Bed BACK and Beyond
Sharing positive stories of recovery after a herniated disc or other spinal cord injury. Join herniated disc champion CK as she has informative and encouraging conversations with other back injury survivors. From people who elected to have back surgery (microdiscectomy, laminectomy, fusion, etc) to those who used more conservative methods, plus all things in between, join our podcast, and let's talk about how life can move beyond the bed after injury. If you are dealing with the isolation and despair that often accompanies a serious back or neck injury, then you'll love being a part of these stories of hope and recovery.
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Bed BACK and Beyond
Surviving The Dread Re-Herniation
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What happens when a passion for fitness collides with a life-changing back injury? Jared, an aircraft engineer from Louisville, Kentucky, knows all too well. Join us as he opens up about the unexpected turn of events that began with a routine weightlifting mishap and led to a debilitating journey through back pain and sciatica. As Jared navigates the challenges of his demanding job while managing chronic pain, he shares the critical turning point when a sisterly suggestion to try physical therapy shifted his perspective on healing.
We hear firsthand accounts of individuals dealing with the harsh realities of recurring back pain post-surgery, unpeeling the layers of frustration and isolation that often accompany such conditions. These narratives offer a stark look at the emotional toll of chronic pain, the battle with medical systems, and the impact on personal relationships. Our conversations highlight the resilience and tenacity required to face these invisible yet life-altering conditions and emphasize the importance of finding the right treatment path amidst a maze of options.
Throughout the episode, the recurring theme is one of resilience and the slow, sometimes imperceptible, journey toward recovery. We discuss the role of physical therapy, the emotional challenges of balancing career aspirations with health constraints, and the invaluable support of understanding employers and family. By sharing these stories, our aim is to offer hope and encouragement, underscoring the power of patience, perseverance, and community in overcoming back injuries and more.
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Overcoming Back Injury
Speaker 1I was doing back and I was dead lifting and did my exercise, it was fun, left the gym, was fun, and then Thursday was completely fun, and then Friday I was completely fine. And then Saturday I went flying and for some reason, my back, the muscles in my back, just tightened up. My lower back, they just completely tightened up and just kept getting tighter and tighter as I was flying and I got home and I was like emptying the dishwasher and I bent over and I was like oh, oh, my gosh, what is happening?
Speaker 2Welcome to Bed Back and Beyond, sharing positive stories of recovery from serious back or neck injury. Your host is CK, a fellow champion who draws on her own experience with herniated disc surgery. Join her as she talks with others who have overcome the physical and emotional trauma of a painful injury and discover for yourself how you can find hope and encouragement in recovery.
Speaker 3Hi Jarrett, Thank you so much for joining me on this episode of Bed, Back and Beyond. Before we dive into your injury, how about you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 1Well, thank you for having me. My name is Jared. I'm from Louisville, kentucky. I currently work as an aircraft powerpoint engineer. In my free time I have a dog and before my injury I used to like to fly. I was getting my instrument and commercial pilot's license whenever I got hurt.
Speaker 3Wow. So living in Kentucky does that mean you're a bourbon fan? I actually don't drink at all. It is bourbon, it is bourbon, okay.
Speaker 1But I don't drink. I have enough health issues with the back and everything else, so I decided to stay away from it. I went to Kentucky for something a couple of years ago and just the signs everywhere for Angel, I think, was one anytime I travel anywhere, people are like bring like a bottle, except I'm going up to chicago in a few weeks and my buddy's up there and he's like go get me this bottle and it's like 40 bucks here, but up in chicago it's over 200.
Speaker 3So wow yeah, there are perks and you said, you're sorry, an aircraft engineer.
Speaker 1Yeah, so jet engines. I'm a jet engine engineer.
Speaker 3Okay, hands on, or a lot of spreadsheets.
Speaker 1Mine is more project management. I run two engine shops, one in Minneapolis and one in Hanover, germany. So I'm in charge of when the engines come off, the aircraft for heavy maintenance, I build the entire work scopes, I answer any questions that the shop has, I run the finances. I'm just a manager. I own everything that happens on our engines and I'm actually. I've been over to Germany twice this year since I've gotten clear for my back injury In Minneapolis twice and I have another visit up there in the coming weeks.
Speaker 3Wow, how long have you been doing that?
Speaker 1About two years now.
Speaker 3Okay, great, that's great. So then, when did you start having some back?
Speaker 1issues. Well, so I was lifting. I had a weightlifting injury. It was January of 2023. It was January 5th to be exact. I was at 10% body fat, was doing a lot of heavy lifting, had a trainer, was wearing a weightlifting belt.
