Dear Friends,

This is the time of year to offer tidings of good cheer but at this time I need to ask for some support. Next Monday, November 21 I will be undergoing spinal surgery to remove a synovial cyst from my lower spine. What’s a synovial cyst, you might ask? Synovial joints are found all over the body and as we age our bodies produce more and more synovial fluid around these joints to counter the effects of aging. Sometimes this fluid forms cysts. Although they occur at more convenient locations such as the wrist, knee, etc. mine has popped up between the L4 and L5 vertebrae of my spine. Like so:

This impinges on the nerves and frequently causes pain in the legs. About six months ago I suddenly experienced numbness in my lower right calf that was also painful and tender at times. It hung around ever since and in August, the cyst was discovered through an MRI.

At times, I have felt like The Little Mermaid in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, whose legs ache as if she is walking on sharp knives when she walks on land (well, maybe not that bad!).

You may wonder why I have elected to have surgery Thanksgiving week. It’s because I have access to a great surgeon, Dr. Shirazi, who is a visiting doctor to my medical group and may not be available for very long. Also my dear husband, Dan will be able to take that week off to help me recover. I expect the total recuperation period to be about four weeks so I hope to be back to normal by Christmas.

Can you please keep me in your thoughts and send healing waves my way on Monday? The surgery is at 7:30 am. Affirmations of “Healing and Light”, “Guide the Surgeon’s Hands” and all that good stuff are welcome! After that I will be lying low for a while but will get back to you with an update when I can.

Many Thanks and Have a Gracious Thanksgiving!