ONE YEAR POST OP
NOVEMBER 2023 - MAY 2024
Houston International Quilt Show
As a long-time quilter I had always wanted to go to the the largest quilt show in the USA which is the Houston International Quilt Show. In 2020 a group of my quilting friends and I made plans to attend the fall quilt show in Texas. Of course we all know what happened in March 2020 and that was the end of our plans. We decided to wait several years until the show was back up and running at full speed, which ended up being 2023.
A month before I had surgery I made reservations at the hotel in Houston, as well as booked my flight. There were ten of us going to the quilt show and I was very excited as well as worried about how I would be feeling. November would be just six months post op and I had no idea if I could even manage a trip like that. I needed a goal post and the quilt show gave me just that. All summer long I worked out daily to keep improving and getting stronger.
All my hard work was worth it too. The quilt show was absolutely amazing and enormous too! Plus the amount of vendors was incredible as well. Enormous doesn’t even begin to describe the size of the three level convention center. I couldn’t have navigated how far I had to walk every day without the aid of my trusty cane, as well as being physically capable.
Every night I was so exhausted I was fast asleep by 9:00pm and each morning when I woke up I was so grateful for how good I felt. I had reached the goal I had set for myself and even though I still had a long ways to go toward healing I knew I was on the way.
The quilt show, vendor stalls, classes, and lectures were beyond what I had expected and I loved every minute of it. I’m already looking forward to when I can go there again.
I had seen my ortho PA right before my trip to Houston and he was quite pleased with my progress. The latest X-rays showed that my spine was almost completely fused which was great to hear.
Sometime in November I stopped using my cane. By then I felt comfortable taking my daily walks without it. I was super cautious about watching where I walked especially with uneven sidewalks and loose gravel or debris.
The months flew by and before I knew it my ten month appointment was just around the corner. This appointment was going to be very meaningful to me since I was going to be seeing my surgeon, Dr. Allen. The last time I saw him was the morning after my third surgery when he came to see me and he sat on the foot of my bed while we talked. He was leaving on a planned vacation and his orthopedic Fellows would be looking in on me every day. I got to know two of the Fellows well during my stay at the hospital.
The day of my appointment I felt very emotional. This surgeon gave me my life back, the life I used to know before all the pain began. I wanted to tell him that and more. When my husband and I were in one of the rooms a young doctor came in to see me. I recognized her immediately as one of the Fellows who took care of me. We hugged and she said how pleased she was to see how far I had progressed. After she left the room Dr. Allen came in. I asked if I could hug him and he gave me a giant bear hug and he and I each got teary-eyed. I thanked him for giving me my life back as well as other things I wanted to say to him. He was extremely pleased for how well I was doing. The X-rays that day showed my spine completely fused. He said I no longer needed to use the bone growth stimulator machine.
When my husband and I left the clinic I felt such a sense of peace and happiness inside. I had come full circle from my first appointment in August 2022 to my ten month post op appointment in March 2024.
On May 4, 2024 my husband and I cheered my one year post-op date. I’d come a long ways in that one year too.
This is the end of THIS story, but not the end of MY story. Hopefully my story will continue on for a long time to come. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Diane
