Here we go again

Here we go again…

On Monday, November 13, I will be going into Methodist Hospital Willowbrook (about 4 miles from our house) for surgery.  This time it is for spinal surgery. The surgery is scheduled for 7:30AM and will take approximately 4 hours.

My sciatica has gotten so bad that I can only walk about 30 feet without incurring severe pain.  The pain is worse than any kidney stones I have had.  The doctor is going to fuse L4, L5, S1 together.   This is called a multi level fusion.  It will involve using bone from the bone bank (Unless he changes his mind, because there is a synthetic material they can use.).  The bone grafts will be held in place by a cage.  I suppose it will limit my range of motion somewhat but if it gets rid of the pain, it will be worth it.  If it doesn’t ease the pain, I don’t even want to think about what I will do.

I will be in the hospital until Thursday or Friday.  If it were only a single level, they would do it as day surgery but multilevel they have to be more careful.  The doctor said he will do anterior and posterior incisions.  This means I will have an incision in the front and back.

I would ask that everyone pray for me and particularly for Joyce since she will have to care for me at home and she has back problems of her own.