And the result is a season with limited or no cycling. Especially bad since we finally got our new tandem. Well now, it looks like it will be the end of August or early September before I can be back on the bicycle. The results of the MRI showed more problems than had originally been anticipated.
It appears that along with compression between C6 and C7 I also have arthritis and compression between C4 and C5. That along with bone spurring has caused some pinching of the spinal cord and nerves attached to the upper torso and left arm. The result is some severe back and arm pain accompanied by numbness and loss of strength. I can still move around freely so the damage is not so severe as to restrict movement, but it is something that needs to be fixed!
So the surgery date has been decided and I will have to live with the pain for another month and one half. July 9, 2009 I will have a procedure done called a Cervical Laminoplasty also known as Open Door Laminoplasty. This procedure immediately relieves pressure for the spinal cord by providing more room for the spinal cord that is being constricted by excess laminar bone growth. It is referred to as the open door because the vertebrae is made to swing open like a door. The procedure takes about two hours.
For more information please review the following document describing the procedure. The recovery period seems to be somewhere around six weeks. That would put us back on the road, starting our season, late August.
More to follow.
Tags: medical
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Bud, Not good news. Real bummer. I know how much cycling has come to mean to you. And what’s this I hear about a tangle on a bike ride? New kind of therapy you’re trying? Couldn’t have done you much good.
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Tangle was minor, but still a scraped knee and elbow. From what I understand the surgery is a routine procedure with a very high success rate and immediate relief from pain. While surgery is not the first step anyone would want, I do welcome the benefits from it.
We will have to see just how well it turns out.
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My dad had that procedure done back when i was a freshman in high school (1996). He had some bone spurs and marked stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal) between c4 and c7. It worked wonders for him. Good luck. Hope you can get out and enjoy the bike when all is said and done.
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Thanks, Joe.
If all goes as expected I will be back on the bike hopefully by the end of August beginning of September. A late start to the season, but maybe just maybe I can get to 1000 miles before December. In the meantime look for Nicole and I in support roles at area rides, SAG and photography. We want to stay involved and keep our motivation high during this down period.
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Keep us informed. Facing the knife can’t be fun, but the prospects of full recover and being back on the bike sound good. Missing you on our rides.
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Thanks Jack, I miss all the Bees also. It won’t really be that long until I am back on the bike again. Looking forward and hoping for a full recovery. I guess getting old is a real bummer, but I’ll keep fixing all the small hurdles that get thrown my way so that I can keep doing the thing that I love.
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