رونوشت کامل Ep 38 - Dan's ACDF Surgery & Recovery: What No One Tells You About the First 3 Weeks

and asked me if I wanted to be asleep or awake from the surgery, and that was concerning, and I declined to be awake. 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:20.800 So that's I didn't have all those things. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:25.279 Maybe it's different because you have the known heart issue, and I don't know. 00:04:25.279 --> 00:04:26.240 It's interesting. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:31.839 Yeah, I mean so I guess jump to surgery day. 00:04:31.839 --> 00:04:37.199 Surgery day was like honestly, it was relieving. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:38.399 I wasn't even nervous. 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:39.839 I was just ready. 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:41.360 I just wanted to get this thing done. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:48.720 Uh I had had Twilight sedation a couple times for like um colonoscopy, endoscopy. 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:55.120 So I knew that like propofol and once they put that stuff in your veins is like amazing. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:59.199 And um, so I was aware like that was pretty cool. 00:04:59.199 --> 00:05:09.120 And so I obviously general anesthesia a bit more um intense, but I knew I'm not gonna, I mean, I'm gonna wake up and this thing, you know, it's gonna be done, and whatever pain is the pain is. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:13.040 But I got a really good neurosurgeon who has a team of doctors. 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:18.480 They do this in their sleep weekly, several times a week. 00:05:18.480 --> 00:05:23.040 So um I my mental shift was probably in a pretty good state of mind. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:24.720 Which is I think is important. 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:30.639 I think it's better to go into anything, especially medical and surgical, in a positive frame of mind. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:31.360 Yeah. 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:38.720 I think I mean, whatever mental thing, if there's a medical, mental term for this, that like medically, that you're just past the point of no return. 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:39.839 You're over it. 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:40.959 You're done. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:44.319 You've submitted and you're past nervousness. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:46.720 There's you're not feeling any nerves whatsoever. 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:51.920 The pre-op room for this hospital was very small and very crowded. 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:53.680 Maybe um all hospitals was like this. 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:54.399 I I don't know. 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:55.199 It was very narrow. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:08.079 It just didn't feel like there's like, you know, they put the curtain up and like you're in this three by four room or like a area, and like there's enough for like a bed, and they're asking you to take your clothes off and put them in bags, and like you can barely navigate to take your clothes off. 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:09.360 You get into this, you know. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:16.319 I don't medical like gowns for surgery or just anytime you're in a medical facility that requires a gown. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:17.519 I don't understand gowns. 00:06:17.519 -->

00:06:23.600 They never fit right, they don't tie, and it's almost like you're putting on like a tablecloth without any way to tie it. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.360 It doesn't make any sense to me. 00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:32.079 I put one of those on and like I had to like navigate like the tight space, you know, and like here I am like doing a C67 ACDF. 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:34.399 Um, and then the woman next to me is like 80 years old. 00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:41.040 She's getting like two hip replacements, and you know, I mean, she was in a lot of pain. 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:51.040 And so you still like all lined up along this whole pre-op was like people with different stories and having different surgeries at different ages that are of different severities. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:59.839 And you kind of think if you've never had surgery before, like, you know, I'm coming in and like my surgery is definitely serious, but it's it's um not unusual. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:02.959 It's com like these neurosurgeons can do these things quick. 00:07:02.959 --> 00:07:06.160 Um quick, I'm saying two hours or less. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:11.759 And you think like, okay, you'd be in a wing with the non-life-threatening ones, you know? 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:13.279 But like you're in it all. 00:07:13.279 --> 00:07:17.680 You're in people that are like being rushed out, and there's no triage of any of that. 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:21.759 And it's I just didn't realize that you know it was kind of like this organized chaos. 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:23.759 That's stressful. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:25.439 Maybe it's different in other hospitals. 00:07:25.439 --> 00:07:28.160 So maybe this is specific to what what I experienced. 00:07:28.160 --> 00:07:31.360 But I just was it was just eye-opening. 00:07:31.519 --> 00:07:34.720 Um, you know, they put your IV in at that time too. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:40.879 Yeah, IV, like giving me the medications ahead of time that I that I would need, signing off on medications. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:45.759 My sister and my mother, um, you know, thank you both for coming down to support me. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:46.720 They were there with me. