A week of firsts

This week I felt pretty good. Not normal, but good, considering.

On Friday I...
drove for the first time since Jan. 13.

On Saturday I...
put on makeup for the first time since Jan. 13.
fixed my hair for the first time since Jan. 14.
wore a bra for the first time since Jan. 14. (I was scared to have the back strap rub against my scar, so I put on a tank top first and wore my bra over it on the widest setting to reduce the contact against my incision.)
shaved my legs for the first time since Jan. 14. (Seriously. Not because I didn't want to, but because it was impossible at first and still somewhat hard to reach my legs with these giant rods in my back.)
bought a car on my own for the first time ever in hopes I can go back to work soon. (Mine was wrecked in October.)

Today I...
went to see my surgeon for my second post-op appointment. As of tomorrow, I will be seven weeks post-op. He ok'd me to go back to work, so tomorrow I will start work again. I don't plan on working full days. Not yet. Tomorrow will just be a test day for me to see how I feel. Luckily, I have a super understanding boss and co-workers, and I'm set up with everything I need to work from home. The part about tomorrow that sounds the worst to me is driving from my parents' house, where I've been living since the surgery to enlist their help during my recovery, to Dallas, a 45 minute drive without traffic. Sitting in a car can be uncomfortable for me.

One thing I am looking forward to is using my new bag. I bought a beautiful briefcase on wheels to take to work, so that I don't have to carry my laptop and all my work items in a shoulder bag. I always hated people who used those rolley bags on the bus and train. I would think, "how lazy are they!?" and would be mad at how slow they got off and how they were always in my way. Maybe I misjudged them...

Back to what's important
My doctor's appointment went well today. He said I'm progressing well and my back looks good. We took more x-rays and looked at them together. My left shoulder is still higher than the right (you can tell this by looking at my last x-ray; it looks pretty much the same as the x-rays we took today, so I didn't bother getting a digital copy to put on here), but he thinks this may even out more in time.

Since the last time I saw him, I read his detailed description of my surgery, given to me at my first post-op appointment. In it, I read that a decision was made during surgery to extend the fusion (fusion of the spine and stainless steel rod) down further than anticipated in order to reduce deformity. The incision was extended accordingly. I asked about this today since I hadn't realized before that this had happened. Basically, he said he didn't feel like my curves would be straightened enough without extending the fusion. I have a little bit less movement in my back as a result, but I still do have most of the movement in my lower back. When it's all said and down, my fusion is from the T2 (T is for thoracic) to the L1 (L is for lumbar) vertebrae in my spine. While I would prefer a smaller fusion, I would rather have a straight, deformity-free back, so I've accepted this the best I can.

I asked about when I would feel normal again and wouldn't notice that I have foreign objects in my body. He said that is different for everyone, especially depending upon age. The younger kids he operates on feel pretty good in the first three months. The older adults take longer, many needing a full year or so. I would be somewhere in the middle.

In the meantime, I can do most of my normal activities and should listen to my body when deciding how much to push it. He wants me to be as normal as I can be. As for working out, I can do some cardiovascular activities, but he wants me to hold off on anything too hard until I'm completely off the pain pills. I'm assuming that's so I can listen to my body better than if I'm messed up on pills. I specifically asked about yoga, but that's a no for now.

Before leaving, I signed a consent form to allow other patients to contact me. I want anyone who has questions or just wants to talk to someone who's been through it to be able to call me up and ask away. In my first post-op appointment with Dr. Hostin, he asked me if the pain was what I thought it would be. I told him that it was far worse than I ever imagined. He was surprised at this and said something about me talking to other patients of his, which I never had because I didn't realize I could. I wish he would have offered this to me before my surgery, but that's ok. Bygones.

Crystal ball
My dad drove me to my appointment today. On the way, he asked if I'm happy I've done this. Honestly, right now I'm not sure, and I don't want to say which direction I'm leaning for or against. I think in a year, I'll say "hell yes," or at least I hope so. We'll see.