Yesterday I got a haircut and as per usual, the hair dresser saw the long scar on my neck. The automatic conversation starter had me telling the story again. So here we are with part 3.
It was a time for healing. My body tends to heal fast and because of the severity of my accident and lack of any permanent damage, the doctor’s decided to let my neck heal on its own. I wore 4 neck braces during the 9 months that it would take me to heal. The first was a soft collar that is used in the majority of neck injuries. I only wore it for 6 days until I wore the harness, (see part 1) for the next 7 months.
I had regular checkups at the hospital. After 7 months my vertebrae had not healed enough. Based on the time the bone was taking to mend I was given a choice. I could either wear a neck brace for the next year or I could have surgery and be free in a month or two. After a moment of hesitation I went with the surgery option.
I had what is called a fusion. They cut open the back of my neck to access the vertebrae and they took soft bone tissue from my right hip, (after cutting that open too). They used the soft bone and put it between C4 and C3. The vertebrae use this tissue to fuse each other to create one vertebra. To keep the vertebrae from moving independently during this process, a wire is tied through the bones. The wire is eventually absorbed by the body and the small holes in the vertebrae are also healed.
What makes my neck a little more unique is that the bones decided to grab a hold of C5 and add it to the collection. Most people have 7 vertebrae, I now have 5, 2 on top, one giant one in the middle, and two on the bottom. It sort of looks like this: (C1)(C2)(C3C4C5)(C6)(C7). I wish I could describe the surgery but as I was knocked out, I can’t. I also can’t remember how long I was under the knife, but I seem to recall around 4 to 5 hours.
What is interesting to me is that those hours are gone from my memory. I have always had a good sense of time but those hours were instantaneous. I was lying on the table with the mask over my face counting down from 10 and I got to 7. A split second later I heard my Mom calling my name. She said, “Greg it’s time to wake up. Your surgery is over.” I opened my eyes, said something and went back to sleep. I slept 21 hours and grew 1 inch. I went in for my surgery 6’1” and when I stood up I was 6’2”.
After the surgery I graduated to my third neck brace. It was a hard plastic thing with metal and leather. It was awful. I hated it. I don’t think I have ever admitted this to anyone, but I took it off all the time. After 7 months I had had enough. I still get chills every time I think about how careless I was with my neck after the surgery. I’m pretty sure I kept my Angels busy 24/7.
After 8 months I was given my final neck brace, a foam two piece with hard plastic that I was allowed to take off. I took it off all the time. I was so close to freedom I could taste it. Then 9 months later I was done with it. My neck had healed and was once again able to feel the breeze on the skin of my neck and hopefully never wear a neck brace again. It was a strange and wonderful feeling to finally be free.
I had survived without any permanent damage and only lost 10% of the movement in my neck. My life would never be the same again and every time I tell this story I feel the pain both physically and emotionally. I have yet to fully understand the significance this experience has had or will have on my life. Without a doubt it changed me an alerted my character. Perhaps one day I will have an epiphany and I will fall to my knees and weep.
