We have a surgery date! [Archive] - National Scoliosis Foundation Forums

AnnLF

10-25-2005, 10:55 AM

Elso & Cheryl,

Elsa -- we'll be thinking of you and praying for great success on the 12th!

And Cheryl, I told my daughter, Lizzie, about your daughter's surgery on the 28th. She did a double-take and I think it made her feel somewhat better -- knowing she is not alone. She is nervous, but like your daughter, isn't likely to talk about it. We're in the Chicago-area (GO SOX!) and she'll be having her surgery at Rush Medical Center, downtown. My neice, Lizzie's first cousin, is getting married the day after Thanksgiving, so we're grateful for that since it should keep our minds busy.

Are both of you having trouble sleeping? I'm waking up in the middle of the night, so wishing that it was all over with. We have such great confidence in Lizzie's doctor, but nevertheless, there's a lot of anxiety, isn't there?

Keep in touch, Ann

mocity

10-25-2005, 11:27 AM

Hi all, I am reading these and just thought I would add my thoughts. I had the surgery when I was 17 and was so scared. While the recovery wasn't any fun and the following 2 weeks in the hospital were very hard.... I am so thankful I had the surgery. I had back pain for so many years and it was emotionally and physically painful wearing the brace. After the surgery my back pain all but disappeared, my back "appeared" straighter, I gained an inch in my height and I was able to be more physically active than I had in years. It was a tough road but one well worth it! Three months after my surgery I left for college and was able to walk all over campus and joined a sorority right when I got there which included alot of activity.

Cheryl M

10-25-2005, 01:12 PM

Mocity,

My daughter talks on spinekids. I found out about the website months before I told her about it. I was just so afraid she would read something that would upset her. She loves it now. It is so good to hear a success story. I know she will be fine.....just wish I could take her place. Our DR. trained at the Scottish Rite's hospital in Texas. Can't remember if that's in Houston or not.

Ann,

My daughter's name is Briann and we are from the Charlotte, NC (Go Panthers) area. She will have her surgery at Carolina's Medical Center with Dr. Wattenbarger. I'll have to tell her about Lizzie. Does Lizzie ever talk on Spinekids. Briann is 13 and she has found it to be a big support.

My continued prayers for all of us looking at November surgery dates.

Cheryl

dancermom

10-25-2005, 04:55 PM

My daughter's surgery is also going to be on Nov. 28th. We live in Oklahoma so she will have surgery here in this state. I still can't believe that it is now less than 5 weeks away. I'm really nervous for my daughter as she loves to dance and will be out for many months. I am just praying that she won't lose very much flexibility. We don't know how far the doctor is going to fuse yet as she goes in for bending x-rays on Nov. 7th.

Good luck to your daughters as well having surgery. It is a scary thing to have your child go through this major surgery, but I know it is for a better quality life and she will have a straighter back in the future.

Just wanted you all to know that you definitely aren't alone on the surgery date.

-Connie (my daughter also visits Spinekids but doesn't write very often - I wish she would write there more to get some extra support for her upcoming surgery)

Cheryl M

10-25-2005, 05:28 PM

Wow, I can't believe that is three of us on the 28th. We'll have to keep each other updated on their progress through this forum. Prayers to all of you and God's blessing on the 28th of November and all the Dr's involved.

Cheryl

AnnLF

10-25-2005, 06:29 PM

Wow...this is remarkable. I think it's a good sign, don't you? I agree that we should keep in touch with each other...our own little support group. I'll be sure to include both your daughters in my prayers. The November 28th girls....

Lizzie (her curve is 73/65) starts banking her blood tomorrow. Have you guys started that yet?

And thank you Mocity-- our daughter will be going off to college in the fall. She wants to go to a Big 10 school and do the sorority thing, so I enjoyed reading your post.

Ann

monie

10-25-2005, 06:43 PM

Hi guys, congratulations to all of you on getting your dates! I had my surgery on the 23rd of September, and being one month post op, I have to tell you that it was definitely the right thing to do. I do not regret it all. I know that as parents, you're worried for and about your kids, but just keep being there for them, and I guarantee they'll get through it a lot easier. My mom flew in for the surgery, and even though I'm an adult, I reverted back to 'five year old' status. I was like a child again. She was awesome though. She was there for and with me through the whole process, and I have to say that knowing that she was there, made it about 300 times better for me. Good luck to everyone. I hope everything works out fine. You sound like strong, loving, supportive parents, and I'm certain that this is what'll help your children through... Good luck.

www.bentoutofshape.blogspot.com

dancermom

10-26-2005, 04:59 PM

I was told that we couldn't start banking blood until about 10 days before surgery time. Plus my daughter only weighs about 104 lbs. so she barely weighs enough to give her own blood. My husband, myself and our 17 yr. old son all have the same blood type so we will donate. But, our daughter says that she doesn't want to donate blood - she doesn't want to be stuck any more than she has to and really is nervous about it. There are 4 of us (including a family friend) that should be able to donate for her surgery so I think we are covered.

I hope that all 3 of our children come through amazingly well for their surgeries. It is so scary thinking about it but the time will be here before we know it.

Thanks for the support. My daughter has a triple curve as of now. I think the top one is 43, the middle 35 and I'm not sure about the bottom one. The doctor said that because she still has an immature spine that the potential is great for her curves to keep getting bigger. She has been in a brace for over a year now and the curves keep slowly increasing. She also has a wedge in her vertebrae at L1, so I am not exactly sure what that means or how it will impact how far down the doctor has to fuse.

Connie

Cheryl M

10-26-2005, 07:23 PM

Connie,

Our Dr. said that Briann doesn't have to donate blood. I think the latest here is that it weakens a patient before surgery but he feels because they recycle the blood she loses (they send it through a purifying machine and back into her body) that chances are she won't even need any. We're hoping this is the case and we're not going to have her give.

Her top curve is around 70 and it started at 42 just 9 months ago. Hindsight says we should have had surgery then but our dr. wanted to try everything to prevent it. Her bottom curve has gone from 37 to 55. Quite obviously the brace isn't working for her. He thinks her fusion will be t4 to L3. He also said she may be able to return to school after 2 weeks....I think that's doubtful.

I will remember all of the November girls in my prayers.

Monie, Thanks for your words of encouragement and hope you continue to heal more and more everyday.

Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

10-27-2005, 07:07 AM

My daughter almost went to surgery with Dr. Wattenbarger, who Cheryl is using for Briann. I think he changed his "methods" somewhat since we went to Shriners. At the time of Erica's surgery, Wattenbarger was still having the kids pre-donate blood, but Shriners (Dr. Pete) told me that he would very likely change that due to recent findings in the medical field. Dr. Pete said that Shriners had just recently stopped encouraging the pre-donation for the same reason that I notice Dr. W has stopped. Erica ended up needing no transfusions, thank God. Dr. Pete did say that Shriners gets their blood for transfusions from the Red Cross, which is very safe in the Carolinas, compared to some states. In states where they "pay" for blood, it tends to be more likely to get contaminated blood than here, where people don't sometimes donate to get money. I know that any doctor will allow the parents to override their recommendations, as far as I know. Since we trusted the blood donation of the Red Cross, we didn't pre-donate. I forget where Dr. W gets blood, if it is necessary. I assume it is the Red Cross. I'm glad to hear things are going so well. Erica now weights 93 pounds, by the way. Before I cancelled her surgery with Dr. W, I received a call to schedule her blood pre-donation, so I had to cancel that as well. Apparently they were going to have her donate even at less than 100 pounds. Good luck all of you! Kris

dancermom

10-27-2005, 08:40 AM

I am glad that Elizabeth is not going to donate, especially now that you all have shared about the patient being weakened by donating. I hadn't even thought of that! This is all so strange to think about. I do pray that none of our girls will even need any transfusions.

