Sounds like you're on the mend John, great news.

I called Joan this evening and all she had was good news. Today they took him off of all his IV's and he is only on oral medication. He was up 3 times today walking around and is in great spirits. Joan has taken the next two weeks to care for John at home.

And if all goes well in the morning he may be home tomorrow and it should be about a 6 week recovery time.

I don't know how many of you have ever had the opportunity to talk to Joan but she is just the sweetest person and I don't think that she has one negative bone in her body. Tonight she was so upbeat about everything, other than they won't be able to have a tomato garden this year because neither of them is in any shape to care for it.

Joan told me that Johns surgery was scheduled for 2 hours but it took 3 and she was a little nervous when the surgeon sent someone out and told her that the surgeon wanted to see her. When she talked to him he stated that everything went well but that he needed to do more repairs to the nerves than he originally thought he would have to. She went right back to recovery and there was John, sitting up, eating ice chips and told her that he felt great and that the pain was gone.

John spent 2 hours last night reading all the e-mails that people had sent to him and Joan suspected that he responded to each and every one of them.

Joan asked if for the next 6 weeks we could keep John busy with posting on Chevelleforum so that he doesn't do anything that he isn't supposed to do. Especially when she goes back to work in 2 weeks. I am sure that we can keep him busy, besides he likes to have a high post count.

Get better soon flash...

Ms Grumpy
We got to come home today and about 3 PM we were pulling in the driveway .I needed a good power nap after that but Im doing good .And yes I did respond to all those emails the other evening and enjoyed it .I see painfree days ahead very soon ,just got to be patient .I will miss my tomato garden this year but there is next year .

Thanks everyone .

Good news John...welcome home!!
If y'all need ANYTHING...holler!!

Will do Bill ,its good to be home.

Great news John. I'll send you a few tomatoes from my patch if you want.

Glad your home brother. Now just follow the Doctors orders and take it easy. Hey Joan, no kickin in the pants when he gets too idle........:-)

Okay, it's been a week, how about an update. Sure hope things are improving daily.

I am improving daily ,the new pain is minimal ,taking very little pain meds .Im walking short distances 3 times daily ,a little longer daily .I still get tired very quickly so Im not pushing my limits just going slowly forward . I think I am still doing better than expected but dont want to over doit .The very worst part of the recovery is not being able to do anything .Thanks for checking in on me as I forgot to update this thread .

Glad to hear it. Hoping for a full quick recovery.

Sounds encouraging John. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll get there. Remember it's only been a little over a week.

I am getting antsy not being able to do anything but Im trying to get used to it and just walk several times a day .I want to go out to my shop and organize it some but I know better .
Got to behave myself.

I'm sure it's tough but there's 2 options. Behave yourself so you can do that stuff in the future or mess up and never be able to do it.

Listen to Him Flash, Hank may not be a Doctor, but he does play one on Chevelle Forums after a few beers.

Im going to take option # 1 ,Im doing pretty good so far .I hope on the 26th the Dr lets me go back to work on light duty .

Hey, I hadn't even had any beers when I posted that. But now that I have, well, never mind. Johns pretty smart, he already chose the best option. I'm sure he'll do fine. Best of luck John, take 2 aspirins and call me in the morning.

Well guys and gals ,today is 2 weeks out since my surgery and I am doing well ,off all pain meds and can now drive .I have a little tightness in my surgery area but NO PAIN in my back or legs .Im driving to a nearby park as well as my work to walk laps on flat areas .I hired a guy to mow and weedeat my yard and that is very hard for me to watch someone else do my chores .

More important to get well, then chores. Don't go try doing anything to soon, it will dictate how you live the rest of your life. Glad you are doing better.

It appears Im pretty good at doing very little ,thanks guys .

I am happy it all went well. Congrats.

Thanks ,Im better and stronger daily and still taking care of myself and walking a little more each day .My biggest problem right now is getting enough sleep ,night before last I didnt get to sleep til after 4AM and that was with my sleep meds taken at 9PM prior .I did sleep good last night but Im out of my normal sleep routine ,that stinks .I manage to stay busy doing basically nothing most days though .

Im still recovering very well but getting antsy to do something ,ANYTHING .i HAD Joan call my Dr and ask if I could do light housework and they said No .All I can do is walk and Im doing that ,a lot .I go back to the Dr on thursday for my first examination after surgery ,hopefully he will let me start doing little things .The last three weeks have gone by pretty fast considering I can only stand so much TV ,Internet ,magazines and books .I went to Walmart today to get some model car glue only to be told they dont sell it here anymore .

Update time : My Dr's were real pleased with my recovery so far ,they removed the stiches ,changed my sleeping meds per my request,I hope they work.They lifted some of my restrictions,I can now walk inclines even on gravel(my driveway about 600 ft),can wash my cars and trucks with restrictions ,I can do some outside painting with restrictions,can organize in my shop,no heavy lifting ,can do light work under the hood of car or truck with restrictions ,can spray weed killer around my place ,still no mowing grass,no going back to work for at least 3 weeks. I am pleased and thankful for everything that has happened during this time of surgery and now the healing .I am not pushing myself but I am walking 2 1/2 to 3 miles daily and will continue that with more distance added. I have lost a little weight and hopefully more to come .Thanks for all the support guys ,you dont know how much it helps .
John

Great update Flash, glad you are not pushing yourself and following the Doctors advice.

Good to hear that John. Glad you're doing well and improving daily.

Great news John. Is all the pain gone from before the operation?

Yes ,all the pain from before surgery is gone ,I still cant believe how good it is to be free from all that .Best thing I have ever done for myself and very happy .

Time for another update ,Dr. says Im way ahead of where they expected me to be ,everything is looking good.The bone graft is growing in well and my muscles in back are healing very well .I start Physical Therapy next week2 times a week for about 6 weeks ,maybe less.I can go back to work on light duty in 3 weeks and can start doing my own lawn mowing in 5 or 6 weeks .Needless to say I am very happy with the news and ready to get back to a regular routine although I have enjoyed driving the new 72 Chevy truck all this time I have been off .

Good to hear. I wish you even more speedy recovery.

Great news John! So glad it is working out for you.

Thanks guys ,Im so glad to be free of the pain ,I'm going to be able to accomplish so much more when fully recovered ,I just have to be real cautious about re injuring myself.

So glad you're feeling better John. PLEASE don't re-injury yourself. Not sure how old you are but us older guys would like to do what we did before. Not always the best idea though. Be well.

Hank ,I am 53 and I promise I am going to take good care of my back from now on ,done some really stupid stuff in my younger days of pipeline construction. If I do any heavy lifting after the Dr's give the go ahead I will seek help .

Glad to hear you are healing. Still take care of yourself and don't rush it.

So glad to hear you are doing better John. Can't wait to see you and Joan.

We cant wait to see what Ohio has to offer this year .

I go back to see my back surgeon next month for a check up and I think he will be pleased as I am still mostly pain free unless I overdo it .Have not needed any pain meds at all for a good while ,very happy about that ,I dont do pain meds good .