My Rebuilt Cervical Spine

Today was my 3-month follow-up appointment for my neck surgery. Even though my surgery was really 2 and a half months ago, I figured squeezing it in while my deductible was met seemed smart.

Everything looks good as far as healing is concerned. I wish I could say that I thought it was working but it's a bit too early to tell. Physical therapy continues and I find moving my head awfully painful and the crackling of the scar tissue sure sounds gross.

I can only hope for better things in the new year!

A Visit from my Granddaughters

I love spending time with my granddaughters. I am so very happy when they come to visit. And during this post-surgical time, I really need their uplifting spirits around me. They try to be so careful around my wires from my bone stimulator. I hope they aren't worried about me, I just want them to spend time with me without any worry.

Carpal Tunnel Surgery

During my cervical spine surgery, I had my surgeon do carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand. After all, I was already under general anesthesia so he might as well take care of that as well. Unfortunately, it did not heal well. I think I spent so much time concerned about my neck that I didn't pay close attention to my hand. So now I have extra physical therapy to look forward to. The scar tissue in my hand is so bad, I can't close my hand. I am so disappointed.

Cervical Spine Fusion Surgery

I just had my second surgery of the year. This time it was cervical (neck) fusion. The surgery was not an easy one. The surgeon went in through the front of my neck to fuse the back of my spine. A side effect of the surgery is a sore throat. I was prepared for that but what I wasn't prepared for was the inability to swallow pretty much anything. Even medication. And post-surgery a lot of pain medication is needed. Without the ability to swallow it I was in some trouble.

After a little while, I did find a solution: take the medication with as hot of water as I can possibly tolerate. That way the pills started to melt before they could get stuck in my throat. Not a great solution but a do-able one.

A few weeks in a neck brace was also pretty awful. It was uncomfortable but necessary. It was such a contradiction. I felt comfortable without it but I also felt unsafe. I was afraid I would definitely hurt my surgical site without it. So I wore it. Like it or not.

I really have high hopes for some pain relief after this one. Only time will tell.

New Raspberry Patch

Right after we built our house I started growing raspberries on the south side of the house.  They were in the sun most summer days and out of our view for the most part since our house faces east. It seemed like the perfect place to grow them.

Over the years the raspberries started appearing around the corner and really took over the west side of our house, as they do love to spread out. So as we have had this whole southwest corner full of the bushes, I've had to install some fencing to hold them up and out of the way. Every time the grass would be cut it was easy to brush up against the prickly branches and end up all scratched up. Although there was also the benefit of picking them and eating them as we walked by.

We talked a lot about moving them out to the parkway where they could grow more freely. We would transplant them in the fall. That's what we've told ourselves we would do for at least the last 7 or 8 years.

Finally, the project has hit the top of the to-do list and here is the start to our transplant process. The spot Jeff dug out looks a little small right now, but we plan on starting by transplanting some of the plants from the west side and leaving the ones on the south side where they are.  If the plantings take, we will make the new raspberry patch even bigger next year. We are still picking the berries so as soon as this season's crop is finished, we will start digging!

I love when things get scratched off of the to-do list!

Labor Day Barbecue

We pulled out all the stops for our labor day barbecue. Since it is a symbol of our passage from summer to fall we wanted to make all our summer favorites.

We had barbecued pulled pork with a slaw I made with cabbage I picked from my garden....can't get much fresher than that. I also slow cooked baked beans from scratch. Since one of the ingredients for the baked beans is a half of a package of fried bacon, I used the other half of the package to make the delicious broccoli salad.

Our neighbor crocks his own pickles and they are fantastic. They have just the right amounts of garlic and dill that one spice does not overpower the other. I am so glad he shares them with us.  We also grilled corn-on-the-cob to top off our wonderful day.

Luckily, the weather was perfect enough to carry these hardy plates outside where we could enjoy them on the deck. A funny thing happens to me around the middle of August - all of a sudden I get this sort of desperation feel, like I have to eat outside as often as possible because the days of doing that are numbered. So not only was it nice to have our dinner outside, I had a deep appreciation for being able to do that.

Oak Creek Lions Fest

Cotton Candy covered tongues!

