Mid Life Spine Tune Up

Well... what I thought was a quick in and out disc replacement surgery has taken a turn into a more complex operation. After reviewing my MRI the Dr. says I have a charcot spine. Which means multiple vertebrae that were not fused are now displaced and due to the hardware that was put in 11 years ago. The displaced vertebra are pressing against my spinal cord and pinching nerves below the injury level causing nerve damage so the area needs to be cleaned out, repaired and fused. I also have one disc that has just been completely destroyed which will need to be replaced and another disc that is severely herniated which will be removed and replaced. In order to get all this new hardware in I guess they are taking out a portion of the old stuff and will extend the fusion another 2 vertebrae lower than before. The doctor feels that my body has been experiencing mass amounts of pain and stress because of these things and by fixing them and straightening out my spine I will be relieved of a lot of pain and discomfort that I have come to think was normal for my injury. Keeping my fingers crossed!

So it's hard to say exactly how long the healing process will take but the Dr.'s best guess is around 2-4 weeks. The first part is surgery at ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton. I will be there around 7 days. Then if/when I rehab it will be back at Valley Medical in San Jose. I will try and keep everyone posted as to what is happening along the way.

I will be leaving Murphys this Monday at about 2 in the morning. Surgery will start Monday at 5am at:
ValleyCare Hospital
5555W. Las Positas
Pleasanton, CA 94588
925-847-3000

As far as help...

My mother will be flying in on the 27th for at least a week . If anyone knows of a home/room in Pleasanton or close to there where she might be able to stay please call or email me. Right now she will be staying in a hotel which adds up.

Jeff and Jacquie have Burton up in Bear Valley for the first few weeks. There are a lot of BV people that have also offered to watch Burton if recovery tends to be long. So he is well taken care of.

I'm sure I will need help once I return home but that is too far away to know exactly what I will need so I will keep everyone posted about that.

If you want to monetarily help that would be great. I have set up a link to PayPal where you can donate. (You don't have to have a PayPal account) Donations for healthy meals instead of flowers/gifts would be appreciated since hospital food sucks! Here is the link:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=L5AP83PXC47FN

I just want to extend my deepest gratitude to all of you that have offered help, well wishes and prayers. I feel so loved and lucky to have such an amazing support system around me. I could not do this without all of you. You are all amazing and I send hugs and love out to everyone!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'll see ya on the other side!  xoxo