12 Week Check Up - It's All GOOD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Heading Home Tomorrow

We're preparing for the logistical challenge of travel tomorrow, hoping that the flight is smooth for Nancy, and that the turbulent vestiges of the hurricane winds don't rock her world.

A couple of days ago I rolled her in the wheelchair a few blocks to get some lunch  and even the pebbled surface of the sidewalk (combined to some degree with the ineptitude of the driver) made the trip very uncomfortable for her. Between the ride to the airport, the lack of any place to lie down for many hours, and the Michigan roads home, I'm just hoping for the best.

When we finally get there, home will be a much better environment for recovery. We have a hospital bed in the family room so Nancy can spend as much of her day on one floor as necessary. Also, sister Patty is coming in for several days, and we'll get to see Sharon, (hopefully) Keiron and the birthday girl Audrey this Sunday. Calls from Mike and Deborah have a great effect as well.

The pain seems to be somewhat less intolerable and unmanageable for most of the four-hour duration of the pills, and the worst part of the interval appears to be getting shorter and less intense. Easy for me to say, I know...

I'm glad to be getting home to some kind of routine, and grateful Nancy feels up to the trip earlier than expected. This hotel room is very nice, but I am going nuts here. I fondly recall living in a 16 foot camping trailer for a few idyllic months when we were 19 years old and I was finishing my freshman year at Sonoma State. I know I can't possibly have over-romanticized those days...I guess I have developed late onset claustrophobia or something.

New and Improved!

Hey, what about them x-rays!!?   O    M    G   !!!
We were finally presented with my before and after x-rays yesterday. I couldn't wait to see them, and I must say that I do have a particularily compelling set!  We decided not to show the "before" pictures before my surgery - they are just a little too scary...
If you look at the front facing "before" picture, in the lower curve,you can see where I had a severe case of lumbar stenosis (I mean you can't exactly see it - but that's where it was).  At L4/L5 (that's vertebrae talk) my spinal cord was being squeezed so that last year's MRI report said there was no spinal fluid detected in that area!  When we were here for my pre-op appointment in July, Dr. Lenke was looking at my x-rays with his entourage of fellows and we heard him say, "It's really a mess in there".  yikes. Without intervention, my spine would have kept curving, causing BIG problems down the road!
So it's a huge improvement, huh!  And it will never get any worse.  :)
Except for a drug induced state of loopy-headedness, things are going really well, I'm getting stronger every day, able to do more and more.  In fact, we've decided to go home a little early - Saturday.  YAY. 

I noticed something cool yesterday - I've had a few standing x-rays in the past year, where you get into this booth and have to stand still for 10 minutes or so. In the past, because of the leg weakness caused by the stenosis, standing still without support was really hard.  So yesterday,I got into the booth, and even with all the new aches I have, I realized that I didn't get fatigued while standing! And my new aches will go away... Awesome. We are anxious to go home - can't wait!
Thanks for your love and support.  I
LOVE
NANC

She's here and she's packing hardware.

If you clicked on the animation (not at all gross, but quite interesting)  in Nancy's previous post, you'll get an idea of the 'mechanical engineering' side of this procedure. I could relate to it right away, because at work we have a lot of bakery racks that magically bend out of shape when in the presence of truck drivers, all of whom apparently have the Uri Geller-like ability to distort metal objects without actually touching them. This miraculous occurrence is coincidentally accompanied by the same sly look of practiced innocence. Go figure.

The repair method we employ at the shop takes a few minutes of careful bracing,  followed by the application of sudden and precise force at the strategic point of the bend. The exact amount force is calibrated according to to the size of the guy jumping on the bent rack, the height from which he jumped, etc. I don't want to bore you here with an overly technical scientific description.


Clearly though, the approach used by Dr. Lenke at the hospital is even more precise and effective, especially considering that welding is not an option for them. Or jumping, probably.

 Click to enlarge these.

