2 Months
I flew to Seattle (2 hours) from the Bay Area with my son. He got into a couple of great colleges up there and there was no way I wasn't going with him to help him decide. I didn't check with the surgeon, I figured I'd just bite it and spend a few days on ice when I got home.
It hurt needless to say. The flight, the long car ride, Seattle to Portland, etc. First day was OK; I hobbled in and out of cars and across campuses. The second day found me lying in the back seat, on campus lawns and admission office couches. I hurt in places I didn't know I had body parts. I thought I had blown a gasket. There were even a couple of toes I couldn't feel. Went back to the hotel that night, downed a couple glasses of wine (the size of Lake Superior), iced my back, went to sleep and woke up....fine. Better than fine, in fact. The last campus in Portland was hilly, damp and huge. I hurt some but I was at the front of the tour group, attentive and happy the entire hour and a half.
Sometimes it seems that if I have a really bad day, the next day is better than baseline. Maybe the body's natural pain killers kicking in?
I still hurt for sure; the recovery is slow, but it seems like the setbacks are shorter than before surgery.
I see the surgeon Monday and am slated to go on a trip to Hawaii on Tuesday. (Husband's medical conference) But I'm a little leery of a five hour flight....and even more leery about leaving my high school senior home alone. On the other hand, Mai Tai's are very theraputic. I will get the surgeon's opinion on this trip however.
Anyway, at two months post ALIF, I was able to travel and came back no worse for wear...except for the pain of finding out how expensive college will be.
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