I guess this will be my last blog entry...
I just returned from St. Louis where I had my 12 week check up and xrays. Everything is healing exactly as it should, so there won't be much to report from now on - just more stamina and increased flexibility. So instead of communicating via the blog, please email me and let's keep in touch.
I traveled to St. Louis with my friend, Susan - we had a great time sight seeing, visiting museums and eating some great food. The best part for me was being able to walk all day long (!) without fatigue from the lumbar stenosis that was a result of the scoliosis. Thanks to Dr. Lenke, all of the pressure has been taken off of my spinal cord. Instead of having to sit and rest every half hour or so, I can keep going and going. It's absolutely thrilling! I haven't been able to walk like that for a couple of years.
Again, I can't express how touched I've been by everyone's interest and concern. I felt so supported and loved every step of the way. Please keep in touch, and hopefully I'll be able to see every one of you in person soon.
LOVE,
NANC
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Closer to Normal!
Hi Friends,
As always, I am grateful for your concern and for your prayers and good thoughts!
I've been getting out and about a lot more in the last couple of weeks. My biggest outing was on Tuesday - It was Sharon's birthday, so we went for pedicures at the spa (good for me since I can't reach my toes yet!), then we met Keiron, Audrey and Dave for birthday dinner... a double celebration since Keiron's birthday is the day after Sharon's! I really expected to feel the effects the next day of being out and upright for so long, but I had a lot of energy yesterday - I think TODAY is the day I'm feeling it! Well worth it though, and I love being able to drive around a little each day, even to the post office or the drug store. Still resting frequently, lying on the couch mostly, making my way through the entire West Wing series. I am SO addicted!
Since there's not much to report (that's a really good thing), maybe I should think of some FAQs that I usually hear.
Q: Like - Are you in pain?
Not exactly... it's more like an all over achy feeling. And this is a signal that I've been overdoing it. Except for the fact that I am AWARE of the instrumentation in my back, I don't really experience what I call "owwy" pain. But I do always need a pillow behind me when I'm sitting, driving, etc.
Q: Will you ever need more surgery?
No, this should be IT. What's there is permanent, and should never need adjusting or replacing. In fact, once the spine has been fused (takes 6 mo to a year), theoretically, the rods could be taken out (!)
But there would never be a reason to do such a thing.
Q: Are you doing any painting?
Not on my radar at this point! Really, tackling the most basic tasks of life are plenty challenging for now. When I do get back to painting, I will have a hard time bending over, so I'm thinking that I'll want to work on pastels, which I can do upright on an easel.
Q: How are the kids? Here's a quick update on everybody! Mike and Kaori are living in Japan - he is teaching English in the public schools. The schools there hire native English speakers to be part of their English departments. Kaori is working her way through a graduate program to get teacher certification in English, and also working part time tutoring kids in English and math.
Sharon and Keiron have a new house in Ann Arbor, and are wonderful parents to baby Audrey. She is walking and "talking", and makes lots of friends by waving enthusiastically to everyone. Keiron is a captain for Delta, and is based out of Detroit. Sharon is super busy being a mom, and I am super lucky to see them as much as I want to!
Deborah lives outside of Denver w/ her fiance, Dustin. They will tie the knot in CO in August! She has gone back to school to become a music teacher - has her BA in English, but needs of music theory and education classes. Dustin works as an environmental consultant (correct me if I'm wrong, Dustin!) for a company that helps industrial companies comply w/ regulations. They test emissions, file the gov. paper work, etc. D and D love Colorado!
So, yeah, I have to get fit enough to do some traveling to Colorado and JAPAN!
Thanks for checking in on me. Except for the fact that I don't do a heck of a lot, I'm feeling good, and am in good spirits.
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather, the other shoe is about to drop any minute now!!
LOVE
NANC
As always, I am grateful for your concern and for your prayers and good thoughts!
I've been getting out and about a lot more in the last couple of weeks. My biggest outing was on Tuesday - It was Sharon's birthday, so we went for pedicures at the spa (good for me since I can't reach my toes yet!), then we met Keiron, Audrey and Dave for birthday dinner... a double celebration since Keiron's birthday is the day after Sharon's! I really expected to feel the effects the next day of being out and upright for so long, but I had a lot of energy yesterday - I think TODAY is the day I'm feeling it! Well worth it though, and I love being able to drive around a little each day, even to the post office or the drug store. Still resting frequently, lying on the couch mostly, making my way through the entire West Wing series. I am SO addicted!
