Hanging with friends. Going to the beach. Nodding my head enthusiastically yes at every opportunity.
Good way to spend the paper anniversary.
PS: Hair is looking good.
Good way to spend the paper anniversary.
PS: Hair is looking good.
Saturday 27 February 2016
Friday 4 September 2015
Six months down the line
It has been six months since I've had the halo brace unscrewed from my noggin. Nine months since I broke my back in three places. A year since Greg and I said, "We're out of here, Old Life, we're going to go be jobless and live out of our car!!!"
Such good follow through.
The halo is a distant memory now, and I only really get reminded of it when people I haven't seen for a while ask, "How is your neck?". It's fine. It's not sore. It has a lot of mobility now, but I think most of that was recovered in the first three months. I've almost entirely stopped turning with my torso. I have picked up the habit of rubbing the scar on my forehead when I'm thinking, the one which has the tissue fused with the bone and gives me a dimple when I frown. But the scars ain't no thang. The fringe covers them, and even when it doesn't, they aren't very noticeable.
That said, I was on the bus the other day to go to work, and saw a gentleman standing up who had the EXACT SAME SCARS!! Only older looking. I wanted to say something to him, but wasn't sure how to open. "Hey, remember those three months where you couldn't bathe? Sure glad that's over!"
Here's my current range of motion:
That head tile could actually use some work. I was thinking of taking up yoga.
The last thing I was waiting on was this six month mark to start doing some weight-training again. The doctor recommended not doing any exercises involving my back for this period of time be extra certain it was as healed as it ever was going to be. Now that it is, I can start doing push-ups again!
And waterslides!!!
Such good follow through.
The halo is a distant memory now, and I only really get reminded of it when people I haven't seen for a while ask, "How is your neck?". It's fine. It's not sore. It has a lot of mobility now, but I think most of that was recovered in the first three months. I've almost entirely stopped turning with my torso. I have picked up the habit of rubbing the scar on my forehead when I'm thinking, the one which has the tissue fused with the bone and gives me a dimple when I frown. But the scars ain't no thang. The fringe covers them, and even when it doesn't, they aren't very noticeable.
That said, I was on the bus the other day to go to work, and saw a gentleman standing up who had the EXACT SAME SCARS!! Only older looking. I wanted to say something to him, but wasn't sure how to open. "Hey, remember those three months where you couldn't bathe? Sure glad that's over!"
Here's my current range of motion:
That head tile could actually use some work. I was thinking of taking up yoga.
The last thing I was waiting on was this six month mark to start doing some weight-training again. The doctor recommended not doing any exercises involving my back for this period of time be extra certain it was as healed as it ever was going to be. Now that it is, I can start doing push-ups again!
And waterslides!!!
Saturday 27 June 2015
Scars
Some quick shots of my ~battle scars~.
 |
| Six months of hair growth hides them very well. |
 |
| Except when I frown, I get a forehead dim-ple. |
Update!
Whoops! After hand-on-heart promising that I wouldn't become one of those blogs that whinged about the halo and then went quiet when they got the halo off... that's exactly what I did. My bad!
Suppose that's the good news-- breaking my back in three places and wearing a halo for three months has been nothing more than a blip. Lucky me.
You might want to hear about the final doctor appointment, three months after getting the halo off. It went as expected. Three hours of waiting for a five minute consult with a completely new doctor who did not get my sense of humour. He said I could basically do anything I wanted. I said, "Water sliding?" and he did not laugh. But then we were talking about other forms of exercise, and he said, "Just use your best judgement... actually, you went down the waterslide in the first place, so maybe don't trust your judgement" so HE GETS ME.
The X-ray involve me shifting my neck and shoulders into increasingly weirder positions to determine the positioning of my vertebrae. Everything looked good on the scan, so far as they can tell. There is a chip of bone off one of the vertebrae which is hanging out all on it's lonesome, but shouldn't cause any dramas. Overall the doctor was cautiously not-displeased about my healing. He did say not to do any weightlifting that involve the thoracic part of my spine (so nothing above the head) for about six months, and that was mainly because any aches and pains they weren't sure if it would be because of the back injury, or me being a weakling.
Anyway, I don't have to go back to the doctor again, not in a month, not in six months, not in a year. I'm done. Hooray! He didn't even recommend any physio, and didn't seem phased when I admitted that I had been dodgy driving for weeks. Life is finally back to normal.
I still have to wait a few months to do any sort of weightlifting. In particular, I'm not allowed to do exercises that strain the spine, like squats, deadlifts or pullups. The doctor said it's because if I get sore, I won't be sure if it's the injury or just my weak muscles. I should be able to start (trying to and failing) pull-ups in September, but will probably consult with a physio before starting again.
