Unexpected Back Surgery...Round 2

I feel like I'm having deja vu from exactly 2 months ago when I had back surgery because I'm in the same exact situation as I was then only this time everything happened much quicker and the recovery is much longer.  Like I mentioned, my back started hurting again just about a week and a half ago.  I was hoping I was just having back spasms but within a few days, I was having intense pains shooting down my right leg and my right foot and toes were going numb.  Even the pain killers I was taking weren't helping much and I was forced to take a few days off of work.  I was extremely lucky that I was able to get in to see my orthopedic surgeon immediately (who was rather shocked to see me since I had literally just been in the week before for my 8 week post-surgery appointment where I was cleared to run again) and had an MRI scheduled the next day.  I had an MRI last Wednesday evening and a follow up appointment with the surgeon on Thursday morning who told me I had herniated the same disc again between L4-L5 but it was on the right side and was blocking almost my entire spinal column which would explain the more severe nerve pain I was feeling.  He was actually surprised I wasn't having bladder issues since the herniation, as he put it, "was huge."  There was no question that I would need another discectomy the following morning.  Although all this was happening again, it really all worked out for the best in terms of how quickly I was able to get in to see the doctor and when they could schedule my surgery.  The surgeon only does surgery on Fridays and he's on vacation this week which meant if I hadn't been seen immediately, I would've had to wait until next Friday to have the discectomy.  I literally don't know how I would've survived another day with the pain.

 

Getting prepped up for surgery and ironically my nurse was actually one of my former cross country teammates at UD 

 

So incredibly lucky to have Todd by my side throughout this whole process

 Post-surgery I wasn't quite as nauseous as last time but was a lot more tired and don't even remember the car ride home or the first few hours at home.  Once I was awake and coherent, Todd broke the bad news to me that the surgeon had told him that I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavy, including Lucy, for 3 months and am not allowed to run for 6 months.  Last time, I wasn't able to pick her up for 2 weeks and run for 8 weeks....pretty big difference this time! To be honest, I'm totally fine with no running and don't anticipate it being a big part of my life anymore; however, not picking up Lucy for 3 months (which would be until November 1!) is going to be extremely challenging.  I'm not really going to be able to be alone with Lucy at all since I can't pick her up which means my mom is going to be helping out a lot more and Todd is going to adjust his work schedule to start going in earlier and getting home earlier.  It's going to be a big change for us but I know this is what I need to heal properly and make sure this never happens again.

 

At 5 days post-surgery, I'm moving a little more slower than last time and am needing more help getting up and down off from the couch, bed, etc.  I'm either supposed to be laying down or standing up and limiting how much time I'm sitting.  It seems like last time at 5 days post-surgery, I was feeling pretty good and am hoping I'll feel like that within the next week.  Part of my leg and foot are still numb but I now know that will take a few more weeks to feel normal again.  Just really trying to be more cautious and take it easy to have a full recovery!

 

My view from the couch while recovering...love watching these two play together

Trying to crawl over Todd

Best thing about my recovery this time compared to 2 months ago is Lucy can now crawl and make her way over to see me on the couch

Checking to see how I'm doing

and giving me lots of hugs...

and kisses