Speaker 3Oh, were you a competitor.
Speaker 1No.
Speaker 3I just wanted to look good.
Speaker 1It wasn't even about heavy weight. Really, for me it was just I wanted to look good, okay, and I went to the gym it was a Wednesday night, I believe, and I was doing back and I was deadlifting and did my exercise. It was fun. Left the gym it was fun. And then Thursday was completely fun or no, it was a Thursday and then Friday I was completely fine. And then Saturday I went flying and for some reason my back, the muscles in my back, just tightened up my lower back no-transcript around the entire time. She's like don't hurt your back. And I did some exercises and I got it manageable.
Speaker 1I had a little bit of sciatica down my right leg, mainly into my glute and hip area. That's really it. And I took 20 days off from the gym and on on January 25th this one was a Wednesday I was doing legs and I was squatting. I didn't put much weight on there because I wanted to go really easy. So I think I was doing like 135 and I left the gym. I was fine. And Thursday I was fine. Friday I was sitting in the office and my back just tightened up again and it didn't get better, unfortunately, because I at that point I had herniated it and I just had that shooting pain down my right leg, really in my glute, only at this point.
Speaker 1It changed so much throughout the entire process, but it was only in my glute and hip area I was having that pain. I had no back pain at all and I could just barely sit at all. I couldn't sit much. Standing was fine, walking was fine, laying down didn't cause me any issues, but sitting I just couldn't do it and I have a desk job, so that was an issue. And I tried doing some at-home exercises and all that and it didn't really help. And I go to my doctor and they put me on just like a steroid. Didn't help.
Speaker 3Didn't help. Now you said with the first time, you said it was just bulging the first time. Did you get an MRI with that first time?
Speaker 1I just assumed it was bulging, because it's just how it felt, based on everything I know. And then it got better, so maybe it was just protruding or something out. A little bit I fixed it and then I ended up completely rupturing it, and I didn't find that out though, until, like I did the steroids to try to get the inflammation down Didn't help. Got another steroid pack Didn't help. And then he tried to refer me to just a neurosurgeon. And my sister she's a doctor she's like you need to go to physical therapy, don't go to a neurosurgeon, go to a PT, go get that knocked out. So I started that and it helped a little bit, but it really wasn't doing too much. And then I went and I got an MRI and found out that I had herniated my L4, l5. And it was compressing my L4, l5. It was compressing my L5 nerve running down my right leg. So then I was like, doing PT, it helped a little bit, it wasn't doing too much for me, and the pain ended up starting to move down into my knee to where it was like you have a pressure on both sides of your knee, and it was not getting better. So then I went to the neurosurgeon and they were just like okay, well, let's get you an epidural. And I was like, sure, this is going to cure my issues. It has to. And I got the epidural and it felt good for about 30 minutes and then it just did nothing. It did not help me at all.
Speaker 1So then it was like June at this time and my surgeon's just like okay, well, you've done physical therapy for about six months and you've gotten an epidural, you've tried these steroid packs. I would recommend you getting a micro disc activate. And I was just like well, crap, I'm 23, now I need a back surgery, a lower back surgery, which I mean I'm not sure if you've had the same issues, but when you're in that much pain because there's no way to describe it it's like I'll do anything to make it stop. And I went with him and I was like I'm gonna get a second opinion because I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing. And I went to a second back surgeon. He reviewed and he's like yep, I mean, with this surgery it's pretty easy, it's pretty routine. If you're gonna get a back, this is one of the ones you want to get.
Speaker 1And he actually was like I would recommend getting an open discectomy though, because with the tube and with you being so young, want to go in. With the tube they go through the muscle and they have to grind down a little bit more of the joint. And I was like, now I wanted you just to agree with him and be like, okay, go do that. But no, now he gave me more information, me being an engineer. I was like, okay, well, now I need to look into this more. So then my sister and I kind of sat down and we reviewed a lot of the studies and it said that they pretty much had similar outcomes. I mean, it might be a little harder in the beginning with the open discectomy because it's a larger incision and it made sense to me to get less of the joint removed. So I was like, okay, and they just pulled the muscle to the side instead of going through it. I'll do that.
Speaker 3Did they have to do a laminectomy as well?
