Something I Should Have Done Long Ago

My presentation for this project is in a month. 31 days away....what.... Seems long, but I know it will be here before I know it, and I want to be as prepared as I can be. Anyways, something just occurred to me that is vital for my readers to know, and I haven't shared with you. I'm always talking about my back problems and how it can limit me (like when I want to erg but know I shouldn't, and with running). But I've never gone into detail about what the injury is, or what type of surgery I had.
I have a herniated disc in the Lower Lumbar region of my spine (essentially my lower back, where the spine curves inward towards the tail bone.) Turns out I had broken my tailbone when I was younger, and it healed incorrectly (Because I didn't know I had broken it..), which led to my lower spine having too much pressure on it.
Finally, my L5 disc essentially slid out of it's pocket, losing the jelly-like center in it that helps with compression. When it slid out, it started digging into my sciatic nerve, and so began the shooting pain down my right leg (Called Sciatica). So, after 6 failed treatment plans with some doctors here in Ithaca (I won't mention names to save them from clear embarrassment)  I went to an orthopedic spine surgeon in Rochester, NY. After 15 minutes with him  he had me correctly diagnosed, and had a full treatment plan laid out for my parents and I to deliberate over. Ultimately I took it- the pain had caused a bout with depression for me and I became someone I did not recognize. I needed that surgery to gain my life- and some friends- back.

The surgery I had was called Microdisectomy with/and Laminectomy, and it was performed in June of 2012, and I was able to go home the same day. Essentially they took away a small bony covering over my spinal canal, (laminectomy) and then they took the part of the bulging disc out of my spine that was hitting my sciatic nerve, to let the nerve heal(discectomy) That disc in my back will always be herniated. The jelly- like center can never come back and it's not fixable, but what matters is that most of the time I am pain-free now, something I never thought imaginable. Yeah, I had to quit Crew, a sport I fell in love with. But it was crew or my health, and crew was something that would eventually end, but I have a long life to fulfill. Here's an article that goes into more detail about the surgery I had:

http://neurosciences.beaumont.edu/lumbar-discectomy-laminectomy