Rough Times

I know it has been a while since I posted, but it has been a rough time. I don't want to whine and want to keep this blog positive, but I better let people know where I am. Right before Halloween I was doing great. On Wednesday I was feeling a little sore (in my back) but no big deal. By Wednesday night it was starting to hurt so I decided to go to the chiropractor on Thursday (Halloween).
That afternoon we went to the kid's school for the Halloween parade. We had to walk 2 or 3 blocks away. The walk to the school was hurting me. The walk back almost brought me to tears. My leg started hurting from my butt to my foot, but it was the feeling that my foot was asleep that had me scared. I called the doctor right away and scheduled an appointment for the next day. Halloween night was a blast with the kids and my brother came with his two kids and Mary's friend brought her kid a lot of fun.
The next morning the doctor said I should get an MRI because the numbness made him nervous as well. He told me I could not do any "extreme weightlifting" (he meant no crossfit). That obvious to me because I knew I was in no shape for that. However, I started what I would consider a dark time for me. I don't know if I felt sorry for myself, but I started to lose hope. I questioned if I would be able to go back to Crossfit or if I could how long would it be.
The doctor gave me some pain meds and some anti-inflammatories, and muscle relaxers. That night I took enough to function and went to Crossfit Omaha's Halloween Party with Mary. We went as Hugh Heffner and one of the bunnies. The twist was that I was the bunny. I won't put any pictures up because it was truly disturbing. However, I did win first place for guy's costume. I had fun, but inside I was upset that I couldn't do crossfit for a while.
The MRI was the next week and showed that I have a "significant" herniated disc between L4 and L5 Vertebrae. That's what they told me. I talked to the Physical Therapist and he said that we would probably be doing plenty of PT and I might be getting epidural injections, but probably wouldn't need surgery. Just a lot of time. Neither of us had seen the MRI yet, but I was scheduled to see the Neurologist the next day.
At the Neurologist office I was shown pictures of my MRI by the doctor's PA. It was obvious how bad the herniated disc is. I also was shown I have two more bulging discs. I was told I could wait to see if it healed itself, but most likely would not. I could get the epidural to help with pain, but it would not help heal the nerves. My third option was surgery. If the other two options failed and I opted for surgery then time was against me. People that wait 3 to 6 months to do the surgery have a much greater possibility of permanent nerve damage. She suggested surgery.
To me this was a death sentence. I would be done with Crossfit altogether and would be doomed to a lifetime of back trouble. The blues I was already feeling almost made me cry. I had been on my dead ass for 15 years and now that I wanted to do something I was forced out by something beyond my control. When the Neurologist came in she told me pretty much what the PA had. She talked about the surgery like it was no big deal. I would be off work for 2-3 weeks minimum and could do the surgery as soon as next week. It would be outpatient and I would walk right out. She asked if I had any questions and of course in my mind I only had one, would I ever do Crossfit again. She said I would be back to normal activities the first week and back to "weightlifting" in two or three months. It was like a lead weight was lifted off of me. There was light again. However I know it will not be easy. I just have to do it.
I always question what people tell me so i looked it up on the Internet. I won't bore you with the surgery, but I did find this link:
http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/back-surgery/microdiscectomy-microdecompression-spine-surgery
I am hoping everything goes well and I plan to be back in the saddle soon. The surgery is scheduled for Dec 5. We will see what happens. I already feel like a slug and every fiber of me wants to go workout. I saw Ricky and some of the gang at Crossfit Omaha this morning and it was eating at me to be there. I never thought I would feel like this, but it isn't a bad thing. By the way the picture is of Mary and I at the Nebraska vs Baylor game. It was the first time just the two of us went to a game in 2 years. It was great.