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:08:00.639 And then you sit there and you're IV'd up and like, you know, no, I obviously no anesthesia yet, but then like all the surgical surgical team comes to meet you, ask you questions, introduce themselves, and like you have the anesthesiologist that comes, and like I have a whole new appreciation for anesthesiologists. 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:06.560 People like don't understand how important their work is and critical. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.639 And so they have to know a lot of different things. 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.519 And I know that like they, you know, everyone, it's a profession. 00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:12.879 They've seen everything, they can do it. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:22.560 It's not like they're not nervous, they're professionals, but like when you are not in it at like you know, if it's my first surgery, like you're looking at it from the perspective of like, wow, this is super impressive. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:24.879 This person really has to know all of these things. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:26.399 Yeah, hopefully they do. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:27.199 Yeah, and they do. 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.759 And of course, I of course I you know gave them all the information they needed. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:39.679 And then I discovered that, and I kind of knew this, but I didn't like really wasn't thinking about at the moment that there is an individual that comes to me that was literally their job during the surgery is to monitor my nerves. 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:46.879 That is looking at a screen, making sure that when the surgeon is doing anything, that it's not aggravating any of the nerves in my body. 00:08:47.279 --> 00:08:48.320 Oh, that's interesting. 00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:50.399 Um, it's critical. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:57.440 Um you aggravate a nerve or something and something goes wrong, and you've now you've egged something else on post-surgery, and now you have something new. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:08:58.399 Don't want that. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:08:59.120 Don't want that. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:04.799 And so this person came and is such a sweetheart, and you know, great conversation, asked questions. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:10.159 The neurosurgeon came by, um, introduced himself again, and we had a conversation. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:18.799 And the probably the best words of the day were said in that um brief five-minute meeting was, Do you want to go home tonight? 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:21.840 And I'm like, Yeah, I thought you were staying overnight. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:23.919 And I was like, is this an Eddie Money song? 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:27.120 Are you telling me that you want you I can actually go home tonight? 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:28.799 And he's like, You can go home, man. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:32.000 Like I was sold on staying over for observation overnight. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.200 I had brought stuff for that. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:33.519 Yeah. 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:34.399 Overnight back. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:36.639 And so I'm like, oh, this is amazing. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:38.240 Yes, I want to go home. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:45.919 And so not only was I had nerves, I was oddly in a good mood prior to the surgery because I was like, yes, getting out of here. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:48.879 And so Yeah, a hospital bed is not the lap of luxury. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:50.240 I mean, it's God no. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:51.360 It's an awful night. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:54.480 They can't they they keep checking on you, you fall asleep, they wake you. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:55.519 It's a whole it's horrible. 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.519 Nobody should ever, if you're you are not in a temperature bed or any type of sleep. 00:09:59.919 --> 00:10:01.600 You

don't have your CPAP or you're missing all the things. 00:10:01.840 --> 00:10:02.480 The whole things. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:07.919 And so I remember being rolled into the surgery room, which was like obviously cold for good reason. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:10.720 There was a ton of people in there like doing prep. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:13.519 And I was in there and I'm like, wow, I'm like, I'm still awake and I'm in here. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.519 Like, holy cow! Like, I hope they don't like forget that like I need to be put out. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:21.279 So I can't even tell you when I was put out. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.840 I just says the next thing you know, I'm in post op. 00:10:23.840 --> 00:10:26.639 And so, as I would have thought, like it just kind of happened. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:33.200 And so um, I woke up in post op with a nurse that was um obviously taking care of me. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:40.000 I had my neck brace on, which was the um app, you know, appropriately named the Miami J neck brace. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.480 And by the way, there are a bunch of different neck braces. 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:46.320 Um, they all kind of do the same thing, but they were invented by different people and they're named different things. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:47.919 It was the Aspen, the Miami J. 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:49.120 There's the Philadelphia. 00:10:49.120 --> 00:10:50.799 Why the hell these have like names? 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:52.559 I have no idea, but it's like kind of funny. