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Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Dr. "You're a drug addict" much nicer
Well, we're back safe and sound from our trip to St. Louis for my follow up appointment with Dr. Gornet. Thankfully, he was much more pleasant this time around. No name calling, seemed happy to see me back, and best of all, he finally scheduled me for surgery!! WOOHOO!! We go back to St. Louis on August 2nd (1 day after Mom and Dad's anniversary) for my 3rd MRI, then I'm scheduled for surgery at 6:30 the next morning. He said he will go with the disc replacement surgery. They'll be going in through the front, so I'll have a scar somewhere on my stomach or side. He thought that a new chrome alloy replacement disc would be my best bet, so that's what we're doing. He showed us a model of it, and it looks pretty neat. Basically just a ball and socket joint, but there's fins above and below it, that he will have to place into the vertebrae above and below it. I'm a little concerned that this new replacement disc has not yet been approved by the FDA, but the hope of being pain free and able to move without help again outweighs that concern.
As we were leaving his office, Dr. Gornet asked if I would like to talk with a patient who had already had the surgery, and of course I said yes. So he went and got him out of the x-ray room. Gene, who was there for his 3 month follow up x-rays, was more than happy to talk with me. He said it was the best thing he had ever done. He said he was having to use a walker and have help before he had the surgery, said he was in pain constantly. He told me that he was 52, the he paused to look at me then smiled really big, then bent over and touched his toes, stood up, then touched them again. J and I both were impressed. Gene went on to tell me that he played 36 holes of golf the other day, two days later cut hay all day long, then bailed and loaded it all day the next day. But what I found more telling than anything he said or could've said, was the look on his face. He was genuinely smiling, there was no pained expression, there was no look of pain or hurt in his eyes. I want to see my face that way again. I don't want to have to hear anyone else tell me that they can see how bad I'm hurting just by looking at my face, that my eyes tell them more about the pain I'm in then I could with words.
Dr. Gornet told me that I would have to stay the night in the hospital, but that I would be free to come home the next day. He also warned me that I would have some leg pain. He said I wouldn't feel it right away, but about 7 to 10 days afterward. He explained that it would be normal, just pain from the nerves and everything being irritated and inflamed. Most people said that it got worse at night. But I'm not too worried about that, because I've been dealing with pain in my legs since this started, and it's always worse at night. He did say however that it would probably last for about 6 weeks. And before I even thought to ask, he assured me that he would give me some mild narcotics for that, but was quick to add that he wouldn't give me a lot and that it wouldn't be anything more than what normal people would get for pain. I tried to not even notice that little jab, at least he wasn't directly calling me a drug addict to me face anymore.
As we were leaving his office, Dr. Gornet asked if I would like to talk with a patient who had already had the surgery, and of course I said yes. So he went and got him out of the x-ray room. Gene, who was there for his 3 month follow up x-rays, was more than happy to talk with me. He said it was the best thing he had ever done. He said he was having to use a walker and have help before he had the surgery, said he was in pain constantly. He told me that he was 52, the he paused to look at me then smiled really big, then bent over and touched his toes, stood up, then touched them again. J and I both were impressed. Gene went on to tell me that he played 36 holes of golf the other day, two days later cut hay all day long, then bailed and loaded it all day the next day. But what I found more telling than anything he said or could've said, was the look on his face. He was genuinely smiling, there was no pained expression, there was no look of pain or hurt in his eyes. I want to see my face that way again. I don't want to have to hear anyone else tell me that they can see how bad I'm hurting just by looking at my face, that my eyes tell them more about the pain I'm in then I could with words.
Dr. Gornet told me that I would have to stay the night in the hospital, but that I would be free to come home the next day. He also warned me that I would have some leg pain. He said I wouldn't feel it right away, but about 7 to 10 days afterward. He explained that it would be normal, just pain from the nerves and everything being irritated and inflamed. Most people said that it got worse at night. But I'm not too worried about that, because I've been dealing with pain in my legs since this started, and it's always worse at night. He did say however that it would probably last for about 6 weeks. And before I even thought to ask, he assured me that he would give me some mild narcotics for that, but was quick to add that he wouldn't give me a lot and that it wouldn't be anything more than what normal people would get for pain. I tried to not even notice that little jab, at least he wasn't directly calling me a drug addict to me face anymore.
Posted by: LLH / 2:50 PM 
