Thanks Dan for being there for me, and thanks to everyone else for the good wishes
My sister, brother-in-law and neice also accompanied me - it was our first 'family outing' in about seven years. Gene, you are right, Hana Mei pretty much stole the show
I also asked my neurosurgeon, Dr. Martinez (the older guy in the white coat in the left pic), a number of questions :
- when can I go cycling again ? Let's talk about this at your follow-up appointment in 3 months... (that would be the end of Feb '08 )
- when can I climb again ? 9 months (He initially said one year, but then said really 12 months from the date of injury, 3 months ago).
- does the hardware ever need to come out ? There's a plate in the front fusing c5-c7, which is permanent. The rod in the back fusing c5 - t1 could come out in about a year - we can talk about it then.
Apparently hiking is still ok, but I'm not sure if there is a restriction on pack weight, etc. - I'll ask him in Feb. and see if it has anything to do with the vertebrae being fused and still knitting (if that's the right word).
Thanks Keith for suggesting that I send him a copy of the pic of me hiking in the halo - he really appreciated it.
Gareth, I will try to scan the films for you to look at sometime - you might get a kick out of them
Happy t-day everyone