All,

 

As I go through this life altering event I mostly take it in stride and accept my fate as it comes.  I have always been this way… no benefit in feeling sorry for yourself.  Take your licks and get back up again!  I’ve realized, however, that this has effected others close to me differently… the stress that people close to me feel as they watch me endure the pain of the recovery is something I’ve not thought of.  This accident has put my family and friends through the ringer… I’m sorry for that.

 

As the weeks go by I can see and feel my body healing.  I actually feel really good and am very optimistic on getting back to “normal”… what ever that is… ha ha ha.

 

This has definitely been an ordeal… I am very grateful for my family and friends keeping me positive.  My work family has also been very supportive… allowing  me to recover at my own pace without disrupting my salary… Remarkable in todays world.  Thank you Baldwin Supply!

 

Both surgeries were a success and I owe my life to my surgical team.  I can’t imagine the stress of surgery.  They’re expected to be perfect working through tiny openings and millimeters away from my spinal cord.  It’s remarkable what can be done today.

 

I stopped taking all medication about a 6 weeks ago… pain meds, muscle relaxers, nerve pain meds, blood pressure, etc… 

 I don’t like the side effects of them.  I don’t have much pain anyway… I now call it discomfort and it’s something that I’ll just learn to live with.

 

The neck brace will most likely be removed May 23… 12 weeks after the laminectomy and fusion surgery on March 1st.  They want to be sure that the fusion takes hold.  Once this happens my strength will ramp back to normal… just in time for Summer!

 

Then there is the spinal injury… this can take 12-18 months to return everything back to normal and there are no guarantees that anything will come back.  I have a ton of numb and tingling areas from my chest down, but I feel them getting better week by week.  Temperature is the big thing… I still have a hard time distinguishing hot and cold which can be dangerous as I found out after taking a walk barefoot while in Florida weeks back…. Blisters on my feet and a stubbed toe that I never felt.  It healed… but definitely a warning.

 

I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers… so many have reached out with gifts, food, etc…  and I’ve been terrible about getting cards back in appreciation… please forgive me.

 

I’ve included pictures of my recent X-rays showing the upgrades!  Crazy amount of hardware in there!

 

Please know that I am in great spirits and getting back to my normal routine.  Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.  I got this… I’m a survivor.