Flippy - I Rant, You Read
Thursday, April 26, 2007
early morning
Happy 1st Surgery Anniversary to Me and My Surgeon
A year ago at this moment, I was sleeping. The end. Okay, I was sleeping, but fitfully. My L4-5 microdiscectomy surgery was scheduled for 1p. I think I had to be there by noon. The night before, I was kind of freaked out, but once everything got rolling, I was fairly calm. Since the surgery, I’ve had my pain ups & downs. It took quite a long time for the nerves to heal. My surgeon, Dr. Thalgott, said that when he got in there and saw them, they were angry and twisted. Getting good shoes (my Earth Shoes) definitely helped the healing speed up, because for a while I was afraid that the surgery hadn’t fixed me. My surgeon was sure, but I was still skeptical because I was always in lots of pain when I did any walking. Now, I know for a fact that the surgery was a complete success. I think Dr. Thalgott is a terrific doctor, even if he’s so popular that he has to cram too many patients into his office days. The wait is always at least an hour, usually closer to two. I go there knowing that I’m going to have to wait, so I’m always prepared with something to read. I’m so happy that my chiropractor said, “Thalgott’s the back guy in town.” I couldn’t get an appointment to see him right away, so I saw the first surgeon that was available. That doctor was okay, but I’m sure I made the right decision by waiting to see Dr. Thalgott. I’m not exactly sure how to put it in writing, but he’s so confident and self-assured that you feel like if anyone can help you, he can. He’s also really likeable, as are both of his physician’s assistants. If I had to have surgery (and oh, I did - the pain insisted), I know that I put myself into the best possible hands that I could.
I have Fibromyalgia now and am in more all over pain than I was when I had the herniated disc. But, it’s a different kind of pain, and I no longer have the horrible pain running down my left leg and across my left thigh. That was the kind of pain that yells, “Hey, look at me! Look what I can do!” The pain I have now is like an annoying gnat that keeps buzzing in your face. I have times that it’s close to the level of pain that I had before, but it isn’t as concentrated. Before it was like a paper cut, now it’s like someone beat me up. Wow, isn’t this fun to read? I’m trying to say that on the first anniversary of my surgery, I know my surgery was a fabulous success. The problems I have now aren’t related. Dr. Thalgott gave me back my ability to walk properly (I had developed a slight limp because of the weakness in my leg), and if I was a normal person, I would be completely healed. So, if you’re in Las Vegas and you need back surgery, go see Dr. Thalgott…but bring your iPod and a book. There’s also a Starbucks nearby, so if he’s really far behind, you can go there and have them call you on your cell phone when it’s time to come back. They know he’s always behind. There’s nothing the staff can do about it, so be nice to them.
Hopefully, if I had another MRI, they could all be labelled “normal disc” now. Please, please, please, let them all stay healed.
