Pre ACDF Surgery Story

My first appointment after my MRI was Wednesday April 12, 2017 with doctor William Hunter. I was glad to hear that my Thoracic Spine was in good health. I had been having pain for years in that area. The doctor believes that the pain may just be muscular due to my other injuries.

I was relieved to hear that my Lumbar Spine only had one herniated disk, and could be treated with steroid shots and therapy. I've had my first shot, and begin my therapy tomorrow.

I was shocked to see the MRI images of my Cervical Spine. I not only have arthritis, I also have Degenerative Disk Disease, and Disk Osteophyte Complex in my C5-6 and C6-7 disks. My lower disk isn't as bad as the upper one. The lower disk shows almost no spinal fluid around my spinal cord. The upper disk shows no fluid around my spinal cord.

A simple bumper thumper in a car, or even a fall can cause me to be paralyzed from the neck down. The doctor ordered the surgery ASAP. They are squeezing me in as soon as they get approval from my other doctors. (Heart and Primary doctors) The Neuro-surgeon does surgeries on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I got the call today that they got the approvals, and my surgery will be Monday, April 24, 2017.

As soon as I got my diagnosis, I went on You-tube and watched videos on the surgery. It was gross, but I needed to know. I watched several surgery videos. If you are squeamish, I would recommend the animated ones. I also watched ACDF recovery vlogs. I found these very helpful. The unknown is a very scary thing. I am still nervous, but I am not as afraid as I once was. I thought about doing a vlog, but I just don't see myself doing so. I'm just not that talkative.

NOTES

Disk Osteophyte Complex is a fancy way of saying "herniated disk with bone spurs".

Lower Lumbar injury in 2001 (Getting out of bed)

Upper Cervical injury in 1998 (Rear ended in a car)

Lower Cervical injury in 1975 (Diving into a pool)