Hey guys so I wanted share a bit of a personal experience. A few weeks ago @missy and @rambo posted a homework about the "scariest thing you've ever done." Well for me, the scariest thing I've ever done was go through back surgery on December 11th 2014.
Early in 2014 I was dancing at a small liberal arts college and injured what I thought was my hip. I have had problems with my hips in the past while dancing so I didn't think much of it when I felt sharp pain shoot through the back of my right hip. After a few weeks of that pain it spread to shooting from my hip to my knee. It felt like someone was running a knife up and down the side of my leg. I spent most nights not sleeping and most days frustrated with the pain. After a few weeks of that, it spread down to my foot all the way to my little toe. At this point I was waking up crying and could not relieve they pain at all. I started taking pain medicine routinely, which I truly hate to do.
Late May of 2014 I returned to my parents' house for a few months (the summer and fall semester, because I had decided to not go back to that college) and I saw my doctor. I spent almost a month and a half trying to figure out what was wrong with my hip until we figured out that I had a herniated disc in my lower back that was pressing on my sciatic nerve which caused all the pain the my leg. I went through unsuccessful physical therapy and received 4 steroid (epidural like) shots in my spine. Those treatments actually made the pain worse as well as my job of working at a pizza place, but I couldn't quit because I needed to save money to move to my new college in December.
Beginning of December of 2014 I met with a back surgeon in St. Louis and learned that this was my only option besides living with the pain. He didn't pressure me into it, but I needed to be out of pain to live a happy life. So at 20 years old I made the decision to get the surgery done and found out that he had an opening on December 11th. I cried every night leading up to my surgery and blamed it on the series finale of Sons of Anarchy.
On December 11th 2014 I went into the hospital and spent most of the day in surgery. I woke up to a lot of pain in my back, but non in my leg.
On December 12th 2014 I was cleared to go home and spent the next two weeks on bed rest. My parents had to help me with every little detail of my every day life. Below is my scar the day I got home:
On December 26th 2014 I was cleared to have my surgical tape removed from my scar (they used this instead of stitches because it is easier to remove and works well as long as it doesn't get wet) and I moved from St. Louis, MO to Central Florida. Below is my scar 2 weeks after the surgery:
Below is my scar 6 weeks after surgery (also at this point I was no longer on any pain medication):
This past year has been an incredibly bumpy road for me, but I couldn't have dreamt to be in a better place that I am now. I am one year into my degree program. I am with the most supportive guy I've ever met. I am pursuing my dream of being a Suicide Girl. I have met some amazing people through this site. I am really the happiest I've been in a long time. I'm so glad that I'm not as negative as I was last year. Being in pain every day has a terrible effect on a person's attitude. Now I'm truly in a great place and I'm moving forward onto awesome things.
Thank you to @sunshine for seeing something in me last year. And really thank you to everyone else that has been so wonderful on here. I can't wait to continue my journey from here.
