Damn Fistula

[rfranco5]

1

A short adventure that started on 16th of March 2009 in the life of Reyes Franco, family and the Damn Fistula.

As I lay on the bed in the ER with my daughter and son-in-law at my side, I told them, I think I have now lost control along with all sensation below my waist and the paralysis is complete. That was shortly after my daughter suggested that I should see about getting a pedicure.
My symptoms first showed themselves back in December when I helped a lady pack up and move from the retirement home where I work. I felt fatigue but no pain in my legs, centered around my thighs. This made it difficult for me to stand up straight without causing me pain and anxiety. I had never experienced this before no matter how hard I worked. Must be getting old, I thought. I got home in the afternoon, had a beer and rested. I had a good night's sleep and was just fine the following morning so I just forgot about it.
My problem did not come back until early Feb. after a grueling day of landscaping work at my house. I had used the wheelbarrow a bit and felt the fatigue again, just like in December. After a short nap, I tried to get out of bed and found I could not even stand, my legs refused to listen to my brain. In stead of yelling to her to show her I could not stand, I crawled from the bedroom, down the hall and to the kitchen to where my wife was to show her what my problem was. Of course, my wife scolded me for working too hard. She told me I was not getting old, I was old. A bit deflated, I crawled back to bed and to see if another nap would fix the problem like before. It did.
After that, whenever I did work where I had to use leg muscles, I noticed this problem would show up, but rest would fix it until the next time. You would think a person as smart as me would have put 2 and 2 together and come up with the realization that something was very wrong here. Evidently, I was/am not that smart
It wasn't until after my hospital stay that I realized my legs had been deteriorating for a few months now. I felt a tingling and numbness on both legs, but more pronounced on my left side. You how you hear all the noise about symptoms for heart trouble,so I thought it was my heart. I had my heart checked out by my primary care doctor and all was good. I was sure she was wrong because I also had tingling and numbness in my left hand.
I stopped taking my daily walks with my dog as I had been doing for years. I could not handle much walking without bringing on a tiredness in my legs that would take longer and longer to get back to normal.
This condition, which I will explain later was not caused by any activity that I did during the course of my work at home or Discovery Point Retirement Community. It took a long time for me to convince my wife of that, although she agreed with me, if only so I would quit arguing the matter. Either way, I agreed to not work so hard to keep her happy.
In late Feb. my wife suggested I go to our primary care doctor and have myself checked out. Since I had promised some time back to finally listen to my wife, I went to the doctor. By now my legs hurt on a regular basis. My doctor referred me to the Desert Pain Institute for tests to determine what the cause could be. I made an appointment to see the pain doctor on the 13th of March. Dr. Sorosky did a muscle /nerve test where he poke me all over my legs with a needle like probe, but found nothing wrong.
2