Yesterday we took our granddaughters to the Oak Creek Lions Fest which is a carnival that has been held over the Labor Day weekend since I was a kid (probably even longer) over at the local legion post. During the 4-day event, Saturday between 11 am and 3:30 was designated for children's events so it was a perfect time to take them to their first carnival. When I checked the weather report, there was 0% precipitation between 11 am and 1 pm but after that the chance of rain went up to 75%. So we were going to get there at 11 and hope for the best.

As we headed to the car, it started rain hard. So while it poured, we debated whether we were going to grab some umbrellas or scrap the whole idea of going.  By the time we grabbed the umbrellas the rain stopped.  It was a short but hard rain that left very large puddles on the road.  Since the children's events were being held in a large dance hall, we weren't terribly worried about the weather, however, the girls' chances of going on the carnival rides were pretty slim.

The ride to the legion post is about 5 minutes. It's about 4 miles away. When we got there, we pulled right up into one of the available disabled parking spaces. We were a little surprised that there weren't many people there but we decided they must have stayed away because of the rain.  We ordered some beverages and the server told us it never rained! So the rides are going and no one will get wet. Yay!

The first thing we saw were horses.  There were two and the girls were tickled to go and pet them. That is until they saw all the trailers selling popcorn and cotton candy and games with all the stuffed animals to win.  It was toddler eye candy. We gently guided them into the dance hall where all the activities were going on.  Chloe instantly wanted to get a balloon animal made for her.  As we waited in line, I also took a number for her to get her face painted.  Avery is too little to care about these things so her mother took her over to a 'fish pond' (a kiddie pool full of water) that had about 50 little rubber ducks floating in it.  Each one had a prize value on it and each kid could pull some out of the water for a prize.

Avery had fun with this while she waited for her sister.  The balloon wielding clown was making Chloe a Twilight Sparkle balloon animal fashioned after her favorite My Little Pony character.  It took him a very long time.  After making the purple pony, he added pink wings and a dark purple mane to complete the look. It was impressive. He even took a photo of it for his portfolio.

After that was completed Chloe headed over to the 'fish pond' by her sister. There she proceeded to win her choice of not one, but two of the top prizes available.  She took home a giant stuffed Care Bear and a stuffed Husky dog and a blow-up sword and some other little trinkets. It was the mother lode!

Chloe's number was called and we went over to the face painting table and when she sat down, all of a sudden she changed her mind.  That was surprising because she loves having her face painted.  The artist-clown doing the face painting talked her into a arm tattoo with the characters from Frozen. She was thrilled by the time it was done.

We ordered the girls some chicken tenders and french fries so they could eat before we headed outside to the rides.  They ate while attending a puppet show. The puppet show had a penguin character so Avery chose a penguin  for her balloon animal. So the very talented clown made here a penguin balloon animal that was incredible.

By then it was 1 pm and surprisingly, it wasn't raining. It looked absolutely sunny so our risk was paying off, no rain! We took the girls on the merry-go-round first. They loved it. So we took them on the little cars next, they were faster than the merry-go-round and they still loved it.  So we headed to the little roller coaster shaped like an alligator. Chloe was so excited, she couldn't wait.  I don't think Avery knew what she was getting into, she was just happy to follow her sister. So off they went, Chloe was grinning ear to ear, Avery didn't look so excited. I don't think it helped that Avery was getting tired.  Once the ride was over, Avery was done with them, she didn't want to go on any more. Chloe didn't care. She was going again without her sister, she liked it that much.

After that, I took Chloe on the ferris wheel. I figured it was something I could do without injuring myself and Chloe would get the thrill of being way up high.  When we got to the top I put my arms up in the air and yelled 'weeeee'! Chloe asked me to hang on to her, she was a little nervous.  After the first time around she relaxed and said I could let go of her. She commented on how pretty the view was. Of course she was repeating what I had said on our last time around. By the fourth time around Chloe was holding up her arms yelling 'weeeee'!  That's my girl!

Chloe just loved the rides and I was glad for that. It was her first time and it was wonderful.  After the rides we sat and listened to a band called SuperFly.  Jeff's co-worker, Carlos is in the band and Carlos was thrilled to see him.  We stayed until the girls fell asleep then we left.  By then it was after 5. Here we thought we would be at the carnival for just an hour or two and get out before the rain came. Some of the best days are the ones that surprise you.

