u/cjmatto

I was referred here from another subreddit and figured I would post here as well.

I’m a 32-year-old male and was injured in a car accident earlier this year. Before the accident I had zero neck pain, headaches, numbness, or arm issues.

Since then I’ve done months of physical therapy, medications, and multiple cervical injections without any real relief. My orthopedic spine surgeon has now recommended a hybrid surgery consisting of a C4-5 total disc replacement and a C5-6/C6-7 ACDF. I’m also seeing a neurosurgeon today for a second opinion before making any final decisions.

I’m not really looking for medical advice. I’m looking to hear from people who have actually gone through this surgery.

A few questions I have:

• How rough was the first week after surgery?
• How long before you could sleep comfortably?
• How noticeable is your scar now? I’d love to see healed scar pictures if anyone is willing to share.
• How much neck motion did you lose, especially turning your head while driving?
• Did your numbness or arm weakness improve?
• How long until you were able to return to work?
• Is there anything you wish you had known before surgery?

This is a huge decision for me, and hearing real experiences from people who have actually lived through it would mean a lot.

Thank you!

Hi everyone. I’m a 32-year-old male and was injured in a car accident earlier this year. Before the accident I had zero neck pain, headaches, numbness, or arm issues.

Since then I’ve done months of physical therapy, medications, and multiple cervical injections without any real relief. My orthopedic spine surgeon has now recommended a hybrid surgery consisting of a C4-5 total disc replacement and a C5-6/C6-7 ACDF. I’m also seeing a neurosurgeon next week for a second opinion before making any final decisions.

I’m not really looking for medical advice. I’m looking to hear from people who have actually gone through this surgery.

A few questions I have:

• How rough was the first week after surgery?
• How long before you could sleep comfortably?
• How noticeable is your scar now? I’d love to see healed scar pictures if anyone is willing to share.
• How much neck motion did you lose, especially turning your head while driving?
• Did your numbness or arm weakness improve?
• How long until you were able to return to work?
• Is there anything you wish you had known before surgery?

This is a huge decision for me, and hearing real experiences from people who have actually lived through it would mean a lot.

Thank you!

My girlfriend just adopted a kitten who was a stray. I would say he’s roughly 6-7 weeks old.

He is barely eating food which is concerning, we were able to get him to eat some wet food last night when we put it near where he likes to hide.

I ended up grabbing him from under the couch and holding him with my girlfriend just to show him that he’s okay and that we aren’t gonna hurt him or anything and I guess try to get him used to us and our scent?

The following day he started to kind of poke his head out and sit and watch but refuses to come near us or runs and hides when we walk around. He also constantly meows super loud nonstop and I’m not sure if it’s just because he isn’t a new place or misses his mom & siblings? When I say meow, I mean it is absurdly loud all the time throughout the day and night.

I’ve always had dogs, but she insisted she wanted a cat which is totally fine but I don’t know anything about cats or what they need for comfort or just how to deal with a kitten in general to make him feel okay and not so nervous. I got him some toys to try to see if he would play, but he hasn’t yet. We also got him a cat tree and he hasn’t really even messed with that as either. He wasn’t using the litter box so we were wondering where he was going to the bathroom and he was actually going in my girlfriend’s plant lol.

I’m just looking for any advice you all could give that may help or if you’ve experience the same thing with a kitten or a stray kitten in general.