He looked at my X-rays and determined my pain was due to a herniated disc in my lower spine. Several nerves were being pinched by the protruding disc, also the reason I had back problems. Simple enough, I thought. An epidural was ordered for the following week.
Treatment was ordered for the 16th of March to relieve the pressure on the nerves. By now I was walking like a robot at times and had to sit often because of the weakness in my legs. I started to have urinary problems, some other stuff and a constant sense of anxiety. I had never been sick to speak off in my whole life. The wheels were starting to fall off the wagon.
On March 16th, at 2 PM I had an epidural in my lower back which was suppose to fix my problem. The doctor would inject a steroid into the problem disc area and the fix would be complete. I left the doctor’s office a little weak, walking fine and optimistic about the future of my back and legs. Justin and Sandra brought me home as I was not suppose to drive.
And then my adventure really began.
I got home and fixed a little dinner for us all. Justin and Sandra left about 4 PM. As I walked them out to their truck, I noticed weakness in my legs, said my goodbyes and went to sit in my recliner. As I sat there watching TV, I noticed a tingling and numbness in my left leg. I drank a beer to see if that would help but it did not. I thought that another beer would probably help but my wife over ruled me on that one. I was unable to swing my left leg as I could my right. As time went by, I felt a loss of sensation travel up my left leg if you can imagine that happening. I was concerned at this point so I called the doctor to report the situation I was in.
I called Dr. Sorosky, the pain doctor and told him what was happening, He said, “ay-ay-ay-ay, that is not suppose to happen”. Ay-Ay roughly translates to a bunch of I’s which translates to “OH SHIT! THIS DOESN'T SOUND GOOD”. He recommended that I go bed and report to his office in the morning. If things weren't better by then, it was a short hop to the hospital ER. We were both hoping this was temporary and I would be fine in the morning. It never dawned on me as to how I would get to his office at the rate I was losing my legs.
During this time, my lower body is losing sensation and I can practically see/feel the loss as it happens sequentially up and down both legs. This is strange, I thought, I don't remember reading in the epidural literature this being a consequence of the procedure. I was a little worried by this time.
In the spirit of fact finding and in an effort to determine my present status, I decided it would be a good idea to let my son, Julius the Shih Tzu, out the back door as it seemed to me like he wanted to go outside. Of course, I promptly fell on the carpet, unable to stand. However, since I was already on the floor, I figured I might as well continue with my research so I crawled to the back door and let the dog out. My wife had offered to do it before I fell, but I wanted to see if I could do it.
My legs were numb, but I could still use my knees to move around and go back to my recliner. At this point my wife was very critical about my activities and how I never listened to her and for me to sit down and relax, she would take care of things. I still felt like I could do things on my own and to prove her wrong and since I was not able to get back on my chair anyway, I crawled to the back door to let the dog in. By now my left knee no longer worked, so I must have made quite a sight as I tried to maneuver around the carpet and tile trying to get from place to place. I did not notice my rug burns until a week later and of course my wife told me that happened because I did not listen to her.

3

We sat around and watched TV for while and also keeping an eye on any improvements to my legs. At 8 PM or so, I figured that my wife was probably right and I should go to bed to see if things would be better if I lay down. I had sat in my recliner watching the drama unfolding in my own body for a couple of hours. All sorts of things going through my head. This was a very strange thing to experience and the situation seemed to be steadily going downhill. I should have gone to the hospital then.
I could now use only my upper body to move around and propulsion was done entirely by me using my elbows and shoulders to move along the floor to my bed. I put my t-shirt under my knees for protection and to slide better as I traveled to my bedroom. The sensation that came over me while doing this was one where you hit your funny bone and it is sort of funny, yet painful at the same time. As I crawled along the floor, my little dog thought it was a good idea to jump on my back and go for a ride. He thought I was playing with him as I swatted at him to get him off me as things were hard enough.
He playfully bit my hair, ears and anything he could find and for some reason I thought it was amusing, until my wife yelled at him to stop what he was doing. He had crawled on my thighs and was humping my legs for all he was worth as I was trying to crawl to bed. That must have been a sight.
Of course, once I got to bed, I found it impossible to actually climb on the bed, even after 30 minutes of exhaustive effort on my part, plus my wife’s encouragement and the dog safely out of the way. I just did not have the upper body strength to pull myself up. My rubbery legs were not much help. How in the world do people in this condition manage to do so much, I thought. I sat on the floor propped up by leaning on the wall. I would grab and raise one foot at a time, let go and it would flop to the floor. Reminded me of my poor mija and her situation.
I had no control or feeling on either leg and little sensation in my mid-section. Toes,wiggle, I said. They did not listen to me. My brain sent orders but my legs had gone AWOL and yet there was still more bad news to come.
Here we go.
I figured since I had crawled that far to the bed, I might as well make myself comfortable and sleep on the floor. My wife got me a pillow and blanket. I was exhausted and felt I would probably just go to sleep and wake up in the morning and everything would be fine. Actually, serious doubts were now at the forefront of my thinking. I think my wife and I knew that there was something very wrong and were just hoping for the best. I could see the anguish on her face at not being able to help me, except to say,“ come on, you can do it”. Fine fix we were in. This would have been another good time to have gone to the hospital. Some of us never learn.
I tossed and turned trying to get comfortable but sleep eluded me. Sometime around 4 AM I told my wife that maybe I should go to the ER because I did not think the situation was getting any better but actually getting worse. I thought about calling 911, but I think my wife and I decided we did not want the spectacle of having the fire truck, the ambulance and sirens going on and on at this time of morning around our house. The neighbors were all asleep and we felt they should continue to enjoy the peace and quite this fine morning was offering. This issue almost became a mistake from where things would not have returned to normalcy, for me and my family.