Taste of Egypt

There's a beautiful church two blocks from our house and when we drive by it my granddaughter, Chloe calls it the big green castle. Yes, it has a green roof and it is large enough for a child to think that it really is a castle.  We would always correct her and tell her no, it's a church. But she continued to call it a castle.  Sometimes she would say "Let's go there." And we would again tell her, no, it's not a castle, it's a church.  In fact it is called St, Mary & St, Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church.

With the church's celebration, the Taste of Egypt coming up we decided it was the perfect opportunity to get a tour of the beautiful building and show Chloe that it really wasn't a castle, just a church.  Little did we know how much we would learn. According to the scripture, the only country Jesus traveled to was Egypt. The journey was chronicled in books and the Egyptians celebrate Jesus' time in country throughout their church. It is a beautiful account of history.

After our tour of the building, we experienced the food. Jeff had something called schwarma which had lamb and beef with a relish-like condiment on it that he said was so delicious. He wants to come back tomorrow for more! It is that good. The people running the event were so very friendly and inviting that it wouldn't surprise me if he did come back tomorrow.

Of course the girls saw the tents full of the children's activities and Chloe instantly wanted her face painted.  So we did that right away. They had a bouncy house set up and the girls spent the afternoon jumping while we watched.

It was a beautiful day to sit and relax and meet new people.

Milwaukee Irish Fest

We volunteer at Irish Fest every year. Over the years we have come to know that some things are constants.  The people here drink lots of beer. The people here are very friendly and they are still friendly even when you run out of beer. And I've never met an unhappy Irishman. Unless you run out of beer for more than 15 minutes.

We work at the Miller bar, usually bar number 4 or 5. We get to drink beer while we serve beer. It's the best volunteer job ever.

Another constant is that we will run into Bob Donovan sometime during our 4 hour shift.  We see him every year and he is a very nice man.  He is one of those politicians who likes to shake up the system.  I don't always follow the news and what he is up to but I do know that he is an alderman who is loved by his constituents. So I always thank him for his service to the community when he comes to our bar.  This year is a little different for him because he is running for mayor. So I couldn't wait to get a photo with him...he might be more famous some day than he already is.

Madison Farmers' Market

We took Chloe to the Dane County Farmers' Market in Madison today.  It was a gorgeous day and we thought we would head out early to beat the rush.  That didn't work very well, we got there later than expected and it was so crowded that it was making Chloe crabby. She was in a stroller and couldn't see anything because of all the people.  We rushed through the market when we came across a magic show on State Street.  So we got her some chocolate milk and sat on the curb to watch the magic show. Chloe saw some kids with balloon animals and she wanted one. Luckily, the balloon animals were being made right next to the magic show... there would be no need to wind our way back through the crowd.  She asked for a pink giraffe and the street artist made it just as she wanted. Her crabbiness lifted and she was back to her happy self.  Even though we were only gone for about 4 hours, it felt like a long and eventful day. Now we know that this farmers' market is probably not the best place for her.

Jelly Belly Factory Tour

My granddaughter, Chloe loves to spend time with me. I am thrilled that she does.  I kept her overnight last night and in the morning I googled things to do with kids and came up with a website that had photos of about 10 things to do that small children like.  I showed here the photo and asked her if she would like to do any of those things in the pictures. She immediately pointed to the Jelly Belly train and said "I want to ride that train." OK, then we will go!

The Jelly Belly factory is in Kenosha which is about 25 minutes away.  We had some breakfast, got dressed and we were ready to go. The only problem was that the factory opens at 9 and it was before 8. It's hard to explain that to a 4-year old. So I distracted her by getting her to help me clean out my car before we left.  She was into it so the distraction worked. We got to the factory 5 minutes before it opened.  There were already two families ahead of us. That made me feel less silly about showing up for jelly beans at 9 am.

The tour was a simple ride on a cute little train that made stops along the outer walls of the factory warehouse where they played videos of the jelly bean making operation and told stories of the history of the jelly beans. We were not going to see any actual making of the jelly beans here, just towering shelves loaded with boxes of jelly beans. Chloe didn't care. She is too young to pay that close attention and she was getting a train ride. That was all that mattered.

After the tour, we were escorted through the jelly belly candy store. It was a child's heaven. The displays were beautiful and bright and Chloe didn't know where to start.  She picked out a lunch box, a stuffed jelly belly character, a bag of Disney Princess sparkling jelly beans, some orange slices, and a bag of jelly beans for her sister.  She also got a jelly belly paper hat and a sample bag of jelly beans just for taking the tour. It was a fun day for a four-year old.