I'm still continuing to build the muscles and flexibility in my neck. Left and right seem spot-on now, and people have commented that I've stopped moving with my entire torso. Great! I feel like 'Up' has fairly good range of movement now, especially if I take it slow-- it gets a bit of a twinge, but only momentarily and only at first. I still can't fully tuck my chin into my chest. No great loss. And when I move my head all around, it even sometimes cracks!
My recovery feels complete. Hopefully the only legacy of breaking my back in three places will be the numerous people who have told me they will never try a water slide.
Suppose that's the good news-- breaking my back in three places and wearing a halo for three months has been nothing more than a blip. Lucky me.
You might want to hear about the final doctor appointment, three months after getting the halo off. It went as expected. Three hours of waiting for a five minute consult with a completely new doctor who did not get my sense of humour. He said I could basically do anything I wanted. I said, "Water sliding?" and he did not laugh. But then we were talking about other forms of exercise, and he said, "Just use your best judgement... actually, you went down the waterslide in the first place, so maybe don't trust your judgement" so HE GETS ME.
The X-ray involve me shifting my neck and shoulders into increasingly weirder positions to determine the positioning of my vertebrae. Everything looked good on the scan, so far as they can tell. There is a chip of bone off one of the vertebrae which is hanging out all on it's lonesome, but shouldn't cause any dramas. Overall the doctor was cautiously not-displeased about my healing. He did say not to do any weightlifting that involve the thoracic part of my spine (so nothing above the head) for about six months, and that was mainly because any aches and pains they weren't sure if it would be because of the back injury, or me being a weakling.
Anyway, I don't have to go back to the doctor again, not in a month, not in six months, not in a year. I'm done. Hooray! He didn't even recommend any physio, and didn't seem phased when I admitted that I had been dodgy driving for weeks. Life is finally back to normal.
I still have to wait a few months to do any sort of weightlifting. In particular, I'm not allowed to do exercises that strain the spine, like squats, deadlifts or pullups. The doctor said it's because if I get sore, I won't be sure if it's the injury or just my weak muscles. I should be able to start (trying to and failing) pull-ups in September, but will probably consult with a physio before starting again.
I'm still continuing to build the muscles and flexibility in my neck. Left and right seem spot-on now, and people have commented that I've stopped moving with my entire torso. Great! I feel like 'Up' has fairly good range of movement now, especially if I take it slow-- it gets a bit of a twinge, but only momentarily and only at first. I still can't fully tuck my chin into my chest. No great loss. And when I move my head all around, it even sometimes cracks!
My recovery feels complete. Hopefully the only legacy of breaking my back in three places will be the numerous people who have told me they will never try a water slide.
Monday 27 April 2015
Two Months
It's now two months since I got out of the halo! Time really has flown. By now I've caught up with most of the people who haven't seen me since I got out. I still enjoy doing my party trick of moving my head in all directions. People love that.
I'm finally able to look up without doing an awkward lean back from the waist and now I'm really able to enjoy the art deco light fixture mouldings in this house. I'll take a picture for you some day, they are wild.
Now I would estimate that I've got about 90% of movement back in my neck. It feels like it's come back very quickly, but I am not really trying to hold back. I'm doing my own little physio routine, which involves:
Looking left, looking right, looking up, looking down, tilting head to the right, tilting head to the left (tilting still feels fairly limited, but how often do you use that anyway?), and then going around the world both ways. In the absence of proper physio, I feel like it's been quite effective. But given that it was my thoracic spine that was broken, and not the joints in my neck, regaining movement probably was never going to be as much of an issue for me as for most halo brace patients.
As I have said to many, many people over the past couple of months, I broke my back in the best possible way.
Then they say, "You should buy a lottery ticket!"
And then I do, and then I lose, and figure I've already used up all my luck for the rest of my life on not being paraplegic.
Scars are still present. Not much to say about them. I have continued to rub the stuck one whenever I remember. I think it's improving? Still stuck but seems to have a bit more give to it. People are constantly amazed that the scars are as small as they are. I had a mosquito bite right in the middle of my forehead the other day and one of the nurses at work mixed that up with a halo scar. Ferocious mosquito.
While on the topic of cosmetic changes, my acne and backne are finally clearing up. Looks like I was correct about it returning to normal once I was doing normal things.
Also, I've lost my halo-abs and regained my pre-halo weight. Looks like everybody was correct about it returning to normal once I was doing normal things!
That's regression to the mean, for you.