4


We decided to call my son-in-law for assistance in getting to the hospital. I was flat on my back in the hallway and I figured that was as good a place as any to wait for my ride to the ER. While waiting, my wife got some clothes for me to put on as I lay on the floor so that I would be decent upon my arrival at the hospital. I was on my back, could not sit and had trouble reaching my feet to begin dressing. I probably looked like a dying cockroach trying to wiggle all over the place. It took me a good 45 minutes to put on a pair of underwear, shorts, socks and a sweater. That was some of the hardest work I have had to do in my life. I think I was probably crying hysterically, but my wife tells me I was not, so I will go with how she remembers things. By this time I was pretty worried about the situation and was wondering what the heck had gone wrong.
When Justin and Sandra arrived, the first thing out of my mouth was“ Mija, you didn't need to come all the way over here.” To which she replied “Your my dad.” I think I hurt her feelings. Later I realized two things. One, it was insensitive of me to say that to her. Two, I still thought the situation was not that bad and did not want to inconvenience anyone. I tell you, sometimes I surprise myself as to how dumb I can be. Then again, it should not surprise me anymore.
Justin told me that when the phone rang at his house at such an early hour, he knew it was not the lottery people calling him to tell him some good news. It was me.
Justin and Sandra brought a wheelchair and the fight was on to get me upon that thing. As much as Justin and I have dealt with Sandra and moving her around, you would think our technique would be polished and there would be no problem getting me on the chair. For some reason, we couldn’t get me on the bed from the floor so I could transfer to the chair. I pulled, he pushed, we stopped and regrouped but to no avail. For some reason I thought this was funny or maybe I was just worried silly. There were so many things going through my head that it was difficult for me to sort things out. I was in no pain at this time. Finally, we did manage to put me in the chair and off we went to his truck, parked in my driveway.
Again, for some reason, we forgot how to transfer into the truck from the chair. I suggested I go in headfirst so that I could pull myself in and he could push my legs in after me. Trouble was, I pulled myself all the to the driver’s side and Justin could not push my legs into the passenger side of the truck as there was no room to maneuver.
The problem became one where I could not push myself out and he was probably afraid to hurt my legs if he pulled too hard. He was pulling and I was pushing until we finally managed to get me back on the chair without me landing on the concrete. We rested a bit and gave it another go until we finally did it.
I think we were laughing on the way to the hospital both agreeing our technique was all wrong and it should not have been as hard as it was. I have been meaning to ask him if we were laughing during our struggle or not. Seems to me we were. I know it was not a laughing matter but you had to have been there.
I elected to go to a hospital about a mile from my house as I figured it would be convenient for me and my family if the need to be admitted became a reality. Besides, I did not think I would be there very long.

