Hello my fellow crocheters 🧶

In my last post, I shared how the love story continued with a rather surprising proposal in a very romantic place — and how I was able to plan an entire wedding while being on sick leave.

This post is the closing part of my spine-surgery journey.

Recovery, Slowly but Surely

After the proposal and wedding planning, life didn’t suddenly become easy — but it did become steadier.

A lot of things were possible to organise online or over the phone 💻. Everything that had to be handled in person, we managed during the hours when I was allowed to leave my apartment.

Rehabilitation continued. Daily walks stayed part of our routine 🚶.

At the same time, I knew that I was entitled to a spa treatment covered by health insurance in Slovakia. This is a standard option for people after different types of surgeries — accommodation, treatments, and the whole stay are covered.

So I applied. The approval came surprisingly quickly 🙌.

Spa Time (the Good Kind)

I chose a spa located in the middle part of Slovakia — a place that was roughly the same distance for Peter to visit me and for my parents to come by 💙.

Around that time, I joined a Facebook group for people with the same or similar diagnoses. Reading through their posts made me realise how lucky I actually was. Many people didn’t recover as quickly or as smoothly. That perspective stayed with me.

At home, progress continued: daily walks got longer, I stopped taking painkillers, and I slowly started doing small household tasks again.

Loading and unloading the dishwasher suddenly felt like a milestone 🙌. These are the kinds of things you normally don’t even notice — until you have to relearn them. Step by step, the progress became visible 💪.

Medical Check-Ins

After follow-up X-rays and an MRI, we could see that everything under the scar was healing well. Nothing had shifted, nothing went wrong. That was a huge relief 🙏.

Around that time, I started thinking seriously about returning to work. We decided that June would be a realistic and reasonable goal.

Back to Work

I’m very lucky to work for a company that truly supports its employees. My team, my colleagues, my manager — everyone was understanding and tried hard to create an environment where I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed.

Going back to work was different than I expected. I didn’t need a long re-introduction. The moment I turned on my computer and received a handover from my colleague (who I knew well and who was leaving the company), something just clicked 💚.

All the information came back. Let’s be honest — I have very good notes, step-by-step guides, and a strong need for structure 📋. That’s just who I am. Thanks to that, catching up was much easier than I feared.

One More Chapter: The Spa Stay

I informed my colleagues that I’d be going for the spa treatment for four weeks and wouldn’t be working during that time.

We agreed with the spa management that I’d start the treatment in the second half of October.

That time was… amazing.

My roommate there turned out to be someone from the same town I come from — we already knew each other. Whether destiny or coincidence, it created a really nice atmosphere in our room 😄.

We went for long walks every day. Some days, I had over 21,000 steps 🚶. It felt incredible.

If you are in Slovakia and your itinerary allows this, feel free to explore https://kupele-bojnice.sk/-home

Unfortunately, after the third week, I got sick and had to shorten my stay 😢. Still — the experience as a whole was very positive.

Life Expands Again

Being back at work and no longer limited by strict sick-leave hours gave us the chance to take small trips, spend quality time together, and see family more often.

At the same time, I had no idea what challenges were still waiting ahead.

In September, I got married 💍.

Then came all the bureaucracy — changing my last name, documents, ID cards… all the very unromantic stuff 😂.

Would I do it again? The wedding — yes. The bureaucracy — absolutely not.

Looking Back

With this post, I’m closing the chapter about my spine surgery.

The rest of the story you already know from other posts. 2025 came with new challenges — including PNES and everything connected to it. If you’re not familiar with that part, you can find it in the blog section.

I know this post might feel a bit dense. I wanted to put all the remaining pieces into one place.

And if there’s one thing I want to say at the end of this series, it’s this:

I’m not happy that I needed the surgery. But I’m grateful for what it gave me. It helped me get to know myself better. It taught me to appreciate small things 🌿. And it brought me Nina and the love of my life ❤️.

That makes a difference.

Thank you for being here for this whole journey. This chapter is closed — but the story continues.