In early 2020, I sat across from the man who would be my spine surgeon. I didn’t know that at the time. He was recommended to me by my general doctor. Thus, my confidence level was shaky because my confidence level in my general doctor is shaky.
Why is my confidence level in my general doctor shaky?
Well, he was reluctant, it seems, to really initiate the series of actions that should be initiated when somebody’s presenting with my problems. Now, I am not a doctor. But, I was in there on a few occasions holding my side.
“I’m miserable all the time!”
“How do you sleep?”
“On my stomach.”
“Try sleeping on your back.”
I was surprised by that. I knew my problems went beyond just how I slept. So, this doctor was frustrating the hell out of me. Finally, one day, I dropped to my knees and said, “I can’t take it anymore!”
And, he scheduled my visit with the surgeon. That’s where I’m at now. Looking at the surgeon.
His face had just the sort of tense-seriousness that I wanted to see from somebody who would be cutting me open: front and back.
He calmly explained my problems. They were many. A couple of herniated discs. A broken vertebrae. The broken one’s also shoved out-of-alignment: that’s called spondylolisthesis. Additionally, my spinal canal was narrowed. Additionally, I was a mess.
So, Dr. F. went over my situation. My stomach turned upside-down as I sat there in the fluorescent light.
“How did this happen?” I asked.
“It’s congenital and degenerative.”
I squinted.
“That means you’re born with the tendency and time makes things worse.”
I wondered if it were that simple. This is just about time meets DNA?