Garden Harvest

Yesterday Bailee picked our first red cherry tomato from the garden. It never occurred to me to look for tomatoes that are ready, it seems a bit early for that.  When she picked it she mentioned that there were many more that were close to red and almost ready.
I thought I should pay a bit more attention to my garden! I checked all the plants and discovered that there were two peppers that were so large on a single plant that the weight of the peppers was pulling the plant over.  So I picked the larger one, leaving the other one to grow some more.

I also picked some kale and dill that was ready for harvest.  I washed the kale off, making it look a little limp in the photo but I'm sure it will perk back up when it's dry.

I am so excited to start picking vegetables!

Bailee's 33rd Birthday

Today is Bailee's 33rd birthday and to celebrate I made her favorite lasagna dinner complete with a Simma's cheesecake.  Of course I added a salad and garlic bread so the meal was complete. We invited her friend , Shawna to join us along with her three children and had a small celebration. It was nice for Chloe and Avery to have other kids to play with and the weather was perfect.

I asked Chloe what she wanted to buy her mother for her birthday and Chloe said balloons. What an adorable response! So I picked up a balloon bouquet for her to give her mother.  Unfortunately Avery broke all the balloons before I could take a photo, but at least the girls had fun with them. Dinner was good, 5 kids in the house was crazy but I think everyone had fun.

Memorial Day Flag Planting

It's my husband, Jeff's tradition to go to the Veteran's cemetery and plant the flags on the graves in time for Memorial Day. So today was the day for his volunteer group (the GE employees veteran network) to do the task. In past years Jeff has taken our granddaughter, Chloe with him. As a toddler, she rode along in her wagon and handed her grandpa the flags. This year was very different.

Chloe is a fast study.  She watched her grandpa put his heel up against the headstone, then make the hole for the flag at the end of his toes using the length of his foot as a measure to make all the flags in the row look uniform.  Chloe wanted to do this task for him.  So she stuck her toes up against the headstone to measure and put the flag at the length of her foot. Grandpa had a difficult time explaining to her that his foot was a little bit longer than hers thus lacking the uniformity as intended.  Oh well.

Chloe's little sister, Avery had to help too. She sat in the wagon and handed Chloe the flags. So it was a very cooperative operation and we got all the flags planted in our rows in no time.

Baby Ducks

When I saw the babies they were right outside my patio door. Unfortunately, they saw me as well and instantly started scooting away excorted by their mother and 4 males. By the time I got my camera out they were heading back to the creek. At least I got this shot.

Jury Duty

I have to say, I really wanted to figure out a way to get out of it. In  fact, I probably could have gotten my doctor to write me an excuse, However, I decided to do my duty and get it over with.  I worried about what would happen if I actually got on a case, but I was never called out of the pool of jurors. So in the end, I'm glad I went and glad that I am done.

High Radon Levels

It's official, our radon level is 5.3 pCi/L so we have to fix it.  Anything over 2.0 is bad. The EPA ratings go up to 20.0 so I'm thinking at least our level is not that bad, but bad enough that we will be shopping for the radon mitigation fan today. We learned at the American Lung Association fund raiser dinner that radon is the main cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. Once we had that information we got the free radon test kit from city hall and did the test.  Another motivator is that our neighbors to both the north and south have the radon mitigation systems on their houses because their levels were high. So we were pretty certain what our results would be.

According to the EPA, as radon gas decays, radioactive particles release small bursts of energy that can damage lung tissue. Not everyone exposed will develop lung cancer. The time between exposure and the onset of the disease may be many years. Your chances of getting lung cancer from radon depends mostly on:

• How much radon is in your home
• The amount of time you spend in your home
• Whether you are a smoker or non-smoker

Even though I am not happy with the results, at least we know what we have to do now.

Post Surgery Update

Now that I am 6 weeks into physical therapy, I feel like I've come so very far but still have far to go. I can pretty much do anything but run.  I can walk, bend (properly), squat, and move much more normally. The physical therapists are teaching me how to do all these thing properly.  It's a lesson for life - to keep me in top shape throughout old age. Most patients would be ending their physical therapy now, however they suggest another 4 weeks for me.  So I asked them if I failed.  The answer was no, I just have loftier goals. So most people come in wanting to do the basic things but since I want to run it will take me longer to get there.  I am struggling with the idea that in 4 weeks I will reach that goal.  But when I look back, I never thought I would feel this good at this point in the healing process. So I'm hanging on to hope.