5

Getting out of the truck was no problem because we had discussed how we would do it on the short drive to the ER.
I think I was still a bit optimistic about things and for the life of me I do not know why that would be, hindsight being what it is. While in the ER waiting room I almost fell out of the wheelchair because I could not control of my body if I leaned forward even a little bit. I was strapped in the chair to prevent a fall. All I needed was a cracked skull to complement the problem with my lower body.
I was admitted quickly, an exam was done and was found to be in serious trouble. I needed a neurosurgeon quickly but none are available in the East Vally, so plans were made to move me to the Barrows Neurological Institute at Saint Joseph’s Hospital. So much for the convenience of being admitted close to home. Barrows is world renowned for neural-treatment, so I was pretty happy about the swap.
As I waited for transfer to St. Joe’s, I had a Cat Scan, an MRI, and MRA, a Mxi-Scan, X-rays and few other tests to determine where the problem was and what to do about it. Everyone knew I was in trouble but no one knew what the problem was. The ER doctor told me he was going to give me a rectal exam. I told him I had just a such an exam a couple of weeks ago and my prostate was in good working order, so he need not bother.
“This exam is not about the prostate,but an exam to see if you have muscle control in the you-know- where”, he said. He said where, but we will skip that here. The outcome of the test was not good.
As I lay on the bed in the ER awaiting my ride to St. Joe's, Justin and Sandra were with me just chewing the fat, trying to figure out how to handle things at home while I would be away. It was at this point that my daughter noticed that I needed a pedicure and told me I should have one done. We agreed that was next on the agenda as soon as I was able. I think she said this for lack of anything constructive to say as I felt we had been through all instructions on to how to handle things during my short absence from home. I was sure they would give me a shot of something and I would go home.
Right after this exchange, I noticed a complete lack of control in my lower body as strength withdrew from me. I could actually feel sensation leaving my body. The reason I knew this was because a rush of air just escaped from me as if I was a deflated balloon. Thank goodness I had eaten just one small meal in the last than 28 hours. Even when in trouble like I was, we always think about the indignities our bodies visit upon us at these times. With this realization and tears in my eyes, I told them both, I have now lost all control and have no feeling below the waist. I felt the damage being done to me by my condition was now complete and a sense of resignation came over me. What next?, I thought. What I did not know at the time is that things could have been much worse.
I distinctly remember at this time something I had always told my mija. I had said on several occasions that we should gather all the facts, see what we got and go from there. No sense worrying about what might happen or has happened. So, now it was my turn to show what I had been blabbing about all this time. It was with this in mind that I proceeded with my dilemma.
It was now 7 AM and Dr. Sorosky came to see me at the hospital. His support was very much appreciated. I remember him conferring with the ER doctor on how to best deal with my problem and what needed to be done in order to find what the heck was wrong with me. So, they stuck me in the MRI machine one more time. I think I had a couple more of test to make sure we had not missed something.
6

I was finally transfered to St. Joe’s and more tests were done. Fifteen minutes or so into the trip, I commented to the medic how good the driver was, as we had not hit a single red light. “That's because we are on the freeway,” he said. I must have been in a daze. While on the trip to St. Joe's , I thought it would be a good idea to tell the medic some jokes I knew. We ended up making the trip in short order and more enjoyable. Had I known what the bill was going to be for the transfer, I would have made them work for it and not entertained them during the trip.
Six hours later, it was determined I had a condition called ‘Spinal Arteriovenous Fistula’. I never heard of it either. It seems that I had a short circuit between a vein and an artery in my spine, causing blood with no oxygen to flow to my lower body. As we all know, Arteries carry oxygenated blood to the body and veins bring the used blood with waste and stuff back to the heart, kidneys,etc. to be cleaned up and the cycle starts again. This is accomplished by way of capillary beds in the body. This short circuit I had in me was causing used, old dirty blood to go back to my legs, killing the cells and stuff in my legs little by little. Actually, I didn't know all this info either and I think that is what the doctors told me, so don't hold me accountable.
The prognosis was not good at all. This was a rare condition usually resulting in permanent paralysis of the lower body, which would probably be my case as seen by the MRI.
This condition also caused extra work for the heart. When I asked the doctor to tell me what I could expect, he told me that they could fix it so that I would not die from a stroke, but would probably not walk again, few with this condition regain the use of the lower body. “OH-OH”, I said to myself. He said that he saw about 25 cases like this in Arizona.
If I walked again and there was a 1 in 25 chance that I would, it might be few months until I would be able to walk and there was no guarantee as to how good I would do that. He did not know how much damage had been done. Well, that is not good, I thought. I seemed to be saying things like that to myself on a regular basis by that time. This condition reveals itself over a period of months and is insidious by nature. It works slowly and with devastating effects. Much like an alcoholic who doesn't realize he is one until too late. And that is why so few people walk again, too much damage has been done. I think I was ready for some good news right about now. A beer would have been nice but even I knew it was out of the question.
Next, I would have an Angiography exam to determine the course of treatment. I signed a release to have the Angiography exam done to see if they could plug the problem with cement without actually doing surgery. Then, I signed another release to have open spine surgery if the hole could not be plugged through the femoral artery located some where in the groin area. I wished I had paid more attention in biology class so that I would better informed. I think I signed away any right to sue anyone short of them cutting off my head with a rusty kitchen knife or a couple of doctors strangling me while on the table, but that was OK with me as I felt I needed everything they could throw at me to get me better.
After the doctor gave me all the horrible news and on the way to the procedure, I started to think about what life would be like without the use of my legs. What the future would hold for me, my family and how I would handle the situation. My wife was not well, my daughter was not well and now me. Poor Justin I thought. After shedding a few more tears, I decided I would fix up my car with hand controls so I could still motor around town, but would probably have to give up my part time job.
7

