“…dem Bones, dem bones, dem dry bones…” I remember singing that as a kid.
Hello to both of my followers 😉. I hope anyone reading this blog is safe and well, and enjoying the summer, or winter for my antipodean friends. This is a personal post for me, and I’m probably writing it so I can clear my head.
I have complex spinal injuries from my service in the military, which plague me to this day. One particular problem is in my neck. Several of the discs were bulging back and dangerously compressing my spinal cord. Two years ago I had surgery to remove three discs and fuse the vertebrae with metal implants. It didn’t go to plan, and within a few days I lost much of the strength and feeling in my right arm and hand. Two of the three metal implants had failed, compressing the nerve root even more. Further surgery failed to repair it, so the paralysis is now permanent.
More recently I’ve had similar loss of sensation, and weakness in my left arm and hand. I was due to have another surgery in January but pretty much every ‘non-emergency’ was cancelled as we in the UK went into our third national lockdown.
Last week I find out its back on. Like, tomorrow back on! I had the pre-assessment, and covid test done over the weekend. By 0830hrs tomorrow, I’ll be under the knife. There are risks with all surgeries, but mine include quadriplegia or other levels or paralysis.
Now, you might think I’m fishing for sympathy. I’m not. It is what it is. I’ve known other people, in particular other veterans, who could put my injuries to shame. But for the first time in my life, I’m feeling apprehensive about having an operation on my spine. This is number 5 in total. The other two were to repair where I had actually broken the vertebra the base of the spine.
Like I said, I’m writing this for me, as it helps me organise my thoughts to document things while struggling with PTSD, but I’m happy to share with anyone who has experienced similar injuries, or PTSD, or any other mental health issues.
I shall write a new blog as soon as I can after surgery.
Stay safe. Stay awesome. Remember, it has to get dark for the stars to shine. It’s okay not to be okay. Don’t keep things inside, and talk to a friend, relative, or even a complete stranger. But do talk to someone.
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