Here are a couple of the x-ray images of Nancy's spine before and after - They were shot at different scales, so I tried to give a realistic comparison of the height gained.

The most amazing thing to me is the way they were able to clean up her right side, shown above on the leftmost photo, on the left side. The doctor described it as 'a mess' with her rib cage resting on her tilted hip and her spine so restrictive on the spinal cord that it was creating stenosis and weakness in her legs.Despite the pain and weakness following the surgery, she can tell already that her legs are stronger. Now that's all fixed and unlike our bakery racks, it will stay fixed.

I'll leave some good news for Nancy to relate.

D

HI FROM NANC!

 Hey Everybody - look at me typing on the computer!
I want to thank you all so much for the prayers and messages of love and support - It has helped a lot!
 So we did get discharged yesterday, and now we're holed up here in our hotel room.  Yesterday was really busy - I had to have each department clear me for release.  If I had not met their standards, they would have sent me to an inpatient rehab facility . Stuff like walking up some stairs, being able to dress myself, etc.  I love being in the hotel - it's so quiet and comfy.
So how am I doing??  According to the pain-o-meter, it fluctuates from like an 8 to a 2, and those numbers correlate directly w/ where I am on the pain medicine schedule, which is 24/7.  The last hour before the meds is kinda long... I mean we are barking with the big dogs now.
I had a wonderful experience today - I got my hair washed!  I went a whole week without washing my hair and it will be another week before I'm able to shower... AND I can't bend over to wash my hair in the sink... But I was allowed to sit back in a salon chair in the hospital salon.  AND I put my contacts in for the first time since surgery.  Feels good!
We're in St Louis a little longer so I can get stronger before we head for home.  I follow a scoliosis forum online, and it sounds like everyone has a real turning point around the two week mark.
Just feeling well enough to eat and read is huge!
So I have a link to an animated video of how they do that surgery - it's not gross at all...

Here's  link to an animation of the procedure. Might want to turn the music down..


 LOVE YA,
Nanc

Discharge, Dat charge, whatever.

Check, check, check. Conditions met, bureaucracy negotiated, we are out of the hospital and at the hotel!

As soon as they get their ducks in a row,

We're outta here!

Of course, in hospital-speak, that means we have to get X-rays, a PT session, and discharge papers, which could take an unbelievable amount of time for them to suddenly call and want to do it all simultaneously. Then we'll have to find our way out of the hospital labyrinth, an experience that can be reminiscent of this 2-minute clip from the mock-rock-umentary "Spinal Tap," in which the band gets lost trying to make their way from the dressing room to the stage.  

Wise to the ways of healthcare bureaucracies and mustering as much patience as possible, Nancy has dressed herself using the magical implements in her occupational therapy bag of tricks and  is sitting in a chair, eating lunch and talking to her sister Patty on the phone about her remarkable recovery!

No doubt we'll be here a while, but it's several days earlier than I thought we'd be ready to go, so you're not going to hear me complain. We'll just hurry up and wait. And if I get tempted, I'll just remember the mantra from that movie - "HELLO, CLEVELAND! ROCK AND ROLL"

Where are we on that scale?

10 
9
8 
7 
6 
5
4 
3 
2 !!!!!!!

Landmark day -

Nancy has spent the day without nausea. (crossing fingers, so far so good). Pain managed, the lap of the floor easier each time.

Looking forward to hospital food . That's not pathetic, is it?

Lookin' Good!

Expectations grow as the juices flow...

Nancy had a good night and was sitting up this morning with a renewed appetite, absent the persistent nausea of the last week. We just did a full lap of the floor.

The plan for the day was that I'd come in earlier than usual in order to see the doctor at 7:00 am, but we failed to account for the good weather and probable tee time... he was here and gone by 5:30. He was very positive about Nancy's recovery and growing maneuverability. Word around the campfire is that she could be paroled...er, discharged early next week. Perhaps very early.

