I always just put my back problems down to my work
In 1996 I had really bad back pain which was even accompanied by numbness and paralysis symptoms in one leg. I always just put my back problems down to my work. After all, I often had to carry heavy things. But when the numbness started it got me thinking that something wasn’t quite right. I then had an MRI scan that found out that one of my spinal disks was damaged, so I had surgery on the disk.
After the surgery everything was great at first. But a few years later I started to get really bad pain again. It got worse and worse over time. First one of my legs went numb, then the other, and I couldn't walk anymore and ended up in the emergency room. At hospital they told me I had a badly slipped disk. I had surgery straight away because they said I might be at risk of becoming paralyzed otherwise. The whole thing with the operation was really stressful. I’ve got a wife and kids at home, and I was working at the time as well. I was very relieved after the operation. I noticed a difference straight away. It was a great feeling.
Back then the doctors said that it could all be linked to my job as a truck driver. But my boss didn’t agree. I was moved to a different department so I no longer had to lift or carry heavy things. The pain didn’t go away though. Three years after the surgery I went into partial retirement, and have been fully retired for three years now.
Both operations were a big deal for me. I was scared. But they both went well and didn’t lead to any complications.