Speaker 1Yeah, it was a lumbar decompression consisting of a laminectomy and discectomy. Okay, and so I got the open discectomy with the second surgeon on July 12th of 2023. And I come out of the surgery. I had a little pain in the ball right in my foot and they gave me a pain medicine Gone, no pain anymore which they did say which surgery was the right option for me. Ultimately, for the first one Because whenever they got in there, they said that the disc had kind me. Ultimately, for the first one because whenever they got in there, they said that the disc had like kind of started to calcify over. It wasn't going in the veins, it started like wrapping around my nerve. So he was like it was. I think it was supposed to be like a 45 minute surgery and it took about an hour and 15 minutes.
Speaker 3So yeah, so I was under for three hours Cause my um I don't know if they never used the word calcified, but my, my disc was glued to the? Um spinal cord with scar tissue. Oh. So they um, they tore the dora, so then I had to stay in the hospital for three nights but, they couldn't remove it off. So I still have like a chunk of disc like on my on my my spinal cord.
Speaker 1Just hanging out.
Speaker 3Just hanging out, yeah, and then. So they made the hole in the laminectomy bigger. So that the nerve, still has freedom of movement. But Well, that's nice, at least.
Speaker 1Have you seen any kind of relief at all through your surgery? Oh?
Speaker 3mostly, I am probably like 95% pain-free, and then every once in a while when I overdo it, like I was doing some painting this summer you know, rolling the paint and stuff, and then that will cause a flare and the numbness in my leg never went away. So it's and this is. This is five years now, so, yeah, so I still have the numbness.
Speaker 1Okay, but I'm pain. I'm mostly pain. That's better than.
Speaker 3Okay, like you said, I was like just just give me the surgery.
Recurring Back Pain Post-Surgery
Speaker 1Yeah, and so I. I got the surgery and it went great and I had no issues. For 10 days I had no pain at all. I was off the painkillers in a few days. I honestly didn't like the painkillers or the muscle relaxers. They don't do anything for the nerve pain and I was finding with the muscle relaxers it wasn't. I wasn't able to support my spine as much, so it kind of caused me a little sensitivity. So I just went off of that pretty much from the beginning. And then, 10 days post-op, I was walking, doing my walks. I was just walking laps around the house. I got this weird buzzing like a vibrating where my foot transitions to my leg on the inside of it. It just started buzzing. I was like that's weird, but they said there was going to be inflammation around two weeks.
Speaker 1I guess that's normal.
Speaker 3Did you hear that on the Reddit community?
Speaker 1I was. I was looking for so many answers and I was just like please, it's fine, everything's fine, I haven't had pain, it's fine, I'm fine. There's no way I'm part of like the 10% that hasn't re-herniate.
Speaker 3Yeah.
Speaker 1And it just continued to get worse and worse and worse, to the point where it wasn't in my glute and knee, it was wrapping all the way around my leg, into my foot, into my big toe and it became this constricting constant, like I couldn't sit, I couldn't lay down and I couldn't stand without a constant pain. Walking wouldn't help and they put me on. At my three week post-op visit they put me on a steroid pack and they're like this should knock out the inflammation, it'll be good. Didn't help.
Speaker 3Didn't help. So was that pain worse than the pain you were experiencing prior to surgery?
Speaker 1They're very similar. But yeah, I would say it was worse and I was. I was just like I couldn't bend or twist, they told me.
Speaker 3Yeah, so you were following those rules.
Speaker 1I didn't bend, I didn't twist, I didn't have anything, I didn't fall, I didn't have anything happen. I wasn't lifting more than 10 pounds and I was still in this crippling pain. And it was about six weeks. I was like I started to demand I have to get another MRI. Something is not right. And my, my mom, actually hers had re-herniated as well, but she like fell like four weeks after her surgery. But I demanded an MRI after a while, cause I was just like we've been on steroid packs. Nothing is helping. I'm in crippling, I can't sit, I can barely work.
Speaker 1Helping, I'm in crippling, I can't sit, I can barely work, I would like sit at my desk and I would just like get on my knees, cause I was like I don't want to stand anymore, my feet are hurting. I was just trying to do anything and I finally got an MRI and an x-ray and it was six weeks post op on the day and it popped up. I was working at the time. I was working from home because my company was great. They were like do whatever you got to do and it recurrent disc and it was now pushing on the scar tissue which was then compressing my L5 nerve again and I messaged my manager I'm done for the day. I'll call you later, and it was terrible.
Speaker 3What did you think and feel when they said it's a reherniation?