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:11:02.559 But an hour later after post op, or an hour later for when I woke up, I was put into a wheelchair and I was taken out to the valet, and my sister and my mother were there, and we went home. 00:11:02.960 --> 00:11:05.200 And what was your pain level at that time? 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.600 From from my memory, there's two points of pain. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:13.759 There's the new incision, which is confusing to your brain because you went in with one thing and then you wake up with a whole new pain. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:17.519 And then I don't know if you could feel anything from the surgery in your neck. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:19.600 So, what were you feeling sort of after the surgery? 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.039 Or maybe you were still medicated. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.000 I don't really know. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:28.080 Um, I was just um recovering from anesthesiology from some from that medication. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:32.080 I don't think the pain set in yet. 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:35.440 I think I was just not there, not alert. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:41.440 I was thinking I was just kind of, you know, I was wheeled in a wheel, I was taken out in a wheelchair and then I was obviously assisted into the car. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:42.720 I had a neck brace on. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:50.399 I had a huge, at the time it was a rather large incision in the front of my neck that I didn't even, I wasn't even aware of what it looked like because it was all bandaged up. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:11:50.799 Yeah. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:55.759 Outside of like this being a great surgeon, the reason also I chose was because it was 10 minutes away from home. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.039 Yeah, that's nice. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:59.039 And so that actually really mattered. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:11.360 And then I got home and I probably didn't mention this in the recovery, but one of the things I also did while I was doing kind of all these pre-medical clinics and stuff is um I got a five-motor recliner. 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:11.919 Oh. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:14.159 I I'm sure people know this world. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.960 And um, okay, I get it. 00:12:16.960 --> 00:12:18.320 But I didn't really wasn't really aware. 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:23.120 Like the cleaners that I know about is ones where you sit down and like there's like a lever you pull. 00:12:23.120 --> 00:12:23.360 Yeah. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:26.080 And like both things like the headrest, yeah. 00:12:26.080 --> 00:12:26.799 Shoot up. 00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:27.440 You're you're there. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.480 Like you're in like this laying position with like the manual lever, right? 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:34.799 It gives you a little bit of whiplash, but you know, you've eventually learned to brace yourself and then you're okay. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:41.120 Um through like Facebook groups and through aggregating information, Reddit and other people, um, Intel. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:42.960 Of course, I'm aggregating all this information. 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:55.039 Someone's like, you should really get a five-go to recliner, so but you can really get these in medical stores, like the medical equipment stores, the ones that you walk in that you kind of never thought you'd ever walk into because you think it's all just walkers and stuff. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:02.240 They have these recliners that like, you know, the headrest is independent of the leg rest, it's independent of the lumbar, it's independent of how flat you want to lay it. 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:06.080 And it also sits you all the way up so that you actually are standing. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:12.080 The chair can go up, the hydraulics of the chair can go as far up so that you're standing literally and just walk off the chair. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.120 Yeah, I've seen that used for elderly people that have trouble. 00:13:15.120 --> 00:13:16.559 I mean, I could probably use that. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:17.039 Right. 00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:18.639 So I rented one of those bad boys. 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:26.080 But you rented, okay, I was gonna say you rented um for a month, and it was probably the best thing I'd ever done. 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:26.720 It's still here. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:27.360 You still have it. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:27.840 I'm sure you're not gonna be able to do it. 00:13:28.320 -->

