Papa's Back Surgery

Several people ask me about what is going on with my back problem, so I decided to post the most recent news on this blog. As many of you know, I have had trouble with my lower back for most of my adult life. This was not too serious, only requiring bed rest for a week or so. I also found that by keeping to an exercise routine of weight-lifting and aerobics that I could avoid almost all of my back problems.

Anne & I decided before we adopted the kids that we would devote the first six months to helping them adjust to their new life while putting our lives on hold. We were forewarned that the first six months, although difficult initially, was the "honeymoon" phase of the relationship. After that the kids would get quite mischievous for a while.

So, for the first six months I was able to get to the gym (see photo at right) with the kids about once or twice a week. Our gym has daycare free for up to two hours per day while you workout. It was just enough to keep my back problems away. After the honeymoon phase was over, it seemed like at least one of the kids was either sick or mischievous enough that I couldn't take them to the gym's daycare. They were like a tag team! So my weekly gym attendance went to zero.

Around Christmas my back began giving me problems again, but I figured that it would go away in a week or so like it always did. By the time mid-February was here, the back pain was still there, and I had shooting pains down my legs followed several hours later by pins-n-needles, then numbness every day. The pain was beginning to keep me awake most of the night, so off to the doctor I went. After an X-ray, Dr. Zahrawi scheduled me for an MRI. He just looked at the MRI report and films yesterday.

The diagnosis is that I have two problems. The first problem is chronic Isthmic Spondylolisthesis. Take a look at the animation. You will need to click the Isthmic link. It looks a lot worse than it feels. I have had this for most of my life. No one knows what causes it for sure, but the current medical opinion says it occurs during the first several months of a baby's growth just after birth.


The second problem is an acute ruptured disk which is causing my current predicament. This animation feels a lot worse than it looks. In my particular case the disk is ruptured, and fills half of the spinal canal. Ouch!

So I go to Celebration Health Hospital for minimally invasive back surgery on March 3rd. This will only fix the ruptured disk. Wish me luck! The operation is done fairly frequently, but as with anything involving the spine, there are always risks. Dr. Zahrawi says I will need bedrest for a few days, then have 70% recovery in two weeks - enough to "go back to work." I still won't be able to do any serious weight lifting for 6-8 weeks. In the meantime I will be visiting the physical therapist on a regular basis doing lots of low-impact back exercises.

That's everything I have for now. When I get any additional info, I'll post it here.