Speaker 1I mean, I can't lie to you. I was just like I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm 23. I'm in constant pain. I'm pretty much crippled. At the time I was living with my parents just because I needed so much help and I was just devastated. I was just like this pain is never going to stop. I was pretty much crying every hour for like a month. You had everyone's worst nightmare come true. I was like why has this happened?
Speaker 3And.
Speaker 1I had to completely stop flying too whenever I got hurt, and it honestly was terrible. A lot of people don't really know, like the pain is one thing, and a lot of no one knows what that pain is like, unless you experience the actual pain. And then you, I, got a taste of what it was like to have it go away with the surgery and I was like, finally, I'm going to be able to get my life back. And then it popped right back out and it was terrible. I was in so much pain. I was, yeah, pretty much depressed about it. I was just like, why is this happening?
Speaker 3yeah, and I can't believe you had to wait six weeks just for another mri yeah, yeah, I mean it's.
Speaker 1Yeah, I'm sure you're aware of how it goes with the surgeons. They, they're hard to get in contact with and I was just like I was trying to tell him, like I'm trying not to be dramatic here I've tried every steroid pack you've given me. It's not getting better. And at this point I was sitting there and I was like I'm in as much pain, if not more pain, than I was before surgery. And now I'm more limited. I can't bend, I can't twist, I can't lift anything. I can't.
Speaker 2I can't do anything.
Speaker 1So now I'm in a worse spot than I was after the first surgery and one thing that I've actually seen in like the micro discectomy communities is like how that has an impact on, like your relationships time. I was in a five-year relationship and about one or two weeks after it had herniated, my girlfriend at the time had moved away from medical school and she was like I don't have time to really deal with this and asked for like a three-month break. Yeah, it's funny. It's funny, that's terrible, that's terrible.
Speaker 1It is, and I was just like living in my parents' house, completely disabled, and she's on a college campus for med school. I was like like living in my parents' house, completely disabled, and she's on a college campus for med school. I was like this is not going to happen, I'm sorry. And I was actually reading through like the community and I saw someone else be like, yeah, my wife left me and I was like, damn, this is how it goes.
Speaker 3I miss that post.
Speaker 1Oh my goodness, and they were like I talked to my surgeon and my surgeon's like yeah, that happens sometimes. But I mean, in all honesty, it's good to figure that kind of stuff out if someone's going to be there for you.
Speaker 3Yeah, now you know.
Speaker 1It's a funny story thinking back on it now, but yeah, I had that happen and then I was going to my surgeon and he was like, hey, we're going to send you to pain management. And he was like, hey, we're going to send you to pain management, we're going to get you this new steroid injection. It's not going to be an epidural, that's not going to help you. I think it was like a transfer mortal block, so they go in from the side and go directly on the area. It was great because it just numbed my leg for about six hours and I was walking around all like wobbly but it did not help and I ended up writing down like 15 different questions because I was researching like artificial disc, because I didn't want to get a fusion. I was like I'm 23 years old, if I get a fusion now, I'm then going to get another level done and then another level done. It's just going to be chasing up my spine and I went into my surgeon and I was just like I pretty much held them hostage there for about 30 to 45 minutes, which it's hard to get them for that long and I was just like I am completely disabled right now.
Speaker 1Number one what do you think of this? Like artificial disc? And he's like I wouldn't recommend it with where it's at right now. Shift, you're young, you're going to have to get it replaced a bunch. I was like OK, and I was like when could I ever see any? Like when would the scar tissue start to go away? He's like at a minimum for about two years.
Speaker 1And I was like so I could wait two years and see if it's the scar tissue that's the problem or if it's the new herniation. He's like yeah, and I was like what would you do? And he goes if you were in so much pain where you cannot live, do you have another option? And I was like probably not. So my surgeon told me he's like I don't think you, if you are in so much pain where you're just you don't have any other options.
Speaker 1I think we could do another uh, discectomy. And I was like okay, but if I get the second one, is that just like it? Like, is that that doesn't work? I'm just getting confused. At I get the second one, is that just like it? Like is that that doesn't work? I'm just getting confused at that point. Is that what? And he was just like well, depending on how much we remove this time, we might be able to do a third one. And I was like, if this one doesn't work, something's messed up with my disc, something else is going on and we're not solving the actual problem I have. So Did they problem I have?
Speaker 3So did they tell you how many millimeters, like the first herniation or second? Okay, some people know that.
Speaker 1Yeah, so yeah, I know, and the crazy thing about it was the my primary care doctor is the one who in the beginning, referred me to get the MRI. So insurance denied it. So then I went and paid out of pocket to get it done. So I don't think they really gave me as much details on it, but I was able to actually pull it up on my laptop and see my herniation, which was nice, uh.
