Pain In The Neck

Just before Christmas I began having some pretty annoying pain in my neck and left shoulder. I was also feeling a fair amount of aching and numbness in my left arm and hand as well. After a trip to the doctor and some initial efforts to figure out what was wrong and fix it, I ended up having an MRI this past Monday. Today I met with a neurologist - a brain guy actually (insert your own joke here) - who let me know that I have more than a few things going wrong in my neck. I have "bone spurs" (and, no, they do not go "jingle, jangle, jingle) on both the right and left side of my spine around the 5th & 6th AND 6th & 7th vertebrae. It's most pronounced on the left side and there is a definite "narrowing" and the C6 vertebrae is being pinched on. Add to that some degenerative arthritis as well. In addition, I am losing a fair amount of strength in my left arm (as if I had any to spare!). On my first visit to my doctor on 12/22, I was able to give a normal amount of "resistance" with my left arm. Today, well, not so much. Not much at all.

So, what's next? (Thanks for asking!) After discussing a number of alternatives at some length, I am going to have surgery next Friday, January 21st. They will replace a couple of vertebrae with ones from a cadaver! Sweet! (My plan is that as soon as I come out of the anesthesia I plan to turn the first doctor or nurse I see and say, "I see dead people!") They'll do some other reconstructive work (that I barely understand) as well. I'll be in the hospital overnight and home the next day. I'll miss about a week's worth of work as well. The bad news is that I will miss TWO of Jeremy's games (Pendleton and Hermiston) and I'm pretty ticked about that since I planned not to miss even one second of a game this year. A bit more frustrating is that I will have to wear a hard plastic collar for 6 - 12 weeks to insure things fuse correctly. (See picture below of me trying on my new collar.)

So, that's the scoop. I'm not too nervous - although my vanity is probably gonna take a beating - and I'm looking forward to catching up on all the shows I've TiVo'd over the past several weeks.