In early 2007, I blew out a spinal disc in the lumbar region by lifting too much weight (overzealous early spring cleaning). Freakishly, the disc ballooned out enough to impinge the peripheral nerve canal - thereby completely paralyzing my right leg (no motion, no sensation). At about the same time, I unintentionally aggravated an undiagnosed spinal stenosis condition that partially paralyzed my left leg as well.
I required extensive spinal reconstruction surgery. The surgeons replaced five discs with synthetic spacers, wired my vertebrae back together with titanium rods and screws, plus some steel netting, then applied some synthetic bone protein in order to (gradually in time) fuse about 10-12 inches of my lower spine. I spent the next four months living in various hospitals, receiving daily physical and occupational therapy, then spent the next three years gradually regaining the ability to walk, as I slowly transitioned from a wheelchair, to a walker, to a pair of crutches, then finally to a cane - which I was able to discontinue using on a daily, regular basis about four and a half years ago.
I still use a plastic brace on my right foreleg (AFO) and walk with a heavy limp (very gradually getting better). But I'm extremely fortunate: the surgery was successful in every sense of the word. I've healed completely, the fused portion of my spine rarely inhibits my movement in any noticeable way, and I have virtually no pain at all. Moreover, since the herniated disc was between L2 and L3, the paralysis has been reversible. Had the herniation occurred just one vertebrae "north", between between L1 and L2, I would be a permanent paraplegic at this very moment, confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. As it stands, the odds of such a thing ever happening to me again are practically nil, as my doctors have assured me that the spinal fusion renders me far less susceptible to a lumbar disc herniation than someone who has never had the surgery.
I'm sure that my experience is only superficially similar to that of the OP. But it does at least demonstrate that very often there is light at the end of the tunnel that we cannot see from our current vantage point.
Keep the faith, and don't lose hope, brother. Life may yet have some very wonderful surprises in store for you.
MM