I hated to think about not working at the retirement home ever again. I had many friends there and I was sure they were praying up a storm in order to get God's attention. Thank you, guys.
However, I figured that most important of all, I would not die and still be around to help care for the family that I had at home, including my daughter and son-in-law. I know it is not logical, but I had a sense of responsibility for all of them and I would not let them down. I would persevere regardless of how things turned out. Things would be different, but I was determined to take whatever I got after the treatment and just do what I could with I what I had.
Many people have lived long lives without use of the lower body and I figured I could too. I decided we should get on with the program and see what we had to work with. I already had a Jet 7 power chair so I figured I was good to go in case things didn't go my way. My wife told me later that one of her main concerns was how I would handle not being able to walk. I have to say, I was scared and hoped I would be as brave afterwards as I was feeling at the moment. Maybe I was in shock and did not know any better. Sometimes I am like that.

I went in to surgery at 3 PM and got out 3 or 4 hours later. When I was wheeled into the OR, a lady doctor was eating a delicious looking burger. I commented how hungry I was and that got her all embarrassed. She told me she would fix that right away and put me to sleep. After my procedure, I was informed that no open surgery had been needed, the super glue held and the problem had been fixed to everyone’s satisfaction. The Damn Fistula had been plugged with a cement that I could still taste in my mouth a week later. How the doctors can go in through the groin area, reach around the back to the problem in the spine and do what they do is beyond me.
Maybe that it why neurosurgeon spend so many years in training and get paid the big bucks. Thanks guys.
Now we would wait to see if the glue would stay in place and not wander off to someplace else in my body..
The normal blood flow had been restored and we would now wait to see if sensation would come back to my lower body. My family hung in there with me the whole time. I remember waking up a bit after surgery in the ICU and using the TV remote control to delete everyone around me as I was very tired from not having slept much the last 48 hours. I don't remember speaking to my wife at the time. I did see her walking away from me to go home. She looked so tired, I felt so bad for her.
I still did not sleep much because I was put through neurological tests every hour around the clock to make sure I was regaining strength and sensation in my lower body and not losing upper body strength. I was not getting anything to eat or drink during this whole time. One of the test was to stick my tongue out and move my eyes from side to side. To keep things interesting, I would cross my eyes and amuse everyone in my room. I did this to lighten the mood of the place.
I had not shaved or bathed yet and I was getting very hungry.
On Wed. the 18th, a day after the surgery the doctor came to see me in the morning and check on my condition. It had now been 16 hours since the procedure. He was delighted that I could move my right toe a little and told me I had just made his day. Imagine what it did to me, seeing him so excited and just for a little toe movement.
8

