As I finally sit down to write on what should have been a joyous day after completing Step One. I am not writing about my success and this time it is nothing to do with me throwing in the towel.
There is one day a year that is full of hope and promise. The first day of the school summer holidays, and this time thanks to cross county planning, I had my first day of summer holidays while my daughter was still at school for another day. Good times. Good, lazy times.
It is not often my mobile rings, so I tend to answer. This time the conversation left me a bit panicked and confused. It was the hospital. Can I go in today for my pre op assessment and have surgery tomorrow?
Sorry, what?
My first thought was that I was called in error. But it was the spinal team calling and I knew that they were looking at my recent MRI scans. Bear in mind I have yet to talk to anyone in person about my back, just my GP who doles out the drugs and the rheumatologist who said, “it’s ok it’s not arthritis, but Ill refer you to the spinal team”. So the leap from over the phone analgesics to surgery was a bit of a shocker.
I managed to get myself to the pre op department, looking like highly dazed and confused. I was watching the Maze Runner an hour previously and now I was sitting in heatwave hospital. It included a meeting with the spinal surgeon. I literally had no time to google what surgery he was offering so I had to use old fashioned conversation. After showing me my scans, where it looked like a small hamster had taken up residence in my spinal cavity, my mind couldn’t help noticing how much fat was on my hips… but I digress. I agreed to the surgery. A discectomy.
The next day, on the first day of my long-awaited holidays, I was having spinal surgery to have a disc removed.
hazelnut thread 