Got my follow-up appointment at the end of next week where I have my x-ray taken while stretching everything into different positions. Hopefully that will be the end of the doctor visits, and I can start some real exercise again.
I'm finally able to look up without doing an awkward lean back from the waist and now I'm really able to enjoy the art deco light fixture mouldings in this house. I'll take a picture for you some day, they are wild.
Now I would estimate that I've got about 90% of movement back in my neck. It feels like it's come back very quickly, but I am not really trying to hold back. I'm doing my own little physio routine, which involves:
Looking left, looking right, looking up, looking down, tilting head to the right, tilting head to the left (tilting still feels fairly limited, but how often do you use that anyway?), and then going around the world both ways. In the absence of proper physio, I feel like it's been quite effective. But given that it was my thoracic spine that was broken, and not the joints in my neck, regaining movement probably was never going to be as much of an issue for me as for most halo brace patients.
As I have said to many, many people over the past couple of months, I broke my back in the best possible way.
Then they say, "You should buy a lottery ticket!"
And then I do, and then I lose, and figure I've already used up all my luck for the rest of my life on not being paraplegic.
Scars are still present. Not much to say about them. I have continued to rub the stuck one whenever I remember. I think it's improving? Still stuck but seems to have a bit more give to it. People are constantly amazed that the scars are as small as they are. I had a mosquito bite right in the middle of my forehead the other day and one of the nurses at work mixed that up with a halo scar. Ferocious mosquito.
While on the topic of cosmetic changes, my acne and backne are finally clearing up. Looks like I was correct about it returning to normal once I was doing normal things.
Also, I've lost my halo-abs and regained my pre-halo weight. Looks like everybody was correct about it returning to normal once I was doing normal things!
That's regression to the mean, for you.
Got my follow-up appointment at the end of next week where I have my x-ray taken while stretching everything into different positions. Hopefully that will be the end of the doctor visits, and I can start some real exercise again.
Friday 10 April 2015
High Five!
Five weeks since I lost the halo! It's gone by so fast.
I'm physically back at work now, which is nice. It's still another couple of weeks until I'm allowed to drive. That's not due to any lack of function. It's a legal thing-- insurance doesn't cover you until you're a month out of a neckbrace. Which I didn't know until I mentioned driving to my doctor-- I wonder if he would have even brought it up if I hadn't!
The follow-up appointment was pretty straightforward (apart from the four hour wait we had when they tried to jam every spinal patient in Perth into a single afternoon). I had some xrays shot in me, and all that could really be seen is that everything's in the right place. The doctor had me move my head up and down-- down's really good for me, but up is still pretty stiff.
I have to go back at the beginning of May to have some more x-rays done with the same movements before he'll sign off on physio. I'm not allowed to have any rough massage or physio, because he doesn't want anyone else to try force my neck, but am free to try and move it around under my own steam.
I mentioned last time I thought I had a quarter of my usual range of movement. I think it's now something like 80%. Left and right are almost to where they should be, down is excellent, and up is still stiff but getting better. I feel like I've got pretty good mobility back, but a couple of people have noticed that I do still tend to move with my torso. That might be as much psychological as physical at this point.
Scars are looking pretty good! They're a bit pink but mostly covered by hair. The scar on the left has bonded to underlying tissue and I've been rubbing it pretty hard every day to try loosen it up. Not sure if it's actually doing anything, but it makes me feel better to be doing something.
Apparently the dents in my head are here to stay. The doctor said it could be necrosis of fatty tissue due to that raging infection. They feel pretty deep, but the flesh on the skull is actually 5-8mm deep-- plenty of buffer before the brain case. He said it's definitely not the infection having turned my skull into mush. What a relief! I think there's a bit of nerve damage in the area because touching it seems to prickle the top of my skull. The other rear pin site is still a little tender, but otherwise ok. I'm happy that the two most problematic sites to heal are completely hidden by hair.
So that's the state of me! I'll check back in again after the first week of May.
I'm physically back at work now, which is nice. It's still another couple of weeks until I'm allowed to drive. That's not due to any lack of function. It's a legal thing-- insurance doesn't cover you until you're a month out of a neckbrace. Which I didn't know until I mentioned driving to my doctor-- I wonder if he would have even brought it up if I hadn't!
The follow-up appointment was pretty straightforward (apart from the four hour wait we had when they tried to jam every spinal patient in Perth into a single afternoon). I had some xrays shot in me, and all that could really be seen is that everything's in the right place. The doctor had me move my head up and down-- down's really good for me, but up is still pretty stiff.
