It all began in January with a winging scapula. “Winging
scapula?” you ask, no doubt with polite, lukewarm interest. I'm going to tell you anyway. It’s when the shoulder
blade sticks out, due to trauma or general mystery. I was also experiencing weakness
in my right arm and limited range of motion. To make a long story short, after
39 emails I was off on the insurance company’s dime on the 2 ½ hour flight to
Dubai, twice, the first time to see and orthopedist and the second to have some
nerve testing done. In between the two
trips, one of the scariest experiences of my life: an hour and a half in an aging MRI machine in
Baku, head pinned in a vice-like frame, subject to a deafening series of
bizarre noises and vibrating thumps, punctuated, deceptively, by periods of
silence, before a TICK TICK TICK TICK heralded a new round of ear-splitting
torture. But the MRI film was what was needed
to diagnose my condition: disc prolapse with degenerative osteophytes, and the proposed
cure: surgery.
Thus began a long but hurried quest for information. Long
because there was SO much to understand. Hurried because we were scheduled to
leave Baku in two months for a summer of travel: Italy, France, New York, Vermont,
California, Washington and New York again, before our move to Penang. I am so
very grateful for the wealth of information accessible on the internet, for
kind souls in an online forum willing to share their experience and
information, for the advancements in medicine that have made “minimally
invasive” spine surgery possible, for a couple of second opinions from surgeons
or spine clinics, for the fact that I had hardly any pain, unlike many who
suffer disk problems, and for what turned out to be really good health
insurance. Questions to explore: Was surgery the only answer? Could I afford to wait and
see? If surgery, what are the different options? What about my osteoporosis?How
long is recovery? Where could it be done?
When I learned that I risked permanent nerve damage or even
paralysis, I decided to go for it.
I learned that surgical procedures widely used in Europe are
not available in the US, due to delays in FDA trials and approval of a new
artificial disk, mainly as a result of litigation brought against the makers of
an older artificial disk against the maker of the newer, superior, one. Profit trumping people's health. So the disk of choice, the titanium M-6,
with its six-way action and no need for fusion, is made in California but not
available there. A whole group of US spine surgeons operate out of Cyprus,
using that disk and others. It is also available in at least two other spine clinics in
Europe, in England and Spain. I was able to secure a consultation with a highly
recommended neurosurgeon in England, and to plan a surgery date for the
following week, to replace not one but two disks. Plenty of nail biting and nagging emails
followed, and on Friday afternoon I got the word that the insurance company had
approved the procedure. Sunday I was on a plane for London, and Tom was able to
get compassionate leave from work to follow me a day later. Wednesday was the
big day.
I hear there were seven people in “theatre” with me during
the two-hour surgery, which went very well. Actually EVERYTHING has gone very
well. I write this 12 days post-op, back
to 80%+ energy level, and experiencing a dramatic improvement in range of motion in my
arm. We were even able to go ahead with a weekend
trip to Adana, Turkey 9-11 days post-op to see Ben, who is working in the area (will post on that separately).
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| K with first meal post-op: yogurt with forest fruits and muesli; morphine pump at right |
I had two nights in the UK private hospital, which, aside
from the surgery pain was very good, especially the food. For breakfast, yogurt
with forest fruits and muesli, for lunch avocado with shrimp salad. I had only
about 12 hours of horrible pain, through which a morphine pump was made
available. The morphine fog and itchiness got old fast and I had it removed but
then had one more shot of the drug, which was brought by a nurse in a syringe
and squeezed into my mouth, after we’d had a brief discussion on what it tastes
like—Campari, I decided. A morphine
shooter cocktail before shrimp and avocado. Can you imagine carrying around
morphine in a syringe in the US? In the afternoon and evening I was offered
tea. The place was actually quiet. So civilized.
Three days post op we had an unexpected and wonderful treat;
Ben was returning to work in Istanbul, flying in from DC, with a 7 hour layover
in London. We were able to arrange to meet in Winchester, about an hour by bus
for him and 30 minutes for us. We had
about two hours together, over lunch in at atmospheric pub. T and I returned the next day to Baku.
Here I am with neurosurgeon Chris Dare. And yes, he drives a flashy sports car (in background).
And here, the new bionic bits of yours truly:
