Thursday 3 February 2011

It was a year ago today....

Never really sure if you "celebrate" on "the day" or "the date". Either way we're pretty close I reckon. 4th Feb - which last year was the Thursday - I had five hours of surgery where two titanium rods and fourteen two and a half inch screws were inserted into my spine. Just in case I hadn't mentioned it...


The plan was to go out for a drink or three after work on Friday - maybe even on for a bit of dancing. It's not going to happen now - with more injections on Monday I'm not really in the mood for celebrating. Let's wait and see if the pain eases first - though I may still have a glass or two of red :-)

Thinking positively and gratefully - I am still two inches taller. I can breathe more easily. And this evening I had a lovely warm bath and a massage which temporarily eased things. I've also got a new job that looks like it will be challenging, interesting and satisfying, and have booked a weeks holiday - which apart from Christmas will be the first proper time off since I returned to work.

So - a year on from the day when I spent 5 hours in theatre I'll be spending almost the same amount of time on trains to Birmingham and back! A busy day meeting with my new team, then a drink with a very old friend (but don't tell him I said that!)

More at the weekend - after seeing Richard Sheridan who is a. not a playwright and b. not seeing me about a pregnancy (I am flattered that some of you thought that was still a possibility!!!)

Linda xxx

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Trigger Spot Injections

Forgive me if I am showing my age here but when I hear the word Trigger I think of a character in Only Fools and Horses... or maybe a horse belonging to Roy Rogers. If you google it the first thing you find is of course the mechanism that actuates the firing of firearms - of course.

But here we are looking at another meaning of the word. Trigger as in Spots. I've googled a fair bit, read some quite alarming articles, realised there are differing opinions but at the end of the day when you have a condition this serious you have to put your faith and trust in the surgeon treating you. If you cannot do that then I think you are with the wrong surgeon.

In my case I saw Mr Tucker again on Monday for the results of my SPEC-CT scan. We looked at the pictures together, along with Rachel who in the absence of Ian (at work) opted to get out of the comfort of her bed at some unearthly hour and come with me...

The picture was quite pretty to be honest. Lots of pink - a sign of cellular activity. But also a fair amount of orange - signs of inflammation. Apparently there is still some natural healing to take place - which is massively encouraging. But meanwhile, as the pain is so horrid and hard to cope with, Mr Tucker is going to try some Trigger Spot injections.

I meant what I said before - you have to trust your surgeon. If I ever came away from a consultation doubting my doctor knew what he was talking about, or didn't have my very best interests at heart I would look for another. This really is life in your hands stuff - not just the very real risks involved in the surgery but also the quality of life in the post operative period and into the future.

Stewart Tucker has a reputation as one of the very best - if not the very best - scoliosis specialist in the UK (if not Europe or the world...). I trust his knowledge, his opinion, and the way in which he takes what I say seriously and genuinely seems to want to help. But if these injections don't ease things I'm really going to struggle.

Let's not go there though. Thinking positively - they are going to help and I am having them done in the luxury of the Wellington Hotel - sorry, Hospital! I was offered a local anaesthetic in the CT scanner but opted instead for sedation and a bed for the evening (anyone blame me for that? They'll probably even throw in an omelette!)

I got the good news today that from Thursday I am again entitled to sick leave so may even have a day off to recover.Or maybe not as I have started my new job and think I am going to love it... more of that later.

Thanks again for your support - please do comment or message me as it makes all the difference.

Linda xxxx