At that point, we'll go back to the hotel which adjoins the hospital until all of her follow-up appointments are completed and she feels well enough to travel - if that turns out to be earlier than the date on the tickets, I'll glad to pay a penalty for early withdrawal, as it were.

She'll advance to solid food today, and tonight she should be totally disconnected from the intravenous feed bag and saline drip.

She has progressed greatly while Deborah has been here - coincidence? I think not.

Update from Deborah

I'm here in St. Louis and I think Mom is doing amazing overall. I know she is very uncomfortable now, but her recovery seems to be progressing steadily. I really cannot put into words how relieved and thankful I am that Monday's surgery went well. I spent the four months leading up to the surgery praying and then the four days leading up to the surgery praying and absolutely holding my breath. These few days following the surgery have been hard for Mom, but I keep in mind that her preparation for these days, her pro-active mindset, and her health are all positive factors contributing to her recovery. Today her physical therapist said, "You make it look easy!" when Mom stepped up and crossed the simulated street curb, and I agreed. Mom's relative ease with movement is tangible evidence of her progress and a great sign of more to come.

As for height, Mom used to be about as high as my lips or chin and now is up to at least my eye brow! Her back and shoulders are noticeably straighter.

Magic Bullets

Here we see a few key elements to the healing process - Nice flowers (thanks, Gail) A monkey card, hand delivered by Deborah, and a rarely seen stash of Ginger Ale*..

Big developments today. Lots of chair sitting, using the commode, further distances traveled by walker with much more sure-footedness.

The pain seems to be more manageable, and the nausea, while still annoying, passes occasionally, possibly due to the ginger ale and a few crackers, a remedy suggested by our friend Shari who had this operation a few months ago.

We're talking a solid five on the shittiness scale, folks. It's getting better all the time.

Nancy thanks everyone and gets a lot of encouragement from your expressions of love and support!


*Somewhere in the depths of Ginger Ale World  Headquarters, there is a marketing war room in which a young guy with a fresh MBA, poorly concealed tattoos and a bad haircut is staring at a map of the United States. The map is lit up to display the significant sales and distribution centers of the various Ginger Ale brands - but he's not looking at those. He's looking at the center of the map, in Missouri, which is almost completely dark. It looks like North Korea in that photograph from space of Asia  at night: almost a Total Blackout. General Ginger Ale Junkyard.  But wait, There is a faint glow, right there! Someone bought the only Schwepps ginger ale in St Louis! It was just after 11:00 at night, in a 24 hour, 30,000 square foot superstore, in a vast aisle with 150 kinds of cola, 72 kinds of lemon-lime, and Mountain Dew in every conceivable color. (though the flavor is always the same.) Sitting alone on a neglected shelf were six small bottles of the good stuff along with a half liter of generic brand. And someone found it and bought it!


Could be a trend, you never know.

May I have your attention, please?

We are sporadically dipping into the 5's on the shitty scale.

That is all...

Happy Anniversary!

Anniversary card - 'Still Holding Hands' 

Didn't come close to forgetting this one - So grateful we have many more to look forward to with Nancy's new, improved back. We celebrated our 38th early, going to Las Vegas for a weekend last month to visit my closest cousin and his delightful daughter and to see the Beatles Love show.

More lines are disconnected each day. Just after the operation she looked like the wiring loom on a Jaguar V-12. Now she's down to three, with a good chance that two more will be disconnected by tomorrow, only leaving a saline drip.

Still looking for the balance between pain relief and an easy stomach. The digestive tract is the last system to wake up after anesthesia, and with 10+ hours under, it may be this time tomorrow until it's fully functioning.
Hopefully that will help. It would be a nice anniversary gift.

Other than that , she's increased the frequency and distance of her walks and the doctor thinks she can move along to the rehab unit early next week.

They took the dressing off the incision. Despite the fearsome length, it's beautifully straight and looks to be healing nicely.

Deborah is coming in tonight for the weekend, we're both looking forward to it!