We live in Oklahoma and our surgeon will be Dr. Herndon. He has an excellent reputation around here and I feel like he is a very good doctor. We were told that Elizabeth would be in the hospital for 6-8 days with the first couple of days in the pediatric ICU. I am anxious to find out how far the doctor is going to have to fuse.

Cheryl, Briann's curves really progressed quickly. Did the curves progress that much even with her wearing the brace? Elizabeth was told she could quit wearing her brace about a week before having the bending x-rays and then that gives her the month of November to be brace free. I am just worried that her curves could really increase dramatically without wearing the brace up until surgery time.

Take care everyone and thanks for the prayers. I will keep all the November girls in my prayers too!

Connie

mocity

10-27-2005, 09:10 AM

When I had my surgery in 1989 I pre-donated my blood with no problem. I did end up needing the transfusions so we were glad I had donated. This was when AIDS was somewhat "new" and people were freaked out about it so everyone was pre-donating.

Maggie

10-27-2005, 11:05 AM

Its great that you got a date! I hope everything goes really well for you.

Cheryl M

10-27-2005, 01:43 PM

Kris,
Dr. W pretty much left it up to us about donating blood but I believe he would get it from the Red Cross because that it where Briann would donate if we were to decide to do so.

Connie,
Dr. Pete at Shriners told Briann she could throw her brace away back in August when we saw him. He said it was doing no good. Her curve was at 60 at that time. I just couldn't bring myself to let her do that so she wore it at night until we went to St. Louis and found that her curve was at 70 on Oct. 11. She's back to full time because I just feel we have to do everything we can to hold her curve where it is. I need to see what Dr. W thinks about when we should discontinue the brace before surgery. We see him for a class, movie, anesthesiologist, hospital tour on 11/16. I have a list of questions already.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

Cheryl

AnnLF

10-27-2005, 06:49 PM

Hi All,

Well, Lizzie (actually, another Elizabeth!) banked the blood today. Our doctor never really offered another option. But, it went fine, which I'm hoping is a sign of good things to come. My husband went with her to donate -- how about that for father/daughter bonding -- and he got weak and light-headed! Lizzie never flinched and my husband called her "tough as nails."

Here's yet another coincidence: Our pre-surgery day-long appointment also is November 16!

Keeping the November girls in my prayers, Ann

Cheryl M

10-27-2005, 07:53 PM

Yet another coincidence, Briann's first name is Elizabeth. Glad the blood donation went well for Lizzie. I call Briann Lizzie sometimes. Usually Lizzie Lou just for fun.

Prayers for the three Elizabeth's and Elsa's daugher....the November girls!

Cheryl

Cheryl M

10-27-2005, 08:23 PM

Hello every1! this is cheryl m's daughter, briann (aka elizabeth!). my mom just told me about all you guys having the same surgery date and name as me, and i think that is just sooooo cool! i am now praying for your daughters like crazy, and i will be thinking of them on the 28th. tell them i say hi! also, i think i "heard" that one of your daughters got on spinekids sumtimes, and if she does then my name is m&mgurlie on there. i luvvv spinekids soo much, and it has helped me alot!
i will be thinking of you guys!! :D
§BrIaNn§

dancermom

10-27-2005, 09:03 PM

That is too cool that we have 3 Elizabeth's having surgery at the same time. I will also be praying for Elsa on Nov. 12th. My daughter is called Lizzie by her friends at school. I sometimes call her that but most of the time I call her Elizabeth.

I need to call the hospital to set up a tour of the pediatric unit and figure out what else we need to do. I feel kind of lost but maybe after seeing the doctor on Nov. 7th we will know more about what we need to do next. I am also going to talk to the doctor about what he would suggest with the brace during the month of November. I had thought about her just wearing it at night but it sounds like that didn't help Briann at all.

This really helps to have you all to talk to.

Connie

nikyergen

10-28-2005, 08:44 AM

Like Kris's daughter, my daughter did not pre-donate blood. Shriners in Portland is the same way about purifying the blood they lose and putting it back in their system. It was a relief to know we didn't have to do that one too. The first thing the doctor told us when he came out was that there was no tranfusions needed. We were pretty thrilled.

Good luck on your surgeries, all of you. You will soon be on the other side with new and improved backs. Yeah.

At our house we talk about Crystal's old back and her new back.

Kris-Crystal had her check up yesterday, 7 months from surgery. Her back is healing great. You would of laughed to look at her x-ray. She forgot to take her belly ring out. So, now there is a cute little piggy on a chain on her x-ray. The doctors and nurses got such a laugh out of it. She is now on the surgery list to get her feet fixed. He was hoping that would be before her next appointment in April.

later,
Nikki

billyjoe

10-28-2005, 10:08 AM

Cheryl M,
I noticed that you mentioned St. Louis. Did you go to St. Louis for one of your opinions? If so, who did you see there?
We are still trying to make a decision about where to have our daughters surgery.
Thank You,
Patricia

Cheryl M

10-28-2005, 02:55 PM

billie Joe,

We saw Dr. Robert Gaines. He is in Columbia Missouri. We flew into St. Louis and drove about 2 hours. He does a relatively new type of surgery. See the post about short segment bone on bone. My daughter was not an ideal candidate for this surgery. From what I understand, he is a very well respected orthopedic surgeon specializing in scoliosis and very personable as well.

Let me know if you have more questions.

Cheryl

AnnLF

10-30-2005, 07:19 PM

Hi Cheryl and Connie,

We were out of town this weekend -- college shopping. It's a nice to come up with things to do-- we'll take all the diversions we can get because it keeps your mind from focusing on surgery, surgery, surgery.

Can you believe we passed the one-month mark? The countdown is on. On Friday evening, I looked at my watch about 7 p.m. and thought that one month from now, it'll be over with.

I've told numerous folks about the three Elizabeths having surgery 11/28.
One person actually got chills up her spine!

Elsa -- you're a couple of weeks ahead of us, and your daughter is in our prayers for a safe and successful surgery.

Briann (aka) Elizabeth -- I told my Lizzie about Spinekids. She's fascinated by the fact you and "Oklahoma Elizabeth" share the date and name, but doesn't seem inclined to sign on to the website. Still not opening up much.

"Illinois Elizabeth" is called Liz or Lizzie at school. Among our family, she's called "Biff" because her older brother who was 3 when she was born pronounced it "Elizabif." It soon became "Biff" and it has stuck. All these names and I was the one who said she would always be called Elizabeth and nothing else because I loved the name so much. Oh well...

Hope you all had a great weekend.
Keeping the November girls in my prayers, Ann

dancermom

10-30-2005, 07:52 PM

Hi Ann. Glad you had a good time on the college shopping. I agree that it helps to have things to do to keep our minds off of totally focusing on the surgery. I know that my Elizabeth is starting to bring it up more and is telling people that she is getting more nervous. I told her about the other girls named Elizabeth having surgery on the same date and that really fascinated her. She has told several people about it and thought it was really cool.