Getting Ready for Easter

I bought my granddaughters their Easter treats today.  I couldn't resist getting some Silly Putty. We had so much fun with it when we were kids - making it into a ball that bounces, rubbing it on the comics section of the newspaper and seeing the image on the putty and creating crazy shapes.  I hope the girls enjoy the experience as much as we did.

R.I.P. Toby

Today I had to put my kitty to sleep. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. He's been so sick that I carry him around for most of the day. Over the last three days, he just lays in one spot and doesn't move. He can barely pick up his back legs and he has stopped eating again. I've known it's time since yesterday but I just struggle to make that call. I took this photo of him as a reminder of how sick he looks.

Today I got up and checked on my kitty and he was laying in his usual spot. I poured myself a cup of coffee only to turn around and witness him having a seizure.  His little body went stiff and tremored for what seemed like forever.  Once his body relaxed I picked him up and held him as usual. He looked so confused. I rocked him in the rocking chair from that moment until almost noon. I decided to set him down on his blanket while I did a few chores. I left him alone for about an hour. When I came back to him he was trying to crawl using his front paws but his back ones just laid there. I propped his legs up and he immediately fell. So I made the call. I called Jeff and told him I have an appointment at 5:10 this afternoon.  He said he would make sure he was home in time to come with me.

When Jeff got home it was 4:00. I had held Toby all day except for that one hour, and he never attempted to wiggle off my lap. He went from sleeping in my arms to just looking at me. Not that he could see me since he was blind. It was as if he was asking for help. When Jeff got home, I set Toby on the carpet and he just laid there. I tried to physically stand him up and he did stand there.  When he made an effort to walk, his paws bent backwards with each step like he didn't even know they were there and there was no muscle control of them. I handed him to Jeff, I knew he wanted some cuddle time before we left to see Dr. Nick.

When we got to the vet we were whisked into a room and Dr. Nick came in to talk.  We went over the events of the past few weeks and he gave us his sympathy and told me I was doing the right thing.  Dr. Nick waited patiently until I was ready to hand Toby over. I kissed him on the head and told him I was so very sorry this had to happen to him. Jeff said his goodbyes and set him down in front of Dr. Nick.  Dr. Nick explained what would happen next so we were prepared and within minutes Toby was gone. The doctor left the room and let us stay with Toby for as long as we wanted.  I was prepared to put Toby to sleep, I realized I was preparing all week for this moment.  What I wasn't prepared for was leaving his body behind. It was hard to leave him. We were having a private cremation so I had to take comfort in getting his cremains back in a few days.

It will take a long time to get over our loss.

Rest In Peace Toby

My Poor Kitty

Last week Monday I had to take my Toby to the vet.  He's been losing weight and stumbling a lot over the past few weeks. Then he stopped eating and using the litter box. And his eyes were dilated. As I thought more about his situation, more things came to light, like I realized that he has stopped purring and he doesn't go in his kitty condo anymore. He also stopped cleaning himself. I was doing it for him. When we got to the vet, Dr. Nick's staff weighed him and he weighed 2 pounds less...that is 1/5th of his entire body weight! I did not realize what terrible shape he was in. I thought the stumbling was just aging at first. It takes him longer to stretch and he's been moving slowly over the course of the entire winter season. I think I was in denial.

Dr. Nick said Toby was dehydrated and that they would have to keep him in intensive care for a few days. They would run tests to get to the bottom of his issues. When I picked him up on Wednesday, he looked so much better.  He wasn't listless anymore however, the vet did not have good news.  They did all the standard tests; feline leukemia, diabetes, thyroid disorder...everything they could try, they did.  So the diagnosis was down to one of two things; he either had a brain tumor or a parasite.  He was also blind now. To know for sure, a CAT scan of his brain would have to be done.  Considering the expense, I wanted to avoid that.  So the vet knew a workaround.  We would treat him as if he had the parasite. That meant antibiotics which would fix the problem within 7 days.  If it wasn't a parasite, he would not improve and that would mean the only thing left was a brain tumor and if that were the case, the antibiotics would not hurt him either way. So we left the vet's office after two days of IV fluids, x-rays, lab work and a steroid injection. The poor boy was put through the ringer.

