Why am I doing this blog??

It is funny...in general I have not been a huge blog reader per se...and I likely am not going to start now. But I felt that there was an incredible lack of information about the "success" stories about the type of surgery I am going to have next Monday...July 11, 2011 and I am bound and determined to be one of those success stories. You can find horror stories by the dozens and they break my heart to read them...but I have to think that this surgery would not be so widely recommended if it did not have positive outcomes for many people.

I will post a variety of stories about

• My history
• My diagnosis
• My surgical treatment plan
• My surgery
• My stay in the hospital (day by day...hopefully I am up to it)
• My rehabilitation
• My outcome after 1, 2, 3, 6, & 12 months

I know this blog is not for everyone but I know there are a lot of people out there that are just as scared and anxious about this as I am...I am writing this for you because I wish someone had written it for me. I found one great blog out there...and I have been in contact with him and wanted to give him a nod from a distance...his blog can be found at http://insanum.com/blog/spinal-fusion.html. He is 38 years old and 6'4" 230lbs...so a bit younger than me...but suffice it to say his story was an inspiration to me. He is the guy I want to be....I want to be writing six months from now that this was one of the best health decisions I have ever made in my life....who knows.

Bottom line...this is ELECTIVE surgery. No one is holding a gun to my head...least of all my surgeon. But at 54 years old (55 in October) I have been active all my life and plan to continue to do so for a loooong time. My kids are almost both in college and I am about to become an empty nester. I will miss my kids horribly on a day to day basis...but I am also looking forward to the opportunities it presents.

My quality of life has deteriorated over the last year...constant back pain, daily pain killers, and things I have eliminated from my list of activities...hiking, skiing, sex (yes you read that right...sex hurts...there is a song in there somewhere).

So the journey begins...more to follow later today.

Craig