Speaker 1But now the second one I didn't know either, but it just it was a lot smaller, but it was now just pushing on that scar tissue. So yeah, and of course I was like asking can you clean up the scar tissue in there? And he's just like no, because if you do that you can run into, like if it's up against bone, yes, we can clean that up, but if it's up against anything else, we don't want to like make your like spinal cord, like you were talking about, or well, it doesn't really run that low but like hit your nerve and damage it. So we typically just let it be and I was like okay, well, I guess we'll get the second surgery.
Speaker 1And that was like a Wednesday and their surgery scheduling calls me on Thursday and they're like okay, we can get you in in about a month. And I was like when is the soonest you can get me? Can you get me in tomorrow? And they're like we can get you in on Wednesday of next or like Tuesday of next week. And I'm like deal. So I called my manager. I'm like sorry, I'm going to be out for another month and a half, two months. And I got my second surgery October 18th of 2023. So it'll be a year in four days. And I got that surgery. It was quick, it was easy.
Speaker 1I came out of it and I was in a lot more pain after because they'd cut through that scar tissue, so my back was just killing me. I had a ton of back pain, especially on the left side, and I remember they I rented the post-op nurse. It was the same lady and she was like what are you doing back? I'm like I don't want to be here anymore. And they gave me like some pain pills didn't touch the pain. I had a little bit of nerve. Well, I didn't. No, I only had back pain. I didn't have any nerve pain when I came out which was surprising and I they gave me pain pills didn't help. And they gave me like a lot of didn't help. They gave me more didn't help and I was like, all right, just let me go home, I'll hurt there, nothing unusual, I'll take back pain. It's a different type of pain. It's muscular. I'll take that pain. It's a different type of pain. It's muscular. I'll take that all day. And I went home and I didn't have any pain for like two to three days in my nerve and then it came back a little buzzing and whatnot.
Speaker 1And I went in for my three week post-op visit and I was still hurting like I was before the surgery and my surgeon just like, dude, your nerve was on fire because it was compressed for so long. Then whenever we did the first surgery, you have to go and stretch it out, to get under the nerve, to clear out the whole area, and then we had to do it again. He's like I put a steroid on it when I was in there Cause it was red, it was red hot, it was on fire. He goes you are going to hurt for about six months. There is no way getting around it. You're going to be, you're going to be in a lot of pain, but he's like take these. We're going to give you a bunch of steroids. We want you to take them. I understand you've been on NSAIDs for almost a year now. Take them, and I promise you here you have to have a pen. Do what you got to do.
Speaker 3Yeah. At least it gave you some expectation. It was nice to know ahead of time.
Speaker 1Because they always tell you after the first surgery.
Speaker 3They're like oh you're going to be magically three months. You go run a full marathon.
Speaker 1It's not like that I think it's also important to add. I had one physical therapist before my first surgery and I ended up getting a second one when I got told that I was going to need surgery, just in case, like, see if I get a second opinion on physical therapy. It didn't help. Then, between my two surgeries I was going to physical therapy from the time that I started, when I originally got like, hey, go to PT Whenever I found out it reherniated and then preparing my body to give a second surgery and I think that helped me a lot is trying to build that strength back up before I had that second surgery and so I had the second surgery. They tell me I'm going to hurt forever pretty much. And I they're like, okay, you can start PT at eight weeks. I call them like just to confirm eight weeks and they're like, actually, because this is your second time, wait 10 weeks. So then I wait 10 weeks to start PT again.
Managing Back Pain Post-Surgery
Speaker 1I started physical therapy and I was still hurting and I think it was like January or February. I was like, please, just give me another MRI. I even if it's just me being crazy and I'm just cause I was like I had been going through this for so long. If it's just to tell me that it's not herniated, please let me do it. And the only place I could get in quickly was at like 5 AM, an hour away. So I was like I'm doing it, I don't care, I want it done now and I get the MRI. And a lady was taking out my IV and all that I was like did my diagnosis, being a big wimp, and she's like I can't tell you, but probably. And I got it back and the disc was still in place and all good, and I was like finally, and then at that point it was kind of just like a weight off my shoulders, shoulders. I was like I finally have gotten to a point where it's probably like two months post-op, maybe three months post-op. At this point I was like finally, I know it's not hernia. I still got to be careful, because you never can stop not being careful.