I asked Dr. Nick about the worst case scenario.  If the medication doesn't work, how will I know when he is at the end of his life. How will I know if he is suffering. Dr. Nick assured me that Toby is is no distress, if he was he would be trying to hide from everyone but he is a happy boy right now. He stated that Toby would continue to stumble and start to have seizures.  He also stated that since I knew him so well, I would know when it was time. I would feel it.

I gave Toby the antibiotics religiously and he seemed to get better. His eyes cleared up, he wasn't stumbling anymore and he went into his kitty condo! Things are looking good so I took a photo of him to send to the vet so he knew Toby would be fine. We prayed for his recovery everyday day while crossing our fingers at the same time. I would hold him daily and he even purred for me like he used to do.

Unfortunately, it was a false hope. By the end of the medication dosing, Toby was back to being listless and stumbling.  His eyes went hazy again. I took on the challenge of keeping him comfortable and hope that I can keep him around for a while yet.  At least he is eating and using the litter box even though it is a struggle. I hold him daily, sometimes for hours at a time knowing he won't be with us for very long.  He is only 13 years old.  This is so unfair.

Post Surgery Update

After being home for 6 weeks after surgery, I am ready to get out of the house.  It's been hard lying around all the time and even though I have no strength to do anything else, I am looking forward to my post-op doctor visit. In the past 6 weeks I have totally followed doctor's orders. I wear the bone stimulator 12 hours a day and I've been off all the pain medication since February 15th. The medication was making me sick to my stomach and I can hardly eat.  Everything makes me gag. I keep doing my walking laps as required then drink lots of water and even that is hard to get down.

My Hardware

I am staying hopeful that these days go by quickly because this recovery is hard. At my doctor visit today, we discuss my progress and how well I am doing. Each visit will include an x-ray of my spine. So I can see all that hardware. Wow!

I now get to start physical therapy and get moving. I am really looking forward to getting through this and getting better.

Chloe's 4th Birthday

Chloe's Birthday Cake

We celebrated Chloe's 4th birthday today.  She loves My Little Ponies so her mother decorated her cake with the cute little characters. We had pizza and cake and lots of presents.  And of course, balloons.

Chloe's Birthday Balloons

Uncle Greg helps with Chloe's Birthday Candles

Aunt Kelly helps with the Presents

Post Surgery Update

Today is the day I get to take the steri-strips off of my incision.  Actually, Jeff gets to do that since I cannot reach them.  So he took a before and after photo of my progress. I really have a hard time looking at these. They make me woozy.  I would make a terrible nurse.

Here's to Healing!

Get well flowers are so uplifting. On these dreary cold winter days, they sure perk me up.

Plus my daughter made me a little pocket to hang on the walker and my granddaughters needed to make sure I had company so I am carting around chickens.

To top things off my daughter-in-law sent me a gift card for Kindle books. I love it, however my attention span is around 20 minutes per day.  I wish I could read longer but I an so so tired.

 Here's to healing!

Post Surgery Hospital Stay

Saturday in the hospital was easy. The staff made me get up and walk. It was easier than I thought.  The epidural line was removed from my abdomen and I was now on Oxycontin and Oxycodone. No more pain killers directly to the incision. I still didn't feel anything, so it was all good. I was supposed to eat but I just wasn't interested.  I also sat in a chair. I still mostly want to sleep which is what I did when I wasn't doing breathing treatments.

Sunday was the same.  Still not interested in food but I had to eat before they would let me go home.  I took walks with the physical therapist and sat up for a while.  My mom came to visit and while she was here the anesthesiologist came and took the epidural line out of my back.  Still no pain, so I was doing OK. Too bad they had to pull that out while mom was here, I'm not sure I could sit through seeing that. The only problem was I started to itch everywhere. The nurse brought some Benadryl, she said it was a side effect from the medication.  That was the worst symptom I had during my entire stay.

Monday I got to go home. But first I had to learn how to get in and out of bed.  So the physical therapist and I worked on that. It was not easy. But I got it. Then after going over discharge instructions and getting medications together, we were ready to go. There is nothing better than home.