My daughter doesn't really log on to Spinekids much as she doesn't feel real comfortable. I have found that talking on this forum is helping my fears a lot and I think if she were to get involved more on Spinekids it would help her too, but I am not going to push her to do something she isn't comfortable with.

We did call the hospital where Elizabeth is having her surgery to schedule a time to see the Pediatric ICU and meet the staff and see where she will be. The person should call us back sometime early this week. It would be strange if it ended up being on Nov. 16th like you guys. We go and see the doctor again on Nov. 7th for the bending x-rays and should find out how far he is planning on fusing during the surgery.

Good to hear from you and I have a strange feeling that this month is going to speed by before I am ready to have to deal with this.

Connie

Cheryl M

11-02-2005, 07:59 AM

Ann, Connie, and Elsa,

Just want all of you to know that Briann (North Carolina's Elizabeth) and all of us are praying for the November girls.

Briann has a cold right now and I don't really know what to do to keep her healthy over the coming weeks. Everyone around us is sick.

My nerves are getting a little more jittery as we move into November but I am looking forward to getting this behind us since we really have no choice.

Have a great day!

Cheryl

dancermom

11-02-2005, 08:30 AM

Good morning Cheryl. I understand about your nerves getting more jittery. Something about being in the same month that the surgery is actually going to happen is a little unnerving. We were at the same hospital yesterday for an outpatient surgery with our 17 yr. old son. Thankfully it was a fairly simple ear surgery and we were home by noon. The waiting was the longest part and it made me realize how long we will be waiting while Elizabeth's surgery is going to be happening. How will we pass that much time without going crazy? I am thinking that the doctor said it is about a 6 hr. surgery or something like that. How long did your doctor say?

I hope Briann gets well soon and can fight off all the winter viruses and colds. I pray the same for all of us. I have even thought about getting the flu shots for Elizabeth and myself just so we will not have to worry about that as the surgery date gets closer. I just don't know these days.

Take care everyone. We go in for the bending x-rays on Monday and should find out how far the doctor plans on fusing during the surgery. Have the other Elizabeth's done these x-rays yet or will they?

Connie

majo

11-02-2005, 08:13 PM

Congratulations on your date!! It will change her life. I will pray for your daughter.

Cheryl M

11-03-2005, 06:50 AM

Thanks Majo for your prayers!

Connie, I'm with you. How on earth do we get through waiting 6 to 8 hours during the surgery. Hopefully we'll have lots of friends and family to help pass the time. When my husband had surgery 11 years ago I had a room full of people.

I took both my kids for a flu shot on Tuesday. Briann's Dr. didn't seem to think it mattered but said it would be fine. I don't think he does bending x-rays. He said she'll be fused from t4 to l3, most likely. Her cold is getting better. I just pray that all the November girls stay healthy between now and their surgery date and I pray that they will heal so fast that we will all be amazed.

Have a great day!

Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

11-03-2005, 09:04 AM

Cheryl, my daughter was fused from about t3 to l3 or somewhere similar, also. Take care, Kris

dancermom

11-03-2005, 04:54 PM

Hi Cheryl, Ann, and Elsa. We go in Monday afternoon for the bending x-rays and should find out how far Elizabeth's fusion will be. I will write and let you guys know. We are also dealing with a strange problem that we really don't need right now. At Elizabeth's physical this summer they found protein in her urine. We had to take a morning sample and it also had protein. So the pediatrician wanted her to see a kidney doctor. We went in this morning and there was still protein in her urine. He had her do a blood test and then we have to do 2 more samples (an early morning sample and a late afternoon one) so they can compare the results. The doctor said that this shouldn't interfere with the surgery date, but it is a problem that we really don't want to have to be dealing with on top of thinking about the surgery. I just pray that everything is ok and it is just a simple problem with nothing else showing up.

Connie

sweetalkerx3

11-03-2005, 10:10 PM

Your daughter is having surgery on my birthday! Im sure everything will go well and you'll be in my prayers. Good luck.

Cheryl M

11-04-2005, 06:57 AM

Happy Birthday Sweettalker! Did you realize that there are three Elizabeth's having surgery on November 28th. We all appreciate your prayers.

Connie, I too hope and pray that your daughter's problem will be simple and easy to solve.

Cheryl

Cheryl M

11-09-2005, 05:39 AM

Elsa, best wishes and prayers for you and your daughter as her surgery date gets nearer. I pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

Cheryl

dancermom

11-09-2005, 05:05 PM

Elsa, I am also thinking about you and praying that your daughter's surgery goes well and is completely successful. How are you holding up with it getting so close? I know that we are starting to realize how close my daughter's surgery is and it is scary.

We went to the doctor on Monday and he did the bending x-rays and regular x-rays. Right now he thinks he will be fusing about T2 to L1 or something like that. He wanted to have more time to review the x-rays and make his decision. He said he doesn't like to fuse too far down into the lumbar area because of the loss of flexibility. That will be good as my daughter loves to dance and is very worried about losing her flexibility and ability to dance.

We still haven't heard anything back on the protein in her urine. So, everything is still on for surgery and we have been told that it shouldn't interfere at all with the date. It is just hard waiting and trying to figure out what is going on.

Take care everyone. How are your "Elizabeths" holding up as the surgery date is getting closer??

-Connie

Cheryl M

11-09-2005, 08:02 PM

Connie,
I was hoping that I would hear from you. I can't believe you still haven't heard from the protein in the urine. Hopefully, no news is good news. Briann appears to be doing great. Truthfully, I can't wait to get this behind us. I know it is something that has to be done and I am looking forward to talking about all of this in the past tense. Prayers to the November girls.

Cheryl

AnnLF

11-11-2005, 01:53 PM

Hi Connie & Cheryl,

Sorry that I haven't been in communication lately...maybe it's a little denial?
Yes, indeed we're getting closer and I go back and forth between "everything is going to be fine -- let's just get this behind us" -- to not being able to eat or sleep with worry.

Illinois Elizabeth seems to be holding up fine -- even her friends tell me they are surprised how calm she seems to be. You know how it is with teenagers -- I didn't know if she was hiding her true feelings from us and showing different emotions with her friends.

We go next Wednesday for the pre-surgical appt, as does North Carolina Elizabeth, right? We'll all be able to compare better notes then. And Connie, I hope the protein problem has been cleared up. I know that in the past, that has shown up during routine physicals with my Elizabeth. I wonder if it has anything to do with scoliosis???? Or just coincidental?

In the meantime, the November girls are in our prayers. I'm especially keeping Elsa and her daughter in my thoughts. Can't remember, is her surgery today (Friday)?

Take care, Ann

dancermom

11-11-2005, 03:41 PM

Hi Ann and Cheryl. We did have good news on the protein in the urine stuff. The lab work all came back normal and then morning sample of urine came back with no protein in it and the afternoon sample wasn't bad. So the nurse called it orthostatic proteinuria. She said that young teenagers who are very thin and active have this happen. It is no big deal and we don't have to worry. So, that is good news.

I am stressed though because blood institute just now called me to bring Elizabeth in for a blood typing and antibodies something. Then for my husband, myself and son to be able to donate we have to have paper proof of our blood type. My husband has donated before so he is in their system. So he is fine, but my son and me have to figure out how to show proof of blood type. It will cost $20 to have Elizabeth's blood typed and then if I need to or my son then it is $40 a piece. Everything is just getting so close and I am panicking at these type of things that keep coming up.

