9+ Months

It has been just over 9 months since I had my ADR surgery and I'm happy to report that I still feel great.  I am pain free and my back feels pretty much like it did before surgery (although I'm still cautious and don't do some of the extreme bends, lifts, etc. I used to).  I have been  biking 25-32 miles on the weekends for that past 4 or so weeks thanks to the early spring here in Minnesota.  This past weekend I biked 31 fast miles on both Saturday and Sunday on my old, heavy, big tired mountain bike and my back felt fine.  It got a little tired towards the end, but not any more than before I had the surgery.  It actually was a little less tired, probably because of the core circuit of physical therapy exercises I still do every once and a while.  The slight pain I had in my right hip which was only present when bending from the waist or raising my right leg has now disappeared finally as I'm guessing the nerve has slowly healed.  The minor leg sweating I experienced before is now almost completely gone.  I think the fact that I still had pretty good disc height at the time of my surgery, and that I got a really good fitting disc according to Mr. Boeree, along with following my physical therapy regimen and being careful has helped me have such a good recovery.  The fortunate feeling of having a pain free back has still not worn off and I am very thankful every day for it.  I am really excited for this summer so that I can finally do a lot of the things I couldn't before (sailing, more biking, taking trips that involve sitting for extended periods, etc.).  Let's just hope that the disc lasts me the rest of my life!