Friday, December 19, 2008

One Year Since My Surgery!!


Today is the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY since my spinal fusion surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

One year?!?!?!?

I never thought I would ever get better, let alone have surgery, let alone recover so well from it. I was looking back at my blog post from the day before the surgery, and I see the fear and the hope that I felt.

On the left is an x-ray that I found online - it pretty much shows what I had done (though I think that mine was one level lower: L5-S1).

So, what's changed over the past year, since the surgery? Here's what I am celebrating:

  1. I never thought I would dance again, and I have now danced on many occasions - including a recent jaunt to Webster Hall (a dance club here in NYC). This was my BIGGEST WISH!
  2. I never thought I would be in the right frame of mind to lose weight, and I have lost more than 15 pounds so far.
  3. I never imagined that I would walk without a cane, and now I can even jog!
  4. I could no longer envision a life without chronic pain, and now I am 95% without pain of any kind!
  5. I didn't think I would be able to walk farther than 2 blocks without pain, and now I can walk at least 2 miles before I feel sore.
  6. I didn't think I would be able to stand for an entire Shabbat worship service (I learned to take many breaks), and now I can confidently stand the whole time!
  7. I thought I would have to have my groceries delivered from now on - but now, I can carry them up the stairs myself!!
  8. I figured that I would feel tired, depressed, and OLD from now on, but I finally feel young, vibrant, energetic, and ALIVE!!!

Thanks for celebrating with me - I couldn't have gotten through it all without your support and love. Here's to another good year!!

7 comments:

SMLP said...

Yay!!!!!!! Mazel Tov!!!!!!! So happy for you -- and touched that you mentioned being able to dance now as your #1. It gave me so much joy to see you dance up a storm at my wedding :-)

Jennifer said...

Amazing.

I hope somebody, or lots of somebodies out there in Internetland, googles "back surgery," lands on your site, and finds the courage they're looking for to move forward into freedom from pain.

You've got me strongly considering joining Jenny as a 47th birthday gift to myself, too. Your success is inspiring!

PepGiraffe said...

Normally I'm kind of cynical, but your post was so full of joy and happiness, that I was inspired. It makes me want to be happy with my life, too. Shabbat Shalom.

Sue said...

I am so thrilled for you, Marci!

Lindsay Bellows said...

seeing you on a day to day basis, it's hard to see the huge amount of progression sometimes. It's so wonderful to take a step back and realize how far you've come.

Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov!!!

Fighting Mama said...

Woohoo! What a great post! My BFF has been putting of spinal fusion for years but she is only 35 and had her first back surgery at 23!

I am so happy for you and so impressed at the positive changes it sounds like you have made.

Congratulations!

i beati said...

You are blessed. Cannot believe it's a year already . I remember how i kept thinking of you during that time,. Happy Chanukah sandy Kessler