My Elizabeth seems to be doing fine too with the upcoming surgery. Some of her friends are throwing her a party tonight to have fun and give her some gifts that she can use when recuperating. One of the moms came up with the idea and I thought it was so sweet and touching.

Take care everyone and know you and your daughters are continually in my prayers.

-Connie

Cheryl M

11-12-2005, 05:20 AM

Hi Connie and Ann,
I am so glad that Oklahoma Elizabeth's tests came back O.K. That must be a tremendous relief. North Carolina Elizabeth seems to be doing fine. Her teacher says she thinks its coming through in her writing and Spinekids has been great for her. I have become so overprotective. I don't want her araound anyone or anything that could make her sick. She thinks I'm crazy and gets mad sometimes but that's O.K.......just trying to do all I can to keep her healthy. Our pre-op is Wednesday. I can't believe we're getting this close and reality is setting in.

My prayers for all three of these girls is that they will have the best doctors and nurses and that we will all be amazed at how well they do. I pray that they will be shielded from pain and that their families will be so strong for them. I pray for a quick recovery and that God will use this to make us all better and stronger.

Cheryl

dancermom

11-13-2005, 08:49 AM

Reality is setting in as I know that surgery is two weeks from tomorrow. I have so much I want to get done between now and then. I am also praying that all of us and all our girls stay healthy so nothing can postpone or cause a problem for their surgeries.

And, I really agree with your prayer Cheryl, that God will give us the best doctors and nurses and that they will be amazed at how quickly and smoothly the girls recover after surgery. I am worried about the pain that the girls will feel after surgery and that does bother me. I think about how they will have to learn to get out of bed in a different way and just how stiff they will be. I am sure that we will get through this though and we can learn and get suggestions from the many others who have gone through this type of surgery.

Connie

Cheryl M

11-13-2005, 07:56 PM

Kris, Couldn't send you a private message. It said your box was full. I'll try to send it again tomorrow.

Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

11-14-2005, 07:27 AM

Cheryl M, I noticed that this morning. It should be clear now. Kris

Lura

11-14-2005, 06:52 PM

Cheryl,

You are on my prayer list! This site is so great for support! This side of surgery is so good and you are about to join us!

Lura (mom to Alex, a Down syndrome angel who had surgery March 28 - fused from T2-L4 and doing spectacular!)

nikyergen

11-14-2005, 08:04 PM

Lura, It is so good to hear that your SUPERMAN is doing so well. Crystal is doing great with the exception of the 7 kidney stones the doctor took out of her kidneys on Saturday. She's pretty uncomfortable, but plans on going to school tomorrow.

'til later, Nikki

AnnLF

11-15-2005, 10:12 AM

Hi Connie & Cheryl

Okay, my nerves are getting frazzled.....In addition to all my prayers for our November girls and their doctors and nurses, I'm now praying for strength for the three of us. Thoughts of the surgery are now all-consuming and I need to be strong for Lizzie. We were in the car yesterday and she was so quiet and I looked over and tears were streaming down her face. The only thing I could think to say (without bursting into tears myself) was that I so wished that it was me going through this, not her. So, that is my new mantra" "Be Strong, Be Strong." I keep reading post from folks who are so happy to be on the "other side" and can't wait until we're in the position to be providing encouraging words to people in this pre-surgical state of mind. Thanks to all of those folks writing in with such positive thoughts...it really helps.

I've also been thinking of Elsa's daughter -- any word on how she did on Saturday?

I had an idea....we plan to bring a laptop to the hospital. We should exchange e-mail address. I'm on AOL and if we all are, maybe we could be in communication via a chat room.

Be Strong!
I'll be in touch, Ann

Cheryl M

11-15-2005, 11:19 AM

Ann and Connie,

Reality is setting in. I keep telling myself that we are really going to go through this. I told my friend this morning that I just pray that God will keep me strong until she is in surgery.....then I have every intention of totally losing it.

I know that God will give us all the strength we need. I too wish so bad that I could take her place. She is very strong and I just know she'll do great.

We'll plan on taking our laptop too and hopefully we'll be able to update each other on their progress. I wish we would hear from Elsa. I'm sure Hannah is fine.

God bless all of you and especially those November girls.

Cheryl

dancermom

11-15-2005, 07:25 PM

Hi Cheryl and Ann,

I am so glad to hear that I am not alone with feeling the stress and reality of the surgery. I am really struggling with my emotions and feelings in dealing with life right now and I know it is because of what is about to happen. My Elizabeth is getting very nervous and every little thing is getting to her. I too wish it could be me instead of her.

It is hard right now because we are trying to take care of everything from work to school to getting together for activities with friends to so many things. Life is overwhelming right now as we try to get everything done before surgery brings life to a complete halt.

My Elizabeth loves to dance and usually takes about 4 classes or so a week. That will be over until at least the summer and then we will see how she does. We will all be home during the Christmas season with our girls and hopefully we can keep in touch and have great news for each other.

I also wonder about Elsa and Hannah. Hopefully she can let us know soon how everything went. I hope to have my husband's laptop at least occasionally at the hospital. I will try to update you guys and stay informed on how your Elizabeth's are doing.

I am going to donate blood on Thursday along with a family friend. I don't even like needles and am usually a big chicken, but I figure if my daughter can go through this back surgery then surely I can give a unit of blood.

Take care and know you and your families are in my prayers. We will make it through this and what I keep thinking is that we will be stronger for it.

-Connie

AnnLF

11-16-2005, 06:50 AM

Hi Cheryl and Connie,

I've been up since before 5, (sound familiar???) and it's snowing here in Chicago!

Cheryl, good luck today. I'll be anxious to hear from you later on to see how your appointment went. How's Briann-Elizabeth holding up?

We went yesterday for the 3rd -- and what was supposed to final -- blood draw. Elizabeth's iron was low and they couldn't take it. We'll talk to the doctor today about that. Turns out she has B positive, which is somewhat unusual. We had to scrounge around to find the additional donars since they want an exact match. My son (also B positive) is coming home from college for Thanksgiving on Friday and he is scheduled to donate for her and then we should be done with that. I hope this iron thing isn't a problem. Every little thing seems to magnify, doesn't it?

No word from Elsa yet? Gosh, I wish we'd hear from her. I'm so glad we're all bringing laptops so that we can keep in touch.

