My appointment

Yesterday, as you know, I had my doctor's appt at USF. I was thrilled when the doc looked at my x ray and said that he saw some bone growth!!! He said it was just a tiny bit of growth-but none the less, it was growth!! He showed me in two spots where he saw the growth-oddly enough, it has started growing in the middle area first. He says that everyone is different-but all the people I have spoke with online, have had the growth start at the bottom and move up. No big deal-just proves that I am "odd" -(as Karen suggested-LOL :). I had really, REALLY hoped that, once they saw some bone growth, they would release me to "do more". But-they want me to wait until 3 months post op (my next appt is in Nov.) before they will talk about what I can do and to what extent I can do it! Frustrating-for sure! Originally, before my surgery, he told me I would be "out of commission" for 6 weeks-now.....3 months!? I can still drive short distances-thank God! I am grateful for that :). I can still walk as much as I can-thank God! I asked him if there was such a thing as "too much" walking and he said that I just had to listen to my body-if I was in pain when I finished a walk-then it was "too much". I asked about being able to "sit"-and he said "as tolerated". I am happy with that because some surgeons give a 15-20 min time limit for sitting. So.....what I can not do....... lift (he says I can lift my purse. A nurse told me, one day when I called, that I could lift a gallon of milk), bend (like that is even possible in this hard brace!), twist (again-not possible!), push (I refused to ask if that included a shopping cart-I did not want to ask in case he said "no"-Karen said since it is on wheels-It should be ok. I like her answer!), and pull. So, that pretty much includes everything but walking, sitting and laying!

I have been doing more than this already-but in moderation. I just can not let Brett do everything by himself for another 7 weeks! He said that it did not matter if it was going to "take a year" before I could help-I need to do what it takes to get better. I have not been doing much, just making the kid's lunches, cooking supper with help and the shopping (I make the "bag boys" keep the bags light-and they load everything in the car for me-then I put away the cold things and Brett puts away the rest). That is literally ALL I do. On a regular day I walk in the mornings, shower, lay in bed until time to get the kids from school. In the afternoons I make lunches and rest. In the evenings I make supper and rest. WHY......do I feel like I have to justify all of this? My point is......(if I can remember) I am being careful, I am listening to my body, and I am doing what it takes to stay sane and keep Brett from going nuts! Ok-I am done!

The pics are of my x rays. You can not see the "cages" from the side the x ray was taken from-I think they are on the anterior side of my spine-the x rays were taken from the posterior side. The doc said he could see them a little but I can't. Also-I think that they must not be made of metal or else they would be more visible.

So.........Karen and I had a really good time yesterday! I just love being with her! There are only a handful of people in an entire lifetime that you can really "let loose" with. I mean.....hold nothing back (literally!) and feel completely safe with. She is that person for me! We laugh so much together! I can (and HAVE) tell her anything! After my appt yesterday, we went to lunch. Then we went to the store to pick up a couple of things. After that, we came home and just relaxed and talked until time to get the kids from school. After they got home Karen cooked what she was bringing for our night out. She let Maddie help her with that-which Maddie loved! Then we were off to Tanya's house. We had a good time just kicking back and relaxing (and eating some really good food!)! It was just a really, really good day for me. I had so much fun and enjoyed every minute of the whole day!! Thanks Karen for taking me to the doctor and for staying with me all day!! Thanks Tanya for letting us invade your house for our night "out". Later today I will upload the pics from last night!