Recover. Heal. Rise.

This site started out of pure frustration. Shortly before and after going through major spinal surgery in 2024 to remove an ependymoma, I googled and searched for anything (from my hospital bed!) that would be helpful for learning how to walk again and recovering from spinal surgery. I wanted to know what this road was going to be like...and not the "typical medical" version of it. I wanted the honest. The hard and easy. The unfiltered good and bad.

Aside from medical literature and the occasional brochure download, there wasn't much. Surely someone else had gone through these things? I remember tears streaming down my face as I realized, there was no guide.

And that is why Recover. Heal. Rise. was created. So no one will ever feel the way I was unprepared for what was to come.

The range

Spine surgery covers an enormous range. For some people, recovery means a few weeks of caution after a single-level procedure. For others, like mine, it means relearning things you assumed you'd always know how to do...like walk. This site tries to speak to that whole range, not just one end of it. Some things here won't match your exact situation, and that's ok. Please take what's useful and leave the rest.

What this site is

Recover. Heal. Rise. covers the practical side of recovery. It's the body, the house, the logistics, yes. But it's also the side talked about less: patience, identity, grief for the body and independence you had, and the real, sometimes surprising ways people change through this. Both are treated as part of the same recovery, because it is all connected. There is no judgment here, take what is useful and leave the rest.

What this site isn't

This is NOT medical advice, and not a clinician. It's one person's experience and the research and resources gathered along the way. ALWAYS follow your surgeon or care team's guidance over anything you read here...if something conflicts, they win!

Why "Recover. Heal. Rise."

Recover. It was the first step. Recovery is day by day, and sometimes, minute by minute. Recovery is not linear. It is a rollercoaster.

Heal. Healing comes in so many forms during a stretch like this. Physical, mental, emotional, financial...it is never just about the physical body.

Rise. This is the part when you can see the hope and the light on the other side of it all. It is constantly shifting and growing. It is when you rise, not just in your physical body, but in your emotional and inner self, too.

If you're early, in the middle or the end of this, or supporting someone who is, I built this for you. So no one ever has to go through it alone or unprepared. I hope you find useful and helpful pieces, and know that you are not alone.