With the November girls in my prayers, Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

11-16-2005, 07:24 AM

Ann, if it helps any, I have B+ blood. I've been thinking about all you November girls. God be with you all! Kris

Cheryl M

11-16-2005, 07:26 AM

Kris, just sent you a private message. Thanks for your prayers. Let me know what and where works best for you.
Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

11-16-2005, 08:03 AM

For anyone who is curious, in Erica's case, I researched and got her opinion before surgery regarding shower seats. I compared prices, etc., and had her try sitting in one. She ended up not needing it, as for one thing, she required sponge baths instead of showers at the beginning, and then by the time she started showers, she was very comfortable standing in the shower for long enough to rinse off anyway. So glad my husband said to wait until we actually needed it to purchase one. I am glad I got her opinion in advance, as it would have been easy to just send him to buy the one we had picked out if we did need it. She also did not need a potty seat at all. She did use a bed pillow or something at first to support her back on the toilet. She also stayed for a full week post-surgery, as it was at Shriners. She stayed a few extra days more than she probably would have at a regular hospital, as we were in no rush to beg for her to leave and the doctors preferred to keep an eye on her there. Plus, the thoracoplasty may have made the stay a little longer, since they had to make sure her lung continued to do well post-surgery. Thank you to those of you who are about 8 months post-op and helped me through these questions and tensions that the November girls are now experiencing. You may want to browse thru my previous threads from before Erica's surgery, which was July 18, 2005, as I got lots of advice from others then. Kris

dancermom

11-16-2005, 03:36 PM

Thanks for the info regarding the shower seat and the toilet seat. I have considered buying both things trying to make things as easy for Elizabeth as I can after her surgery. But, it sounds like it might be better to wait and see what works best for her as she might not need those things. If she does, then I can always send my husband to get them.

Ann, sorry to hear about your Elizabeth's low iron. How is she handling getting stuck and the blood thing? My Elizabeth is very nervous about the iv and blood being drawn at the hospital. I will agree with you in prayer that this low iron thing is not a big deal and it won't cause any problems. I hear you about everything being magnified these days. That is how I felt about the protein in the urine thing earlier.

Please let me know how both Elizabeth and Briann do with their preop appt. today. We still need to schedule a hospital visit so my Elizabeth can see the pediatric ICU and see where everything is going to happen. I think we are going to try to go on Monday night.

Ann and Cheryl, make sure to take care of yourselves over these next days. This is going to be hard on all involved.

-Connie

nikyergen

11-16-2005, 03:46 PM

To All-I wish those of us that have been there, done that, could be there with you to hold you. It is scary. But, wait until you see you child's NEW BACK. That's what we called it at our house. When they wheel you child into recovery and you get to go in and see them, you will probably cry in joy. I know I did. Nervous, upset, felt like I was going to get sick, YES, YES, YES. The deep breath of relief will come when you see your child right after surgery.

For your nervous child about IV, surgery, etc., tell the doctors. They are all very good about prescribing things that will help them relax. They don't want to have a scared child, so they will do everything they can to help. Let your child talk to the various doctors at the pre-ops, let your child express their fears. Your child will feel much better about it.

My best suggestions for you moms, it worked for me. I made sure I took time for myself the last few days before surgery. Something simple. Like a tub of hot bubble bath, my favorite beverage, a good book, and a LOCKED bathroom door. I found that it gave me privacy and time to be okay with surgery. Try to get as much rest as possible. If you are like me, you haven't been getting much rest because of worry.

Please keep us all posted, as you are on our prayer chains.

God Bless You All

'til later,
Nikki

vsm4121

11-16-2005, 04:08 PM

My heart goes out to all of you, this is such an awful thing for a child to have to go through.

My younger daughter will be put in her brace tomorrow and my stomach is in knots! Thinking about how uncomfortable she is going to be on top of all the pain she has has me close to tears. I only hold back because I'm at work. Her pain isn't from the scoliosis, but she has Osteoporosis on top of it and she's only 10! She's got 3 small fracture on her spine and because of her weak bones, the Scoliosis has just taken over. But, we know we are very lucky because there are many kids out there who are in worse situations and we count our blessing with that.

For you Moms who have children going through the surgery, kids recover very quickly! My oldest daughter went through Open Heart Surgery in 2000 and I was surprised how quick she wanted to get back to doing some of the regular things she had before.

I'm so happy I found this forum, it's hard when you don't have anyone who understands.

My prayers are with you all!

Cheryl M

11-17-2005, 05:01 PM

Kris,
Hope you got my phone message about tomrrow. hOpe all went well with your son.

Our pre-op went just fine. Lots of waiting. Dr. said probably fuse t4 to l3 just like we thought. We have to be there at 5:30 and her surgery is at 7:30. She should be done by 1:30. She should go to recovery and PACU and then on to a room within a few hours if all goes well.....I'm counting on it that it will. They gave us numbing gel for her hand the morning of her surgery so she won't feel the IV go in and a scrub for her back. That's about it. They didn't take blood or anything. We toured with a little girl who will have her surgery the Monday after Briann's. They were a sweet family. I feel much better now that that's over.

Cheryl

AnnLF

11-17-2005, 08:33 PM

Hi All,

Lots of waiting??? Can't imagine that.... Just kidding! We left the house at 8:30 and got home at 5:30. Of course, nearly three of those hours were spent in the car driving in rush hour during the first snow of the season.

Glad it went well for you Cheryl -- didn't you find it oddly comforting to see tons of other folks who have similiar (or worse) problems than you? How did Briann handle it all?

Ours was fine, too, I guess. The doctor will be doing both the front and the back and I was naively hoping it was just going to be posterior. He says he'll fuse from T2 to L4. We think he's marvelous, and feel we are in the best of hands, so that sure helps ease the nerves. During the course of the day, she had a blood-draw, chest x-ray, blah, blah, blah....but didn't get any of this cream you're describing for Briann's hand. Maybe I should make a call on that one. Does she have to do an enema the night before? You can imagine that that one went over real well with Illinois Elizabeth!

Nikki...thanks for your B positive offer! We're in good shape now, with Elizabeth's brother coming home from college tomorrow. We already told him: no beer drinking with his old high school gang this weekend! We had a kink (to put it mildly) that really threw me for a loop earlier today. My B-positive cousin (male, 52, with a history of heart valve problems) gave blood for Lizzie on Monday. Yesterday, he was experiencing light-headedness and his heart was beating strangely. Well, it got worse and he was taken by ambulance to the hospital where they had to use the "paddles" on him to get his heart beating normally. Apparantly, the dramatic decrease in blood volume threw his heart into an irregular pattern. He was somewhat scolded by his cardiologist for not checking with him before donating the blood. He is still in the hospital and is hoping to get out by tomorrow. Can you just imagine how bad I feel? I didn't even tell Lizzie.....

So, Thanksgiving is a week from today. Connie and Cheryl, we have three beautiful daughters who are going to be just fine and we can all be thankful for the blessings of great medical teams who will get our girls through this. BE STRONG!
With prayers for our November girls, Ann

AnnLF

11-17-2005, 08:35 PM

Cheryl,

I almost forgot. Illinois Elizabeth's surgery is at 7:30 and we, too, are to be at the hospital at 5:30.....

Ann

dancermom

11-17-2005, 09:31 PM

Believe it or not, my Elizabeth's surgery is also at 7:30 am so we have to be at the hospital at 5:30 too. Nothing has been said about an enema or anything like that - I hope we don't have to do that.

I think our doctor is planning on fusing T2 -L1, but I am not for sure. I am hoping we can get some of that numbing cream too. Nothing has been said, but I think I will call the orthopedic office and talk to the nurse. My Elizabeth broke down crying last night and it broke my heart. I know our girls will make it through this and so will we, but it sure is hard.

I donated blood today and that was an experience as I have never done that before. I figured if Elizabeth can go through back surgery then I can donate a unit of blood. Neither one of us are too brave about these type of things.

Take care everyone and know you are in my thoughts and prayers.

-Connie

AnnLF

11-20-2005, 04:48 PM

Connie,

Okay, so we're all on for a week from tomorrow. Same date, same time and same names....incredible.

