Decision

We have made our decision. Rick has decided to have spinal fusion surgery. You can read more about the surgery here. I called the surgeon's office to let them know about our decision and the scheduler said that she would have the doctor write the orders and call me back as soon as she receives them. Hopefully in a couple days we will have a set date for surgery.

This is a major surgery and Rick will be out of work for around 2 months. He will have a hospital stay that could be close to a week. He will not be able to lift anything for at least 6 weeks, nor will he be able to drive. He will have to wear a back brace to keep his torso from twisting.

The fusion will happen at L4-L5. Luckily a fusion in this area of the spine results in limited loss of motion. With physical therapy and healing Rick will most likely not even notice much of a difference.

We have lots of things around the house to do to prepare for having Rick out of commission. Thankfully my Mom will be taking care of the girls for a while after the surgery so that will be a big help. This is going to be a difficult time, especially since Rick doesn't have quite enough sick time and vacation time to cover the 2 months. We just have to pray that the benefit is successful so that can help with the lost paychecks.

I am sorry it took so long to post our decision. I had a busy day and this was the first time I have been able to sit down with the computer.

Until next time,
Jaime