Since there's not much to report (that's a really good thing), maybe I should think of some FAQs that I usually hear.
Q: Like - Are you in pain?
Not exactly... it's more like an all over achy feeling. And this is a signal that I've been overdoing it. Except for the fact that I am AWARE of the instrumentation in my back, I don't really experience what I call "owwy" pain. But I do always need a pillow behind me when I'm sitting, driving, etc.
Q: Will you ever need more surgery?
No, this should be IT. What's there is permanent, and should never need adjusting or replacing. In fact, once the spine has been fused (takes 6 mo to a year), theoretically, the rods could be taken out (!)
But there would never be a reason to do such a thing.
Q: Are you doing any painting?
Not on my radar at this point! Really, tackling the most basic tasks of life are plenty challenging for now. When I do get back to painting, I will have a hard time bending over, so I'm thinking that I'll want to work on pastels, which I can do upright on an easel.
Q: How are the kids? Here's a quick update on everybody! Mike and Kaori are living in Japan - he is teaching English in the public schools. The schools there hire native English speakers to be part of their English departments. Kaori is working her way through a graduate program to get teacher certification in English, and also working part time tutoring kids in English and math.
Sharon and Keiron have a new house in Ann Arbor, and are wonderful parents to baby Audrey. She is walking and "talking", and makes lots of friends by waving enthusiastically to everyone. Keiron is a captain for Delta, and is based out of Detroit. Sharon is super busy being a mom, and I am super lucky to see them as much as I want to!
Deborah lives outside of Denver w/ her fiance, Dustin. They will tie the knot in CO in August! She has gone back to school to become a music teacher - has her BA in English, but needs of music theory and education classes. Dustin works as an environmental consultant (correct me if I'm wrong, Dustin!) for a company that helps industrial companies comply w/ regulations. They test emissions, file the gov. paper work, etc. D and D love Colorado!
So, yeah, I have to get fit enough to do some traveling to Colorado and JAPAN!
Thanks for checking in on me. Except for the fact that I don't do a heck of a lot, I'm feeling good, and am in good spirits.
Enjoy the beautiful fall weather, the other shoe is about to drop any minute now!!
LOVE
NANC
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
More Milestones Met
Hi Everyone,
Even though my life has become very mundane, and not very blog worthy, I keep hearing from folks who are checking in to the blog! So I need to update! Thank you all for your interest in my recovery.
Today was a big day. I drove my car (about a mile) to physical therapy. I have a wonderful therapist who appreciates the impact of my surgery on every part of my body. So I have some new assignments (stretches, etc.) to work on every day.
Recovery continues to move along really well. I am taking tylenol only now - a big relief. I feel much more normal without the pain medication. I still have to rest a lot. Not much pain, but a feeling of "unease" - or under the weather - just a hint from my body that there is a lot of healing still to be done, and I need to rest in order for that to happen.
Otherwise, I am walking and taking the stairs w/ no problem. The walker and special toilet seats have found a spot in the basement. The hospital bed will be picked up on Thursday. Tomorrow, I am going to resume my visits to the gym - but just for careful walking around the track. YAY!
I feel bad for Dave, who has had to take on all the laundry, shopping, dog walking, etc. Hopefully, I will be able to take on a little cooking before long. And I still haven't taken advantage of the "shop on line" service at Busch's - you send the order, and they bring it all out to your car! We did it a few times before the surgery to test it out - amazing. Just need to be a little more organized than we are so far.
Thanks so much for caring for me. I am really doing quite well. I am trying to concentrate on how far I have come vs. how far I still have to go...
LOVE,
NANC
Even though my life has become very mundane, and not very blog worthy, I keep hearing from folks who are checking in to the blog! So I need to update! Thank you all for your interest in my recovery.
Today was a big day. I drove my car (about a mile) to physical therapy. I have a wonderful therapist who appreciates the impact of my surgery on every part of my body. So I have some new assignments (stretches, etc.) to work on every day.
Recovery continues to move along really well. I am taking tylenol only now - a big relief. I feel much more normal without the pain medication. I still have to rest a lot. Not much pain, but a feeling of "unease" - or under the weather - just a hint from my body that there is a lot of healing still to be done, and I need to rest in order for that to happen.
