Leaving the hospital was bitter sweet. My stay there was very pleasant due to the excellent care I received from all the nurses and staff there. The food there was also delicious. I am absolutely going to miss the 24-hour round-the-clock care I received; I must say I was getting spoiled. Nonetheless, I was well enough to be on my own. I met with Dr. Clavel this morning and asked a few pertinent questions relating to the aftercare of the surgery: what I should/should not be doing and the timeline of when I could add physical activities back in to my lifestyle. Sadly, I still have a long journey ahead of me.
Shortly after my arrival to the hotel, my physical therapist stopped by for a session. She did several exercises to strengthen and lengthen the muscles in my back and legs. Unfortunately, as a result of the surgery I have lost a lot of my flexibility. As long as I remain diligent and follow through with the recommended daily exercises I should regain my flexibility in no time. The pain I'm experiencing in my lower extremities should decrease as well overtime.
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| When I was discharged from the hospital, Yolanda, the Barcelona Spine
Center assistant, was kind enough to supply me with a photo from the
operating table. |
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| Just to give you an idea of what my spine looked like prior to the surgery, here is an MRI taken on 6/7/12. Notice the darkness and the protrusion of the last two discs, and the how the spine had lost its curvature. |
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