Disk Replacement Surgery

My neck has bothered me for years. I got whiplash the summer of 98 and it has never been the same. The last few years I have even tried going to the Chiropractor but that didn't even help. The last couple of years my shoulder and back were getting tingly and the last six months my cheek, ear, tongue, and the top of my head have been tingly. I went and had an MRI done in January and it showed that I had a herniated disk between C4 and C5. I spoke to Dr Paul Johnson about it and he said that the only thing I would be to have surgery. Disk replacement surgery was my first choice, they have only been doing them the last ten years before that it was fusions. Dr Johnson said he has great success with replacements. That was for sure the route I wanted to go, I wanted to have full use of my neck. I went to Layton hospital. Rhett was able to stay with me while they pepped me for surgery.  I was in surgery about two hours. They gave me anesthesia and had in inembate me. They cut a one inch incision in the front of my neck then pull everything to the side so they can access the spine. They had to stretch my neck 2 mm which does not sound like a lot but Dr. Johnson said he usually only stretches it 1.5mm but I had a lot of damage he wanted to get cleaned out. I had some bone spurs and some arthritis. They remove the old disk and then attach a two titanium plates to the c4 and c5 vertebrae. They sit into each others cups and swivel so you can move freely like a normal neck. He also tried to aline my neck a little better. He told Rhett that I would hate him when I woke up because he did stretch me so much that I would be really sore. When I woke up I was really out of it, it took all day for my breathing to stabilize, it kept dropping while I would sleep. Finally they sent us home about 5 pm. I was nauseas on the way home. Rhett set me up in the spare bedroom with the bed that moves to sitting position. That bed saved me, it would have been so hard to get out of bed or sleep without it. It was a rough week. I was so sore, my back and chest felt like someone was pushing on both sides, the front of my neck hurt so bad and the inside hurt to swallow of talk. I was a mess but Rhett was awesome and worked from home that week. He kept the meds in me and helped me with whatever I needed. 

I could feel relief from the original pain right away. It will just be a waiting game now to see how the rest heals and if this all made a difference. The Dr. said the nerve damage could take a whole year to come back. So time will tell on that. I see hi for my follow up in four weeks. He will take an xray then to see how everything worked. I am not supposed to lift or workout until then so it is going to be a long wait. I asked him if he thought it was form the whiplash. He said probably not and that herniated disks are usually hereditary, makes sense since my grandma, dad, and sister all have the same problem.