Will I Run Again?

A large tumor fractured 2 lumbar vertebrae 1 and 2. It hurt so badly that I had no choice but to undergo a 12 week series of chemotherapy treatments to shrink the tumor. I had several x-rays and I asked my oncologist several times about my back and what could be done? The oncologist disregarded my questions and simply focused on keeping me on track with my next treatment. I suppose this situation is kind of a triage. The oncologists role is to make sure the chemotherapy doesn't kill me too soon so he can keep collecting his fees. He never mentioned that the x-rays showed that I had a fractured vertebrae.

I visited an orthopedic surgeon and he told me that the lumbar 1 and 2 were fractured and had compressed: one was 75% and the other 50%. Well, this explained why my back hurt so much. He offered a procedure that would inject something into the spine to "inflate" it back up. I asked him about my chances of running again but he advised against ever doing that again. I'm always skeptical about what doctors offer. They will not share everything they know and will often skip advising you about the risks until they have to talk about it.

I had to start walking with a cane to help keep my back straight. I walked every day and soon I was able to complete a mile but my back would hurt so badly that I had to go down to my hands and knees and wait for the pain to subside.

I stopped at a red light at an intersection with my blinker on to turn right. Unfortunately, a driver slammed into my rear bumper and pushed my car forward into the intersection. I was injured with a concussion, whiplash in my neck and additional trauma to my back. It was a hard blow and as I waited for the police to arrive, I spent much of it laying on the ground hoping I wouldn't pass out.

I went to see a chiropractor to get some help with my sore neck and back. After taking x=rays and MRI scans, we found that I had suffered some acute damage to the back. He recommended massage therapy in addition to my treatments. I found that the chiropractic and massage treatments helped a lot to relieve the pain and swelling. The question I keep asking is do you think I will be able to run again? No one is certain, so I think I will have to keep walking and on occasion run to see what happens.