Otherwise, I am walking and taking the stairs w/ no problem. The walker and special toilet seats have found a spot in the basement. The hospital bed will be picked up on Thursday. Tomorrow, I am going to resume my visits to the gym - but just for careful walking around the track. YAY!
I feel bad for Dave, who has had to take on all the laundry, shopping, dog walking, etc. Hopefully, I will be able to take on a little cooking before long. And I still haven't taken advantage of the "shop on line" service at Busch's - you send the order, and they bring it all out to your car! We did it a few times before the surgery to test it out - amazing. Just need to be a little more organized than we are so far.
Thanks so much for caring for me. I am really doing quite well. I am trying to concentrate on how far I have come vs. how far I still have to go...
LOVE,
NANC
Friday, September 17, 2010
settling in
A big thank you to all of you who are taking such good care of me!
So many wonderful family and friends have come with meals, good wishes, and their willingness to help me with the little things I still can't do.
I'm walking really well - using the walker only when I get up in the middle of the night. I'm still resting a lot during the day. I sort of feel like you do at the end of an illness - you are ready to be normal again, but not quite there... I know it's going to take awhile. It is time to be patient, and take it easy.
Dave took me out for a drive one evening - it was great to be outside in the beautiful fall weather! The next night we even went to a local restaurant for dinner - that's a big step!
One of the hardest things to deal with has been the heavy duty painkillers I've been on. I'm working on weaning myself off of the worst one. It made for a couple of uncomfortable nights and a generally yucky feeling, but it is a big relief to have my appetite back and feel more like myself.
SO, just checking in to let you know that I am FINE and getting better day by day! I appreciate you all so much.
LOVE
Nanc
So many wonderful family and friends have come with meals, good wishes, and their willingness to help me with the little things I still can't do.
I'm walking really well - using the walker only when I get up in the middle of the night. I'm still resting a lot during the day. I sort of feel like you do at the end of an illness - you are ready to be normal again, but not quite there... I know it's going to take awhile. It is time to be patient, and take it easy.
Dave took me out for a drive one evening - it was great to be outside in the beautiful fall weather! The next night we even went to a local restaurant for dinner - that's a big step!
One of the hardest things to deal with has been the heavy duty painkillers I've been on. I'm working on weaning myself off of the worst one. It made for a couple of uncomfortable nights and a generally yucky feeling, but it is a big relief to have my appetite back and feel more like myself.
SO, just checking in to let you know that I am FINE and getting better day by day! I appreciate you all so much.
LOVE
Nanc
Friday, September 10, 2010
progress
Hi Everybody,
I wanted to bring you up to date on my recovery ~ Going very well!
Patty is here taking good care of me. She's running errands, doing laundry, cooking, etc., plus I just love having her here - we always have fun together.
I go upstairs to sleep, but spend my days in the main living area - I have a hospital bed in the living room, and try to take a nap twice a day. I'm walking really well - sometimes without my walker, and I feel really tall!
I stood in one spot for about 20 minutes yesterday, talking to a visitor, and realized that my legs did not get tired! This is a result of the surgeon clearing out the vertebrae that were constricting my spinal cord. Before my surgery, I had to bend my knees slightly to compensate for my scoliosis, and would tire after about 10 minutes.
I'm doing better with the pain. When I first got home, I would count the minutes until my next dose of pain medicine. Now I hardly notice that they the meds are wearing off, and even let one "pill time" come and go before I realized it.
So... I'm happy to report that things are going really well. I am so grateful for all of your prayers and expressions of love and concern.
Cheers,
Nancy
I wanted to bring you up to date on my recovery ~ Going very well!
Patty is here taking good care of me. She's running errands, doing laundry, cooking, etc., plus I just love having her here - we always have fun together.
I go upstairs to sleep, but spend my days in the main living area - I have a hospital bed in the living room, and try to take a nap twice a day. I'm walking really well - sometimes without my walker, and I feel really tall!
I stood in one spot for about 20 minutes yesterday, talking to a visitor, and realized that my legs did not get tired! This is a result of the surgeon clearing out the vertebrae that were constricting my spinal cord. Before my surgery, I had to bend my knees slightly to compensate for my scoliosis, and would tire after about 10 minutes.