00:13:30.240 You're gonna be you're gonna be sad when it leaves. 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.240 A love affair. 00:13:32.240 --> 00:13:34.000 Total love affair with it. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:39.840 It saved my life, especially the first couple nights I slept on it because there was no way I was getting into bed. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:44.559 Um, you know, for the first two weeks, you sleep, you're sleeping with a neck brace. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:48.399 Like that is my I mean, I was getting like I was getting two hours of sleep at night, maybe. 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:54.879 Um so five, five motor reclatter, massive hack. 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:59.279 Oh man, I mentioned the Miami J brace, uh, and there's a Philadelphia brace. 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:11.440 And I it's important to know that like there are all these braces are fine, but you're getting these braces based on the surgeon's training and what they know, maybe even the hospital contract, but like that's how those braces are determined how you get them. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:16.720 And you'll have some surgeons that won't even give you a brace. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.080 It's all about training. 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:28.080 I'm glad I had a brace because I needed that for that two weeks to feel like my neck was being aligned properly so that fusion fusing could start. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:29.840 Yeah, there's a safety element. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:33.919 I mean, I think a mental element of you want to know that you're preserved. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:34.480 Right. 00:14:34.480 --> 00:14:36.799 You can't mess up, mess up your surgery. 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:41.120 Yeah, and so you know, I obviously my esophagus and all that stuff has been moved back. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:45.120 So the first couple days, it's like a popsicle, some soup with nothing in it. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.480 Wait, did you know could you feel that? 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:48.159 Did your did things feel weird in your throat? 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:49.279 They were scratchy. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:49.840 I could barely talk. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:51.279 I was a very raspy voice. 00:14:51.600 --> 00:14:53.600 Well, that might be from the anesthetic, too, I think. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:54.480 Could be from anything, yeah. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:55.120 But like you know your stuff. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.559 I think they don't they intubate you or something? 00:14:56.559 --> 00:14:57.919 Or that's depends on the surgery. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:14:58.080 Yeah. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:14:58.320 Okay. 00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:59.039 So that's yeah. 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:02.639 All this stuff I was ready for, because that's you know, stuff that you you read about. 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:09.200 And so um eating liquids kind of you know, it's not the best diet for the first couple days. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:15.279 By day two, I was in my building walking the halls, trying to get 5,000 steps a day. 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:15.919 Wow. 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:19.039 Mobility is really important that you want to get walking around. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.080 And yeah, and so I haven't been to the gym, even still as I'm talking today. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:26.320 It's been like probably three and three and a half weeks, three weeks. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:27.759 I haven't been to the gym since the surgery. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:29.679 Well, actually, I haven't been to the gym since before the surgery. 00:15:29.679 --> 00:15:34.879 So it's probably been a month that I haven't been to the gym, which for me is a very mental thing more than anything. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:36.159 And so it's been tough. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:41.679 I start PT tomorrow, and that will be uh on a very aggressive PT. 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:53.759 A lot of people don't believe in PT, but when you're kind of pressing reset and you've had surgery, and you're, you know, I'm I'm gonna dive in and really listen and make this a kind of a big deal, uh, the PT part of it. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:56.000 I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the mental side of this. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.919 I've mentioned that a couple times. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:02.799 But for anyone having a surgery, and just for me particularly, I'm single, I live alone. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:17.600 So, you know, you start to become in touch with just that general notion that like, you know, I know people and like, you know, but I don't have any like support down here, like in like the support that you would need from like a significant other. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:22.480 And so I obviously made plans, and my sister flew down from Indianapolis, my mom flew down from Milwaukee. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:25.200 And so I was really grateful that they were there throughout the entire thing. 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:26.000 It really mattered. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.399 I have a lot of admiration and appreciation for that. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.000 My sister's a nurse practitioner. 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:31.200 She's Oh, there you go. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:32.000 You got hooked up. 00:16:32.320 --> 00:16:35.279 So she can speak to all these doctors, and you know, my mother is just my mother. 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:37.200 She'll do anything, she cares. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:39.120 Um, she pretends to be doctor sometimes. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:16:41.519 Sorry, mom, you do pretend to be a doctor, and you're not. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:42.720 All of our mothers do that. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:44.159 That's a that's a mod thing. 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:49.519 But um, it was great to have them, and obviously all my other family that checked in and friends that checked in. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:53.759 And, you know, kind of one of these things that's interesting is you realize who shows up, you know. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:54.159 Yeah. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:59.840 I mean, this is not like a little off the beaten path here