It's so sad when your daughter cries -- you just want so badly to take their place and take away the fear they must be feeling. My plan of attack these days? Divert, divert, divert. We've spent the weekend putting up Christmas decorations...the earliest we've ever done it. My niece is getting married on Friday, and we'll have a houseful of guests so I figured this was our only window of opportunity. Sure didn't want to wait until we get home from the hospital.

Speaking of hospitals, my cousin was released Friday evening. Realistically, I knew I shouldn't feel guilty, but nevertheless, the poor guy spent 3 days in the hospital all because of donating blood for Lizzie, so emtionally, I felt terrible. It certainly was a little kink we didn't need, but he's fine, so we're relieved.

BE STRONG!
With prayers for the November girls, Ann

dancermom

11-21-2005, 07:52 AM

Well, surgery is one week from today and actually starting about the time I am writing this post. That is so scary.

We plan on visiting the hospital tonight to see where Elizabeth will be recovering. I am not sure if they will show us the ped ICU or the patient floor or what - maybe everything. I am hoping this visit helps and doesn't make Elizabeth more nervous.

The hard thing for us right now is all the "lasts" - like tonight is her last jazz class until the summer or whenever. Tomorrow night is her last ballet class, tomorrow is the last day of classes until she has recovered - just things like that. Are you guys going through that too?

I am praying that our girls stay healthy and that our families stay healthy so the surgery and the time that surrounds it will go smoothly and have no additional problems.

Ann, I know you feel a little guilty about your cousin and the donating blood problem, but he wanted to do this for your daughter. Thankfully he is doing better as you don't need additional emotional things to deal with right now.

Cheryl, how are you guys doing? Glad your preop visit went smoothly.

Take care everyone and I hope you have a good week. I have a feeling that it is going to go by way too quickly.

Connie

mumof5

11-21-2005, 02:38 PM

I haven't read all of this thread but I would just like to make a cheap suggestion on the toilet/shower seat. Buy a cheap plastic outdoor chair. Make sure it has non slip pads on the legs and holes in the seat. This is what we used in the shower for my daughter, she didn't need a toilet but needed a little help getting up and down for the first few days.
After she had her surgery I put a baby monitor in her room and kept the other part with me so that I could hear easily if she needed me. Being a single mum of 5 there was times when I had to leave her inside alone, like to hang out washing, and it made us both feel more secure knowing I could hear every sound she made and she didn't have to try to yell for me.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes
Cheryl

dancermom

11-26-2005, 08:19 AM

Just wanted to check in with everyone as surgery is getting very very close. We had a call from the hospital yesterday and they want us there at 5:00 on Monday morning - and I thought 5:30 was going to be early!

It seems like we are trying to squeeze so many things into these last pre-surgery days and it is exhausting! My daughter wants to spend time with friends and I am trying to do some shopping. Then we are also going to decorate for Christmas this weekend.

Ann, Cheryl - how are you guys holding up? This is all becoming so real and so close. How are your daughter's handling it? My Elizabeth is getting very very nervous. It is going to be hard to stay calm on Monday morning as we are doing all the "before surgery" things like lab work and the iv and changing clothes. I just hope I can hold it together until she goes back into the surgery room. It just hurts my heart to know she is going to have to go through this. I know you guys must feel the same way.

Just know you and your daughters are in my thoughts and prayers. Talk to all of you soon.

Connie

nikyergen

11-26-2005, 11:28 AM

To All-My prayers are with you as you go through this trying time in your life. God will be there by your side and holding your hands.

Please keep us posted on how your young ladies and yourselves are doing.

God Bless You All.
Nikki

KRIS ATKINSON

11-26-2005, 12:28 PM

Congratulations that the day is only day after tomorrow, all you November girls! God be with all of you! Keep us posted! Cheryl M, if you need me, I am only an hour or less away in NC remember! I also have 2 body pillows if you like. Erica enjoyed them mostly at home, after the nurses were done with their many pillows, so let me know if you want them or if anything you think of anything else I might be able to get to you from down the road in NC. By the way, Erica left her cushion in the van for the last few days of school, as she decided she could finally handle the school seats without it! God bless all of you! Kris

mumof5

11-26-2005, 01:46 PM

I know how hard those last few days can be. Try to take some time out for yourselves as well.
When Amber was in hospital she wore a chemise type nightie, cotton ones. We found them the easiest for her to change, we she was cool she wore button up long pyjamas over the top and drawstring pyjama bottoms.
Best wshes my thoughts are with you all.
Cheryl

AnnLF

11-26-2005, 02:10 PM

Hi All,

Well....we had a whirlwind weekend so far. Houseful of guests for Thanksgiving and then my niece's wedding yesterday. Everyone just left and it was very hard...my aging, dear Dad, (who lives a couple of hours outside of Chicago and can't be with us on Monday because of health issues with my Mom) held onto Elizabeth just before he left and couldn't seem to let go.

I've told many folks about the November girls and more than a couple of people have suggested that someday -- when this is all behind us -- that we meet. Cheryl & Connie -- it's been my pleasure getting to "know" you these last few weeks. You and your beautiful daughters have helped us tremendously by the mere fact that we know we are not alone on this journey.

To all of you who have added their thoughts and prayers, it touches me to the core that people in this amazing cyber-world -- who in every other respect would be strangers to us -- are behind us offering support in ways that no one else can. We all know that it is impossible for anyone who hasn't been through this with a child can comprehend the depth of what we are feeling as the 28th grows nearer and nearer.

Soon -- very soon -- we will be on the "other side" and giving back to future surgery patients what others have so generously shared with us!

We are heading downtown Chicago late tomorrow afternoon, going to the famed Walnut Room at Marshall Field's for dinner and then checking into a hotel across from the medical center.

God bless you all -- expecially the Elizabeths and their team of surgeons.
And know that in Chicago vigorous, heartfelt prayers will be sent to the Lord above for Briann/Elizabeth of North Carolina and Elizabeth of Oklahoma!

BE STRONG! Love, Ann

Cheryl M

11-27-2005, 07:13 AM

Hi Everyone,

I haven't posted because we, too, have been busy, busy, busy! We are heading to church this morning and then grandparents are coming to stay with Rob next week and help support us. We have been so unusually calm this week that it blows my mind. God is good! Briann seems like she's totally fine and we are just ready to be on the other side with a brand new beautiful back.

My prayers are that each of these girls will come through this beautifully and much stronger. I pray for their Doctors and every nurse and specialist who will be taking care of them. I pray that God is handpicking the best of the best for each of these girls.

I would love to meet everyone someday too. That would be a great way to celebrate. What's in between Oklahoma, Illinois, and North Carolina? Thanks so much for all of your support, Ann, Connie and everyone else who is supporting us and praying for us. Kris, I'm taking your number to the hospital. I may need some advice.

We'll try to update as soon as we can.

Love,
Cheryl

flowerpower

11-27-2005, 03:30 PM

Hi,

Just wanted to sent prayers and good wishes to the 3 Elizabeth's and their families - hoping your surgeries are uncomplicated and recoveries uneventful.

Sincerely,

Renee

dancermom

11-27-2005, 05:22 PM

Thanks so much for the support. We are packing hospital bags today and I am not sure exactly what to have Elizabeth pack. She is packing 2 different bags - one for the immediate and one for when she is in a regular room. I also have to think through what I want to pack to stay at the hospital.

