Redburn Reads, Nov. 4, 2023 (Post-op edition)
Friends,
This will be the shortest RR ever.
I just want to thank all of you who sent best wishes and positive thoughts for my back surgery. For one thing, that means you must have read all the way to the end of my last dispatch!
The repair of my disc (the soft tissue between backbones) in my lower back (L5-S1 is the location, I believe) went extremely well, according to my surgeon. Dr. Jay Zampini, who works at Brigham Faulkner Hospital in Boston, was recommended by a friend, retired Dr. Andy Epstein (who happens to be an extraordinary photographer), so I was confident I was in good hands.
The operation was Thursday afternoon. I spent the night in the hospital, and was amazingly well taken care of by my primary night nurse, Jessica, and a host of others. When you see how many people are involved in this operation and care, it helps explain why American health care is so expensive.
We're home now and I'm looking forward to a recovery over the next few weeks, but already the shooting pain down my leg that I suffered through for several months is gone. Of course, I'm relying on help from Oxycontin and Tylenol to manage the pain but I can tell that I'm much better. And I'm not allowed, for at least the next two weeks, to drive a car, bend, lift anything over 5 pounds, or twist my body, and generally just take it easy. Which means Lisa has to do a lot more work, for which I am deeply grateful.
And I'm deeply grateful to all of you.
Take care,
Tom