It's been three months since I broke my neck and sustained a spinal cord injury. I was planning to write an open letter to Regions Hospital about my experience, but after talking it through with Vanessa, decided it wouldn't be the best use of time or mental energy.



Instead, I decided that covering the insights I've gained would add more value to others than outlining the disappointments from the hospital's post-op process. The former would empower others. The latter would only lead to unnecessary complaining.



If you don't feel like reading any further, please just take this point to heart:



You should expect a hospital system to fix what's broken, but it's on you as an individual to make yourself whole and well.



I couldn't have fixed the mess I made of my neck on July 30. Only a well-trained surgeon could have done that. But from the day after surgery, going forward, I couldn't expect that the medical system would have the knowledge or experience to help me get back to my previous "normal" in the short time it was possible to do so.



In case you missed the first three parts of this story, here they are:




I Broke My Neck, Part 1: Injuries, Surgery, and Recovery Challenges



I Broke My Neck Part 2: What I’m Doing to Recover And Why



I Broke My Neck Part 3: The Mental Game of Rehab and Recovery




A Quick Rehab & Recovery Update



At the time of this writing, I'm 13 1/2 weeks post-injury.



In terms of muscular strength, my chest, triceps, and serratus, used for movements like dips, bench presses, and pushups, are at about 60% of where they were pre-injury. The rest of my body is at about 80%. The weakness in my upper body pressing movements is typical of the spinal cord injury I sustained, though the expectations were that it would take much longer to regain strength. I'm sure it would have if I had followed the recommendations from the medical group.



As for my sensory nerves, when cold water splashes on my lower body, I still feel pain instead of cold, like the water is pushing on a bruise. In my upper body, I feel cold more than pain right now, so it seems the sensory nerves are starting to respond appropriately. I also have frequent burning on the sides and palm of my index and middle fingers, though it's nowhere near the level it once was. If the sensory nerves didn't improve beyond what they have, it wouldn't disrupt normal life.



And as for my neck itself, most mornings it's pretty stiff, but once I get up, apply some Young Living Cool Azul Pain Relief Cream or other oils and move around, the stiffness and soreness go away.



The following are some of the milestones from the past few months. Though every spinal cord injury is unique, I thought this might give people in a similar situation a little hope. Early on, I couldn't find any examples of how people recovered from broken necks or spinal cord injuries, so I didn't have anything to compare my progress against.




Day 1: Walked the morning after surgery, with a physical therapist by my side in case I fell. I believe it was later that afternoon that I also walked up the stairs at the end of the hall.



Day 3: Was discharged and walked out of the hospital.



Day 5: Stopped taking oxycodone. I had plenty of pills left, but will not take pain killers unless it's absolutely necessary. It wasn't absolutely necessary.



Day 5: Got my first gym workout in, with the help of my friend Victor Straw. At this point, I needed straps to hold onto anything as my hands weren't yet working.



Day 15: First push-up, after trying to complete one for the previous seven days.



Day 39: Completed first (and second) pull-up.



Week 5: Weaned off of Gabapentin and extra-strength Tylenol completely. Unfortunately, the Physician's Assistant at Regions Hospital wouldn't discuss weaning off of Gabapentin, so we researched how to do it and followed a specific timeline and process. This is not a drug that you stop cold turkey,