Melissa Gilbert, 56, has recently given fans an update about her health a week after undergoing her fourth spinal surgery.
Posting a video of the procedure she underwent on November 19, the former Little House on the Prairie star wrote, “Though I am only one week out it is clear that this surgery for me has been a life altering experience.”
“On this Thanksgiving day though I am isolated from all of my loved ones, I am so filled with gratitude,” she added. “I know that this isolation is only temporary and that next Thanksgiving, not only will we all be together again, I will be able to cook, play and enjoy this holiday free from pain and limits. Be well and safe everyone. I send you all oceans of love.”
The following day, she shared another health update, revealing that she had to undergo a test for COVID-19 after flying to New York from California, where she underwent surgery.
Gilbert, who is the former president of the Screen Actors Guild, wrote, “I flew from California four days ago had a negative test three days before that. If this test is negative I can actually be in a room with my husband! Still maintaining distance because of the potential 14 day incubation period. But I’m one step closer and very hopeful!”
Her test results were negative. She wrote on Saturday, “Yeeeeeehaw!!! I can go to our place upstate. Now we just have to be cautious and mindful for ten days, then we are home free!. Can’t wait to hug my hubby!”
Gilbert had to undergo another procedure after her third spinal fusion in 2016 had failed. She recently told PEOPLE that she knew something was wrong when she had “numbness and tingling in the three middle fingers on my right hand.”
“I always had this sort of constant hum of, I can’t describe it other than the sort of low hum of ache,” she said. “There was just an ache. Every once in a while, my whole neck would just lock up. It would tense up or flare-up, and I would be unable to turn my head right or left or lift my head up.”
However, after the recent surgery, Gilbert said she has been “feeling great.” She added. “Now, it’s all going to be about staying still and not pushing, because I feel so good. I don’t want to mess anything up. So I have to be very, very careful.” The article originally appeared on PEOPLE.
