#Spinal fusion

[crippled-peeper]

I hate to make another post like this but it’s the 1st day of disability pride month and I could really use a bit of help so I can afford my meds, food, and electric and phone bill 🖤 heres some pictures that explain part of what is wrong with me:

I am also bipolar I and take lots of antipsychotics to function. absolutely no pressure to donate if you are struggling too, here are my URLs:

I have PayPal too but it has my birth name on it so I would prefer to DM it to people 🖤✨ thank you all so much

[feelingthemode]

disability pride month userboxes part 3/5

posted these on insta throughout the month :3

[renfieldrenrat]

Hello everyone!

I've made a Spinal Fusion flag to represent those struggling, recovering or simply living with a fused spine, like me!

I was diagnosed with a S curved scoliosis at the age of 5 and had surgery in summer of 2021, alongside multiple complications.

There seems to be not much representation to this specifically at all despite spinal surgery awareness! Sooo I thought I'll make something myself :]

Explaination:

(Ribbon featured is the scoliosis ribbon)

Not all wounds are visible 💜

[ryan-monster]

It's so funny to me that June is not only pride month BUT ALSO, Scoliosis Awareness Month. You really cannot be caught being straight this month.

[incognitopolls]

Hardware refers to rods, screws, or cages.

Personally know someone: Someone you know and who knows you back, e.g. a family member, friend, coworker, etc.

Know OF someone: Celebrities, distant relatives you've never met, friend of a friend, etc.

–

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[onlytiktoks]

[stillgotscars]

me messaging everyone i knew when i stood up for the first time after having my spine fused and realised that i’d grown 3 inches taller and was now 5’1:

[just-a-little-bit-of-sugar]

Finally starting to address all the trauma related to my spinal fusion... as I approach the 10 year anniversary 🤪🙃

[love-laugh-lobotomy]

disability stuff (and some loosely related comic book panels as a treat)

One thing about me is that I absolutely adore a disabled character that doesn’t want to be ‘fixed’. Fuck your ableist standards of ‘normal’.

I have a learning disability. I have a mental disorder. I have large scars. I have a spinal prosthetic. I have vision problems. I have sensory problems. I used to have mobility issues. I’ve had canes and back braces.

I don’t want a ‘fix’. I’m not broken.

I want acceptance and accessibility. (using Harvey as an example because I remembered the 2 pictures buried sdeep in the depth of my camera roll and wanted to use them)(also he’s so pretty)

[tsukihigui]

if I see any of you spreading misinformation about spinal fusion it’s on sight. it’s invasive, irreversible, and risky. It is sometimes not the best option, and when it is botched it can cause lifelong chronic pain and nerve issues.

IT IS NOT UNIVERSALLY A BAD SURGERY. IT IS INDICATED FOR INJURY AND DEFORMITY. IT IS USUALLY SUCCESSFUL.

do NOT create anti vaxxers but for lifesaving surgery. don’t!! please!!

[frightfully-doll]

I am SO fucking tired of the ER not listening to me.

I’ve been there twice. TWICE. They are refusing to see that there’s an issue, only because of my anxiety. They’ve treated me like complete shit. I don’t have anyone for support, I am all on my own. Being disabled, chronically ill, currently VERY sick with a bad infection that even the strongest pain killer won’t help and in the middle of a panic attack because your dentist completely screwed you over and gave you cellulitis is so fucking stressful.

Darlings, we have to come together and fight to be seen, heard, and taken care of. This is absolutely unacceptable. My insurance is taking CENTURIES to approval a 2nd CT scan. And again, the ER was a complete joke. I can’t afford this. I make $0.00 a year, because even though I have a spinal disability, a leaking heart valve, very weakened immune system, a deformed left hip that has greatly affected my ability to walk, POTS, & severe GI issues, I do not qualify for disability. I spend every single day bawling in pain with no sleep. The stress of being ill and contracting cellulitis , which is SEVERELY painful , has greatly taken a toll on my body. I’ve been on several different medications, nothing and I mean nothing is helping me. And the fun part - one of my meds gave me a stomach ulcer. So now my stomach, which already has extreme issues, is in severe pain too.

I am begging for this world to start recognizing young adult disabled people who are struggling to get treatment, and who are constantly manipulated by people who are supposed to help. I cannot stop crying. Please help us.

