Decisions…
As I mentioned in March, I have to have pretty major back/spine surgery at some point in the coming months. It’s not a huge rush, but it has to be done. The surgeon who performed the operation in 2003 and has been following up with me since recommends that I have the surgery within the next year. When I heard that, I decided that early December would be the right time. I’ll race Angeles Crest on August 28, go to Loren and Charlie’s wedding on October 30, race the Catalina Eco-Marathon on November 13, go east for Thanksgiving with my in-laws and then do the surgery. I’ll have all of December and early January to recover and get back to my life (personal, professional, athletic) sometime in early/mid-January. That sounded about right because I get to do what I want accomplish this year and face 2011 fresh.
BUT.
We were living in NYC in 2003, so that’s where the original surgery happened. Now, we’re looking at our options on the west coast. Last week, we met with a surgeon at UCLA. He comes well recommended and seems competent and more than capable. He reviewed my recent MRI and wants to move more quickly. He agreed that it isn’t a “rush” but blanched a little when I said I was planning to wait until December. My initial reaction was something like
“He’s a surgeon and sees something that needs to be operated on; of course he wants to do it ASAP” and
“The NYC surgeon has been following this for 7 years and thinks I can wait a year; I’m confident in his judgement”. And I still believe there’s some truth to all of those thoughts.
I have to have this surgery. I have to go through the recovery. My life will be disrupted. I’ll listen to everyone but in the end it’s my decision.
BUT.
The meeting at UCLA got me thinking. Maybe it is a little silly to wait until December. I’m definitely not doing the surgery before Angeles Crest. Unless I’m having symptoms, that’s a non-starter. But not a really strong argument to wait much beyond that.
From a medical perspective the tumor is only going to get bigger. And that increases the risk that I’ll start having symptoms and potentially makes the surgery more complicated. Frankly, based on my word from my NYC surgeon, I’m mostly OK with this risk.
From a personal perspective, I could do the surgery in September and be fully recovered long before the wedding. And, the further out I push the surgery, the less I know what my life will be like. Doing the surgery in December could disrupt some plans I don’t even know about yet. It’s hard though to think about what could be going on personally in early 2011 when I know what I want to do in late 2010.
From an
athletic/running perspective, the big bummer is that I would have to miss the Eco-Marathon.
Again. And this year I have a bunch of friends running it. If I have the surgery in September – even early September – I’m not running a marathon in mid-November.
BUT. While doing the surgery in December saves Catalina, it most likely knocks me out of any spring 2011 races. A September operation kills my fall, but it will force me to recover fully after Angeles Crest and should mean that I’m back running much much earlier and potentially sets me up for a full 2011 racing season. (And I’ve got some big ideas for 2011!) Right now, this is what’s carrying the most weight in my decision-making process. And I don’t think it’s the wrong way to look at it at all.
I’m not making this decision today. Thank goodness. But I am going to try to deal soon.