Surgery or No Surgery

I wish choosing the right boy was the only tough decision I ever had to make.

CLEARLY NOT! 

Day 2- You will probably not need surgery, we should take the conservative route

 Day 20- You need surgery as the unstable bone has not stabilized and it might be risky to leave it just hanging there.

Doctors really know how to turn your life upside down in just a few minutes.

I thought I was on the road to recovery and in just a few weeks I’d be up and about, back to work, back to real life. Turns out, there was a different plan in store for me. 

Choosing between Conservative Management or Surgical Management has probably been the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make

Like anyone would, my family decided to take a second opinion, a third, a fourth and suddenly we had entered a vicious circle where my reports made it some of the best doctors across the planet. Each had their own opinion.

Somewhere in the middle of this madness, I became obsessed with reading about the injury, other peoples stories, success rates, watching videos on YouTube and everything I could get my hands on. I was pretty much torturing my friends and family with my never ending stories about what has happened, what could have happened and what the future might or might not hold for me. Everyone told me to relax, breathe, and let my body do its own thing. 

The general consensus seemed to be “Surgery”.

Since I am only 27 years old and my body can take it. But could my body take it? With all the risks involved and if there is a chance of me recovering on my own then isn’t that the right way to go? Do I really want a foreign object placed in my body? Is anterior approach more successful or posterior? How do you choose the right doctor? The list is endless..

Pros	Cons
Fixed for life	All surgeries are risky, especially this close to the spinal cord
Lesser recovery time	Neck movement could potentially get restricted
Won’t need to worry in the future	Will I beep at airport security checks
	Paralysis

After a lot of confusion & contemplation, I have chosen to stick to the conservative route.

I know I have chosen the road less traveled, and hopefully that will make all the difference.