Speaker 1And I started getting back into things. I started going to the gym again and it was only doing machines and I'm still only doing machines and, as I told you earlier, like I've dropped 27 pounds now since then and I've gotten into, if not better, shape than I was whenever I got hurt and every now and again my right leg I'll have like a buzzing and I'll just take a gab pen and it's kind of takes it away and I can live with that. But then in about April I was doing a bunch of traveling. So like right, when I got fully cleared I was like hell, I've had a year of doing nothing. I was canceling vacations and stuff and I wanted to be a pilot at the time, so I love to travel.
Speaker 1So I was like in Germany, I was in Minneapolis, I was in Chicago twice and on my second Chicago trip I was walking and I was like you know what? I don't need to wear Brooks, I don't need to wear Asics, I don't need my old man shoes. My back is good. Now I'm going to wear my nice looking shoes. And I walked like 10 miles one day. That was fine. I got home and, oh my gosh, my back was killing me and I started to get nerve pain in my left leg, shooting, radiating all the way down my left leg and I was like, oh, this is the worst.
Speaker 1I I was like this is it, this is I'm done, I've just put a metal rod in my back and I can't do this anymore. And I ended up. It was like that for about a week and I was. I was not doing well with that Cause, that pain. It was just like it was whenever I originally herniated on my right side and I was like crap.
Speaker 1I started doing physical therapy. I went to a third physical therapist. I went specifically to a spine specialist at this point that one of my buddies who is a physical therapist now. He recommended me to go to him and I started going to him and they were able to get it worked out and I think it's just bulged. I haven't gotten an MRI because I'm like what's the point anymore? I'm not getting another disc ectomy at this point.
Speaker 1So, and I can manage it and it is difficult because I do have to, with it being kind of where it's at right now, I do like 15 minutes exercises and stretches every single morning just so I can go on with my day. But even with it being bulged, I just got back from Germany and had to sit on a plane for nine and a half hours and had no nerfing. And I drove to, I think, hilton Head this summer and I think that's about 10 hours. Of course I stopped once or twice and no nerfing. So I've gotten it to a point where it is managed, but it certainly isn't the most fun. But I would definitely say, even though it has kind of bulged out on the left side, which is completely separate from my other ones.
Speaker 3Yeah, same disc, or you didn't get an MRI.
Speaker 1I didn't get an MRI, but the symptoms are. It's portraying as the L5 nerve. So but no, and one thing I found by going to the third physical therapist was that my right leg is slightly smaller than my left leg and my hips have, and my pelvis has really been out of alignment for probably about 10 years now and they're like that's honestly probably what could have really caused your original issue. Was it being out of alignment and it was putting extra force forcing that disc out, because ever since I got that notice and I just put like a little like a lift on my right foot in my shoes, I don't I'm not in as much pain. It really helped my pain out, even on my left side and it's kind of helped me live a normal life.
Speaker 3Right yeah. For you to to herniate the disc so many times, well you know, right after surgery made me wonder like is there some kind of bodily issue with your spine?
Speaker 1In all honesty, and I'm convinced that the disc is just faulty. I mean, I'm 24 now. I've had two back surgeries. It's bulged out again. I think my goal is to probably make it till I'm at least in my 30s and then possibly look at either an artificial disc or something.
Speaker 1At that point I just hope I make it that far, because it I mean, there are still days where I'll tweak my back. It'll be muscular, which is nice, but it's a constant battle. But I can confidently say that it was the right decision to get both of the back surgeries Like it was. I did not have a life at all before the first one and it was even worse after the first one and it's I don't know. There's no real way to describe it unless you're going through it, cause I've had people reach out to me who have had the their first one fail in the only real, like YouTube videos, you see, are like this one lady who had hers fail and she decided not to get the second surgery and she was like I can do stretches and it goes away and it's fine, whatever.
Speaker 3That wasn't an an option for me so it's devastating that you have to get the second surgery, but it's not the end of the world that you have.
Speaker 1It's not I mean, it's hell. You know what to expect, at least going into it. You're like, well, I know what to expect, but it is, it's difficult and I I think one thing that a lot of people don't talk about and that your surgeon is not going to talk about, is it's really lonely going through all this because you can't go out with your friends and you can't really go out and do much, especially whenever you do the open. And I couldn't, I really couldn't leave the house for three weeks pretty much because that's your danger period. You don't want to rehernia until it scars over. So I was like it was just very, very lonely, I was just alone.
