Summer of Surgery TOUR 2011

Well, well...I finally broke down and called a physician here in town to set up an appointment. Friday at 9:30a I finally see a doc here in town. I had not made arrangements to find a doctor locally and going back to Holland for visits is just getting to be a bit much. I have also resigned myself to the fact that this stay in Coldwater is permanent...I guess I just haven't wanted to finalize that officially.

I couldn't just pick a doctor and go...no, I really felt I had to have one familiar with alcoholism/addiction. Plus there are some complications with medication that I already take so I had some concerns that I would be able to find a doc that would fit what I was looking for AND agree to take me with all my ISSUES.

It worked out just fine...I find that just being honest and letting the facts speak for themselves is typically the best approach. This particular doctor and her husband (They are a team in their Practice as they are in their personal lives and I like that)are quite strict about prescribe Narcotics and I am a firm believer in that point of view. So now that that decision was made...

I have kind of an unpleasant road ahead this next year medically. I made the decision a year ago that I needed to get the back fusion surgery recommended to me in 2008 by Doc McGee in Ft Wayne. I just wanted to make sure I was fully ready to undertake that process physically as well as mentally...which is going to require the better part of 6 months according to McGee, more or less.

I think it has been good for me to wait and really give some thought to all the alternatives...having now done that I believe this is the best solution for the long term.

I do think that I'm going to have to get my right knee scoped again before the back surgery. The cartilage is obviously torn and the knee is beginning to lock up on me...which is quite inconvenient & dangerous in addition to being really very painful. I will put the left hip situation on the back burner until the back and the knee are taken care of.

I was having a hard time finding the "right" time to do this back thing. At first I didn't want to "waste" a Summer being in a body cast but then I couldn't see doing it in Winter when my immediate family goes to Florida. So there just never seemed to be a good time. So I threw a dart basically and figured this Spring/Summer would be a good  time to just get it taken care of.

I think more then anything I'm experiencing some major fear about having this surgery done. I have had well over a dozen surgeries all together and lately it has been getting more unpleasant for me to handle them psychologically. I feel like I'm starting to tempt fate.

And this particular surgery is the most serious of the 3 spinal related surgeries that I have already had. I do like this physician and trust him as much as I can trust another human being...He did back surgery on both of my parents quite successfully. Both of those were fusion type surgeries though not quite as large an area was being fused in their particular situations as in mine.

Anyway, it's TIME, I can feel it and I'm ready. So Friday will be the start of the Summer of Surgery 2011. I am looking forward to doing what I can to improve my mobility and insure that I will continue to be mobile for years to come.