UPDATE

Oh dear, this has been a tough year for me health wise. I spent most my days in pain since November & had a laparoscopy in Feb to remove endometrisis. The pain, however, returned after 4 weeks & resulted a hysterectomy in May.

 

In June we went to Cape Town for 2 weeks, during which I picked up a cold & was coughing a lot. On the way back I had terible back pain & leg cramps. Went to physio upon return, but that didn't prevent the foot from becoming numb & sore.  After 4 weeks of agony I bravely made my way to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday morning. The doctor suspected a slipped disc so I had to go for X-rays & MRI immediately. He was correct. The disc was pressing against a nerve causing the numbness & pain in the left leg as well as reducing my ability to controll my bladder. It had to be removed urgently, else I could lose my leg & bladder functions. He called for a porter & sent me straight away to the neurosurgeon who was already waiting for me.

I was taken up in hospital same day & scheduled for back operation the next morning. I spent 2 days in ICU & was discharged on Saturday afternoon. No driving for 6 weeks.


For the first 2 weeks I had to be mostly flat on my back then was able to become a little more mobile. I'm so glad it's getting warmer now, that helps tremendously in reducing the pain.  Thanx to MIA's Caring With Meals, I didn't need to worry about cooking for the first 2 weeks as they sent meals for our family daily. I've been lying on the couch since with my laptop on a breakfast tray on top of the coffee table so at least I can use my mouse & play Farm Town, to keep me a little bit sane. 

I can finally feel my toes again. The muscles are still stiff & will need some physio. My ankle & calves still get quite sore at times, but I seem to be able to manage it by applying my warmed-up beanbags. Sitting for long periods still also becomes painfull but I'm quite happy to have been able to reduce my dependancy on pain killers. The doctor said it could take up to 12 months for the pain to completely disappear because of the damage that was caused to the nerves. But as long as I stick to doctor's orders it can only get better.

 

Through it all, Clive & the boys have been extremely supportive & pulled their weight in helping wherever they could. Clive's been taking them to school in the morning & a friend has been bringing them home after school.

 

Tomorrow starts week 6 of my post op recovery... next week I'll be up & running again... should be able to get back to my chores... catch up on all my backlogs of paperwork, shopping etc. However, schools close on Wednestay giving me 2 extra weeks recovery time & allowing me to get back to driving slowly. Hopefully this will be the last of my health problems for many years to come.