I have held off sharing my very recent and potentially life altering benign spinal cord tumor and subsequent laminectomy surgery with meningioma resection until now because I wanted to post only when I had passed a certain level of successful recovery. After nearly seven weeks post-op, I feel I have reached that crucial milestone.
In mid-October 2023, I was told of an incidental finding , an unknown mass on the thoracic spine 3 was discovered during what was supposed to be a routine MRI to check on arthritis in the cervical /upper back area. A follow up with contrast was performed before I was referred to a no-nonsense neurosurgeon in early November who informed me this benign growth had to be removed ASAP because it was pressing on my spinal column by more than 50% and would soon result in possible total paralysis and loss of bodily functions if not surgically removed.
The spinal laminectomy was scheduled for December 21, 2023, so I had roughly 7 weeks to square my affairs (in case of a less favorable outcome) and prepare for a lengthy layup. (Although I had no symptoms pre-surgery, I could have ended up with crippling deficits had the surgery went awry.)
Well, I DID have an unexpected complication, one that sent me to ICU for 24 + hours: while I was taped prone to the operating table, one of the pads that was intended to keep my teeth from moving dislodged during the neuromonitoring resulting in a severe enough lacerated tongue that cauterization was required to stop the bleeding and allow the left side to heal. We were told after the fact that the anesthesiologist " failed to monitor " me "properly." In any case, I woke up intubated with a mouth equally filled with blood and saturated gauze. I thought of the many Covid-19 patients who had met their end with a breathing tube, unable to speak and dying without fanfare or comfort, and I felt immensely lucky to be alive. The tube was removed, and I was sent to a regular room where I recovered enough to be sent home on Christmas Day.
At first, I could only eat liquidy, easy to chew foods, per the hospital speech therapist's discharge instructions, and I had quite a pronounced lisp whenever I spoke. Mercifully, these post- op complications disappeared by a couple of weeks and the all-encompassing malaise I felt every time I tried to walk, first with a walker, later holding on to furniture and finally without aid, gradually lessened until I can walk at a normal but slower than normal for me pace. I am blessed to never have experienced any meaningful pain and I ceased all meds in early January 2024.
The BLT (Bend, Lift, Twist) restriction was removed at six weeks, and I started PT last week and will receive my first post-op massage tomorrow.
I will see the neurosurgeon on Friday to discuss my progress and when I can resume additional activities.
In mid-October 2023, I was told of an incidental finding , an unknown mass on the thoracic spine 3 was discovered during what was supposed to be a routine MRI to check on arthritis in the cervical /upper back area. A follow up with contrast was performed before I was referred to a no-nonsense neurosurgeon in early November who informed me this benign growth had to be removed ASAP because it was pressing on my spinal column by more than 50% and would soon result in possible total paralysis and loss of bodily functions if not surgically removed.
The spinal laminectomy was scheduled for December 21, 2023, so I had roughly 7 weeks to square my affairs (in case of a less favorable outcome) and prepare for a lengthy layup. (Although I had no symptoms pre-surgery, I could have ended up with crippling deficits had the surgery went awry.)
Well, I DID have an unexpected complication, one that sent me to ICU for 24 + hours: while I was taped prone to the operating table, one of the pads that was intended to keep my teeth from moving dislodged during the neuromonitoring resulting in a severe enough lacerated tongue that cauterization was required to stop the bleeding and allow the left side to heal. We were told after the fact that the anesthesiologist " failed to monitor " me "properly." In any case, I woke up intubated with a mouth equally filled with blood and saturated gauze. I thought of the many Covid-19 patients who had met their end with a breathing tube, unable to speak and dying without fanfare or comfort, and I felt immensely lucky to be alive. The tube was removed, and I was sent to a regular room where I recovered enough to be sent home on Christmas Day.
At first, I could only eat liquidy, easy to chew foods, per the hospital speech therapist's discharge instructions, and I had quite a pronounced lisp whenever I spoke. Mercifully, these post- op complications disappeared by a couple of weeks and the all-encompassing malaise I felt every time I tried to walk, first with a walker, later holding on to furniture and finally without aid, gradually lessened until I can walk at a normal but slower than normal for me pace. I am blessed to never have experienced any meaningful pain and I ceased all meds in early January 2024.
The BLT (Bend, Lift, Twist) restriction was removed at six weeks, and I started PT last week and will receive my first post-op massage tomorrow.
I will see the neurosurgeon on Friday to discuss my progress and when I can resume additional activities.
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