My surgeries were jan 2 and 4 of this year. ALIF to fuse l4-S1 and replace L3-4, then posterior surgery to install screws and a rod. It's been 7 months of recovery and rebuilding. I've told my wife "when I look back, this year is supposed to be a training montage". It'll need a strong and defiant theme song.

Today at physical therapy I did the assessment forms. I have been working with this practice for literally years, I think 8. In the past my benefits have run out of we concluded that I wasn't getting any more improvement. Today I did the assessment form. Rate your pain, zero. Restrictions on this, none. Restrictions on that, none. Pain interferes with sleep? Nope, zero. Trouble walking a mile, two miles, unlimited distance. Nope. All good. At the bottom of the form they calculate a score and for the first time, ever, my score was zero. No pain, no limitations. The lowest score I've had on that assessment before was like a 5, two months ago. Before that? Maybe like an 8 or so. I've never been able to record an assessment that says "my back doesn't hurt and isn't stopping me from doing anything".

Today I graduated physical therapy. Not discontinued. Not failed. Graduated. I gotta say, I am having some feelings today.