My Comeback Story: David M.

I fell off the second story of a building over 30 years ago. I fractured multiple vertebrae in my spine, which changed my posture, and I never realized it. I walked away from it without back pain until I got back pain 10 years later. That’s when I found out what my problem was. I had fractured seven vertebrae, and a piece of the bone had gone into my nerve canal in my right leg, which is what brought me to the doctor. I had surgery to remove that bone piece, and then that was it. I had two more surgeries over the past 15 years to deal with continuing problems from that fall. In 2025, everything hit the fan, and I was told that I needed to have the metal and screws in my back removed and all new put in to correct my problems, hopefully for good. Dr. Harper remove the rods and screws in my back and then replace it with a wedge at the bottom of my spine to connect my sacrum to my bottom, vertebrae L5, then screwed my sacrum to my hip bones with two large screws. Then he installed two new rods to the proper posture, which I did not have previously, and 22 screws to attach seven vertebrae to my sacrum. He removed all of the discs and fused all those vertebrae together as one bone. To prepare for this surgery, I went to the gym to work out on machines; I could sit in and protect my back and yet build up all those muscles in my legs and arms that I would need for full recovery, as I knew from past surgeries that not being in shape before surgery makes it much harder to recover. I worked out for three weeks every other day to get ready for the surgery. When I went in to get diagnosed, it was discovered that I not only had to have full back surgery, but I also needed a full hip replacement, which they decided to do first because the recovery time was much quicker. That was done by Dr. Blackwood and was a complete success, and five weeks later I was back in surgery for my spine. I went back to the gym for two weeks before the spine surgery again to keep myself in good recovery shape. I have to admit the recovery was pretty rough. I recovered much faster than my doctors and therapist thought I would, and I attribute that totally to working out before surgery. They had estimated it would take me at least three months to be back on my feet and active again, but at my five-week checkup, they declared that I was cleared to proceed with my activities. I jumped in my camper and took off on a road trip for six weeks, traveling to five states from California to Montana and back to Colorado again. I made it a point on that trip to walk every path I could find in every campsite and national park that I stayed at. Even though my muscles were strong from working out, my stamina was not great, but by the end of my trip, I felt like I could tackle most any hiking trail as long as I had a walking stick for balance. I won’t say that I am 100% pain-free, as my muscles don’t like the metal in my back. I am limited in how much I can bend or twist, and if I exceed that limit, I feel it. What I don’t have anymore is that nerve pain running down my legs, and my legs aren’t as strong as they used to be, but they can carry me wherever I need to go. My surgery gave me my life back. I was looking at a future of being in a wheelchair with who knows how much loss of mobility. Before surgery, my pain was beyond ignoring, and I was suffering from sleep deprivation. My only relief was taking oxycodone and ibuprofen, and I did not enjoy the side effects. Today I only need an oxycodone a couple of times a month to help me sleep on an occasional bad night. I don’t take anything for pain during the day, as I have learned to train my brain away from pain. It is mild enough that I can ignore it most of the time and go on about my life. I am thankful that I am able to continue walking about and enjoying my life.