I don't know about you...

But if I was trying to entice someone to begin eating despite concern about keeping food down, I *might* have chosen another shade for the Jello..

On a scale of ten.....

The Doctors, Nurses, and Techs routinely ask the patients to describe their pain "on a scale of ten, one being pain-free and ten being the worst pain you ever felt." Of course the answer varies according to the four hour cycle of pain-pill effectiveness. That last half hour is really tough and stretches out endlessly.


As a diversion, I asked Nancy how she was feeling generally, on a scale of one to ten, one being 'kinda shitty' and ten being 'unbelievably, unremittingly, massively shitty."

I think we concluded that today was a seven on that scale, based on Monday after the surgery being a ten, Tuesday being a nine, and yesterday being an eight. Onward Progress!

Nancy wants to make known that she is open to tomorrow being a five, or a four.


Or a three.....

Walkin' and talkin'

I woke up this morning knowing it was going to be a good day. Or to put it another way, when the clock radio went off playing Paul Revere and the Raiders "Cherokee Nation", I knew it could only get better.

For those of you too young to have ever heard this particular piece of sonic sewage, allow me to digress a minute and quote:

"They took the whole Indian nation
Locked us on this reservation
And though I wear a shirt and tie
I still part Redman deep inside

Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live
So proud to die"

Yeeeowch. And it sounds far worse than you can possibly imagine..


Anyway, my feeling was validated when I got to the hospital to find Nancy lucid and shaking off any lingering effects of the dilaudid. The improvement in her communication and clear-headedness over yesterday is striking. Yesterday she wanted me to be her "brain", because she was having trouble with her short-term memory. Today I have been demoted to "supplemental brain." I don't mind, the word 'supplemental' wasn't even available in her vocabulary yesterday.

The Physical Therapist came in to work with her this morning, helping her stand and use her walker. I don't know exactly how tall she is now, but I'd estimate she has gained at least three inches, and her posture is spectacular! Using the walker, she walked without assistance out of the room and into the hall, turned around and came back to sit in the chair for a clean-up/comb-out and an Occupational Therapy session with her new collection of reachers, sock installers, and other vaguely mysterious implements.

The PT asked how she felt after the walk, and she replied "Happy!"

Other cool developments:

• She will have her first liquid refreshment today besides ice chips- she's been fed intravenously till now. Maybe even Jello. Mmmmmmm. 
• Her lung volume is such that the respiratory therapists can stop using a particularly stinky and irritating drug in her breathing  treatments.

Her message to all of you; "Thanks!"

A gift from the operating staff - a bone-shaped pen

Resting in relative comfort -

..."Relative comfort" taking into consideration that 36 hours ago some very skilled and determined people were cutting pieces out of Nancy's spine, wrestling it into an unfamiliar position and constraining it with wedges, titanium rods and screws.

Guess I'll never again be able to complain about pulling a muscle in my back - practically every muscle between her chin and knees has to conform to a new shape, stretch, and angle of operation.

Despite all that, she is sleeping away without the heavy I.V. narcotic that was so disorienting. Make no mistake, the oral medications she is taking are potent enough to make fine additions to any radio demagogue's lunchbox, yet they seem to be allowing her to think and articulate more clearly than she could with the other stuff.

Highlight of the day: Nanc was able to have brief conversations with each of our kids in all of their various time zones. That was a great thing for all of us.

Real quiet around these parts....

The oral meds are working very well, She's been pain-free for five hours without resorting to the button - subsequently her stomach has settled considerably. On the other hand, she can't stay awake for more than a minute or two.

Beauty Rest...

Nancy is ensconced in her 'regular' room today. The plan is to taper off the I.V. button-activated pain medicine and transition to oral pain killers. Between the multiple anti-nausea meds and all of the pain meds, she is ZONKED.

As I explained to the nurse, she's a half-a-beer person, and this is like a 12-pack. I'm going to fend off the Physical Therapists for a while and let her sleep it off.

