, and that built my core strength which supported my spine. I wish I could ride my horse now, but that has to wait as well as walking and driving. I'm doing what I can to stretch out from constantly sitting and lying on the couch while in the confines of my cast. I'm close to the 2 month mark since my injury and once in a while, I feel discouraged too because living by hopping around on one leg is hard and I have to figure out how to try to do things when I need to use my hands on a walker. I do have some kitties that curl up with me which is nice. This has been a long and painful journey for me too, first with a fixation cage on my ankle, then a plaster splint/cast that expanded for swelling, then the fiberglass cast, and soon I hope, a boot instead of a cast. Oh how I wish I could soak my foot in the tub which I can only do when the cast is removed. I'm counting the days. My incisions don't like the cast rubbing against them. You will get there. Time seems to slow down when we are healing from something like this, and I'm missing out on things I wish I could do. We are in this together and we will just have to do the best we can. I had the the bending, twisting and lifting restrictions of 10 pounds when I had spine surgery. My cat was about 10 pounds, so I could still hold him and he would climb up on my lap. When I was getting close to 3 months post op then and still in my neck brace, I went to the shelter and adopted 2 kittens so my cat would have some friends. They kept me busy while I recovered. My hubby takes good care of me too. I know it's hard to accept help when you want to be independent, but think of it this way. You would do anything to help if it was your husband who had the surgery instead of you. Sometimes it's hard to let someone else be the caregiver, but that is what love is, so don't be hard on yourself or have expectations on what you think you should be doing. Give yourself all the time you need to heal.
Replies to "@lilypaws I've had a lot of the same feelings because recently I've been disabled by a..."
@jenniferhunter Thank you for the encouragement. You are going through a tough time too. How did you fracture? I hope you get the cast off soon. I had to give up my very healthy 14 year old dog. Where we always boarded her wanted her a lot. The owner said "We would love to have Lily. We love her." So she seems to be very happy there and they send me pictures. She was very protective of me before the surgery knowing I was in pain. She got anxiety and wouldn't even let my husband get near me. But, she has never really liked him. Our first Papillion had a wonderful personality and loved everyone. We had a specialist come in and she showed us some tricks to help her. I loved her and miss her very much, but there's now way I would be able to take care of her. My husband hates cats.
I tried to walk further today. Got my perdometer (sp) from my daughter so I can see how far I have walked. I am still somewhat depressed, but mental illness runs in our family. I have depression and anxiety complex. My poor son is bipolar 1 and we have no contact with him. It's a long story, but his wife is very controlling and is part of the problem.
You are right about my husband being the care giver. I want to help him as much as I con, but I can't do a lot. I don't want to pull out a screw out or break a rod. I hope to get another dog once I am healed, but I'm 68 so it may be difficult. They take a lot of work.
Thank you again for your encouragement. May God Bless you and keep you under his wings.
I forgot to tell you the Mayo Clinic Rochester is 3 1/2 hours from our home. It's hard on me to drive that far, but I don't have to go back for 3 months.
Jeanie
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@jenniferhunter Wow. I just had to wish you well too. I hope your ankle is doing better & give urself time to heal. I know what it's like to have pins & metal rods inside our bodies. With me it's just above my right ankle cpl screws & a metal rod holding my bone together. 12yrs ago. Give urself plenty of time to heal properly. & when they say no more than 10bs. Stick to it. My 🐱 she slept w/me on the recliner each & every day & nite. Her soft purrs made me feel better. It's amazing how felines can help heal us. Have u tried using a chair to rest ur knee on it while using ur hands? I used to take kitchen chair & put big fat pillow on seat & rest my knee over it so I could clean my dishes & cook for myself. I didn't have anyone to help me. I did have a home health aid come 4x a week for 3mos. She was a blessing. If I didn't have help I don't know how I would have managed. & I used crutches & wobbled on a big plastic board w/handles dwn my 5flights of stairs. But i cried & no1 wud help me. Finally my HHA/she saved me & I felt btr. It makes you tougher & more aware of just how fragile our bodies are. I wish you & ur fur babies a speedy recovery. 🌷😻Mimi