My Story
 

Ok guys, here's my story, I am not looking for sympathy or pity,
this is more of a warning and informational post.


I have been laid up since December 1.
No computer cause I would have to bend my neck.
I had to get a neck operation.
Doctor gave me two choices:

1 - go to therapy with a 30% chance of recovery and absolutely no lifting fro the rest of my life and lose complete use of my left arm.

2 - Fuse vertebrate’s c6 and c7; be laid up for 6 weeks and after recovery
minimal heavy lifting.

I think my choice was clear.
Actually, right after surgery, in recovery, my pains were gone.
If your family doctor says that pains in your arms, forearms,
hands and tingling fingers, are from sleeping in a dumb position,
or bursitis, GET A SECOND OPINION from a spine and neck doctor.
It is amazing how the body is linked together.

I was having strange pains for a couple of years.

Then one Saturday I was doing cement work, moved over 1000 lbs in 80 lb bags, from store, to truck, truck to garage and
from garage to walkway.
Next day I had a stiff neck and then progressively worse each day.
Major pains started mid October, had surgery December 1.
Surgeon said this was coming on for a lllooonnnggg time, but the cement work
did me in.

When the pain got so bad, I went to the e-room.
The symptoms showed The Big One, e-room took EKG, took X rays, said it must be torn rotator cuff, gave me Motrin and said bye-bye.
Luckily one of my wife’s best friends works for a neck and spine specialist explained everything to her and the next day I was getting an MRI and the good pain pills.
When the surgeon saw my MRI, he asked our friend how was I functioning.
The disk came out and was up along my spinal cord, he was sure I was in more pain than I was letting everyone know.


It is amazing how fast things go.

I still have to be careful how fast I move my head and I can’t look down for long periods of time. Makes it hard to type.

Luckily I have good insurance, all doctor bills covered and wages covered by short term disability.
It is just very boring sitting around watching TV, good thing I like the science channel, the Discovery network and the History channel, I would really be bored.

Re: My Story
 

Parish, I understand brother, believe me.
20 years ago while pulling a fireman up the stairs after an explosion at a commercial fire another fireman came down the stairs and tripped and fell on me, crunched my neck, been down hill since then. Eventually surgery fusion c6-c7.
Multiple pursuits car crashes fights wrestling suspects and assorted other adventures I had a fall a year ago running down some concrete stairs went head first into concrete block wall, saw the big light and was out for a few seconds. When I awoke I rolled over and stood up with help from my Sgt. and one of my Officers, my neck stiffened almost immediatly. Spent the next three months at work but doing physical therapy. Finally the daily pain got real bad, arms started going numb just standing there, had huge egg size knots in my arm muscles and headaches and facial twitching. Pain in the chest area like a heart attack.
Surgery June 1st this year fusion grafting titanium plate for c5-6 and c4-5 . Back at work now but this is going to cost me the rest of my life. Will be another five or six months before it starts getting really solid I believe. Then the arthritis will really start kicking in. I'll be 52 in March.
So I put in my retirement papers, leaving after 28 years. Highest ranking Officer in PD, not worth staying any longer and too much risk.
It will get better now Parish, but as hard as it is and boring take it easy. Takes adults six to eight months before the fusion really becomes solid at least and if you do something traumatic to it before that you stand a chance of never fully recovering. The symptoms will eventually start going away but nerves only regenerate to a certain degree and very slowly at that. A lot depends on how much pressure was on them and for how long.
Take it easy my friend let it heal and don't worry any more about it, it's done now.

Re: My Story
 

Hmm...........I have a torn rotor and the pain has been there for almost a year now??

But i have noticed a pain in my neck lately also, so much so it was giving me a ear ach last week after I built some stairs!

Glad you doing better!!

Re: My Story
 

paris, glad you got to doc when ya did ...sounds like he's gotcha headed in right direction ...good for you!!...


...hey, if lookin' down at PC monitor painful, elevate the monitor or lower the chair (or combo of both) ... obviously get someone else to do the ''heavy-lifting'', but we don't wanna lose your input here over a little pain-in -the-neck ;) ...

Re: My Story
 

Thanks Willy, my regular job is not physical like police work,
engineers sit at a desk most of the time, it is what I like to do in my
spare time that is the problem.

MJ, thanks, this was not the first episode that made me question my doctor,
my mother died of kidney cancer 10 years ago, which moved
into her bone marrow, she was having arm pains and her doctor told her
it was bursitis. One night she got her arm caught in her covers
and broke it. Now I am always second guessing my doctor.

Thanks Reel, definately in the right direction.
It's not the monitor that is my issue, I always keep it elivated,
my problem is that I am a hunt and peck keyboard operator,
so I have to look down at the keyboard, but, the pain is going away
more and more each day, but again, it is not the pain that I am afraid of,
the doctor warned me that if I look down by moving my head,
I could break the titanium plate and have to go through the operation all over again.



One more thing guys, if you have to have bone graft instead of
the new inserts, ask for cadaver bone.
They used to use grafts from your hips and everyone warned me
about that pain being worse than the neck pain.
I got cadaver bone and I think that I am in a better frame of mind
because I have no hip pain.

Re: My Story
 

I had a couple of discs fused in my neck a couple of years ago, your symptoms sound like mine were, only loss is a couple of degrees rotation when looking over your shoulder to see if Willy is following you.

Re: My Story
 

By time you think to look it will be to late my friend 8)

Re: My Story
 

Oooo...the plot thickens ....






















...along w/ the bull$hit ;D ;D ;D ...

Re: My Story
 

He never forgave me for making him push the boat off the sand bar!!!

Re: My Story
 

man, if this is what i have to look forward to, i think i'll stay (relatively) young.
i have a big pain in my a$$. oooops, here she comes now.


get better guys. maybe you will all be able to catch all the fluke that we cant this coming season.