Movin' on up!

The nice ICU nurse tells us that as soon as the movers get here to push the bed, we're blowin' this pop stand for a private room in genpop. Yay!

Also, one of the doctors on Team Lenke came by to check on Nancy and mentioned this was the most challenging procedure of this type he had worked on. Because of the previous 43 year-old fusion, he said her lower back more closely resembled a femur than a spine!

Progress -

Nanc is sitting in the chair again, her third hour today. The Occupational Therapist says the hospital bed saps your energy, so it's wothwhile to go through the complicated procedure of flattening and lowering the bed, unhooking and re-hooking the many, many tubes and sensor leads in order to get her to stand and turn and sit.


Nancy is game for whatever will make her better and stronger. even if it's uncomfortable for a while.
OT: Did you sit this morning?
N: Yes
OT Was it comfortable for you?
N: Not really.
OT: I was hoping you'd do that this afternoon for me.
N: Whatevah...if it will help.


The ongoing problem continues to be nausea, exacerbated by the pain meds. I think she'll stay the night in here, probably moving to a regular room tomorrow.

When she does, the OT and PT will increase to twice a day, they'll almost certainly have her on a walker tomorrow.

All the doctors and nurses are impressed with her strength and willingness to do the work of recovery.

I've been reading the responses to this blog and the emails and  texts you all have been sending, she enjoys them.

Tuesday 10:30 am - the day after

Nancy is in an ICU room, and they've managed her pain to a great degree, so she's relatively comfortable. The pain medicine makes her prone to nausea, though, so the ministrations of the Physical Therapist and the respiratory therapist make her pretty dizzy.

They have her sitting in a chair now for a few hours, and she's sleeping.

The recovery is going to be difficult, but her posture when she briefly stood up was straighter than ever.

OK, one more -

Nanc is in a recovery room, surrounded by nurses. I got to see her for a few minutes - she is in a LOT of pain, and they haven't quite got a handle on it yet. Other than that, her vital signs are strong, she's got the tube out of her throat, and I can tell just by seeing her lying face up that her shoulders are straight and her back is flat. She is an eleven on a pain scale of ten, though.

The nurse asked if she wanted some more pain medicine - though she is generally whispering because the breathing tube irritated her throat, she answered YES quite clearly, and when the nurse went to get some more, she added 'duh!' with a bit less volume.

They'll let me in a few minutes per hour, until eventually she gets a berth in the ICU. They're a bit more lenient with the visitation rules. By this time tomorrow she should be in her own room.

Surgery complete, SUCCESSFUL!

Dr Lenke just dropped into the waiting room to tell me that Nancy is in the recovery room, She is intubated but breathing on her own, moving her arms and legs well. He said they accomplished all of their objectives, straightening her posture and gaining about two inches of height.
She'll be in the recovery room for a couple of hours for observation, and then she'll move to ICU when a bed opens up which might be hours later.

I'm not supposed to be able to see or visit her until she's in the ICU, but if that is going to be for an extended period we'll see how firm they are about that.

I am overcome with relief -- haven't felt this way since the kids were born.

A lot of recovery and rehab to go from here, but it appears the part that was far beyond our control is over and went very well.

Thank you all for your support, prayers, good thoughts and concern.

I think I'm done for the day here...

4:16 update

Nurse Mike has been replaced by Nurse Judy, who just called to tell me that things are going smoothly. They are still installing hardware in Nancy's spine and  she will call me again at 6:00. At that time, I might be able to ask about an estimated time of completion, and whether they think they will finish the procedure today or have to continue this on Wednesday.

For now, the good words are smooth and stable.

And grateful.

In order not to be the object of one of my favorite jokes....

A cruel but amusing joke from my cruel but amusing High School years -
Q: "How do you keep an idiot in suspense?
A:   "....................................................................................................." 