I'm doing better with the pain. When I first got home, I would count the minutes until my next dose of pain medicine. Now I hardly notice that they the meds are wearing off, and even let one "pill time" come and go before I realized it.
So... I'm happy to report that things are going really well. I am so grateful for all of your prayers and expressions of love and concern.
Cheers,
Nancy
Monday, September 6, 2010
2 weeks post op
Hi Everybody,
It's SO nice to be home.
I can't expect every day to be better than the last, but over all, I see improvement.
Dave is taking great care of me. Sharon and Audrey (daughter and grandbaby) were here yesterday and today as well. Sharon made an awesome tortellini soup - and Audrey is a powerful endorphin machine!
I'm walking really well, sometimes without the walker! I have a hospital bed set up in the living room so I can be where the action is. I go upstairs once a day to sleep and shower. You heard me. I TOOK A SHOWER!!
The pain medication is very effective. That's the good news. The bad news is that the side effects are a pain the rear end. The most annoying one has to do with my digestive track (nuff said). And I've been really forgetful...my ability to correct Dave has been severely compromised by these drugs (sez Dave).
My sister, Patty is arriving tomorrow from Seattle and staying for a week. Since Dave is back to work, she'll be keeping an eye on me.
I'm figuring out how to move in my new body. My spine is fused from T1 to the sacrum - so I can't bend my back at all. Getting into and out of bed requires rolling to the edge, getting my knees to go over, and carefully pushing myself up sideways. The challenge is to always have my shoulders and hips in line. No twisting at all. After a year goes by, and the spine is fully fused, I'll be able to squat to pick things up - gotta keep those leg muscles strong!
I think I'm almost 3 inches taller. When Dave puts his arm around me, he says he feels like he's with another woman - a little disconcerting!
All for now,
HUGS,
NANC
It's SO nice to be home.
I can't expect every day to be better than the last, but over all, I see improvement.
Dave is taking great care of me. Sharon and Audrey (daughter and grandbaby) were here yesterday and today as well. Sharon made an awesome tortellini soup - and Audrey is a powerful endorphin machine!
I'm walking really well, sometimes without the walker! I have a hospital bed set up in the living room so I can be where the action is. I go upstairs once a day to sleep and shower. You heard me. I TOOK A SHOWER!!
The pain medication is very effective. That's the good news. The bad news is that the side effects are a pain the rear end. The most annoying one has to do with my digestive track (nuff said). And I've been really forgetful...my ability to correct Dave has been severely compromised by these drugs (sez Dave).
My sister, Patty is arriving tomorrow from Seattle and staying for a week. Since Dave is back to work, she'll be keeping an eye on me.
I'm figuring out how to move in my new body. My spine is fused from T1 to the sacrum - so I can't bend my back at all. Getting into and out of bed requires rolling to the edge, getting my knees to go over, and carefully pushing myself up sideways. The challenge is to always have my shoulders and hips in line. No twisting at all. After a year goes by, and the spine is fully fused, I'll be able to squat to pick things up - gotta keep those leg muscles strong!
I think I'm almost 3 inches taller. When Dave puts his arm around me, he says he feels like he's with another woman - a little disconcerting!
All for now,
HUGS,
NANC
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Gee but it's great to be back home!
Hi Everybody,
We got home around 6 pm - the trip went as smoothly as it possibly could. Cab to the airport, wheelchair at check in, went to the ladies room w/ my walker (!), Easy flight, wheel chair to luggage claim, waited at entrance while Dave fetched the car, came home.
My friend Susan came over to give us a fantastic meal (THANK YOU, SUSAN). Since then I've been rela\xing in the hospital bed we are renting. It did go well, but I have a feeling I will pay tomorrow. Pretty exhausting!
I will write again tomorrow -
LOVE YA
NANC
We got home around 6 pm - the trip went as smoothly as it possibly could. Cab to the airport, wheelchair at check in, went to the ladies room w/ my walker (!), Easy flight, wheel chair to luggage claim, waited at entrance while Dave fetched the car, came home.
My friend Susan came over to give us a fantastic meal (THANK YOU, SUSAN). Since then I've been rela\xing in the hospital bed we are renting. It did go well, but I have a feeling I will pay tomorrow. Pretty exhausting!
I will write again tomorrow -
LOVE YA
NANC
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