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!spinal Fusion Operation! Help!

Hi guys,

I got diagnosed with severe spondylolithesis, been told i will need to do a Spinal Fusion. Does any1 know of any1 who has done this operation?
My problem is that i have GCSE's in about 2 months, and my doctor says i can do the OP soonif i want to, but the recovery time will be atleast 3 months.
He says i can do my GCSE's but then i gotta do the OP late.
Do you think exam boards would let me take my exams late? or should i take the pain and risk and do my GCSE's on time?
:confused:

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Reply 1

username47781

I would have thought the exam boards would be lenient but then again most exam boards don't usually care.

Reply 2

musicdreamer

I would think they would let you do it later since you have a valid reason.

Hope everything works out for you :smile:

Reply 3

Juno

My sister had scoliosis, and part of the operation she had involved fusing her spine. She found she was ill longer than they said she would be, and that she was on loads of painkillers so even staying awake was hard.

Reply 4

stud1_89

If thts the case, i misewell do my GCSE's first, i havnt been able to study the last coupke of months properly, my back causes too much pain.

Reply 5

Archkinkist

If you study first you can apply for extenuating circumstances; my dad has slipped discs and mum has been diag'ed recenrtly with spondylitis arthritis-it's bad :hugs:

I'd say do the exams now, because if you got ill (heaven forbid), it would complicate as you wouldn't be able to revise. Hope all goes well :hugs:

Reply 6

FireDeuce

My mum had a spinal fusion.
You won't be able to do your gcses on time, not revise and everything.
My mum stayed in bed for like 6 weeks

Reply 7

stud1_89

Thnks 4 the replies,

Yep my doc said ill be in bed for a couple of months, and it would be pretty hard to revise like that. However my back is REALLY bad, almost gonna slip off completely, and my GCSE's start in may.....

Looks like this is gonna be such a bad year for me.

Reply 8

Juno

Have you considered taking a year out? If your back is gonna hinder you so much it might be worth it so that you get the grades you're capable of.

Reply 9

stud1_89

hmm, but are GCSE's really worth a year out?
Maybe im thinking GCSE's are too hard? And if i take a year out, ill miss out on being in the same Sixth form year as the rest of my friends.

Reply 10

Helenia

stud1_89

hmm, but are GCSE's really worth a year out?
Maybe im thinking GCSE's are too hard? And if i take a year out, ill miss out on being in the same Sixth form year as the rest of my friends.

Well, look at it this way: if you have the operation soon, you'll be on your back recovering for quite a while, which will make it hard to revise. If you're not fully recovered by the exam, then sitting up in an exam hall for several hours at a stretch, for several days, would probably be quite tough.

On the other hand, if you don't have the operation, you'll be in immense amounts of pain which will hinder your work and revising, and sitting in an exam hall will also be painful and you won't be able to concentrate on your exams - or you'll be off your face on painkillers and won't be able to write as well.

Either way, there's a fairly severe chance it would adversely affect your results in the end - and yes, GCSEs are important. Nobody wants to fall behind a year, but if your friends are decent, you'll still be able to hang around with them, and you'll make new friends in your new year.

Talk it over with your doctor and your teachers/tutor at school - the doctor will be able to tell you more about recovery prospects, and your school can help you out by explaining your academic options.

Reply 11

stud1_89

K, but will a year out,mean ill have to redo the whole GCSE process of two years? or will i just have to hand in all coureswork before i leave, and just come back next year to do the exams??

If it means i have to resit 2 additional years of GCSE material, ill do my gcse's now. I now GCSE's are important but 2 years would just waste my time as im predicted A's already.

Reply 12

Juno

You'll need to talk to your school about the exact arrangements. There are also exams in November (I think, definitely some other month) that you might be able to do if you had the operation now and got better really quickly.

Reply 13

34253

I think that aslong as you concentrate on getting 5 A-C's either way you can progress onto A-levels and then you will be able to prove yourself and do your best, when you are in perfect health. I would hope that any universitys you want to apply to would be understanding if you wrote your spinal fusion into your personal statement.

Reply 14

stud1_89

would teh exams be the same everyone else took? or would the give me a diffrent one?

Reply 15

Talon

If you took a later exam sitting ie November you would get a different exam. The exam boards arent silly :smile:

Reply 16

Profesh

MrSornia

If you study first; you can apply for extenuating circumstances; my dad has slipped discs and mum has been diag'ed recenrtly with spondylitis arthritis and it's bad :hugs:

I'd say do the exams now, because if you got ill (heaven forbid), it would complicate as you wouldn't be able to revise. Hope all goes well :hugs:

Good Lord. By comparison to you, even my implementation of semi-colons would appear positively subdued.

Reply 17

stud1_89

If you took a later exam sitting ie November you would get a different exam. The exam boards arent silly

k, but they might be harder?

Reply 18

Archkinkist

That first one was an accident; not this first one that I just wrote but the first one in the first post. I will amend it later to resemble proper English a smidgen more.

Reply 19

stud1_89

any1 know the dates for a late exam sitter for OCR and EdExcel

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