I just tracked Nurse Mike down, and he was very apologetic for making me start to freak out. He had to relieve another person on another operation, yadda yadda. Those of you that know me well probably wonder why I waited so long..

Q: How's she doing in there?
A: It's going very well. This procedure is complicated and delicate and it is roughly half completed - in other words, five or more hours to go.

They are doing the osteotomy  - in this case they are either creating relief in the part of the vertebra constricting her spinal cord in her lower fusion or they are removing pieces of bone at the apexes of the curves to allow them to place and fuse the spine in a straighter position.

I cannot imagine the amount of skill required to do this - As I walk the halls and see these young people training to be doctors and nurses and technicians, I am very appreciative of their willingness to apply their intellect and industry to helping change peoples' lives. It's hard work that takes a long time to pay off, so there has to be a lot of idealism fueling their endeavors... I like that. God bless 'em. Especially the ones working on Nancy.

Mike's shift is over - he'll hand over the communication to his relief who is supposed to get with me around 4:00 (Central)   If I don't hear from anyone by 4:30, I'll call again.

I feel like a teenaged girl jilted on a prom date - Nurse Mike, you say you're gonna call but you never do, dammit!

I'll let you know what's up as soon as I know. In the meantime, stare at this photo and will it to ring - and welcome to my world.

Update 11:26 am

Nurse Mike must have been busy as he was a bit late with the update, however it's all good news, so I'll cut him some slack.

According to him, they're proceeding smoothly, have installed a couple of the wedge-shaped lifts and about 'half the screws'. He has no idea when they might finish and will call back around 1:30. This time I'll hit the bathroom beforehand, it makes the tardiness harder to take.

Update

Mike, the nurse, called from surgery to tell me they have actually begun and everything is going just fine. He advises me he'll call around 11:00 am and to get drunk. Or possibly he said breakfast, I wasn't listening anymore at that point.

I think I'd settle for a good cup of coffee.

Nancy is in surgery , first update to come at 9:00

We have been to this hospital three times: once for Dr. Lenke to evaluate Nancy's situation to determine whether he would do surgery on her, once for a couple of days of testing, and this trip, which began on Friday, culminating in today's surgery.

I have to say I am very impressed with the level of care, efficiency, and the professionalism of all the staff I've come across. This morning we came in at 5:15 to register for surgery. There were already a bunch of people in the area, but with very little delay, we were processed through the various steps, escorted to the prep room, told explicitly how to follow the wayfinding so I couldn't get lost between the various places I'd need to go, and provided with a place to securely lock up Nancy's stuff. She was attended and checked on by no less than 10 people from the team, all of whom gave her great confidence that although this is a major, major surgery, they do it all the time and everyone comes out the other side.

Right on schedule at 7:20, she got some 'relaxing medicine', and went to sleep with a smile on her face. They rolled her away amidst a posse of very competent people.

One of the nurses in the operating room is charged with keeping me updated; there is a phone in this small waiting room and he'll call  every couple of hours beginning at 9:00 to tell me what's going on.

I got the prime place here, next to a wall plug for my computer, faced away from the TV which I turned down to a whisper,and without the vending machine goodies staring me in the face for the next 10 to 12 hours.

After the surgery, she'll be in ICU for 12 to 24 hours before she goes into a private room for recovery and rehab. So far I rate this place far above U of M hospital, and above even UCLA, and that's saying something. 

The Night Before...

Hi All,
I could feel all the good vibes streaming into St Louis today... plus so many nice phone calls and emails and comments.  I really feel LUVVED.  Thank you so much!
I'm sure you'll hear from Dave tomorrow - I'll be sleeping in (har har)...
I'll post again as soon as I can!!
Love you all,
Nanc

Last day before the surgery

These past few days We've been doing as much as possible to divert attention from the upcoming surgery and to try to get Nancy up to her pre-surgery weight goal of 98 lbs. This medically recommended goal, designed to accommodate a great deal of anticipated weight loss after the surgery without going below 80 lbs has dictated a firm regimen of desserts, BBQ, desserts, great meals at a number of excellent local restaurants, and desserts.

