After spending most of last night vegetating under the covers and watching TV (why is there never anything light to watch when you need it?) I began getting back my ability to remember the bigger picture. It was like I'd forgotten I'd gone to the Mayo Clinic, and today I got out the report the Mayo surgeon had sent me, and re-read it. He'd agreed that there are people who have "late fusion" and that bone growth stimulators can be helpful. He reassured me that the loose screws were not going to do me harm.

He suggested using the stimulator for 3 - 6 months and getting a repeat CT scan to see if fusion was occuring. He said if the pain increased before then, I could have a re-do, and if no fusion occurs and the pain increases, I could get a re-do. He thought I'd end up with surgery, but thought the plan of waiting this out was just fine.

So I'm taking a step back. The pain I have is tolerable. It really is. It's not fun, but I'm okay with it becauses it's mostly about changing positions, twisting, reaching. As soon as I stop, the pain is gone. For instance, I'm not in pain justs now, but as soon as I try to get out of the chair, I will be. My back will be cramped and stiff and hurt. But after a couple of steps, it will be fine again. I can sleep through the night with meds. I can walk up to a mile and half wearing a brace. Overall, as I think about it, it's tolerable. So I'm going to wait this out a bit longer. It's only two months that I've been off the fosamax, steroids, and using the stimulator.

Thank you all so much for helping me to get my center back.

I showed David and his wife the report from Mayo today, and he agreed that it seemed more thought out than what the surgeon said, and laid out a nice plan. So I feel even safer.

Can you imagine---People I have met here have become so real that we've met in the "real world?" It's totally amazing to me.