RiverBend Hospital and Back: Three weeks ago today,  I began to have trouble walking; by early Tuesday morning, I could barely make it a few feet by myself. Barb and I thought that it'd be a good idea to visit the ER later that morning. It took about three hours to be put into a room for an examination (not the worst story I heard during my stay there; more on this later).

Long story short, after a few simple tests and then a CT, I was told that I had a large-sized tumor surrounding the vertebrae on my spine at about the T2 area and that I'd need to have it removed as soon as possible. I was a little surprised and not a little angry that the tumor was not discovered until then, as I had been repeatedly scanned by the folks at NIH during the last seven months. Met the surgeon later that night, who said that the operation was set for the following morning. A few of the staff (and my oncologist, who stopped by to see me in the morning) told me that if I was going to have back surgery, this was the guy I wanted to have, which helped put me as close to ease as I could be.

The surgery was seven hours, and I have a scar that runs around twelve inches as a souvenir. The doc shored up the vertebrae that were surrounded by the tumor with pins. I was also told that I had to have radiation treatment after I'd healed enough (I started last Wednesday; it's going to last for ten days). In addition, I was given a very uncomfortable neck and back brace to wear for the next three months, at least while I'm sitting up or walking.

Barb said that it took me about a day to recover from the surgery to the point where I was semi-alert. She thought that I was in so much pain that my mind didn't want to deal with it (I don't discount this; the first couple of days after the surgery, the pain was excruciating).

I still have some numbness from about the middle of my chest down; it's a bit like neuropathy, but has improved slightly during the last week and a half.

I was released from the hospital on 10th; the stay was a few days longer than either Barb or I thought it should have been (considering that the staff was largely leaving me on my own for the last part of my stay). Most of the staff was great, but I understand that the hospital is understaffed, which isn't very comforting.  I was supposed to go to a rehab facility to help me improve enough to come home, but when I was taken to the one the staff of RB chose for me, I was told that my insurance informed the rehab place that I was able to walk too far on my own to qualify for financial help. So I was carted back to the hospital to wait for Barb to pick me up.

Despite it being a bit of a challenge being home, it's a huge relief to be out of the hospital. My pain has greatly lessened from even earlier this week, and while I have to use a walker to get around for the time being, I feel a slight improvement every day. Of course, I'd be completely lost without my wonderful wife.

This post has been rather matter-of-fact, but I did want to let people know what was going on. There's a ton more to say about the last two and a half weeks, but the brace I'm wearing is beginning to get a little too uncomfortable. Hope to update soon.