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Dealing with my Back Surgery

When I was a fresher in High School, I played basketball and enjoyed everything about it. While I cannot boast of how good I was, I thank God for blessing me with the talent. Primarily, my life revolved about basketball; most of my free time was spent training and practicing to make myself a better sportsman. This persistence and hard work not only helped me in the court but also molded me to become the person I am today. Somehow, it prepared me for the setback I was to face with back surgery in the future.

Since I was a fresher, I had always been in the starting lineup, unless, of course, there was a major problem. As usual, this went on for some time until I felt a pain that ran through my back for some time. Being a strong-willed and determined person, I did not tell anybody about the pain until it started to affect my daily activities. The fact that I had received numerous invitations to play basketball in many institutions made it difficult for me to admit that I had a problem. In due course, I spoke to my mother about it, and she took me to see a back specialist who explained that the aching I was experiencing was a sign of a major problem.

After numerous tests by the doctor, it was discovered that I have had raptured five disks in the lower lumbar part of my back. Further tests showed that I had a crippling disease of the spinal column called spinal stenosis. As I later learned, spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal canal that causes compression of the spinal cord (Frontera, Silver and Rizzo). The doctor informed me that if the disease were ignored for any longer, it would lead to more complications and so he recommended immediate surgery. Because of the extensive damage to my back, the doctors recommended a number of operations.

After while, the surgery day finally came, and I was admitted to hospital for the surgery. The time I spent in the waiting bay, as I prepared seemed like an eternity for me because I did not know how the operation would go. My close family tried to comfort me because they knew I was frightened, but I was still apprehensive and fearful of what the operation would result in.As I settled in a room lying on the bed in my hospital gown, tears rolled down my cheeks as my family held me while we said a prayer. More interestingly, a part of me wanted to be strong and courageous, but at the same time, I felt fragile. All this time, my mother never let my hand go even as the nurses wheeled me into a room where the anesthesiologist was waiting. From the look on my parents’ faces, it was clear they would have switched places with me if it were possible. Eventually, the anesthesiologist pushed an injection into my arm and told me to count backward from 10; I can only recall going as far as eight.

It was seventeen hours later that I vaguely remember waking up with a piercing pain every time I breathed. Even opening my eyes left me feeling weak, and the pain was unbearable. At this time, most of my family members were there, but all I could hear was their murmurs; my vision was blurred. After a few minutes, the doctor visited my room and explained that the surgery had been successful. He explained how hard it had been for him and his team to maneuver around my spine because of the swelling and the decreasing size of my spinal column due to the disease. Even so, the doctor said, the surgery would not be the last and was only one in a series of operations to ensure my full recovery.

It has now been two years since that surgery and thankfully, there have not been more yet. While it would be incorrect to say that I do not experience any pain, I can now easily perform simple tasks with little or no struggle. Because of the surgery, the left sides of my legs down to the toes are now numb. Nevertheless, the doctor explained that the numbness would not go away immediately, but would decrease in intensity as time passes. Naturally, I have a three-inch scar on my lower back that is a continuous reminder that the pain is not gone forever. I hope that my body can withstand the trauma, and I will not need another surgery in the near future. However, I try my best to strengthen the body muscles by attending physiotherapy sessions, which I attend three to four times a week with permission from the doctors. Ultimately, this helps me control the pain by knowing which exercises to do because knowing what to expect and how to handle it will greatly help me recover in the future should I have to undergo another surgery.

Work Cited

Frontera, Walter R, J. K Silver, and Thomas D Rizzo. Essentials Of Physical Medicine And Rehabilitation. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders/Elsevier, 2008. Print.