Ezra's just back from his operation

[cedronella]

Hi,
My 17-year-old son just had surgery for severe kyphosis with Dr. Lloyd Hey at the Duke Raleigh hospital in Raleigh NC.

The surgery took only 3 hours (we were told 4). It was just on the outside - titanium rod and screws. It looks good.

Operation was 4-7 pm on Friday. The next morning Dr Hey came in at 6:30 am to get Ez on his feet! It was a little too quick - and he took out the morphine pump before there were any pain-killers in Ezra's bloodstream - with the upshot that his pain level got quite horrible early that day. Then a mean nurse came an hour after the Doctor left and said "He has to get on his feet, Doctor's orders." She told me to take Ez to the bathroom and while he was in there, he fainted. I broke his fall and managed to reach the call button and it took four people to get him back in bed.

Then, because his pain level had gotten so bad, they threw a lot of narcotics at him with the result that he slept a drugged sleep from 10-5. Probably good for him in the long run though he couldn't, obviously, do the breathing exercises and the getting around he was supposed to.

By the next day (yesterday) things were better. He walked up and down the long hall probably fifteen times and his energy level was much improved, he was calm and alert.

This morning we were discharged though he hadn't pooped yet (morphine stops all that) and hadn't taken a shower. We drove home 45 minutes, that was ok, and he easily got up the stairs to the second floor and went to bed. That's where he is now.

If anybody has more specific questions, let me know.

[Risa]

Dear Cedronella,
I'am glad to hear surgery went well and he's home in bed. Sorry to hear about meds and fainting. Hope he's on a speedy recovery now. My daughter will be having surgery weds, 5-18. Love to hear kids are doing well gives me hope. Thanks Risa

[phaden]

...he took out the morphine pump before there were any pain-killers in Ezra's bloodstream - with the upshot that his pain level got quite horrible early that day. Then a mean nurse came an hour after the Doctor left and said "He has to get on his feet, Doctor's orders." She told me to take Ez to the bathroom and while he was in there, he fainted. I broke his fall and managed to reach the call button and it took four people to get him back in bed.

Hi there:

Good news that your son is home and doing well. However, to reassure any kids or parents facing surgery, I must say that your story of his treatment in hospital is absolutely shocking. In the dozens of scoli surgery stories I have heard, nothing has come close to that!

My daughter had her fusion done on 2nd May, and her pain was managed very carefully with an epidural (gradually reduced over three days) and a PCA pump until day five. Also, while the doctors and physios were certainly firm about the need to get up and around, it was all done with kindness, and a lot of support. This experience seems much more typical than the one you had.

I suppose that the treatment you receive depends a lot on the hospital you go to, and it sounds like you and your son drew a very short straw. Good on you for being tough enough to get through it. But to all the worried scoli parents out there: it isn't always like this!

Best of luck to your son during his recovery.

Patricia

[KRIS ATKINSON]

Thank you, Patricia, I needed that! I am learning how to make sure I have backbone to protect my daughter when she has the surgery, in case of any staff with bad moods, etc. I hate that Cidronella had to experience what she did and am glad to hear that is not the norm. Cidronella, you have endurance to deal with that! Kris

[cedronella]

Please also read my new post on Ezra's experience in the hospital too, because by and large, we thought things went very well!

One bad nurse out of many is just to be expected, and I wish I had had the nerve just to tell her again (I had already told her several times): Ezra is NOT READY to stand up just now.

Also, I was happy enough to have us discharged yesterday morning after Dr. Hey reassured me that there was nothing they would do for Ezra's lack of pooping at the hospital that we couldn't do at home! And he did, in fact, have a BM later in the day.

[nikyergen]

The worst day for Crystal in the hospital was the day they weaned her off the pump and put her on oral meds, But once it was all under control and they had the right med combinations, everything was fine. The biggest problem was that the percocet was making her very sick and she was throwing up. Once they took her off the percocet and gave her something else everything leveled out. But, this is something we wouldn't of known before hand, so we just had to get it figured out. Now we know to not give her percocet.

We had the pushy nurse about getting up and moving. Crystal hated her, but it also got her out of bed and she did her laps around the ward and then the nurse left her alone.

It sounds to me like Erza was only in the hospital for 3-4 days. If that is the case, he is doing incredible. Sounds like he is on the mend and will be back to normal soon.

'til later,
Nikki