topic, but like some people don't reach out. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:10.720 Some people do, you know, and some people like care, like they reach out more than once, or like it's not just like the, you know, and so you just kind of I'm not I don't keep a scorecard. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:21.279 I've never been that kind of guy, but I think it's like you just notice that those things, you know, because I know that like if someone had surgery or whatever and they were my friend, I'd be all over it. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:27.119 Yeah, checking in all the time, and really, I mean, that's so you know, do I expect that from people? 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:32.079 I mean, I don't expect it, but it matters and it's nice when you when um it's done. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.640 And so I have a lot of gratitude and thanks for people who do that. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:43.359 And I would say that for my surgery, it's been as much of a mental recovery as it has been physical, but I'm still early. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:45.200 So let's talk about like where I'm at. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:45.920 The the leg. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:46.880 Let's talk about the leg. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:47.920 The leg, yes. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:50.799 So a couple interesting things I've noticed. 00:17:50.799 --> 00:17:54.559 I didn't mention this before, but I should probably mention it now. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.680 I have always had cold sensations in my legs. 00:17:57.680 --> 00:18:00.000 They're not like vascular. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:08.079 You touch my legs, they don't feel cold, but the nerves create a cold sensation where and I don't know if I've ever mentioned this. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:13.359 I probably have, but everyone who has known me and seen me at a desk knows I have a foot heater going on all the time. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:17.359 You told me that actually, like the only thing that's not cold in me is my feet usually. 00:18:17.359 --> 00:18:20.000 But I yeah, I I kind of love that because I love a heater. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:26.000 Yeah, and like I did it because my feet felt cold, but then I kept doing it because it also feels really good. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:29.920 But does it if if your feet aren't actually cold, is it warming it up? 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:36.880 I I feel like just your brain is it's probably just your brain telling you there's heat on your feet, so maybe they're warmer because they're not actually cold. 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:37.839 It's interesting. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:38.640 So right. 00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.720 And so it is a whole it was a very interesting symptom that had been on for like years. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:48.559 And you know, is it concerning that like I need a foot heater during the day? 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.200 Um, I mean, it's not normal. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:58.640 Uh I'm not like thinking, I'm not like, you know, on death row, but like or dying, but it was weird, but I got so used to it and I

liked it that I didn't care. 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:11.119 And I saw other people doing it occasionally, and then oftentimes when I was doing it, the people in the office space that I was doing it with or doing it at, excuse me, like they were always complaining how cold it was in the office. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:14.000 So it's always kind of justifying me doing it. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:15.279 Yes, offices are cold. 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.119 That's one of the reasons I don't like working in an office. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:19.039 I can't think when I'm cold. 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.720 So it whether rightfully or wrongfully, it validated that foot heater, right? 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:23.279 Okay. 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:27.680 So post surgery, I don't use a foot heater anymore. 00:19:27.680 --> 00:19:30.960 Oh pretty crazy, right? 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:31.680 Yeah. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:33.839 Haven't picked one up, haven't even needed it. 00:19:33.839 --> 00:19:35.839 Like I if I have used so I lied. 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:39.119 I've used it twice and it's because of the sound and like it makes me feel cozy. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:40.160 But I don't need it. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.279 Interesting. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:43.279 So those symptoms have gone away. 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.000 So that's pretty cool. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:55.920 Second, the foot kick, my right foot kick out, is far less pronounced. 00:19:57.119 --> 00:19:57.759 Interesting. 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:59.200 So that soon, okay. 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:04.559 So I can I was walking three to five minutes, now I can walk five to ten minutes or more at one time. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:16.880 It does tighten up and there is issues with the it does, it does do the same symptoms do show up, but the foot kick is far less pronounced, or it doesn't be it's it doesn't result from the the leg tightening. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.319 So interesting. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:25.839 Now, having said that, I am not suggesting that's gonna get resolved in three, six, nine months. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:26.720 I don't know. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:30.640 But I'm glad that it's gotten a little bit better. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:40.799 And so there could be something to some of the neurologists, neurosurgeons saying they they don't believe the neck is the cause of the foot, but it could be a contributor. 00:20:41.039 --> 00:20:41.359 Yeah. 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:43.119 It'll be interesting to see. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:45.440 I mean, we'll probably do a follow-up episode at some point. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:47.440 Yeah, you know, that's where you're at. 00:20:47.440 --> 00:20:54.720 So I'm not gonna drop the gun on that, and like I'm it's only been like less than a month, but I'm gonna be watching for it and I'll keep you guys posted. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:21:03.200 But um and then as far as everything else, my neck feels a little bit looser, my range of motion sucks, but like

