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September 25, 2013
September 25: The Road to Recovery
First of all, my apologies for being so slack about writing updates. Thank you to everyone who has continued to ask about my health. Life has been gradually returning to normal, which means extremely busy. The good thing is that I have been able to handle it really well. My symptoms, namely numbness and tingling in my feet, have generally subsided. I am a lot more coordinated and fluid in my movements and gait.
My follow-up MRI showed that the edema around my spinal cord has decreased. The enhancement was also less severe than before. My neurologist was very encouraged by the results. He thinks that the space created by the procedure, in conjunction with the steroids, were what helped to relieve my symptoms. Given my physical recovery, reaction to drugs and therapy, the neuropathology report, and the latest spinal cord imaging, he reconfirmed what was his original diagnosis: acute inflammation. This is good news, because tumor cells were the alternative.
I am now back to work at the office as well. I had been working from home for a couple months. This was helpful because it took the stress of driving and commuting off my back. It also gave me more time to perform my therapy routines at home. But it's also good to be back in the office. It restores my original routine and helps me keep in touch with my coworkers.
I further reduced my medication program as well. I am fully off the narcotics, steroids, both muscle relaxers, and stool softeners. I continue to take an anticonvulsant, which is extremely helpful for my condition. I am still fine tuning the dosage and frequency but think I have found good amounts.
I completed my courses of physical and occupational therapy. Both of my therapists were pleased with my progress and happy to release me to the wild. I am doing real exercises again, which makes me feel great. I'm working with a personal trainer at my gym. He understands my condition and tailors my workouts and activities appropriately. I have even been running. I ran a 5K race and have been jogging around my neighborhood. I've had a few unrelated minor injuries, including a calf strain and a groin strain, which have limited me a little bit. But I am working through them as I continue to work out and get back into shape.
The trickiest part continues to be my manual dexterity. My right hand is still numb and lacks control, but it has actually been getting better over the past month. My tactile sense is improving, and I am able to do things a little more normally. I am practicing typing with each finger as opposed to just using my index finger to mash on the keyboard.
Overall, I am doing things more and more without really thinking about them. I'm able to complete daily tasks and generally go about my business without putting in the mental effort and concentration that I needed to just a few months ago. I'm able to kick a soccer ball again with fluid motion and facility, but I am still in forced retirement from actual competition.
I got clearance to give blood as well. I've given platelets twice, and will continue to visit the vampires as often as possible.
I've commissioned a painting from one of my artist friends. He has had spine surgery as well, and as such is in a unique position to understand my situation. The painting features a skull and the cervical vertebrae with the word "Strength" written beneath. The word is in the old-fashioned font common in old hand-drawn medical diagrams. It is nearly complete, and I will post a picture of it here when it is done.
I knew going in that this process would take a lot of time. It has been 5 1/2 months, and I'm now starting to see some recognizable progress. I will keep putting in the effort to recover physically and neurologically from this incident.
Posted by jon at 11:57 PM