Article Contributed on: 4/2/2007 8:45:25 AM
Just like Jack says in The Shining....I'm back!
So, you thought I was back-packing through Europe. Nope. And I didn't check into Promises, like Britney Spears did, either. I was recovering from a little neck surgery. On February 9, 2007, I had Anterior Discectomy and Cervical Fusion (ADCF) on the C-5-6 and C-6-7 vertebrae in my neck.
I am now the bionic woman. Or Robo-Mom as my kids like to call me. There are 2 carbon fiber discs, a titanium plate and 6 screws in my neck, just behind my esophagus. Thrilling isn't it?
Why did I have surgery? I injured my neck in a car accident in 2001, (or maybe it was the ride on the Half-Pipe at Elitch's last summer), and the chronic pain was getting in the way of my budding writing career.
I spent the past few weeks in recovery mode, doing everything my wonderful surgeon, Dr. William Choi, told me to do. Don't tell my husband, but it was a vacation from my life as a stay home mom. Yes, I was in a neck brace and couldn't even take a shower or brush my hair by myself, but it was a vacation, none-the-less.
For the first 3 weeks, my children left with my husband every day, for the entire workday. I slept in each morning. I wandered around my silent house and lay around in my pajamas. I watched the entire 10 years of Friends on DVD. I caught up on my reading. I stared at the cobwebs around my ceiling fan. I moisturized my crow's feet. I didn't have to go to the store. I didn't cook. I didn't get dressed. I didn't vacuum. I didn't clean the toilet. I took naps. I didn't yell. No one pooped on the floor. No one spilled Kool-aid on the new carpet. I didn't eat hot dogs for lunch.
It was heavenly. I had time to myself. I am re-energized. Also, my young adult novel is now under consideration at 5 publishing houses and I hope to have some news about that soon. I have also started novel #2.
Best of all: I also have a new appreciation for my kids. And my life, my sweet life, at home with them.
Sending a shout out to the numerous friends and family members, who brought meals and took care of the little monsters, during my convalescence.