After kicking off the New Year by getting the Halo removed on Jan 6th, most of the month was still ruled by being patient and waiting for time to pass, trusting the healing process to continue as long as I didn’t get in the way too much.
The Halo came off on a Wednesday, and it was Saturday before I was brave enough to actually remove the hard collar for a few minutes. Those first few days, the first week really, was ruled by a lot of soreness and “heaviness”, a lot of tenderness, and a lot of hesitation. It didn’t feel like a step backward - because the Halo came off, it was certainly forward - but much as it was back when I first had the Halo on, it was a matter of adjusting to a new normal, and reminding myself to be patient and let things run their course. My first shower came the following Tuesday - it was very tentative, but incredibly glorious. The feeling of warm water cascading down my head and shoulders and torso - amazing. I didn’t realize just how much I’d missed it until I was able to experience it again. Post shower, of course, I slapped that hard collar back on as fast as possible.
The first couple weeks in the collar, it and I were absolute best friends. I would only take it off for a few minutes here or there, to shower or change shirts, for example. I slept in the recliner wearing the collar for the first week or so - it was just more comfortable, and I was perhaps a little worried about accidental “jerking” motions while sleeping that might cause any jolts of pain. It wasn’t really too uncomfortable to wear 24/7 - and it was a WHOLE lot less restrictive than the Halo, to be sure.
The holes in my head are healing up SUPER well - my forehead wounds closed up after just a few days, and while they are still noticeable "divots" in my skin, they're looking much better. The holes on the side/back took a few extra days to scab over, but were quickly pain free and healing much the same.
The back half of January felt like it brought more improvement, slowly but surely. At some point I started sleeping - still in the recliner - without the brace (waking up with a lot of stiffness/soreness) - and sometimes in the evening while sitting in the recliner I would take it off here and there to “let my neck breathe”. By the last week of January I was taking it off more, sometimes walking around the house without it on - and found that my confidence was growing at the same time as my neck was getting better at holding my head up.
Monday, February 1st - a new month, and another visit to Dr. Lynn. Took the usual x-rays, which showed the C2 bone continuing to slowly heal - it will continue to do so over the next few months, it sounds like. But it’s moving in the right direction, still correctly aligned, and Dr. Lynn was very happy. He was even happier to hear how I was feeling - stronger every day, more confident; neck soreness but no pain.
This moves us firmly into the part of recovery based on everything SURROUNDING the bone. The bone is in a good place - I had some pointed questions for my own peace of mind that Dr. Lynn answered by reassuring me that the bone is not at risk of re-breaking or being damaged at this point except through something catastrophic. And there’s really no other risk of “damaging” anything else either - all the soreness and pain I feel is just muscular at this point - the neck relearning how to work properly. But I’m now more-or-less cleared for most activities, all based on how I’m feeling. I can start doing stretches and working on regaining my neck range of motion - which definitely feels like a huge win and as though we’re getting into the “return-to-real-life” part of recovery. We’re going to keep doing monthly x-rays and check-ins with Dr. Lynn for at least the next couple months. So now I get to see how much progress I can make before I see him next.
It feels like I’m making progress in leaps and bounds. Thursday of this week was the first day that I went the entire day without wearing the brace at all (Friday I was pretty sore - still wearing the brace anytime the soreness gets too much or while doing certain actions, like riding in a car). I'm also back to sleeping without the brace, in bed - I just have to roll very slowly when turning from side to side! I’m working on incorporating a regular neck stretching and movement routine - although right now I only have a few degrees of movement in each direction, I know that will continue to improve, and I’m excited to see how I continue to make progress over time.
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| Most recent x-ray from 2.1.21 |
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| Graham is very glad to be able to nap with Dad in bed again |
