Disc-oh!

One of the "big things going on" that I alluded to the other day was an injury Andy had that required him to have surgery at the Beth Israel Spine Center this morning. He somehow ruptured a disc (L5-S1 for those playing along at home), and an MRI revealed that a big piece of it had broken off. This caused him to lose all sensation and function in his left foot and lower leg, because the free-floating piece was compressing the nerve that leads to all that stuff. It was like he was walking around on a peg leg. The doctor explained that sometimes a free-floating piece can be resorbed into the body, but he was concerned about Andy's weakness and numbness—apparently if you wait too long, the nerve fails to ever get going again. Andy heard that and quickly agreed to surgery.

So today he had a microdiscectomy under general anesthesia. They made an incision, cut through the vertebra, and removed the offending piece. The surgeon told me that it was a "sizable" piece, and he wasn't surprised about Andy's symptoms when he saw it.

And now he's home—outpatient spine surgery! It may be days or even a week or more before he gets feeling and muscle control back in that leg. For now he's in a valium- and oxycodone-induced fog, which is fine with me because then I don't have to worry about him overdoing it. He's not supposed to twist, lift, bend, or strain at all.

[Update 2/10/12: This post seems to be attracting the spambots in droves, so I'm closing off comments. Please feel free to email me if you have something non-spammy to share!]

Comments

[Cheryl]

Wishing him all the best. I had the same surgery in April, L4/L5 on the right, L5/S1 on the left. Basically couldn't leave the house for two months because of the intense pain (and I work full-time & have two small kids). My surgeon described mine as "watermelon-sized!" But, six months later, it was a complete success and I'm doing so well. Heck, even a few days later I was a million times better. I'm sure he'll be feeling great soon!

[Tonya]

In so many ways he was fortunate. I had a herniated disc that caused the most mind-bending pain that *nobody* could ever imagine. Think of back labor x 10,000, 24/7 (it was "referred" pain in my leg). And the s-l-o-w process of the appointments weeks apart, the MRI weeks away, and the scheduled surgery WEEKS DOWN THE ROAD — I was out of my mind in pain. Darkest most godawful time of my life. The surgery was an amazing relief and recovery felt like a cake walk after what I'd been through. I shudder to remember that time...

So glad everything went well and he's on his way to mending!

[Tonya]

P.S. Mine was L5, too. What I would have given for numbness!

[Katy]

Oh no! So very stressful! I hope all is well and you are all doing ok. I'm so sorry, but grateful that we both live so close to the very best in medical care. Keep us posted, and best wishes to Andy.

[Stephanie]

Never a dull moment in your life!!! Holy smokes. I hope he has an easy and quick recovery. And a drama free rest of the year.

[Rachel K]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! I, too, am grateful that we have access to such high quality medical care! (wink, wink)

[Erin]

Hope Andy gets well very soon! A few weeks ago my husband had a benign tumor removed along with his parotid salivary gland so we're just out of the oxycodone-dazed husband phase. :)

[Elena]

Does not sound fun at all! I hope he makes a speedy and full recovery!

[Ellen Kimball]

Karen, dear --

I only happened to see this link while attending to my largely-abandoned blog...

I wish I could talk with you! My husband Al had back surgery in the 1970s at New England Baptist Hospital with Dr. Charles Fager, then Chief of Neurosurgery at Lahey Clinic. Al had lifted a rock in our Sudbury backyard and he went into immediate pain. Rest did nothing, so on the weekend, I drove him to the hospital and signed him in. A myelogram on Monday revealed a herniated disc and they took him right into surgery. It took about eight weeks for his recovery. In the 1980s, Dr. Fager performed another operation for a bone spur, and in 1999, Dr. Mitchell Weinstein here in Portland did another procedure for spinal stenosis. All three operations were in the same place.

Today, Al is 76, still going, and anticipating our next vacation to Hong Kong in December. Paraphrasing John Lennon, "Life's what happens while we're making plans."

Oh, our grandson, age 10, just called. He won't be coming over to spend an overnight with us. He just broke out in chickenpox this morning.

Oy, vey!

Ellen Kimball || Radio_Lady
Portland, Oregon

[judy]

Hope Andy is on the mend! Please send him warmth and sunshine from Arizona!