I thought I must been doing great! My legs and feet were very cold to the touch. I was told that was normal because my legs were just beginning to wake up from the paralysis. The doctor told me that I had been about 2 hours from a paralysis that I would not have recovered from. In the future, do not worry about the neighbors and causing a commotion around the house, it could have cost me plenty. I will listen to the good doctor if the need ever arises again, but I hope not.
My primary care doctor, Anu Nutakki visited me in the ICU. I was very happy to see her and her concern for me and my family was very much appreciated. She kept in touch with my family during these days and afterwards when I got home. Thank you, doctor and staff for your support during our family crisis. The same with Dr. Sorosky, who was always in contact with me and my family. I know he was worried silly. I don't blame anyone for my problem and I told him.
The care was excellent in the ICU. I noted the names of the people I came in contact with and sent the hospital administrator a thank you note. My daughter had given a notebook in the ER when this whole thing started. Unfortunately, some of my writing in beyond my understanding as I wrote some stuff that I do not remember writing or stuff that makes no sense.
Thursday morning of the 19th.
I was on the road to recovery. My family was pretty happy at the turn of events even though we still did not know how much I would recover at this point. I could move my right leg a little bit now. I seemed to have been able to improve during every hourly test as the day wore on. The doctor told me that my recovery was nothing short of remarkable and he saw no reason for me not to walk again. He told me he would set me up with in-house rehab for a few days until I could stand and move around on my own as soon as I got out of the ICU. I was disappointed as I felt I should be well enough to go home by the weekend at least, but decided to hold my tongue in case the doctor knew what he was talking about.
Not being able to sleep much because of the hourly tests, I exercised my toes and legs constantly while lying in bed. I felt no pain anywhere and the sense of dread I had was slowly dissipating.
Later that morning, a physical therapist came by to see me about some rehab and see where I stood in terms of recovery. She asked to sit on the bed and see if I could transfer to a chair. I could not, so she partially dragged me out of bed. My left foot got caught on the bed rail and she noticed that I had not even noticed and she was right. My left leg was still asleep. She left me sitting strapped to a chair and said it was enough for the day. She would be back the next day with plans for therapy. That morning I shaved and gave my self a bath which did wonders for my outlook on this.
Later in the day when my family came to see me, I showed them how I could now get out of bed and sit in a chair all by myself. Not only that, I could scoot all other the place without a problem. I f you remember, that same morning, I needed help to get out of bed and had to be strapped in the chair. Wow, was I doing great or what?
Even if I could still not stand or walk, I felt I was making progress sooner than anyone would have thought. It was at this point that I was sure I was going to be OK.