Speaker 3Well, that's why I started the podcast, because it was the most it was lonely. And then you feel like no one knows what you're going through and I would spend hours on YouTube way back then like just looking for someone who had the same story as me. So I was like let me just put them all on one channel.
Speaker 1Yeah, it is. It's honestly terrible. I talk to people who have gotten fusions All the old co-workers I have that are in their 60s. They'll be like, oh, I got this fused, I got this fused. And I'm just like, yeah, I got two back surgeries as well, because I'm 24, going on 70 now. So it's a pain.
Speaker 1But I think I kind of in the beginning I wish that if there were more like if I would have had a physical therapist that addressed the original issue to come on here once. I got everything kind of simmered down and figured out to be like, hey, look at this, because that can screw you up. And it's helped me a lot. And it's not something that my surgeon brought up or the first two physical therapists brought up and I had to ask about it. I went to the physical therapist, I'm like, could you look at this? Because something doesn't feel right. Something has to be there, has to, and maybe it's an engineer in me, something has to be causing this issue. If it's a faulty disc, it's a faulty disc. But I want to knock out every other option before I get to the point of just being like well, that was just born that way.
Recovery and Resilience After Surgery
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah. I interviewed a chiropractor a couple months ago for uh, for the podcast it's called a secret to a healthy spine or something like that, and he and he talked a lot about um, symmetry in the body and how important it is and people just don't realize, just he's. I think he related it to a car, like if you have your tires that are out of alignment, they're gonna start, gonna start ruining other things. And with your body's the same way. If your spine's out of alignment, you know it's going to cause other issues.
Speaker 1Certainly and I honestly think there might be a genetic part to it because, as I said, like my mom's had her neck fused, she had two levels in her neck fused. She had the same level done as a microdiscectomy and my sister herniated a disc in her neck when she was in college studying.
Speaker 3This should have been a family show. You should have invited your mom and your sister.
Speaker 1It honestly should have been. My sister could have given you all the science behind it. Now that she's a doctor, but no, that was the funny thing about it my mom the entire time because she grew up rough, so she's just like. Anytime my sister and I were sick, she's like suck it up, Rub some dirt in. Whenever I was going through my back stuff, she's like ah, it'll be fine, you don't? Want that other surgery.
Speaker 3Ah, you're fine and I'm like I am dying. I don't know how to cut my leg off. I don't care. I was getting back surgery. I was 41. And I was saying there's 20 year olds that need the surgery. It's not my age saying there's 20 year olds that need the surgery.
Speaker 1It's not my age. It's terrible there's no other way to really describe it the pain that you like feel during this experience. And no one understands it, cause I would be like my friends would invite me out and I'd be like I'm sorry, I can't drive 20 minutes to be there. I can't do it and I like it's funny I have this one coworker who's invited me out twice, and both times it was once was right after I hurt my back and I just couldn't go, and then I flared up my back like two or three weeks ago, and I was like I need to rest, I can. I'm like I'm not using this as an excuse to not go out with you.
Speaker 3I cannot do it right now. Never going to ask you again. Yeah do it right now, never going to ask you again. Yeah, so are you able to go back to?
Speaker 1flying, or does that still have to be on hold? I got a letter from my surgeon saying that I should be cleared. I would have to go through the whole medical process again. I have kind of personally taken a step back since it's refolded out on the other side, because sitting does, over time, just kind of aggravate it. If I sit all day at work it's gonna flare it up a little bit and I have a good, really a great job right now, so it's gonna be hard for me. It'll be hard for me to step away from what I'm doing right now and I would have to spend every second of every day trying to become an airline pilot, which would, I think, the reward of it there isn't there for me anymore.
Speaker 1It's unfortunate because I was right there at my test for my instrument, commercial. Whenever I got hurt and I mean I talked to pilots because my current role I can get on any of my company's planes and fly with them for free and I've talked to pilots who have had two discectomies done and they're like, yep, I got them done and then I had a rupture like three, four years later and I got done again. But now I got it and I'm doing it now and I'm fine. I mean, it hurts sometimes, but for me I have a career already, so I kind of just taking a step back. And it's expensive, it's really expensive.
Speaker 3How much work did you miss, do you think, with all this?
Speaker 1The first one was about four and a half weeks. The second one was about the same. So I would say I missed probably about a combined three months of last year, which I was lucky because I had a full 100% pay for the time that I was out on short-term disability and my manager was great. My company is really good at like if you show like that you're going to work, you take ownership of your work, they will do whatever it takes to make sure that you're accommodated. So my manager was like you work from home, Don't come in, Do not push yourself. You get healthy.
