So I just got back from seeing my back surgeon and it's all good news.
He said the surgery he wants to do will solve the walking issues. The latest images clearly show the exact problem. He said it couldn't be more clear, and not only will he not have to implant another rod, he won't even have to open me up!
He'll poke a hole in both sides of my torso at the L3 level, where one end of the vertebra immediately above there has collapsed, then stick a hollow rod into one hole and out the other, and, as he put it, "jack up that baby up and secure it into place." This will be about a 3hr surgery, instead of 4 to 6 hrs if it was open, which is awesome as hell.
More good news is that the bone is super dense. He was really excited about that; "Practically like marble," he said. "You rarely see bone that solid in people your age." (maybe because I grew up on a dairy farm)
But we'll still do a density study, if for no other reason than to record it.
Surgery will be in 4 or 5 months...he's all booked up til then. Meanwhile, he told me keep walking as much as I can every day, and do these leg exercises he gave me, to limit muscle loss. He gave me the usual speech about how surgery is never a guarantee, and there are risks, and all that. But then he leaned toward me, and said, "You're gonna land on your feet running, Frank. No question."
I'm super stoked.
