My wife had five herniated disks resulting from a workplace accident.
Four of them may eventually heal naturally. We are following up on progress in that area.
One was destroyed and she had a spinal fusion in April last year. We got her through the worst three months of her life. It became a workman's comp issue, btw.
We had a WONDERFUL surgeon who spent hours counseling us and then proceeded to perform a surgical miracle on her back with the fusion between c5-c6.
It took a very, very long time for her to get on her feet.
Through the grace of God in his Mercy he has provided for us throughout this time. Comp insurance sure didn't. I was able to help her and comfort her through this period and then God restored her to me.
She has a very good chance of living a normal life within the obvious physical constraints that she cannot risk injury to her spine.
It was a very depressing experience for her even with support. The pain was difficult to manage. Now it is manageable with Tylenol.
I recommend that if you don't have immediate family near you that you get near them before you consider any sort of surgery. It is extremely debilitating. You will not be able to use the bathroom or wash on your own.
My wife felt useless but she has been an angel to me in my darkest hours. I was privileged to be able to help her. She's very happy and getting back to more or less normal activities levels now. Our relationship is a joy that carries me through every day.
I hope you will be able to find the same support during the times ahead. You can tell it was obviously very emotional for me, and I didn't even have the procedure.
Hey Martin, I hadn't really told you about this before. As much as I love Brasil, I adore my wife even more. She's really improved and I will see that she has a full life, God willing.
Naturally it depends on the type of surgery.
I had a micro-diskectomy which is basically outpatient surgery. I was up walking around right after the surgery.