Well I went to the doctor today to have my MRI and find out what type of proceedure my Neurosurgeon suggested. After looking at the x-rays and new mri we found out that things are a little more complicated than originally thought. When I first heard the term spondylolisthesis I couldn't even say it, much less spell it. Apparently my vertebrae has a "break" in it (the doctor doesn't know if this has come from a fracture or has been with me since birth) and he says it's basically "just flapping in the wind". This has allowed my lower spinal column to shift and is pinching the nerve bundles causing all the pain and discomfort I have been experiencing for over a year now. The great news is that the deterioration is only in my L5 S1 disc and hasn't spread like I had feared! I have surgery scheduled for September 16th to go in and remove the useless piece of bone that should be connected to my vertebrae... Then the doctor will remove the bad disc, put 4 screws in the surrounding bone, attatch the rod, (or rods not sure if there will be more than 1 or not) and then put bone grafts in (harvested from my hip) and then close me up in hopes that this will fix me! It may sound a little twisted... but even though I am scared out of my mind about all this I can't wait! I can't wait because I am so ready to not always be in pain, to not always limit myself to what I do knowing what it will make me feel like the next day, and to not always be able to endure the things I'd like to. This experience has changed the way I think about myself (how I've let myself go after pregnancy), and now I am truely in need of making a change for the better in my life. I want to live healthier and just be healthier! I look at this surgery like a second chance at changing my bad habits for better ones! Hopefully the recovery will not be too bad... We will see.
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