For those of us who know her, Fumiko is a never ending ball of activity. A constant site at Lake Dora Sushi and Sake in Tavares, Fumiko is constantly carrying plates of sushi and pitchers of water and beer to smiling customers . She's an invariable force when it comes to customer interaction. Everyone knows and loves Fumiko's spirit and energy. It hasn't changed since her friends and customers knew her at Kampai Japanese Steakhouse in Vestal, New York, through the short time at Mt Dora Sushi in Mount Dora, FL and now in Tavares, FL.
One thing HAS changed about Fumiko over the years and thats her posture. In 2006, Fumiko had back surgery to fuse L5-L3 in her lumbar back region. The years of carrying heavy trays of glasses and plates had finally taken its toll on her 4'10"/ 90 something lb body.
Although that surgery gave her much relief, the pain crept back and over the last year we have seen her quickly degenerate into a curved pile of discomfort. Watching her hobble through the restaurant trying to fill water glasses with a smile has been more torture to many of us than the actual pain she may have felt at the time.
In April we took her to the Laser Spine Institute in Tampa where they determined her back was beyond any help that they could provide. We immediately made an appt with an Orlando spine specialist and a surgical date was set for June 4, 2012 for spinal fusion to help alleviate some of the slipping and painful rubbing of her vertabrae as she walks and moves.
Internet Ref: Spinal fusion is a surgical procedure used to correct problems with the small bones of the spine (vertebrae). It is essentially a "welding" process. The basic idea is to fuse together the painful vertebrae so that they heal into a single, solid bone.
The news was good today. Fumiko made it through surgery fine . It was worse than we thought and she now has a titanium rod welding her vertabrae S1, L5, L4, L3, L2, L1 and T12! We are already joking that we want her spine willed to us so we can make a golf club out of her when she's gone, LOL. All kidding aside, we are happy and relieved that Fumiko can now be on her way to a comfortable recovery . We look forward to seeing our social butterfly once again at Lake Dora Sushi on a regular basis ...but no more carrying water pitchers.
**Surprise visit for Fumiko's back surgery in 2006< Watch this 2min home video we made back in 2006 when Fumiko had her first back surgery. We decided to get me on a plane to NY to surprise her before she went in. She AND Takashi were both surprised :)
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