Cindy
My blogs
Blogs I follow
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Industry | Science |
| Location | Minnesota, United States |
| Introduction | I was recently diagnosed with a condition called Spondylolisthesis, and wanted to keep family and friends in touch with my treatment and progress...enjoy reading! |
| Interests | In June, 2011, I spent way too many hours sitting on the floor doing craft projects (a hobby of mine!), which included doing a lot of bending and twisting. The next day I was in severe pain with little ability to move...you know things are bad when your husband has to literally pick you up off the floor! I've always had a bad back and figured that after a "quick" trip to the ER, a little Valium would help relax the muscles and return my body back to working condition in no time, but I was wrong! After heading back to my primary care doctor after a couple of days due to no relief with the Valium, I had x-rays taken, and I was diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis. Spondylo-what??! Spondylolisthesis is a condition in which there is "anterior or posterior displacement of a vertebra or the vertebral column in relation to the vertebrae below due to fractures" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylolisthesis)...in short, the pedicles of my L5 vertebra have broken off from the vertebral body on both sides of the bone, which has resulted in forward slipping of the L5 vertebral body over the S1 bone. It likely occurred before my bones fully hardened when I was much younger, can be somewhat likened to a stress fracture, and generally goes undiagnosed until something goes awry. After months of physical therapy, three very short-lived steroid injections, and some weight loss, my surgeon and I have decided it is time to forge ahead and use surgical means to repair the broken bone so that I can move on with my life and not live with chronic pain! I am scheduled for a two-level lumbar fusion, during which my L4, L5, and S1 vertebrae will prepared to fuse together over the course of the upcoming months. I hope to update this blog to keep family and friends in touch with my progress, and to keep myself entertained and occupied during the weeks I'll be at home 'fusing'! |