I have to go back at the beginning of May to have some more x-rays done with the same movements before he'll sign off on physio. I'm not allowed to have any rough massage or physio, because he doesn't want anyone else to try force my neck, but am free to try and move it around under my own steam.
I mentioned last time I thought I had a quarter of my usual range of movement. I think it's now something like 80%. Left and right are almost to where they should be, down is excellent, and up is still stiff but getting better. I feel like I've got pretty good mobility back, but a couple of people have noticed that I do still tend to move with my torso. That might be as much psychological as physical at this point.
 |
| Foreheads hella messed up |
Scars are looking pretty good! They're a bit pink but mostly covered by hair. The scar on the left has bonded to underlying tissue and I've been rubbing it pretty hard every day to try loosen it up. Not sure if it's actually doing anything, but it makes me feel better to be doing something.
Apparently the dents in my head are here to stay. The doctor said it could be necrosis of fatty tissue due to that raging infection. They feel pretty deep, but the flesh on the skull is actually 5-8mm deep-- plenty of buffer before the brain case. He said it's definitely not the infection having turned my skull into mush. What a relief! I think there's a bit of nerve damage in the area because touching it seems to prickle the top of my skull. The other rear pin site is still a little tender, but otherwise ok. I'm happy that the two most problematic sites to heal are completely hidden by hair.
So that's the state of me! I'll check back in again after the first week of May.
Thursday 19 March 2015
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly
It has been three weeks since the halo came off! I haven't posted because I have only just gotten out of the shower.
Life post-halo has been a rollercoaster. I've been busy with work (up to 4 days a week now), uni (week 3), and moving (finally living with Greg in an actual house, not car!). I had a couple of drafts queued up but haven't posted anything because they all got a bit navel-gazing.
The Good:
I'm free! I'm light, and nimble, and no longer top-heavy! I've adjusted quickly. Last night I took my bra off like it was the most normal thing in the world. And I was like, "Wasn't I hanging out for this for three months? Shouldn't this be a big deal?" Then I got distracted by the sight of my shadow of a six-pack and thought no more of it.
I've lost weight around the trunk. I thought it was body dysmorphia, but Greg's mum commented on my skinny top half, so I think there's something in it. I wasn't even trying to lose weight, but you can only jam so much in there! My appetite is still less than what it was. So if you are considering losing weight, consider a restrictive halo brace. Actually, I don't recommend this method at all...
Showers. Are amazing. Never pass up the chance to have another. In fact, pause reading and go have one right now. That's fine, I'll wait.
Sleep is so easy. Though I'd forgotten how to use a pillow properly and kept sticking it under my shoulder. Took a while to remember that the pillow goes under the head. Wow!
I can probably return to work physically once I see the doctor, which will be nice because my coworkers at home are hella quiet.
The Bad:
I don't get to use "but I've got a broken back" as an excuse to get out of things anymore.
My neck and shoulders hurt. They never hurt at all in the halo, and now the muscles are stiff all the time. I am wearing a neck brace "off and on" (doctor's orders) and a fair bit of mobility has gradually come back, but I've probably only got a quarter of the range that I used to. Since the fracture was T1 to T4, it's probably muscular, but I won't know until I see the doctor. Some physio will probably sort it out but I can tell already, it's going to hurt.
On the muscular note, I have lost a lot of strength in my upper body. My arms are limp little noodles and my neck muscles apparently don't like holding my head up all day, though that's getting better. I've got some dumbbells, so as soon as the doctor allows it, I'm gonna smashing those weights. Hah!
Still can't drive and have to rely on lifts and public transport. Happily the new house is close to a couple of bus lines, even one that takes me straight to uni, so that's actually not too bad.
My posture is a bit better but my back hurts at the end of the day sometimes, and I seem to have developed a little hump around the junction of my neck and back. Maybe the fracture? Not sure, because I haven't seen the doctor with regards to my x-ray. So I'm not sure if that's going to fade away, or if I've got future costume options as the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
There is also the question of arthritis or other related problems in the future, but that's Future Roshy's problem.
The Ugly:
The halo has taken a bit of a toll on my body physically. I have two wounds on my forehead which I have confirmed now aren't even symmetrical! Granted the doctor was probably more concerned with getting my back, not the scars, straight-- but it's an annoyance anyway. On the back of my head, I've got an actual dent where the infection was raging, and on the other side I've got either some proud flesh or an abscess. The topography of my head has certainly taken some knocks. Good thing phrenology is no longer a science because my head right now has some crazy things going on in the areas corresponding to Caution (ironic...).
My shoulder-blades were the only part of the halo I couldn't reach to clean. Subsequently they developed some gnarly backne. Fortunately that is starting to clear up now and I hope won't have a recurrence.
