Personal Reflective Essay: Controversy Over Surgery

I faced the risk of becoming paralyzed if I opted for therapy over surgery. This was the headline running through my mind like a breaking news report on CNN. I was diagnosed with Lumbosacral Disc Disorder with Radiculopathy during the first week of junior year. Life was warming up to throw a curve ball at me, while I was stepping up to bat. In the diagnostic examination, I was supposed to pull my toes up and the doctor was supposed to push them down. Right away, my left toe dropped and the right toe was perfectly holding the force. When my toe would not respond to me, I thought of when Jimmy Neutron used to have brain blasts. The camera would go through his brain and Jimmy Neutron would have a plan. However, rather than a plan, I froze in disbelief. My strength should have been channeled toward the upcoming year, but I felt myself vigor wavering. The doctor highly recommended a decompression and instrumented fusion to the spine, but that would mean one year of bed rest with the possibility of an unsuccessful surgery. Nevertheless, I decided to get therapy to keep a balance between my health and my academics.

Therapy was emotionally and physically draining process for seven months for three times a week. Therapy started in September and each session lasted for about two hours. I could not participate in any physical activity, barely could walk for a certain distance, and my grades started to drop. I was even advised to stretch during class if I did go to school. Throughout the day, I would get a tingling sensation in my leg, which felt like a bullet traveling down my left buttock and exploding out of my big toe. Whenever this would happen, I would have to cringe and pause for a moment for my body to regain control. I began taking anti-inflammatory drugs because the pain was unbearable. I thought this plagued injury had already overcame me; however, it did