I did hang on to the (second) of the braces for my two lumbar spine surgeries - the brace shop made me a contraption of their own. What fun! It was a corset in the front, complete with 20! laces on each side and 6! adjustable straps in the center. It was a monster to get on - and it had to be one before I could get out of bed. The corset attached to two rigid bars that formed around me, and attached to two rigid bars along each side of my spine. The bars that went around my hips hit me right at the sciatic notch - yep, you guessed it! - 12 years later and I'm still having sciatica from the 3 months in that brace. Fortunately my hips are too big for that (one time being heavy has paid off) so I'll need a new one. Even if I have to pay for one myself, I'm going to get a good one, one that I can use afterwards for things where I need the support. The only use my other brace has been is for my cats to sleep in it at the bottom of my closet. Time for the trash can.

On another note - I'm still waiting to be scheduled for my (surgery) trial. It's been 7 weeks! since I saw the surgeon and he thought I'd be able to schedule it within a few days. Evidently it has taken all this time to figure out how to do the surgeries around my allergies - I wouldn't know as I haven't gotten any updates (yes, I have called). I got a call from his assistant 8 days ago saying he had figured out the sedation and I could schedule. BUT the surgeon hasn't told them how much time to allot for each surgery. Kind of important for them to know. So I'm still anxiously waiting for the phone to ring - I just want to have some idea of what's going on in my life! It's Christmas time and I have to hire drivers to go into town for shopping and for doctor appointments, so it would be great to combine these things - but I just need to know when it is! Sigh. It'll happen someday, right?