Hey folks, Harry here at Brakenridge Hospital for a bit of time. What happened, why am I here.
Well, on Yoko's Birthday, an incident occurred where when I stood up out the car, my legs felt as though thousands of needles were stabbing all around both of my legs. And my right leg, began spasming out of control. Never having had that reaction before, and feeling something wrong with my back... So we went to the emergency room.
After an hour and a half in the MRI machine, filling it like I was the John Holmes of of human beings, I was told that I was in imminent danger of having my Spinal Chord severed, thus paralyzing me for ever. This was occurring on my T10 vertabrae in my spine. Basically touch your nipples, draw a connectting invisible line to prety much in front of you sternum. The one behind that, that's what was corrupted. An emergency procedure was necessary to make sure I didn't end up like Christopher Reeve. I was loaded up in an EMS at Ceton Hospital, by a two female EMS drivers named Lazenby and Bender... I liked to think it was James Bond's granddaughter and a femme version of the drinking robot.
When I entered that EMS, separating from Yoko & Father Geek & AICN Biz Affairs & Best Friend Roland... the plan was to crack open my chest, move organs out the way and deal with the T10 through my chest. This was the alleged best plan, It was to be a 5 1/2 hour to 6 hour operation. But I was told I was in one of the Neurosurgeon's hands in the world. That said, there was a a fairly good chance I would not be a very sentient being in my evaluation of the situation. Dad was pessimistic, Roland was pessimistic and Yoko... she was a bit in shock. It was still her birthday. This nightmare wasn't happening.
Upon arrival at Brakenridge, I was whisked to the ER for prepping. For a bit of time, I was there on the gurney and I realized... I might never see any of them again. This was MAJOR surgery.
Then I met Dr Peterson. He came up smiling, introducing himself, I shake his hand with my best glowing smile and I say, "I hear you're a Genius!" He responds, "I hear you're HEADGEEK" Turns out he's been a site reader for a very long time, and follows me on Twitter, having even seen my tweet about needing Emergency Spinal Surgery. I ask him, well... do you like my writing or do you have a ton of problems? He is a big fan. And so I say, "Awesome, so your act of fandom is going to have you break into my chest remove my organs and operate on my spine?" And I said this with humor and disbelief. That seemed like too much. Turns out, he'd spent a good amount of time looking at my MRI, and decided that he could totally do this with a fairly non-invasive. 5" incision in my back, pulled apart and then he could get to where he needed to get to. It would take just an hour and a half, and wouldn't even require a transfusion. I ask him, what would the probable results be, he said, in 6 months, I'd probably be dancing with my wife.
My God. The dream.
Yoko shows up, I tell her what Dr Peterson told me. She's so relieved, and the hope involved is what produced the tears in the two of us.
They begin giving me the knock out drugs, I give her a kiss goodbye, and then the next thing I remember was staring at my toes watching them wiggle on both feet. I look over at this nurse that was wearing a Mickey Mouse Sorceror's Apprentice pin and begin singing the theme. The toes work - the rest will to.
People have often speculated what was wrong with me, but for the first time ever.. in the history of AICN, we were fixing what needed fixing on me. Right now, my spinal chord is naturally as it should be. The incision in my back is amongst the most painful things I've experienced, but last night, when I got given my private room and I found myself listening to Daft Punk's TRON LEGACY - and I realized, I could effortlessly communicate with Left and Right legs. That suddenly, I could feel every hair on both legs as it brushed by the cloth on them. I could feel both legs, completely, as I touched my belly, the sensation was... more than I've had. Being in this private room was the first time I'd been truly alone since the surgery... And the sensations are exquisite.
Now that the back is fixed, the rest will come. I'm in this Hospital for another 3 or 4 days, then I'm off to the Hospital of my birth for perhaps 10 days or 21 days depending how Rehab goes. The ultimate goal. Re-teach me how to wak, we'll be teaching my left leg how to be a leg again. It has had communication problems with the head office for quite some time, but this emergency, has turned into a Godsend.
Dr Peterson has given me the tools I need to finally remove myself from my situation. You see, in T10, the hole that the Spinal Chord goes through was being choked, I had just hit a breaking point, where the slightest fall would have meant having my strings cut.
But now, it feels as though my whole body has been turned on. For the duration of AICN's history, I haven't had this level of sensation. After I return home, we'll be having a Rehab person stopping by to continue to work with me, then I'll be in In/Out Rehab, and Gym to work on overall strength issues.
This is Euphoria and Pain. Agony and Ecstacy. A nightmare and a dream. The pain of this incision between my shoulder blades screams... Earlier today during one attempted move with Physical Therapy, I nearly passed out from pure Pain... Afterwards, I hit a glazed state as though I were in MARTYRS... Right now, I'm exhausted, was just given some Soma to try and calm the muscle area around the slit That opened up my back.
I have a long road, but at the end of it, with professional help, the love and friendship around me, I'll cease to be a 4-wheeler. The MRI showed there was nothing else wrong with my back - and now that I have a completely fixed spinal column, it is a pure strength and retraining my body to learn balance and to walk... and eventually... to dance.
For everyone that has been so kind to me through this, bless you. With mobility, you'll find I will be better able to serve you all as your faithful reporter.
Love,
Harry