that's supposed to be that way. 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:09.279 I have a feeling that my neck, the muscle guardian, is gonna get better, but we'll wait and see on that. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:18.960 But it wasn't like I had pain and numbness, where people say, you know, a day after the surgery, it was gone. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.200 Like I've seen that common in in chat rooms. 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:25.039 I didn't have those pains, so there was nothing there's nothing to like be gone. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:30.079 You know, so I didn't have anything that was like overtly painful like that. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:33.279 And so, but generally, um, I'm thankful. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:37.519 I think I'm doing pretty good, sleeping a little bit better. 00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.319 I'm out of the neck brace, and we'll just kind of take it day by day. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:42.480 I don't want to suggest anything. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:45.440 Uh as I mentioned, PT starts tomorrow. 00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:48.319 And I did want to talk about the incision for one second. 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:49.359 I think there's some interesting. 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:53.359 I want to go like a little bit deep into the incision, but I find this to be fascinating. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.880 Um Yeah, I didn't know what to expect. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:57.039 And since we showed up here, I get to see it. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:58.640 It's much larger than I thought. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.759 It's like it looks like someone took. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:01.440 a knife and slit your throat. 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:04.400 Yeah, I mean it's kind of for people who aren't watching this video. 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:05.359 So it's there. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:11.839 It actually um there's there's so the incision doesn't have stitches on the outside. 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:14.799 There's not there's no stitches to go get taken out. 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:23.519 The deep tissue, the muscle, the fascia under within my neck was closed with dissolvable internal sutures that restore strength and support. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:26.400 So there's a layer of sutures put there within my neck. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:31.200 Then there's this area called the dermis just a layer um beneath the skin is my understanding. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:38.640 That's closed with um absorbable such as that brings the skin's the skin's edge together from underneath again. 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:46.079 And the epidermis, the outer skin, is sealed with this medical glue that it's just fascinates me kind of. 00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:47.920 And it's been falling off on its own. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:49.839 So it's um it's almost done. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:51.519 It's almost like totally fallen off. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:53.039 It's been about three and a half weeks. 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.319 And I'm told that I just kind of have to just let it do its thing. 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:10.160 And

so you know it's the incisions at the crease of your neck so as I've seen other people who I've talked to have had this surgery I I my expectation is in two, three, four months that it's gonna be kind of unrecognizable. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:13.759 You're not gonna really unless you're looking know it's there. 00:23:13.759 --> 00:23:18.160 And so you know pretty fascinating to me. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:25.839 Um yeah I can I from the on this we're on the video and I I can see it but it's certainly not as large as I thought. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:37.440 It's longer than I thought but in terms of it standing out and being pronounced you know because when we talked I I was thinking like beetle juice you're gonna start smoking through your neck like that lady in the waiting room that's what I was expecting. 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.440 Sandy how is that for beetle juice? 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.039 Because if you say it three, you know what happens. 00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:47.039 I know but I think I think it's got to be consecutive so a previous podcast like six months ago doesn't count. 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:48.400 I should I should be fine. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.720 Because I'm getting nervous you say it three I'm getting nervous. 