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And Now for Something Completely Different… Major Back Surgery!

Brian, otherwise known as “that beleaguered twin father”, will be having major back surgery a week from Friday.

He had cancer as an infant and the radiation treatment affected not only the tumor but also one of his vertebrae. Rather than develop into a rough rectangle it developed into a triangle. The vertebrae stacked on top of that one ended up forming a curve and he has had moderate to severe scoliosis his entire life and has developed a condition known as spinal stenosis. This is normally found in people who are elderly or have broken their backs though I understand that radiation survivors are becoming slightly more common as well. In the past few years his back has degenerated at a rapid pace and he has been in constant pain of one degree or another since last July. The physical therapist told him that he needed to see an doctor and the local back specialist, who has been using Brian’s x-rays as a teaching tool, pronounced Brian beyond his expertise and sent him to a spinal neurologist. The past several months have been spent getting assorted scans (”How are you walking?” asks the x-ray technician) and seeing at least three specialists to determine the best course of treatment.

The surgery, which involves two surgeons, one for the approach and one for the actual back surgery, will take approximately 6 hours. Brian can expect to be sedated for about 8. He will be in the hospital for 5 - 7 days and on bedrest for weeks afterward. He will be in physical therapy for months and can expect bone aches for as long as 9 months after the surgery. He won’t be able to lift the children at all for months while he heals. Our mothers will be in and out of the house helping out. Brian’s aunt, a healthcare powerhouse, is already in contact with administrators at the hospital and plans to be there during his recover to ensure all i’s are crossed and t’s are dotted. Or vice versa. Brian’s sister is planning on coming out for a week to lend a hand and paint our trim.

You know, I’m weirdly pleased that out of this whole ordeal I’ll be getting white trim. Amie’s a decorating maven as well as a skilled painter so I bet I can get some help from her on inexpensive ways to make the house look less… barren. I think a trip to Ikea may be in order.

However, painted trim aside, this is going to suck. Fortunately the kids are in school so their mornings are filled and Brian’s work is primarily mental so he can answer email and keep himself slightly less bored during recovery doing some work here and there which may make it easier to keep his ass in bed while he heals. His job has been beyond understanding about the situation. (Blum Shapiro is considered the best company in Connecticut to work for and I am happy to report that that ranking is well deserved and not a sham.)

We are going to the hospital for a full day of pre-surgery tests and consultations this Thursday and after that we’ll have a better picture of what to expect. However, I think if one just assumes it will be a giant helping of suck with some suck sauce garnished with a little extra suck on top that it will be a pretty fair guess of what’s to come.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 1st, 2008 at 1:54 am and is filed under back surgery. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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