[crippled-peeper]

i find it so crazy how the media has been downplaying mangione's spinal fusion like the way its framed in these articles you'd think he just,, had a bit of back pain

absolutely fucking wild and not surprising in the least either

Spinal fusions are hard to conceptualize for people who don’t have them. They are simultaneously a routine surgery but also one of the most invasive spinal procedures. The recovery period is absolutely fucking brutal and you never really “go back” to how you used to be. He probably had to relearn how to clothe himself, bathe, ambulate, etc. I wouldn’t be shocked if he had lingering moderate to severe nerve pain. I really wish journalists would take the 5 minutes it takes to research this procedure and understand it.

[rantsofamadam]

Spinal Fusion- Emotional Recovery

TW: Medical topics and images + mentions of skin picking

One month ago I received Spinal Fusion Surgery to correct a double curve in my spine from scoliosis. Which is known to be one of the most painful surgeries, with rods, screws and bone grafting, changing the entire structure of my spine and proportions of my body. (Which if you are curious, have any questions or would like to hear more about it, please ask! I’d love to share.)

The procedure went well, everything went as smoothly as it could. But wow I am not going easy on myself with any of this at all.

My mom took a video of me right as I was waking up from anesthesia where I told her I asked the nurse if I could stand up already. I was beyond determined to heal as fast as I could from this surgery, and continue with my life. I walked further than I needed to on my own which was extremely impressive to the nurses, and I was ‘one of the most conscious, alert and motivated patients I’ve seen in 25 years’ according to one nurse.

Because of my quick recovery, I developed the expectation I was going to continue healing quickly, and have been trying to be as independent as possible with this surgery. I do a good job of hiding my pain or struggles around my family and friends, they assume I am doing fine and essentially ‘back to normal,’

But wow. It is still extremely difficult. I have so many goals in my life I want to accomplish, and in my mind I should be doing them all immediately now that I seem healed and better to those around me.

But I am still in pain. I am still healing. I can’t bend over easily, I can’t walk very fast. It’s been a month, but I am still so tired all the time. And I am not letting myself genuinely heal in that regard. I tell myself I should be doing more, that I am fine and shouldn’t let this stop me, that I should accomplish so many goals by now- that I’m lazy for taking time to heal.

That is genuinely what I have been telling myself. And it has been nearly impossible to find my way out of that mindset.

Over the weeks after my surgery, I created a lot. I wrote poems, I drew, I made crafts, I wrote stories or information down- I was trying to be productive, as productive as I could but it still didn’t and doesn’t feel like enough.

Currently as I am writing this, I skipped church with my family this morning due to awful painful period cramps and nausea, as well as healing from back surgery. I feel guilty, awful, and like I should be pushing through it and persevering even though I am in pain and need to rest and heal.

My therapist told me ‘just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should,’ as in with recovery, just because I am able to get through the day on no pain meds and tough through it all- does not mean I should, or have to, or that it is beneficial for me.

I also have a compulsive skin picking condition. I will pick at any scab or any part of my skin continuously and find it increasingly difficult to stop. So by the end of the second week, I had already re-opened my surgical wound and felt extremely guilty and awful about it. My surgeon had to replace some of the bandages, he didn’t seem concerned or surprised at all. But I was filled with guilt and shame.

It is still a severe struggle for me, to realize it’s ok to actually slow down, rest and not be hyper productive as I let myself heal.

I realize I also have been so focused on healing fast, moving on, and essentially acting like this surgery never happened- that I haven’t actually let myself process all this genuinely means for my body and my future.

My entire body has changed, and will be different for the rest of my life. I will always have a massive scar down my back. I will always have metal rods and screws in my spine. I will never be as flexible as I was. This will factor into the rest of my life. And I haven’t allowed myself to genuinely think through and process what this means for me.

I need to realize and remind myself it’s ok to slow down, and even beneficial for my current healing state and spine.

[orangejynx]

My spinal surgeon: How’s your pain being managed with what I sent you home with?

Me:

[a-is-for-arson]

I used to love rainy days, but now they make me feel like bitch 😭

[wallowing-wallflowers]

The reality of spine surgery

I have alot of mixed feelings about my spinal fusion surgery. On one hand, im two inches taller and my scoliosis has a much lower chance of progressing, but on the other I cant bend the upper half of my spine, the nerves around my scar and on my right shoulder blade are fried, yet my back is even more sensitive to touch, I have more pain than before, and I can't do most day to day stuff because it takes a MINNUM A YEAR TO HEAL.

Im just tired of feeling so useless and making my disabality other peoples problem because I cant do shit.