In order to encourage her in her quest to gain weight for important health reasons, I have made the sacrifice and have also partaken in these, simply so she wouldn't feel isolated in this therapy. There's nothing I won't do to be supportive.

We took a ride yesterday in our rental car up the Great River Road, stopped in to the HAWG PIT BBQ. That was good for a couple ounces, I think.

After that, we drove some very pretty secondary roads and  took a couple of ferries across the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, re-crossing the Missouri by bridge coming back into St Louis.

We've also gone to some movies: we both enjoyed "The Other Guys" which was surprisingly funny, streamed "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" on a computer, and today Nancy saw "Eat, Pray, Love". After I found out it was NOT called, "Eat Prey, Love" and that Julia Roberts was in it, I decided instead to see the movie next door with Sylvester Stallone and all the action hero guys that was so predictable and forgettable that I can't recall the name.

As I said, I'll do anything I can to support Nancy, but going to a Julia Roberts movie is asking a bit much.


Tomorrow is going to be a long day. We go in at 5:30 am, Nancy's surgery starts at 7:30 and could last twelve hours. I'll post up occasionally in the 'no news, good news' vein.

Hi to everybody, and thanks for all of your expressions of love and support!
This morning I had my central line installed. It’s a kind of fancy multi port I.V. that they put high in my chest, sort of next to my shoulder. It was pretty easy, I must say. I had “relaxing medicine” (nice), and a couple of stitches. It’s a little sore now, and I won’t be doing anything with my right arm today other than type, I reckon… maybe use the TV remote…
I also met with several different nurses and staff who did a bunch of pre-op procedures… took blood in preparation for my transfusions, checked me out one more time, and quizzed me about every possible part and history of my body that would pertain to anesthesia. The unexpected really great part of this process was chatting with all these nice people, who were super impressed with the state of my health, and expressed lots of encouragement. “You’ll do just great!!” Something about being there, and knowing that what I’m about to do is something they see all the time, was comforting. So I think I’ll do just great!

As you can imagine, one of the main things I’ve been working on in preparation for surgery is trying to maintain my cool under pressure (or rather, trying not to freak out!). Most of you know that I had a spinal fusion when I was 14 – the bad news is that in 1967, even though the surgery I had was state of the art for the time, it was rough going – 6 months in a body cast for example! The good news is that having gone through that ordeal, I do have a familiarity with the whole hospital experience; I.V.’s, blood, tests, all that stuff. So it doesn’t freak me out so much. I already freaked out back in the day!
Also, I got some guided imagery CD’s for successful surgery for my MP3 player. I like them a LOT. This very soothing voice guides you through visualizing a warm and fuzzy surgery. I know. But there are actual studies showing that people who listened to those had quicker recoveries.

Speaking of staying calm, I read a good article in Oprah Magazine while I was waiting for my appointment this morning. Martha Beck writes about learning how to rest in life’s downturns (you know, not freak out). I won’t try to explain the whole thing, but there was one personal example that made me crack up big time in the waiting room. Martha Beck was traveling home from Africa… I’ll quote:
“I’m writing this in a dark airport hotel in Africa, after being stranded in a freak five-hour traffic gridlock that blocked all access to the airport. Dozens of planes took off empty, leaving hapless passengers haggling for seats on later flights. A thunderstorm struck as I waited in line outside for seats that were ultimately unavailable. It knocked out the electrical power just as the Bank of Gods back in America decided I couldn’t possibly be where I am and barred my access to cash…. Unshakable calm is fabulous in theory, but in practice – when your dreams are shattered…. or even when you’re soaked, cashless, and confused in a foreign county – fearlessness may seem impossible. It isn’t. I just relearned this from a wise fellow traveler; a tired, cranky 1-year-old whose mother was waiting in line ahead of me, wild-eyed with stress. The kid, catching Mom’s vibe, looked ready to pitch a full-on fit. Great, I thought as he opened his mouth and drew a deep breath. Just anticipating the shrieks to come was enough to cut through my last nerve like a chain saw. But instead of screaming, the baby looked directly into my eyes, furrowed his brow, and said, “Oy-yoy-oy!”
I swear he sounded exactly like Rodney Dangerfield.”

