[LeArc] The saga of the back

[learc@mailman.qth.net]

Just came back from the neurosurgeon....

For all of you guys at the 85th who thought I was faking...

I get to have back surgery.  YAY!!! (yeah right).  I have 3 discs that are bulging now, instead of 2 like before, but only 1 of them requires surgery at this point.  I have better than 1/2 inch of bulge in the L4-L5 space, that has all of the nerves pushed to the back of the spinal area.  They want to go in and remove the bulge.  Luckily, they are not talking about a fusion.  They are going to do it microscopically.

They plan on 2 to 3 hours on the table, and overnight in the hospital.  Then I get to take 6 to 8 weeks off of work (that I can't afford).

Thank you to the United States Army Hospital at Fort Knox for getting the call wrong (freaking 3 month profile and go back to work).

I don't know if I can talk myself into actually doing it though.  It's not that I am worried about anything going wrong, but It is different than what I am used to with the "putting oneself in danger thing".  I don't like the idea of having no control over what happens.

Anyway... I have been cleared to go back to work, but if I lose more than I already have, to go to the hospital right away.  They are worried about losing functions in the male anatomy that I would prefer not to lose (I won't say anymore.... you can figure it out).

I have health insurance through work, so actually paying for the surgury is no big deal.  Then I get to take it all over to the VA and try to get a disability rating.  The only problem I have right now is that I don't have disability insurance through work, so I had to talk the Doc into letting me go back to work for awhile to save up the money to be able to take 6 to 8 weeks off.

Oh well...  try not to have to much fun guys...  will keep you informed about when I actually go under the knife.  Probably in about a month or month in a half I would think.

Frank