I feel good!

I'm feeling like kicking up my heels!

I'm feeling really good lately. I've still got some really persistent itching in the incision area (I guess I can call it a scar now) and a twinge in my left lower back that feels like the start of sciatica, but isn't (a signal from my body that I'm over doing it a bit).

Spoke to Theresa on Friday about the quasi-sciatica pain and got the go-ahead to start riding the recumbent stationary bike at the gym. The reason that they don't tell everyone to do it is because some people have a lot of pain and discomfort when they sit. This can continue up to 6 months after the surgery. Lucky for me, I managed the bike for 20 minutes no problem. I'm really glad to have something else besides walking to do; it was getting boring, and now that I'm walking Tony more than just for "business," I needed another activity for the gym.

Thursday Tony and I walked up to 44th and 9th back (three miles total) to 24th and 10th. It's not a very picturesque walk, lots of trucks and buses up that way. Going south on 10th Avenue is definitely a better option, except it's really cold ; the wind whips off the Hudson like a mother. Most picturesque would be the walkway in Hudson River Park, but that would be colder still, plus Tony hates rollerbladers and skateboarders (don't we all?). Yesterday we went two miles and today too, a mile in the morning and a mile in the afternoon. Plus, I went over to the gym at 8th Ave. (another mile round trip) and rode the recumbent bike for 20 minutes for an additional three and a half miles. I'm also doing a bit of upper body work, biceps and triceps and shoulders, light weights, lotsa reps.

Both scars are very itchy. I still can't bend properly, so I keep my slippers, sneakers and boots (the only footwear I've been in for a year) on a shelf so I won't have to bend to get them. Also, washing my face at the sink and brushing my teeth are still hard. Well, brushing the teeth isn't so bad, it's the spitting, ever try spitting NOT on yourself without bending at the waist? I could bend at the hips, but I'd have to stand in the tub to reach the sink; I'd look like one of those dipping birds Anyway, we moved a small stool into the bathroom. Did I mention the itching? Otherwise I could positively jump for joy! But don't tell my doctor.

Progress, maybe

Since I'm not allowed to do any exercise other than walk, I've been really trying to make the most of that. I've been going on increasingly longer walks everyday (Tony is upset that I don't take him along!), beginning with just walking around the hallways in my building and now including strolls around my Chelsea neighborhood. These latter outings are usually under the guise of running some errand, like picking up some fruit, dropping books off at the library, or buying a magazine or small treat for myself (croissants from Breadstix Cafe) while I'm out.

Yesterday I walked over the West Side Highway, up to 27th Street (when it started snowing!), back over to 10th Avenue, down to 23rd Street, up to 9th Avenue and then cut through my building for the last block cause I was freezing my ankles off in my capri sweats.

Today, since my long-frozen membership at NYSC has finally been unfrozen (I'd been working out at the London Terrace gym until just before I went into the hospital, it was much, much closer to home), and since I didn't feel like freezing my ankles again, I walked the two long blocks over to NYSC at 8th Ave. Once there, I walked a mile on the treadmill, then walked home with a small bag of fruit. My butt and legs have been sore since Tyler and I walked over to Bed Bath and Beyond on Sunday (four crosstown blocks from our apt., my farthest walk yet!) and took a cab back home (when I realized with a start of horror that I wasn't supposed to be in a car, but by then we were almost home, incident-free, thankfully).

Still, I've kept up with the walking every day this week. The soreness feels good; it's a different kind of achiness, a different kind of pain. This pain is from use, from increasing strength. It feels good. I'll let you know tomorrow if it still feels good, but whether it does or not, I'm still going to walk. Maybe just not as far.

Freedom!

It's 18 days out from surgery now and I don't think this incision looks much different than it did here. It sure does itch and burn and hurt. I've lost the weight I managed to put back on just before the surgery; I guess 8 days of not eating anything but ice chips will do that to you. I don't recommend it as a weight-loss tool. Also, I'm very, very pale. Not sure what's up with that.

Most of the pain I had when I came home (after the whole "natural gas" disaster, which was VERY painful and weird) was in my legs and stomach from the muscles being stretched. Not only was I not used to walking upright, but the ProDisc that went in a L5-S1 made me at least a quarter of an inch taller than I was before I started stooping. Having muscles stretched 24/7 was so much more painful than I would have imagined. Stretching usually feels good. This didn't.

The worst of this pain was centered right around Saturday (the 23rd) and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, or at least it seemed so because I was no longer on the Demerol. I still have fluctuating pain in my legs and low back and stomach after I've been up and walking for a while, but they say that this will go away eventually. Dr. B. says it is not unusual for patients to have muscle pain from the stretching for months after the surgery. I was in such good shape (the word Dr. B. used to describe it was "remarkable") going in to the surgery (swam a quarter of a mile the day before), I just can't imagine what people go through with this type of surgery that are overweight and out of shape. If you are reading this and considering back surgery, start exercising yesterday!

Anyway, today I walked (gingerly!)from our apartment at 10th Ave to 8th Ave and bought some fruit. I was careful to only buy as much as I could comfortably carry, and that wasn't much; I'm officially not allowed to pick up anything that weighs 10 pounds or more and anything that weighs more than a mug of tea generally causes pain. It was weird being out without the cane, I felt a sense of freedom, but also like there was something missing, like I was exposed and vulnerable to injury. I avoided passersby assiduously, almost to the point of paranoia. Friendly neighborhood dogs are a problem now too, I can't risk getting sideswiped or jumped on by even a small dog, as the sudden jolt could torque the spine, wreaking havoc with all the healing muscles and the fusion. I've decided that the next time I go out on the street, I will take the cane, just because people tend to give you a bit more consideration and a wider berth when you walk with a cane. Even in New York. [That's right, Ben, I'm sacrificing freedom for security. Wanna fight about it?] Still, it was a heady experience, being out and about and upright.

Then I came home and took some Darvocet and went to bed, because this kind of freedom definitely has its price.