I agree with you Cheryl that it would be neat to meet one day as that would be a great way to celebrate the girls' recoveries. I am so thankful for your prayers and I am definitely keeping Briann Elizabeth and Elizabeth in my prayers too.

Good luck to everyone and I will write from the hospital when I can. Hope to hear wonderful results on the girls.

Connie

AnnLF

11-28-2005, 08:07 PM

Hi All,

Well, we did NOT have an uneventful day. Our Elizabeth's surgery was postponed until Wednesday. We drove downtown Chicago yesterday, checked into a hotel across from the medical center, did the enema (she HATED that) and then tried, repeat TRIED, to get a decent sleep.
Got up at 4:30 to be at the hospital at 5:30 and when we got there, our surgeon was on the phone waiting to speak with us. He flew into Chicago from Florida after Thanksgiving weekend and due to flight delays, didn't get in until 1 a.m. He didn't feel comfortable doing the surgery on a couple of hours sleep. Needless to say we were devastated. We turned around, checked out of the hotel and now we're back home. At least we've had a dry run and know the drill. But we're back to the wrenching waiting game. It's been an emotional roller coaster and quite unnerving to say the least. We were so ready......

I'm so hoping the other two Elizabeths are doing well and can't wait to hear from Connie and Cheryl. I hope they brought their laptops and can get access to the internet. They've been on my mind throughout the day.

Thanks for all your support. Illinois Elizabeth is no longer one of the November 28th girls. Now, it's November 30th....
Ann

flowerpower

11-28-2005, 08:48 PM

So sorry to hear about the delay. I can imagine it would feel awful to get that far and be put off, even for a couple of days. Maybe, hopefully it will make at least the night before part of it somewhat easier. Hope everything goes ok next time around and no delays. Consider it a blessing though that your surgeon had the sense to not want to do the surgery with anything less than a clear head. Kudos to him! Take care -

Renee

AnnLF

11-28-2005, 10:52 PM

Renee,
Thanks for the kind words -- you're right. We're very happy the doctor didn't go ahead with it. I'm sure it's totally disrupting his schedule. Think about how this could snowball by putting off other surgeries and appointments this week. We're feeling much better than we were this morning when we were totally unglued. Ah, I hope things are going well for the other Elizabeths.
I'll keep you posted and rest assured that I'll be as helpful as I can as your son's date gets closer.
Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

11-29-2005, 08:07 AM

Thank God for a surgeon with common sense! My prayers are continueing with all 3 of you Elizabeths! Kris

billyjoe

11-29-2005, 08:16 AM

Dear Ann,
Sorry to hear your disappointing news. My daughter Tori and I have been following the "Elizabeth" thread and we prayed yesterday morning for each Elizabeth. Hopefully you can find the strength to get through this. Your Elizabeth is still a November girl.
We have just chosen our surgeon and have the surgery date of June 1st. It seems a long way off, but I already have so many preparations in mind. This forum helps so much. I feel better knowing that others are brave and go through this. Best of luck to your Elizabeth tomorrow. She will be in the toughts and prayers of many, don't you worry.
Sending Our Best,
Patricia

Cheryl M

11-29-2005, 10:30 AM

Hi Everyone,
Briann (North Carolina Elizabeth) is doing great. Ann, so sorry about the date change but I agree with everyone that you must have a great surgeon.

Briann was in surgery for 6 1/2 hours. Longest hours of my life. She did lose a lot of blood and one of the screws pulled out......dr. says it shouldn't be a problem.....this happened during the surgery so he was able to fix it but he will keep an eye on it. She was in recovery for 2 hours. Started on ice chips there. She ate a few bites of a popsicle last night. Had fruit loops this morning and has ordered chicken noodle and spaghettios for lunch. She has good bowel sounds!!!! She did have to receive some blood last night. Her hemoglobin dropped below 7. They're checking that now and hopefully that will be the end of that. Her pain is well under control. She is moving side to side a lot and they are getting her up at noon to sit in a chair. She keeps asking to get up....we'll see how she likes it. She does feel some numbness in one thigh. It's the side where the screw pulled out and Dr. says the nerves were probably sensitive and that this is not uncommon. Her incision sight feels numb. I think I read that this is normal as well. Would love comments on this.

Better go. They're going to be getting her up.

Prayers to Illinois Elizabeth on Wednesday and we'll just call them the November girls from now on. Prayers for Oklahoma Elizabeth. Hope to hear from her soon.

Thanks for your ongoing prayers for the November girls.

Luv
Cheryl

flowerpower

11-29-2005, 11:23 AM

Hi Cheryl,

I also left a short note on Spinekids. Just really glad to hear Briann's surgery went well and she sounds like she is doing awesome so far! Seems like these months of gathering info and preparing have paid off well for the both of you. Hope things continue to go well. Take care & keep us posted -

Renee

AnnLF

11-29-2005, 11:42 AM

Dear Cheryl,

Hurrah! We are so glad to hear from you and hear that Briann/Elizabeth is doing so great! You, Connie and your girls are the first thing I thought of this morning. Too bad these computers don't have sound, because I just let out a long sigh of relief for you.

I was delighted to hear she must have an appetite...it just shows you how these kids can re-bound. As I write this, it's almost noon on North Carolina time, so I sure hope she gets in that chair comfortably. Baby steps.....

Hope to hear from Connie soon. In the meantime, we're in this odd state of limbo. This waiting game is wrenching, as you all know.
Love, Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

11-29-2005, 12:59 PM

Cheryl, glad you made it through! Congratulations to being on this side of it all! Kris

nikyergen

11-29-2005, 05:00 PM

Ann,
I am glad your surgeon was wise enough to cancel surgery because he felt uncomfortable with trying to do surgery for as tired as he was. Crystal's surgery was cancelled 4 weeks before she was to have it. It was two weeks before the end of basketball season. When I picked her up from practice that night, I told her on the way home. Oh how she cried. She was so wanting to get it done as she was so tired of the pain caused from her back. Then two weeks after that, do the day, we got the call that her surgery was scheduled again, same day, same time. Talk about feeling a huge wave of emotions. It's hard, but there was a reason and God was watching out for all of us. You to, along with the other Elizabeths and their families, will be on the other side too. You want another funny, my middle daughter is an Elizabeth. She to has scoliosis. She was a wait and watch. At her last appointment Dr. Krajbich determined she was done growing and her curves wouldn't change any more. Hurrah. Actually all three of our girls have scoliosis and/or kyphosis. Crystal had surgery for her kyphosis in March, but also has a real low scoliosis curve. Dr. doesn't see a problem with it though. It hasn't changed in 18 months and she is well past being done growing. Her kyphosis was causing her all the back pain that she had, she had an 88 degree curve. She feels so much better now. Michelle, our youngest, has to wear her brace another 8 months, and then she is done. Hurray, no surgery for her. It's a huge relief to be this far.

All of you are in our prayers. It is good to hear the reports on the girls as the go through this stage of life.

Love and prayers,
Nikki

Cheryl M

11-29-2005, 06:27 PM

Hey, stepped out again for another minute. I haven't slept but 30 minutes since 3 a.m. last night. Can't wait to get back to sleep tonight.

