The 3 things I never knew I needed until I had surgery
If you are just joining me here — welcome. A few weeks ago, I had an anterior lumbar interbody fusion with posterior minimally invasive L5-S1 fusion. That’s a lot of words for back surgery. Once surgery was scheduled, I decided to start writing again and decided that I would chronicle — as close to daily as possible — the journey.
I’m a firm believer in the power of storytelling to heal. While the body itself is undergoing major trauma, we cannot ignore the importance of the mental and emotional tolls it can take. Frankly, it has been years of mental and emotional struggle with ongoing back pain and limitations.
Going into the surgery planning, I began looking for personal stories from people — not just about what the surgery was like for them but what they did to get by day to day. Challenges and triumphs alike. I found a few people who have been terrific in sharing — but ultimately, it was not as easy as I expected. Most people talk about their struggle with opiates longer term or secondary surgeries, or infections. But, I needed practical how-did-you-go-to-the-bathroom after talk.
There were several pre-op purchases made to be prepared. And while the toilet riser was great for a few days, I probably could have survived without. Of the items procured, the following are items I may actually use long past the healing.
Grabber / reacher tool. This has become invaluable. As I’m unable to bend, the tool allows me to pick things up that I drop, or are on the floor, or a lower shelf. I can also grab things off higher shelves. While I doubt that I will need it longer term for helping get dressed, I can see this coming in handy in the grocery store. And, I’ve already written how I may use this for picking up trash on my recovery walks.
Reusable straws. This one might seem odd, but the ability to sip some water in the night is so much easier with a straw. Get a cup with a lid and straw combo for the best set up. Medications cause dry mouth really, really badly. Plus, I’m just one of those people who wakes at night and needs a drink of water. I also have a tendency to knock over my cup — and if I don’t, I can count on a cat to do it for me.
Tablet / phone “pillow” holder. I read a lot on my phone — books, Washington Post, Medium. I also like to play games to help start my day or wind down my brain at the end of the day. Having a soft holder that can lay on my lap, or torso while laying down, has been awesome. It’s not laziness; it’s simply better for you to not hold a phone or tablet for long periods of time.
Those are my top three. Coming in a close fourth place is the cane. It obviously helps walking through recovery as I have one leg weaker and with more nerve pain than the other. Plus, it’s fun to point at stuff with it. I can imagine I may need it again in the future sometime. The cane, as great as it is, seems to be nothing more than a target on your body while walking in certain large box retailers that shall not be named. It also caused my fitness tracker to not capture all my steps today. Which is odd, but I’ll survive that one. For now.
Song of the day: Nightflyer, Allison Russell