My jawline has also developed acne due to my greasy face, and that hasn't really cleared up yet. My skin used to be fairly good and I'm hoping it will become good again now that I'm back to my usual habits. If it doesn't, I will be so annoyed!
So that's about it in regards to life after the halo. I'm definitely happy to be out of it, but it's clear that unlike a cold or gastro, there might be some effects that linger long after the injury.
Obviously I was very lucky and have had an amazing outcome, and am living the best case scenario. I just find it funny how quickly I've gone back to taking almost-full mobility for granted, and how put-out I am by really quite minor issues. If I was a better person it would be the other way around. :)
Life post-halo has been a rollercoaster. I've been busy with work (up to 4 days a week now), uni (week 3), and moving (finally living with Greg in an actual house, not car!). I had a couple of drafts queued up but haven't posted anything because they all got a bit navel-gazing.
 |
| Stargazing > Navelgazing |
The Good:
I'm free! I'm light, and nimble, and no longer top-heavy! I've adjusted quickly. Last night I took my bra off like it was the most normal thing in the world. And I was like, "Wasn't I hanging out for this for three months? Shouldn't this be a big deal?" Then I got distracted by the sight of my shadow of a six-pack and thought no more of it.
I've lost weight around the trunk. I thought it was body dysmorphia, but Greg's mum commented on my skinny top half, so I think there's something in it. I wasn't even trying to lose weight, but you can only jam so much in there! My appetite is still less than what it was. So if you are considering losing weight, consider a restrictive halo brace. Actually, I don't recommend this method at all...
Showers. Are amazing. Never pass up the chance to have another. In fact, pause reading and go have one right now. That's fine, I'll wait.
Sleep is so easy. Though I'd forgotten how to use a pillow properly and kept sticking it under my shoulder. Took a while to remember that the pillow goes under the head. Wow!
I can probably return to work physically once I see the doctor, which will be nice because my coworkers at home are hella quiet.
 |
| Apart from Wilson, who can be quite chatty. |
The Bad:
I don't get to use "but I've got a broken back" as an excuse to get out of things anymore.
My neck and shoulders hurt. They never hurt at all in the halo, and now the muscles are stiff all the time. I am wearing a neck brace "off and on" (doctor's orders) and a fair bit of mobility has gradually come back, but I've probably only got a quarter of the range that I used to. Since the fracture was T1 to T4, it's probably muscular, but I won't know until I see the doctor. Some physio will probably sort it out but I can tell already, it's going to hurt.
On the muscular note, I have lost a lot of strength in my upper body. My arms are limp little noodles and my neck muscles apparently don't like holding my head up all day, though that's getting better. I've got some dumbbells, so as soon as the doctor allows it, I'm gonna smashing those weights. Hah!
Still can't drive and have to rely on lifts and public transport. Happily the new house is close to a couple of bus lines, even one that takes me straight to uni, so that's actually not too bad.
My posture is a bit better but my back hurts at the end of the day sometimes, and I seem to have developed a little hump around the junction of my neck and back. Maybe the fracture? Not sure, because I haven't seen the doctor with regards to my x-ray. So I'm not sure if that's going to fade away, or if I've got future costume options as the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
There is also the question of arthritis or other related problems in the future, but that's Future Roshy's problem.
The Ugly:
The halo has taken a bit of a toll on my body physically. I have two wounds on my forehead which I have confirmed now aren't even symmetrical! Granted the doctor was probably more concerned with getting my back, not the scars, straight-- but it's an annoyance anyway. On the back of my head, I've got an actual dent where the infection was raging, and on the other side I've got either some proud flesh or an abscess. The topography of my head has certainly taken some knocks. Good thing phrenology is no longer a science because my head right now has some crazy things going on in the areas corresponding to Caution (ironic...).
My shoulder-blades were the only part of the halo I couldn't reach to clean. Subsequently they developed some gnarly backne. Fortunately that is starting to clear up now and I hope won't have a recurrence.
My jawline has also developed acne due to my greasy face, and that hasn't really cleared up yet. My skin used to be fairly good and I'm hoping it will become good again now that I'm back to my usual habits. If it doesn't, I will be so annoyed!
So that's about it in regards to life after the halo. I'm definitely happy to be out of it, but it's clear that unlike a cold or gastro, there might be some effects that linger long after the injury.
Obviously I was very lucky and have had an amazing outcome, and am living the best case scenario. I just find it funny how quickly I've gone back to taking almost-full mobility for granted, and how put-out I am by really quite minor issues. If I was a better person it would be the other way around. :)
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