Post Surgery - Remembering Friday

I have been home from the hospital for three days now.  I will try and re-cap what I remember from my 5-day stay.  I thought I could write this all in one day but I am exhausted after 20 minutes of typing. So it might take me a while to write it all down.
Friday: I am scheduled for surgery at 9:30 but 9:30 goes by then 10, then 10:30 and I start to get anxious. The physician's assistant finally comes in to apologize because their first case of the day was tougher than they anticipated. He said there was a lot of scar tissue to get through and they wanted to do it right. I asked why he thinks he should apologize for doing a good job. Besides, I'm not going anywhere.

I finally get rolled into surgery a little after noon.  I remember seeing the operating room and the anesthesiologist starting to place an oxygen mask on me. The last thing I remember is seeing it about 6 inches from my face.

I woke up in the recovery room to two more IVs in my hand. One was a central line, and as soon as I was conscious, the nurse started to remove it. The thing about those is they have to apply pressure for 15 minutes straight so she was very close to me and I felt very safe. I felt nothing in my back which was good. The epidurals were working.  I also had no more pain in my hips and I wondered if that was just from the epidural as well.

I got back to my room after 8pm.  Jeff was waiting patiently. He stayed with me until late into the night then went home to bed.  I don't remember the rest of the night.  Sleep is good and it comes easily.

Post Surgery - Remembering Thursday

I have been home from the hospital for two days now.  I will try and re-cap what I remember from my 5-day stay.
Thursday: The hospital called. A surgery has been cancelled and mine can be moved up.  I am glad because waiting until the afternoon is absolute torture.  Jeff is on his way home and we left the house at 11.

When I get to the hospital, the receptionist greets me with a gift that she made.  It is a cute little doll made from a towel and I find it very comforting.  My surgeon walks by as we wait to head upstairs to the surgical unit. He says hi and is calm. I wish I was calm but I am screaming on the inside. As soon as all the paperwork is done we head upstairs and when I get to the unit I am whisked away quickly.

I am barely in the surgical gown, which has to weigh 10 pounds (it feels like there is lead in it), when I am poked by a nurse who is trying unsuccessfully to insert an IV. At the same time, there is another person putting compression hose on my legs and another is trying to attach an oxygen sensor to my finger and yet another is inventorying my things. I feel like I am in an episode of ER, they are all working so quickly. My surgeon's staff stops by to say hi. That was nice..more really calm people.

My husband is finally allowed in to say good luck and I am moved to the surgical suite.  I made sure to look around. I remember doing that but I do not remember what I saw. There was no counting back from 100, just a hello from the anesthesiologist and I was out. When I woke up a few hours later, I remember coming out of a groggy sleep and announcing very loudly to the nurse, I CAN FEEL MY TOES! It has been so long since that occurred.  She smiled, even chuckled a little and looked over at someone that I could not see. I think they were all happy that I was happy.

As I get back to my room, Jeff is there waiting and looking relieved.  I tell him I am in no pain and feeling pretty good, all things considered.  Even though my surgery was only two hours, by the time I got back to my room is was close to 5.  He looked tired.  I convinced him to head over to the Legion Riders social that was being held only a few blocks away at 6.  After all, he needed dinner and a beer would probably help relieve some of the stress of the day.  And after he left, I felt a sense of relief knowing that he wasn't just sitting here in the hospital watching me sleeping between the doctors and nurses poking around.  It was a very restful and pain-free night.

Pre Surgery Jitters

When thinking about my spine issues in general I realized that I've never really taken them as seriously as I probably should have. Part of that comes from the change in the diagnosis; the original diagnosis seemed a little easier to live with. When I went from a few irritating bulging discs that can be dealt with through physical therapy, epidural injections and surgery as a last result to a diagnosis of Degenerative Disc Disease where the only way to treat is surgery, I started to take things a little more seriously.  As my vertebrae wear away, I know the risk of damage to the good ones if I don't get this fixed, but getting it fixed is terribly scary.

Logic tells me doing it now makes the most sense. I am not working so there's no employer to inconvenience. It is winter so I won't be missing out on good weather and outdoor activities and I will be ready for a healthy summer.

My pre-op instructions came in the mail today and here is the first sentence of the 6-page document.  Yes, it is 6 pages long!

On January 23, 2014  you are scheduled for an Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1; on January 24, 2014, you are scheduled for a Decompressive Lumbar Laminectomy L2-3, L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1 with a Posterior Spinal Fusion with Instrumentation L3-4, L4-5, and L5-S1.

