A Real Pain in the Neck!

I had a little reality check today.  I walked into the Dr.'s office feeling OK about myself and walked out knocked down a peg or two.  I am nearing a month now since I  had c-spine surgery and was feeling somewhat good about myself and what I thought I could do.  

It has been said that everyone thinks they are better than they actually are, and this morning was no different for me.  I was somewhat proud of what I could do already.  I sat confidently in the little office playing with model spines and nerve cords while I  waited for the Dr. to see me.  

This is something I can't stand.  I really think they have hidden cameras in these rooms and they all sit out there watching you while you get more and more impatient and/or bored.  After I played with all the model spines, read all the anatomy posters on the walls, looked through the drawers that weren't locked, I started looking at the old magazines left in the room.  As I got half way through a women's fashion magazine he walked in.  It happens every time.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed but neurosurgeons may be brilliant, but they are lacking a bit in the people skills department.  He walks in looking like he was just out camping and his polar fleece was covered with long blonde hair.  I didn't even want to know.  I couldn't think much about it as the smell of fritos kept my attention.  I was starving and this guy is a walking frito.  

He begins by showing me my x-ray and tells me my bone grafts haven't made any progress at all.  In fact as he said, "they haven't even started to fuse."  Great.  Just what I wanted to hear.  I didn't even want to ask what was next if they didn't fuse but the words were out of my mouth before my brain could say no.  He said the bone grafts would die and that's where my feeble mind drifted off.  All I could hear over and over in my mind was die..die...die... d  i  e.  .  .        .

DIE!

I came back to reality just as he was saying, "Take it easy."  Cool, my mind is thinking die and take it easy.  

I'm sure everything is going to be fine in a few months.  I just have to grasp the fact that I am not superman and can't do everything right away.  So for the next couple of months until my next appointment with Dr. Die and his mystery affair with a hairy frito I'm just going to be taking it easy.  

For anyone interested this is my new hardware upgrade.  Those screws and plate run about $12,000 if your in the market.  Not your basic Lowe's stuff I hope.