Physical Therapy

My son is a well-known expert in the field of orthopedic surgery. His website was number one in the world in that field for several years. He has since moved on from that medical area into more lucrative endeavors. While he was still treating elite athletes for sports injuries, he relied a great deal on physical therapists to be his eyes, ears, and hands in delivering his care. He was wise to do that.

In the past nine months, I have developed lower extremity weakness that has made walking very difficult. I blamed it on my leg muscles initially because I had little pain, but the more I tried to force my muscles to pick up their share of the load, the worse it got. Eventually, I started to have lower back pain. After a fairly simple evaluation, it became apparent that I had severe stenosis in my lower lumbar spine that needed surgery.

So it came to pass that I met with a physical therapist for preoperative assessment of my disability. She gave me a few exercises to start to strengthen my nonexistent core muscles before surgery and also gave me instructions on how to roll out of bed after back surgery.

Now, she was a very attractive gal that any man would roll out of bed for, but I had been dealing with weakness and back pain long enough that I had already figured out how to properly roll out of bed as well as how to pull your legs into the car without twisting your back. I could give extensive instruction on the very many things you learn to deal with lower back pain. Pain is the most direct and immediate instructor that God has ever given us.

My surgery is scheduled for tomorrow. God bless all of those who help us deal with the frailties of life and age. Send any prayers you might have for my surgeon and the post-op nurses who will have to put up with me. I haven't had much experience in being a good patient.