Sounds complicated but I have faith in my surgeons and it helps not to think about it if at all possible. As I read through all the pages, I realize that I need to get some things.  I need antibacterial soap and some post-surgical loose clothing.  So I head to Wal-Mart to buy some cheap Danskin yoga wear a size bigger than I normally wear.  That should help. At least it keeps me busy so I don't have to think about it too much.  

More Doctor Visits

In the past week-and-a-half I have been to two physicians, a general surgeon who will help perform my spine surgery and my primary care physician who had to do a pre-op physical in order to clear me for surgery. I am used to my primary care doc so that visit is no big deal but I never met this surgeon before so I am hoping he is somewhat likeable.

The general surgeon is Dr. Mahoney and within the first 5 minutes of my visit, I am very comfortable with him.  I immediately noticed his hands. He has hands that look like a surgeon's or an pianist's. He has long fingers that look strong enough to endure hours of tedious, close work.  It comforts me and I know that sounds crazy.

It's been my experience that doctors are usually lacking in personality from all those years of studying instead of socializing, which is a good thing for us patients but this man definitely has some personality. He notices my boots and asks me if they are Steve Maddens. I say yes. He mentions that his daughter has some just like them and I state that I would prefer Jimmie Choos.  His response was that he can have me back in them by summer.  I like that kind of confidence.

After examination, he talks about the incision he will make in my abdomen, from the belly button all the way down to my hysterectomy scar.  Since I have a tattoo of flowers around my belly button, he says I shouldn't worry about how it will look, he will make it look like another stem from the flowers. Ha ha! I really like how comfortable I am around this guy. He is definitely likeable.

Doctors Should Share

I have been very fortunate to have a primary care physician who listens to me, understands me and treats me me with respect. She knows my philosophy regarding my healthcare and applies it as best she can while still keeping me healthy and safe. We live by the philosophy, don't medicate forever what can be fixed today.

The hard part about my care is that I tend to choose specialists that I like and they are not always in the same network plan as my pcp (primary care physician). My pcp is part of the St. Mary's Medical Group and my orthopedic specialists are in the Wheaton Healthcare System. Now you would think that under the Affordable Care Act where there are rules regarding access to electronic medical records, things would get a little easier. I don't know if it's because we are dealing with the government or if it's just an easy excuse to blame others, however, The St. Mary's Group doesn't like to talk to the Wheaton Group and vice-versa. There always seems to be a lot of eye-rolling going on when I mention one doctor to the other. So to torture us patients they just keep making us fill out the same authorizations to send medical information back and forth over and over again. With electronic medical records in place I don't get why they just can't look in my electronic file and see that I authorized my doctors to share information.  But it's never that easy.

All I know is that I like my physicians, they are very personable, competent, and I trust them. They are worth the little extra effort no matter how stupid their policies are. But I still don't understand if electronic medical records are the new law under the Affordable Health Care Act and take effect for 2014 - then why can't they just share my medical results? I am currently walking around with my MRI images on two discs so I can take them from one doctor to another.  At least they are on disc and not giant images on film. So I guess I should be happy for that.

More Spine Issues

We are back in the doctor's office to discuss surgery. Before I get into that, we discuss the cervical MRI. Again, I can easily see right smack in the middle of the image is a missing disc with surrounding vertebrae that do not line up nicely, they are pushed in towards my nerves. The doctor asks if I want to get some PT for it right away and I say no, one thing at at time. I would rather put this in the back of my mind and just concentrate on the surgery at hand.

So the doctor starts the discussion. It is a lengthy conversation about how the procedure will go.  It is a two-day surgery. On the first day they do an incision in the abdomen to expose the front of the spine and put in the spacers that will become my new discs. It is a 2 and a half hour procedure, barring no complications. On the second day, they enter the spine from the back and remove the damaged bone, replace with cadaver bone and attach the bone to the discs put in place the day before.  After the doctor was satisfied that we understood the entire thing, he left us with his PA who got out a model of the spine and actually demonstrated what the replacement would look like.  I liked the visual demonstration, and at the same time the whole thing made me somewhat queasy.

My husband drove me home and we were both pretty immersed in worry and relief at the same time, knowing that once the surgery was all over I could have a better quality of life, considering I have been in terrible pain and distress for a very long time.