So it started a little over a month ago, maybe two months at the longest I can't remember for sure. It started as just some back pain, and that back pain got worse and worse. Finally he went to the doctor and was told he has arthritis in his back. He then went to another doctor to get his shoulder checked out, he has had surgery before on his shoulder years ago. That doctor said he would do surgery on his shoulder in July after they figured out what was really going on with his back, and after they fixed his back if his shoulder was still bugging him.
About three weeks ago things just went from bad to worse. Over time my dad has been able to walk less and less. He had just started a new job as a school bus driver. A job he thought he would be able to do with a bad back and shoulder. Last week he came home and said he had taken a leave of absence because he did not feel safe driving the bus anymore.
He then went back to his doctors office and another doctor saw him because his normal doctor was out of the office at the time. This new doctor suggested an MRI of his neck. We all found this very odd since all the pain seemed to be in his back and he was having problems with his left leg and being able to use it at all, by this point he pretty much was just dragging his left leg behind him now.
Last Wednesday he went in for his MRI. The MRI tech called his doctor right away and told him he needed to see this now. We then got a call from his doctors office that he will be coming in Friday to talk with the doctor about the MRI. From there he was referred to a nuro doctor and was squeezed in as an emergency appointment.
Today was his apt with the nuro doctor and was admitted to the hospital right away. The doctor told him and my mom that his neck is fused in place and that it is cutting off his spinal cord. If they were to let this go and continue the way that it is now it would make it's way to the nerves that control his lungs and he would be put on a respirator.
So tomorrow first thing in the morning the doctor is going to take my dad into surgery, they will try but do not think that they will be able to repair any of the damage that has already been done. What they are mostly going in for is to stop it where it is at now. It will take between six months and one year to know how much my dad will regain as far as walking and being able to use his left side anymore.
There is also a chance that he will be on a respirator after surgery due to the area that they are operating on. If his neck and spinal cord swell they will have to put him on a respirator for sure.
He has not had the surgery and they are already talking that he will most likely be in a wheelchair, for a while at least. As of right now he can't bathe himself anymore, he can barley get around the house by himself, he has to stop and take breaks just going from his bedroom to the kitchen. All the while dragging his left leg behind him.
After surgery he will be in the hospital for about three to four days and then most likely will be moved to a rehab facility to live for a while.
As of right now we are just waiting for tomorrow for the doctor to come out from the surgery and let us know what is going on. From there we will start to know more day by day. I will try and update this blog with any progress that he is making.
Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts through all of this. This is very hard for him, he is not the type of person that will let others do things for him. He wants to do everything by himself. And for him going into this surgery knowing that he may never get any better than he is right now is very hard and devastating for him.