Speaker 1We want you healthy and they ended up putting me on our most challenging engine type, actually between my two surgeries. I was like, is this a punishment? And he's like no, I know, it seems like a punishment right now but no, it's not.
Speaker 1And I mean it was really necessary. I don't think I could have gotten through it if my management team hadn't been as accommodating to me as possible, because there were days where I would just turn off my computer and just crawl to my bed and cry because I was in so much pain and I'm not afraid to admit it, I cried more at that point in my life than I did on anything. Because I was 23 and I thought everything was going well, I was flying, I had my test scheduled, I was making good money on my job, I was in great shape. And then it all was gone. I gained a bunch of weight because I couldn't do anything besides walk.
Speaker 1I was in crippling pain all day. I couldn't even sit at my desk to do my job. So I was like it was just terrible there's no other way to describe it but terrible. And then between the two surgeries that was probably the hardest part of it is trying to find that solution and you're, you're pretty much bedridden, only to walk around. So all you're doing is like researching back stuff, back stuff, back stuff. And I'm like I have every different path I could take, but what happens if I choose the wrong path again and get this other surgery and end up in a worse spot than I am now.
Speaker 3Yeah, it's a lot of stress, worried about reheating or worried about the right decision to make and even now, like there'll be times where I'll be like oh, oh, no, no, no.
Speaker 1And you're always just like oh no.
Speaker 3Yeah, I think it took me a year to recover emotionally. Oh no, yeah, I think it took me a year to recover emotionally. There was definitely some ptsd involved.
Speaker 1Every little sharp pain or tingle was like oh god, yeah, here we go again which I know I'm so excited to get to the year post-op mark, so four days from now yeah I'm so excited to get there, even though I have the issues like right now. My leg is just like kind of aching on my left side. I can live with that, it's not an everything.
Speaker 3It's just a little ache.
Speaker 1But one thing this is important to mention I guess, since I try to lift a lot, I didn't understand how much your muscles get messed up in your legs, so like my right leg is so much tighter than my left leg. So if I try to like do legs at the gym, it's almost impossible because I'll end up with terrible cramps in my right leg and all sorts of stuff and it throws everything out of whack. And that's one thing I think I'm going to continue to go to PT for is just trying to get my muscles and my legs not just my back strengthened, but just try to get them to where they're balanced, Because right now, like my right calf, it can't do much yeah, no spinal cord injuries, man it affects so much yeah but it does sound like you're turning a corner that's a hope
Speaker 1or have turned your corner, yeah yeah, that's, that's the funny thing about I've gotten to travel the world since then, because I was like I'm not letting this up. So I've been to germany a few times Minneapolis, san Juan, puerto Rico, and I mean the next month I'm going to seven different states and a few different countries, and I think I've been on 33 flights this year since I've gotten fully cleared. So I mean I'm making the most of it. There you go.
Speaker 3And I probably need to get myself hurt again.
Speaker 1Wait so the important question is have you gotten a new girlfriend? Yeah, she was actually there whenever I bulged it out on my left side and I was like, laying on the couch. She's like are you OK? I'm like put me down, just put me down, is there? Anything I can do to help you. No, I'm just going to lay here and just contemplate my entire life for the next week.
Speaker 3And hopefully it'll get better at that.
Speaker 1But it took me about a month and a half to work over, work through that and get it back into where it was manageable.
Speaker 3Yeah, yeah, oh, that's great. You know, jared, I really appreciate you being willing to come on here and share your story. I'm sure the people in the Reddit community will appreciate hearing you say it's not the end of the world, that I needed a second surgery.
Speaker 1It feels like it, but it's not.
Speaker 3It's not no.
Slow Recovery Process Through Injury
Speaker 1And you just want to get to that point each day because you're just like you never think it's going to end and you'd never like. I never felt like through the entire process I was like I'm getting better. It was just like one day I was just like okay, yeah, yeah, it's like hey, wait a second, I'm not dying, yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah, it really is like that. Hey, wait a second. I can say I feel kind of normal now.
Speaker 1And it's so slow and that's the worst part about it is it just takes time. Yeah, it just takes so much time and you don't want it to. You want it to be now, right, right.
Speaker 3Well, thank you again, and if you are a listener and you have a positive story of recovery from a serious neck or back injury, head over to bedbackbeyondcom and click share your story. I would love to include your voice on the show. Jarrett, it was a pleasure meeting you and I'm so glad to hear things are improving for you.
Speaker 1Thank you for having me on.