9


Friday the 20th .
I was moved out of the ICU at 1 AM on Friday to a regular room where my recovery would continue. Since I could not sleep, I decided to try and get up and go to the bathroom. I positioned a wheeled cart next to my bed and a chair along side in a beeline straight to the bathroom. I pulled myself out of bed unto the chair,then used a walker to the bathroom, where all went well. Well, hell, I said, I'm using my legs to walk. Of course, as luck would have it, the nurse caught me on the way back and gave me a talking to because I was not suppose to even try to get out of bed on my own. She could have been in trouble, not to mention me falling and hurting myself. I explained that I needed to do this kind of activity because I was planning on going home soon. I do not think she believed me.
I finally fell asleep at 1:30 AM or so and woke right up at 3 AM ready to start my day, to the disappointment of the nurses. I was too excited at my progress to sleep much. I asked for some coffee and began to exercise my legs as much as possible without getting out of bed. I could now feel my groin area and felt that there was no reason I could not get out of the hospital maybe as early at this very day.
When I mentioned this to my nurse, she said nothing but looked at me like I was delusional.
A therapist came to see me at 7 AM to start my rehab. She told me her notes indicated I was unable to sit on my own and we would start from there. When she asked me to show her what I could do, I put on my socks, pants, sat up on the bed and stood up with the help of a walker. That was what she had been planning to teach me that morning. I showed her a few more things, we did some tests and she left, saying she did not know what I needed from her at this time.
A doctor came in shortly after to check on me. I showed him what I could do and he said there was no reason I should still have to stay at the hospital. A full workout test was ordered and an evaluator was called in.
The evaluator arrived and we began the test. I used a walker to walk up and down the halls, same with a cane. I offered to walk up a flight of stairs. Reluctantly she let me and I did. She left just shaking her head and told me she had been told by the doctor I needed help and would be in the hospital a few more days for rehab. I was beginning to feel pretty good about the whole situation now. I was amazing myself and felt that I could recover in short order, regardless of what the doctors said. I had one more thing I needed to do before I was allowed to go home. Empty my bladder. I had a heck of a time trying and trying until I finally did it. I had a catheter four days and without it, it was hard .
I had been at the hospital for 4 days and for some reason it did not feel like it was that long. It had the feel of a little vacation because everyone waited on me. The neurosurgeon who did the procedure came in later in the morning to my room to see how I was doing. First, he told me that he was having paperwork drawn up for me to have rehab at the hospital for a few days. I informed him that his associate had seen me earlier in the morning and he thought I should go home. That was news to him. He asked to show him what I could do. I did and he said, “You are going home today and I still find your recovery remarkable.” I was to come back in three months for a MRI to see if there is any bleeding in the spine. He told me it would take some time for me to get back to normal, maybe a few months. The saddle area would be the last body part to return to full use. Before I left a social worker came in to arrange for rehab at home since it did seem like I was going home that day. He told me I had been approved for 8 weeks of PT and OT. Fine with me, I was going home.
10

Justin took me home on his way back from work. The last mishap of this whole adventure happened when I was home sitting in my faithful recliner. My little dog jumped into my arms and then jumped out again. When I tried to hold him back, he pulled me out of my chair and I fell on the floor. He weighs about 14 lbs. Fortunately, my wife was not there to see that or I would probably had been scolded again for taking chances. Justin was there, but I think I swore him to secrecy as soon as he helped me up. I slept well that night. I used the walker whenever I needed to get up during the night.
I walked as much as I could with and without a walker all weekend long. I did my exercises as instructed and some that I came up with on my own.
Monday morning a therapist came to my home to begin therapy. By now I was walking all over the place and having little trouble with everything else. She asked me to do some things and I did. She told me I was doing great but wanted to see me one more time at the end of the week to check on my progress. She came on Friday and discharged me that very day. No more therapy. I figured the insurance should send me half the money it would have spend the next seven weeks since I would not be needing therapy.
I am now very happy, in very good spirits and determined to get back on course. I tire easily, but I expect that, for now.
It was a horrible experience, taught me a few things and I am deliriously happy to be doing as well as I am.
Thanks to all.

P.S. Five days out of the hospital and I am still progressing at a fast rate. My feet are no longer ice cold to the touch and I no longer feel like I am walking on crumpled newspaper when I walk even with 2 pair of heavy socks. I am walking on my own but I do tire when I do too much walking. I think I am going to make a full recovery by April the 15th.

Well, today is 4/14 and it has been almost a month since the incident. I have been back to work for a week or so. I do not think I am going to make a full recovery by the 15th as I had planned. My goal now if 5/15/2009.
My doctor told while at the hospital that it might take a few months to get everything back to normal and I now suspect he might be right. My leg muscles hurt and I have minor spasms all up and down my legs. I still have numbness and tingling. It is a different kind of pain that I recognize as not like the pain that caused me all this trouble to begin with. I think the nerves and leg muscles are waking up little by little and that is what is causing me pain. My balance if off a bit. I find it difficult to sleep sometimes because of the pain and the spasms. My butt is sore, the bottoms of my feet feel cold, hot and numb. All the plumbing is at about 95% and things are looking up as the days go by. I have started to take my son, Julius, for morning and afternoon walks. We'll see.

It is now 4/30 and I might not make my deadline of 5/15, so I will take it when it gets here and everything is pretty much the same..