AWESOME.
So if you start freaking out, just say w/ me… OY-OY-YOY!
Everything’s fine. Hotel is nice. Fresh baked cookies every day at 5:00. Cranberry – orange – oatmeal. yeah

on the way to the airport

One of my managers came into my office as I was heading out the door, confidently telling me that Nancy will be OK. He's not usually given to positive prophesy, so in answer to my questioning look, he told me that he just saw her in the parking lot and wished her well, and in response she raised her fists in the air , assuring him she was "gonna kick it's ass"

Getting ready to go..

In a couple of weeks, Nancy and I will be married 38 years, exactly 2/3rds of our lives, and while there is nothing in all that time that remotely compares with this 'adventure,' I am confident that the strength we derive from our life together will enable us to get through this with some measure of grace. More her than me, probably. 

In some aspects this is analogous to a trip we made to go whitewater rafting on the Cheat River in West Virginia, where we repeatedly found ourselves swept into tumultuous, scary, loud, and uncontrollable places in which the outcome of our 'three hour tour' was by no means guaranteed.

As then, the odds are overwhelmingly on our side, the prognosis is good and all possible preparations have been made. We just have to throw any illusion of control overboard, hang on to each other, trust in God and the experts and endure this damned thing.

We made it through the rafting, obviously, but you'll note that I haven't made the least effort to repeat the experience. I am, however, making a supreme effort to conceal the fact that I am shitting bricks at such a prodigious rate that my ancestors in the Pyramid-Building Union would probably have 'strongly encouraged' me to stop making everyone else look bad.

I calm myself with the following factual litany:

• Nancy proactively sought help before she became too weakened by this condition. She is knowledgeable, fully prepared, in excellent health and has worked hard to optimize her physical and attitudinal fitness.
• This particular doctor (check out his link in Nancy's post) is the undisputed heavyweight champion of scoliosis treatment, and has led the way in the recent development of  the tools, techniques and actual implements used to achieve positive, life changing outcomes . 
• He personally does this surgery only 30 times a year, taking on challenging cases that will have maximum impact and the greatest degree of dramatic success.
• We've had a year to try to prepare for the surgery and the recovery, and have covered all foreseeable bases to try to ensure a smooth recovery. 
• I have great backup at work, and an experienced, stable, and productive staff. Business is going relatively well, and technology allows me to link in to my office and keep tabs on customers, vendors, volume and cash flow, so I can distract myself a bit by being useful.
• The tens of thousands of dollars I've spent each year on insurance are paying off big time. 
• We are blessed and fortunate to have the support of loving family and friends.  

So thank you all for your concern and prayers, we'll take them all gratefully.

I'll keep you as updated as possible, and hope the news is uniformly encouraging and uplifting.
(So say we all.)

Dave

Countdown to Surgery!

Hi Everyone!
So many of you have offered your love and support as I prepare for scoliosis surgery ~ 
This blog is for all of you - an easy way to check in on how we're doing in the coming days and weeks.
On Thursday, Dave and I will fly to St. Louis... Surgery is on Monday. 
Here's a link to my surgeon's website.  Take a look at the "Patients' Stories" and the before and after photos.  Really cool!

Link to Dr. Lawrence Lenke's website

I'm feeling pretty calm (ask me again on Sunday!) - I've been checking off stuff on my to do list - buying all kinds of interesting medical equipment (raised toilet seats...) yikes.
We'll post as often as we can - Right now I'm going to see if this blog works!
NANCY