Progress

The surgery went well! I now have my three lower lumbar vertebrae fused into one with the help of plates and screws and a "cage" between 4&5 that has some of my bone from my pelvic bone stuffed inside it. The surgery took about 3-1/2 hours. I had the perfect nurse anesthetist--arranged for her to put me to sleep 2 weeks before the surgery. She used a slightly smaller ET tube to protect my vocal cords. I didn't even wake up with a sore throat.
The first couple of days were the worst. I couldn't even turn myself in bed. But then gradually better every day. I was walking the full length of the hall and around the corner before I left the hospital. Got home a week ago yesterday afternoon.
I don't even have to go back to see my surgeon for another month. He said I could basically do anything that doesn't hurt, except no lifting of 10 pounds or more. In the detailed printed instructions, he said that by the time I come back for the follow up, I should be walking 1 or 2 blocks a day. I'll be doing more like 1 or 2 miles a day by then. I already am walking all the way down our block, which is actually more like 2 blocks by the house numbers.

Hope to go to Chorus practice tonight. Only missed one rehearsal.

I've got plenty of books to read, only problem is I read slowly and sometimes drift off to sleep while on Lortab.

I could hardly get to sleep last night for thinking of a book I could write. I will sit and jot down all those ideas today. (Of course, I should have jotted them down while they were swirling around in my mind last night!) I now have 2 published articles (whoo hoo!!) and had a hard time keeping them short enough. So Maybe I can write a book. I have enough interesting and funny things about my nursing career to fill a small book. Of course it's all in my head right now, and must be dredged up and enhanced "fictionalized" a lot. Can hardly wait to get started. But sitting at my computer is the hard part right now.