I'm back! A little history...

New blog name, new blog focus. Since I finished graduate school this blog went into hiatus as you may have noticed. I can’t really talk about my real-world work like I did graduate school, and just ran out if ideas.
But as life does things change. I don’t know how much of this has come across on the blog over the years, but I have had scoliosis since I was diagnosed back in junior high. This has been a major part of my life over the years, and scoliosis has just jumped back up to the forefront. So this is the tale of my crooked life.
I think this blog is going to be my way of coping with the left turn things are taking. I know it won’t be the pretty pink shopping and hockey blog it once was, but that’s not where my life is now. I hope people will read and it won’t be hideously boring or too medical. Maybe some of my old readers. Maybe new scoliosis people. But no matter what, I need somewhere to release all this inside my head. Tada! Blog time!
The whole diagnosis and the road that took is quite a tale! But that road took me to a spinal fusion in January 2000, when my major curve had grown to 47* with 2 compensatory curves of 37* and 24*. I was originally going to have it done my senior year and had donated my blood and everything was scheduled, until we found out I had MONO! So I went off to college and took my spring semester off for the surgery. I had a T4-L3 Cotrel Duboset spinal fusion. After some non-spinal complications, all healed well.
So that leads to the present. Since the summer I have had a number of lower back pain issues. SI joint, general low back pain, etc. The Monday after Christmas, while I was home in Alabama, we drove down to visit some of my daddy’s family in the southern part of the state. It was a wonderful visit. All was well. No pain or anything. On the drive back I had been slouched down in the seat some and was getting a bit achy. When I pushed up on the seat to sit up straight, all of a sudden it felt like I was being stabbed in my back. I stretched my self as best I could while buckled in going 55 mph, and it eased up some.
But later that night, I pushed myself out of one of mama’s glider type chairs, and the pain came even worse.

It hasn’t really eased up since. It’s been 11 days.
I now have been diagnosed as having the hook that secured of my rods come loose. When it came loose is unclear, as July xrays show it out then. (Yet another story for another day as this is getting really long!)
Apparently the rod shifted on 12/27 and is now pushing out at my skin causing severe pain. I saw my new surgeon yesterday. LOVE him. He really inspired confidence and respected my intelligence. I’ve been dealing with this diagnosis for over 15 years so I like having a dr who knows I am used to the xrays and terminology.
Big news? I am going to be having surgery to remove all the rods and hooks. They are unstable and causing the pain (and possibly past problems). I don’t have a date for the surgery as I have to have an MRI first to examine my L3-L4 to see if there is degenration. But it will be this month according to my surgeon. Until them I am on pain medicines (ie loopy and unable to drive or work) and mostly lying in bed.
I’m kind of scared of the surgery. It won’t be as complicated as original one (probably 1-2 hours versus 8 for first surgery) but still major spinal surgery. So that’s where I am now. I’ll probably be writing more about how I got here, where it’s going, and hopefully a marvelous recovery.
ALSO! Poll question for the comments. Would things like xrays be too much? I’ve already subjected my twitter friends to them but don’t want to gross people out too much. :)