I figured it was time to give you all an update on how my health situation is progressing (particularly those generous souls who donated to my fund-raising appeal).
My right kidney was removed on September 26. It's been a long, slow recovery since then, with stringent restrictions on how much I can lift and what I can do. The incisions (multiple) have been healing a lot more slowly than I'd like, and are still not fully covered with skin, but then they were very deep. Also, as my surgeon has repeatedly pointed out, in one's late 60's one's body doesn't recover as fast as it did in one's late 20's! Fortunately, the progress is all in the right direction, albeit a lot too slow for my impatient self. With luck, I hope everything will be "skinned over" (if I can put it that way) by the beginning of December, when my other restrictions are scheduled to be eased. That means I can get on with rehab and rebuilding my strength.
I've had a first consultation with a highly-rated local rehab facility, planning for post-operative reconditioning and extended work on strengthening my core and (hopefully) getting the muscles around my lower spine in better condition to support the surgery that's planned for that area. It's going to take time to build up to three sessions a week, but I'm going to work at it. Hopefully I'll combine stretching and conditioning (under supervision) with swimming and exercise bicycle/elliptical workouts. I hope to start that in December, and plan to work on it for up to (and if necessary more than) a year, depending on what happens next.
I'm still undergoing tests to help the neurosurgeon decide what surgery would be most effective to address my spinal issues. Unfortunately, the tests are uncovering complications that we hadn't expected. On Monday this week I went to a neurologist for an electromyograph, both surface (using electrodes) and subcutaneous (using needles). If I understood the technicians correctly, this is supposed to reveal current drop through the nerves and muscles, showing precisely which muscles are most affected by problems. From that information, the neurosurgeon can deduce which part(s) of the spine are most affected, because it'll be the nerves flowing from it to the muscle(s) concerned that are the ones needing attention. It's a bit complicated for a simple man like me (ahem), but I think that's the gist of it. The test revealed definite deterioration since the last one I had, twenty years ago, but in different areas of the legs - which is not very helpful!
The test also revealed an additional nerve problem, peripheral neuropathy, which must now be tracked down to its source and taken into account when planning surgery. I wasn't aware of that problem, but the neurologist explained it was because the level of pain from my already-damaged nerves was high enough to "mask" the lower-level pain and discomfort caused by the neuropathy. What next? Your guess is as good as mine.
(Oh - and further thanks to those of you who donated to my fund-raiser. Monday's test billed at a cool $6,300 for a couple of hours being poked and prodded by two technicians and a neurosurgeon. Thanks to you, that's no longer the financial headache it might otherwise have been.)
My next step, probably in early December, will be another consultation with my neurosurgeon, bringing together the results of all the tests I've been through over the last four months or so. He'll tell me what he's diagnosed as a result, and the surgery he recommends to fix the problem(s). At that point I'm going to put matters on hold locally, get full copies of all the tests and their results, and go see another neurosurgeon in DFW to get a second opinion. Given the cost of this exercise and the potential for things to go wrong, I want to be very sure of my options before I move forward. That will probably happen during the first quarter of 2026, after which we'll see what happens.
Thanks again for your help and support, and particularly for your prayers. They're greatly appreciated.
Peter
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