Evening guys!
Well here we are back home just over two weeks after the operation.
It seems to have gone well. The operation was just over 5 hours long and the consultant thinks he's got about 90% of the tumour out. He couldn't get it all as some of my nerves were growing through the middle of the tumour so I shall still have some permanent damage to me (like being able to stick a pin into parts or me and to not be able to feel a thing) but he hopes that he might have disturbed the blood-flow to it sufficiently that the rest of it shrivels up to nothing. Now I have a 9 inch scar running down my spine covering the two metal rods that have replaced the 3 vertabrae which have been permanently removed.
I was in intensive care for one night (more for observation than anything else). In total I spent 72 hours lying flat. I could roll onto my sides but that was still really difficult and eating on your side is a whole new experience. And being immobile for so long does horrible things to your gut.......!
So the surgery seems to have been a success but I have been left with what we think is "post operation neuropraxia". Basically this means all the nerves are bruised/knocked about/tingling/getting to "explore" the space they now have to move in following the removal of the tumour/expanding back to their normal size. (Lots of pins and needles and other such sensations!)
What this in effect means I am suffering from temporary paralysis in all my lower body. It is starting to wear off and I have been through having to use a zimmer and then crutches. To put it mildly walking is a challenge even more so stairs although I do have the benefit of a bannister rail.
I like to think I am somebody with a positive and "can-do" attitude and so I spend a lot of the day undertaking the approved exercises and stretches. I'm hoping I shall be back at work in about another 4 weeks. We shall see.
As you know I sold my business, knowing that once the sale had gone through I would be able to have this operation. Working for the new owner is good especially as he continues to pay me my weekly wage whilst I am off. It had been slightly quiet (as you would expect for the last half of February) just before the operation and the new owner was perhaps wondering if he had made the right investment. Of course, as soon as I was in hospital the business went ballistic and as it is busy enough to normally keep the two of us gainfully employed fully every day of the week you can imagine how hard and how long Andrew is having to work just to keep on top of things. All being well I shall be back in harness before the normal madness of a busy second half of the year starts.
Finally I would like to thank you all for your kind wishes and supportive messages it has been lovely to read them all.
In conclusion I can safely say therefore that there should be many more posts to follow.
Cheers.
Rog
