Green Light Means Go! Six Weeks Post Op...

Went to see Dr. Tatsumi for my six week post surgery appointment this past week.  One of the first things he asked me was "Do you have a blog?"  It seems that one of his patients had read my blog after a Google search and had told Dr. Tatsumi about it.  Wow.  He said that she wanted to make sure that when I came in again, that he told me how much she appreciated being able to read about someones experience with the Artificial Cervical Disc Replacement Surgery. 

We chatted about how I felt (which is pretty darn good), he tested my strength and feeling in my hands, and he showed me my X-rays.  I had had the X-rays taken right before this appointment. 

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The artificial disc is that bright white piece in the middle of my neck!

He said the device was sitting in the exact location it should be.  He assured me that it won't set off the airport metal detectors! He took his time with me and answered any questions I had.  I was given the green light to return to my normal activities.  I won't snowboard until next season, and I'll save my extreme downhill mountain biking for next summer, but other than that I'm going to back to my normal exercise routine.  This includes yoga, running and working out with a trainer once a week.  I know I'll be a little (or a lot) rusty, but am looking forward to using my muscles again!

I am feeling about 95% at this point.  Still have some muscle soreness and tightness in the left side of my neck and shoulder, but not as bad as pre-surgery.  This gets better as time goes by.  Also, I sometimes feel the burning in my left arm and hand that I had pre-surgery.  Again, this is SO much better than it was and is very infrequent.  I am taking an Aleve in the morning and nighttime to help with this soreness.  I did get a chair massage a week ago to help with some of the tightness in my neck and shoulders.  I have also scheduled an appointment with Tara Nikzi, Acupuncturist, http://www.therapiaclinic.com/practitioners.html, to help speed the muscle relaxation and promote the scar healing.

I have been prescribed six weeks of Physical Therapy, and I went to my first appointment the day after my appointment with Dr. Tatsumi.  I am seeing Matt Onderdonk, PT at OHSU Center for Health and Healing which is conveniently located two blocks from my condo. http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/providers/onderdom.cfm  He is being assisted by a PT intern named Laura.  They did an assessment and gave me some exercises to do a couple of times a day.
 
We were at the mountain this past weekend, and the snowboarding conditions were perfect.  Hated to miss out on a bluebird powder day on my board, but I strapped on the snowshoes and did a four mile snowshoe from Timberline Lodge to part of the Alpine Trail which leads down to Government Camp.  Coming uphill from the Alpine Trail at 5,500 ft. elevation was a good workout!

A gorgeous day for a snowshoe!

While I was waiting to meet up with Mark after my snowshoe, I chatted with Nick, the lift operator of the Mile Chair at Timberline.  We compared scars when I found out that he had a similar surgery a year or so ago.  His injury was much more exciting than mine though.  He was a Emergency Rescuer for the Army, and during a rescue, his rope snapped while he was dangling from a helicopter.  He dropped to the ground and broke his neck!  He is now retired and living the dream working at Timberline!

My next appointment with Dr. Tatsumi is in another six weeks.