The surgical pain is insignificant now that the 9" incision appears to be fully closed and healing nicely. If not for the complications, I would have been long done with the acute rehab and home. Maybe even driving again in spite of the ubiquitous back brace I'll need for several months as the bones fuse together.

However, in such an extensive and complicated surgery as fusing L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, S1 together it is rare not to have at least 1, if not more, angry or stretched nerves due to the complexity, or far worse with a less talented surgeon. ALWAYS have an experienced neurosurgeon operate on your spine, not an orthopedic surgeon who doesn't specialize on the spine.

Given that it was the 4th surgery in 2 years in that particular section (lumbar to sacrum), the scar tissue inside was so widespread that it gave the surgeons fits trying to clean it up, lift nerves, ligaments, muscles, etc after slicing slowly through skin layers to get at my spine and individual vertebrae. Then to remove the previous hardware from earlier, less extensive fusions**. Then two of the vertebrae bones broke when drilling screw holes causing even more complications.That is why she doesn't want to reopen my cervical fusions until it is unavoidable in spite of my having issues from scar tissue build up and adjacent segment disease that cause weakness and frequent pain in both arms.

(**Insurance wouldn't allow her to do the whole area the first time but only approving what met their standard required to approve surgery even though SHE knew, and told them, that the rest were close to complete failure and the lesser surgery would only accelerate their failures. Zero foresight in the approval departments. The complications were directly related to the extensive scar tissue and stresses on the adjacent vertebrae from being forced to do it piecemeal.)

ANYWAY, it turned out that the ruptured disk she originally tried to trim to relieve the pain I was having was completely calcified and stuck to scar tissue which was stuck to the covering of my spinal cord itself, where it tore the dura not once, but twice, during the 2 surgeries performed on Dec. 3rd and the full fusion on Dec. 10th, each requiring large blood patches to seal the CSF leaks and my lying completely flat on my back for 24 hours each time to allow the patches to seal the tears and stop more cerebral spinal fluid from leaking and causing horrific complications that could have been fatal. As it was, excessive blood loss and other factors nearly did me in anyway.

I also have a DVT in my left calf, further complicating everything. I have to take Eliquis, a blood thinner, for at least 3 months when they'll do another ultrasound to see if it has dissolved, encapsulated, or moved. A blood thinner added to my 3 immunosuppressants has ramped up my risk of a severe reaction (infection or blood loss) to any kind of injury, including minor cuts or bruises. I f***in' hate having to be SO CAREFUL and carrying around antibiotic cream and bandaid everywhere I go. Even outside in my yard!

So, I have NO illusions of ever truly being pain free or spinal surgeries being finally finished given the high risk of further adjacent segment disease forging its trail upwards into my thoracic spine, which already has its own issues.

But thanks for the kind hopes for a pain-free future for me. I'll consider it a win if this nerve pain continues to lessen week to week, reducing the need for pain meds. THAT is a realistic hope for me!

I do hope your situation improves quickly and that your car's damage is minimal and not too expensive! Dare I hope that some unexpected financial windfall comes your way?

We find our hope and solace wherever we can!