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:54.079 I know I'll stop now no more talk of the B word. 00:23:54.960 --> 00:24:18.319 So that's my journey that that is what what's where we're at that's just why there's kind of been a delay um although we're gonna you know kind of have intermittent podcasting but this has been interesting and I'm happy that it's over with but I'm also I'm I have a lot of gratification and thankfulness to the people that got me through this from the amazing medical staff at the hospital who answered all of my questions and those questions were a lot of questions. 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:20.960 I mean literally they must be like who is this guy? 00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:30.319 No but that's a good lesson you're you're well versed in a lot of this stuff you study it you read it you read your MRIs but just just as an overall if you have questions ask them. 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:37.279 Don't be afraid of feeling stupid or I mean if the doctor's not you know doesn't want to give you the time get another doctor but like ask the questions. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:42.640 You it's you deserve to know what's going to be happening to your body especially when someone's cutting into it. 00:24:43.279 --> 00:24:43.599 For sure. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.720 So this case let's let's kind of wrap this up with a bow here. 00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:52.160 So there's a few lessons that stand out more than anything else through kind of this journey. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:25:12.559 First listened to your body and its changes for me it wasn't a subtle change but it was it was a gate change uh that would you know didn't necessarily it its first instance seemed like it was like you know my neck, my gait like you know but I kind of put

some puzzle pieces together. 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:24.240 It would have been easy to convince myself um this wasn't a big deal but your body talks to you and sometimes it talks to you in traditional ways and logical ways and sometimes it talks to you in ways that you can't maybe understand. 00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:26.480 But don't ignore those signals. 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:45.200 Second get multiple opinions there are a lot of smart doctors out there at the top of the food chain when you need surgeries this is where the medical system our traditional medical system wins there and especially in the way that they can actually help provide better you know better outcomes. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:57.839 And so but get multiple opinions that you know all these doctors went to different medical schools different training programs different residencies they've seen different things with patients and they have different ways of approaching things and thought processes and so do what I did. 00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:00.079 Get opinions advocate for yourself. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:04.480 I I guess one important thing to say is medicine often deals in probabilities not certainties. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:13.119 So it's your job to gather information, ask questions, see different perspectives and so be your own advocate. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:21.839 Ultimately it's this kind it's this podcast, it's this surgery that is kind of the reason why you know Sandy and I created the health hunt. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:36.319 We're not experts in every aspect of medicine obviously we can be you know we're just advocates of our own health and so if this journey has taught me anything it's that being curious always ask better questions about your own health because it can change the trajectory of your life. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:55.519 I mean if I wouldn't have gotten this surgery and been like you know I'm not in pain I'm not I'm not numb and then I would have fallen one day or in boca the drivers are horrible South Florida in general maybe the United States but certainly South Florida getting the even if I got like someone hit me in the back and I had a little bit of neck whiplash I'm taking time out. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:57.920 Yeah who knows these are important things. 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:14.799 So I wanted to share this story and I hope it empowers you to maybe notice things that are in your life I mean you being the you know 20 listeners we have now and that you take charge of your own health journey but I hope this was rewarding and helpful for the audience. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.799 I think it was because I know there's a lot of people that are probably in similar situations. 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:28.160 So thank you for taking us through every step of the journey I know it wasn't easy to relive because especially since it's been so soon but I think sort of your experience is very helpful. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:41.599 And I also know there's people listening who are probably facing similar decisions and your willingness to share both the highs and the lows is exactly why we started the health time that you said one of our biggest goals has always been to just help people become better advocates for their own health journey. 00:27:41.599 --> 00:27:45.759 The story is a perfect reminder it's that it's okay to ask questions. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:55.519 Like Dan said seek a second opinion or a third opinion or even go beyond Dan get a fourth opinion and make healthier decisions based on knowledge and not fear. 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.960 If this two-part series helped you we'd love to hear from you. 00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:06.240 Reach out through our website or connect with us on social media and let us know what resonated most with you or share your own health journey. 00:28:06.240 --> 00:28:20.160 And before you go please follow the Health Hunt wherever you listen to podcasts, leave us a rating and review and share this series with someone who could benefit from hearing from every follow review and share helps us reach more people who are trying to take control of their health. 00:28:20.160 --> 00:28:27.279 Thanks for listening until next time keep asking questions keep advocating for yourself and keep hunting for better health