1 Year aniversary 04/04/08

[ChefPaula1965]

Just passed the one year mark....
Wow... what a difference...
I still have discomfort especially in lower back.. did not have that part fused..
and between my shoulder blades...
most pain is where they did the rib recession... when I am tired I can feel and hear my ribs clicking togher..
most anoying!!!
But for the most part I feel much better than prior to surgery..
I can walk!!!
Thanks for listening...
(ps still have numbness in some areas of back and one area accross front of left ribs.. is this normal? )

[CHRIS WBS]

Hi Paula,

Good to hear from you again and congratulations on your 1-year anniversary. I have often wondered how you post-surgery folks who we haven't heard from are doing. Did you have anterior and posterior surgeries and how long is your fusion? Happy to hear that you are doing much better than prior to your surgery and hope that you will experience continued improvement in the weeks and months ahead.

Chris

[ChefPaula1965]

1 year!!

Hi Chris and everyone else.....
Yes I kind of "desrted" everyone here...
I have had my plate full ... between my millitary son going AWOL and my husband not having any compassion for my post surgical pain and then saying
that he did not want to be "relegated to the position of care taker"..
Wow life has been something else!!!
The good thing is that the "fribromyalgia" symptoms I was having pre-op are mostly GONE!!! most of the pain was being generated from the scoli!!
Now only on very humid days or high stress days do I feel the pain of the fibro... and then to such a smaller scale than pre-op..
I am FOR SURE a scoli surgery supporter.. though.. I tell you, the first few month were the most horrible thing I had EVER gone through.. and I questioned my decision to have this!!
Wow.. great day to all...
Paula

[Susie*Bee]

Yay Paula!

That''s great that you can celebrate one year now! I'm getting close myself-- May 4th. It's a long recovery for some of us, but it's sure good to be on the other side and making progress. Thank you for sharing with us!

I'm sorry about your other struggles... with your son and husband. Life can be pretty rough at times. You sound like you have a really good attitude, all things considered. As you said, you are a surgery survivor -- and that means you are a STRONG person! Us scoli guys and gals are pretty tough most of the time! Hang in there, and share with us when it gets to you.

I'm curious about your name-- the "chef" part. Is cooking a hobby, love, occupation-- or does the chef come from some other reason?

Welcome back to the forum-- I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

[Sharshe]

Congrats Paula! Sounds like you've had a lot on your plate this past year. I am glad things are looking up. Weird how scoli can mess with other things in our bodies and we don't always realize its really the scoli. It's nice to hear that since surgery your fibro. symptoms have improved.

[csc]

You're encouraging!!

Thanks for posting, Paula! It really sounds like you're doing well! I'm almost three months and finally having pain-free moments. It is such a loooong recovery so it is great hear from people like you. Numbness seems to be a common symptom with this surgery. I'm experiencing some myself. Hope you continue to remain strong. We're a tough bunch!

[ChefPaula1965]

Good Morning!!

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=3][COLOR=RoyalBlue]
Good morning to all of you "scoli" friends out there!!!
Some of you are considering the surgery.... some of you have already had it and are more recent than I am.. and yet others have been down the surgery path a LONG time ago...
I have heard that 18 months is kind of a "majic number".... well 12 months is not so bad either... don't get me wrong, I still ache some mornings as well as when I am just too dog-on-tired....
I am having problems with my lower back.. my doc had told me that he wasn't going to do the xtra surgery on the lower back because he was not sure it was necessary... well... I think it just may be... Butthat is another story for another day.................
Anyhow.. guess what i did yesterday???? I ran!!! LOL...
I had already gotten in my car to go to work.... but realized I forgot something in the house.. I was already running late... so I just got out of the car... and ran/jogged to the house.. threw open the front door..
It was then I realized what I had done.. I look at my two dazzled children and say.. I ran.. I ran... I ran.. to which I got several High fives...
The funny thing is that I did not even realized it until it was done!!!
YEAH for Head way on the healing process...........
Those of you considering the surgery, or who have already had the surgery recently I promise you... things get better.. they get MUCH better ... it is such a loooooooooooooooooong recovery and one tends to get very discouraged... but it works... it realy does.. it is like a "miracle" surgery... besides the 1.5 inches I grew!! all this is great...
CHIN UP YALL!!!
Big gentle hugs to those who are hurting..
and Big hugs to those of you who have hung around and stay here to keep us encouraged..
Love
PAULA

[Geish]

Congratulations on running! Although personally I have no idea why anyone would ever run...it'll kill ya you know! No really, that is wonderful. Its amazing how we get so excited for all of the little accomplishments others take for granted isn't it? My personal latest achievement is I managed to shave my legs all by myself! Pretty huge when you are fused to the sacrum. Good luck and stay strong!
Alicia

[ChefPaula1965]

ooops susie..


ooops SUsie, I forgot to answer you question about the "chef" in my name..
The real story behind it, is that some 9 years ago I used to sell "pampered Chef" .... so my email was chefpaula@idontrememberanymore.com lol...
I started using the "chefpaula" handle around that time..
I absolutely love cooking... all kinds of different foods... all kinds of ethnic foods... breads, cakes, pastries.. you name it.. I cook it...
My latest "passion" is learning how to cook healthy for my family.. but I have made some recepies of my own.. I just love it!
Paula [SIZE=3][COLOR=Indigo]