Briann got up and walked out the door, back in, sat in a chair for 10-15 minutes. Then she got a little woozy and got back in bed and slept all afternoon. We are so proud of her. Tonight her appetite is coming back. Cookies and tea. Not too nutritious but it's what she wanted. She wants to get back up a minute and sit on the side of the bed. Her hemoglobin is still low. We're hoping she doesn't have to get more blood tonight or tomorrow and she is running a temp without tylenol. We just upped her morphine dosage a little as the anesthesia is wearing off.

Illinois Elizabeth, we are praying for such success for you tomorrow. God's timing is perfect. Hope to hear great news soon from your mom.

My continued prayers for all the November girls and can't wait to hear from Oklahoma Elizabeth.

Better go in case they've come to get her up.

Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

11-30-2005, 11:54 AM

Cheryl, are there others at the hospital with similar surgeries to talk to? Keep up the good work! Kris

Cheryl M

11-30-2005, 01:42 PM

Hey Kris,
No one here with the same surgery. Dr. W. is doing one on Monday. We met them during our tour. I think they might live more your way.

Briann's back looks really good. She's having an extremely tough day today. Bandages came off, pca gone, catheter gone, more stuff gone and she's gone to oral meds. It's tough. She did walk down the hall and back but got really sick to her stomach. Hopefully she'll get 100% off the morphene and that nausea will go away. She doesn't want visitors today so Troy and I are just meeting with them in the hall.

Prayers to Illinois and Oklahoma Elizabeth's.

Cheryl

nikyergen

11-30-2005, 04:29 PM

Cheryl,
It's good to hear Briann is doing so well. Today may be the toughest. I know it was the hardest for Crystal. Going of the PCA and onto Oral Meds. She got very sick from the percocet. I tried telling the nurse that it was making her sick. I was thankful for the shift change and a new nurse. I told her the problem. She was very empathetic and gave Crystal something for the nausea and got doctors orders to change the percocet to something else. It made a huge difference. I can't imagine having a major surgery like this and then heaving all the time because the pain meds were making you sick. Way to much pain. Don't be afraid to ask them for something for Briann's nausea.

Lots of prayers to you all.
Nikki

dancermom

11-30-2005, 04:36 PM

Hi everyone. I'm just home quickly to take a shower and go back to the hospital. The surgery was successful and lasted about 5 hours. The doctor fused from T2-T12.

We were called back to the recovery room and that was the worst experience in my life to my daughter in so much pain and crying. We kind of went downhill on Monday night. Elizabeth threw up all night long and it was a very hard time.

She moved out of ICU this afternoon and we are now in a private room. The took her off the morphine pump this afternoon and gave her oral meds. She is really hurting and things are rough right now and she still has her catheter in as she is not up yet. I just got a phone call and need to get offline as Elizabeth is crying and needs me to get back. I will update you all when I can again.

Connie

KRIS ATKINSON

12-01-2005, 07:50 AM

Cheryl, glad I didn't try to visit you this week at the hospital. I was debating a little. Sounds like you are dealing with what we went through, basically, and believe me, Erica was in no condition to desire guests other than dad and me for several days. At Shriners, I had other patients, some finishing their stays post-op and some having surgery while we were there. I also talked a lot to some moms of other orthopaedic conditions, such as straightening legs. That was why I wondered if you have a similar support group. I found it helpful, but then you apparently have lots of family, which is a differest type of support. I ended up emailing my family (in Ohio, California) to share with them, and that helped too. I hope you are getting lots of emotional support also.
Connie, congratulations on a successful surgery! Welcome to the other side of the road with surgery! Take care both of you and we all hope to hear from the other Elizabeth soon, too. Kris

AnnLF

12-01-2005, 12:58 PM

Illinois Liz is on the other side! Hurrah! The doctor (no longer sleep-deprived!), said the surgery was a success and went as well as could be expected. She had anterior and posterior and was fused from T2 to L4. It was a long day- 11 hours. She got the breathing tube taken out last nite about 11:00pm. Hopefully the chest tube will come out tomorrow.

Of course she is very groggy, but is totally aware of everything going on around her. She is on the morphine thing and is getting shots of valium to help with the muscle spasms.

Her doctor was amazed at how muscular she is. Said she must have had a "wicked backhand" and told us some of her muscles were 3 times the normal size of a teenage girl.The bad part of that though is that it could make her more sore.
So far she is doing great. I anticipated moaning and groaning- but she seems very peaceful and content. Hope all is well with Briann and Elizabeth. You're all in our prayers. gotta run love Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

12-01-2005, 01:35 PM

Ann, congratulations! Welcome to the other side! Your Liz's surgery sounds more like my Erica's surgery, a long time in surgery! You could be right about the muscle issue, but I was surprised that Erica didn't seem to have any extra problems with her muscles, including thoracoplasty, because she is athletic. She is small, though, still not 100 pounds yet at age 15. Thank God you all 3 made it through just fine! Kris

flowerpower

12-01-2005, 02:03 PM

Congrats Ann, glad dr. was finally well rested and I am very happy for all the girls that their surgeries were successful. Hope the recovery process goes well for all with no surprise complications. Ooh, big wind just kicked up - maybe its the collective sigh of relief coming from across the states, lol. Take care, everyone.

Renee

nikyergen

12-01-2005, 02:49 PM

To all of the Elizabeths, Briann, and their families:
Welcome to the other side. Glad you all made it in fine fashion. Now for the recovery. You may groan now, but wait until they feel fine and want to do something and you don't catch them in time (like chasing their dad around the house and leaping over the door to the dishwasher as they go through the kitchen). I finally sat down and cried, because I worried about something happening. Now, at 8 months post op, I just turn my head and pray nothing bad happens.

Anyway, good luck and keep us all posted on how your recoveries are going.

Prayers to you all,
Nikki

KRIS ATKINSON

12-02-2005, 08:18 AM

Nikki, I never thought I would be almost caught up with you in post-surgery issues, but you are 8 months and we are not far behind you finally! Erica's doctor said starting January, she can swim, play basketball, kick soccer, but not fall. So, no team sports yet. I am thankful the winter is approaching as it is hard to play basketball in our driveway then, I hope. He brothers are probably at least as aggressive to play ball with as a team! As you said, I worry and get scolded for babying her too much. Her brothers slam her up against a wall in the house or upset her in the easy chair after she bugs them enough, so I now stay out of their way and pray! They are all stronger than me, and I figure if Erica was really concerned for her safety, she would DO AS I SAY (yeah, right) and not BUG her brothers. Christmas vacation could become very hazardous at our house if my kids have nothing to do but get on each others nerves. Sure hope I don't end up hauling Erica in for xrays from too much aggravation between them all! How does if feel having those like me joining you on the other side, then ending up months later swapping worry tales regarding doing things they shouldn't do post-surgery? Take care, Kris

nikyergen

12-02-2005, 11:52 AM

Kris, It is so wonderful to see all these wonderful young people making it through their surgeries, and their moms and dads right beside them. Don't you love the don't fall part of the restrictions. The hardest part is keeping these active/athletic people slowed down. Crystal can play basketball, swim, dance, etc., but can't play basketball as a team sport yet. So, she is working lots of hours at work. I think that is my only saving grace right now. She is keeping herself busy in her spare time and not here a lot to be antagonized or to antagonize anyone. It is a good thing we have a lot of faith in God, or I don't think we'd survive this.

For you moms, as your children heal from surgery, you will worry and worry. You will get to the point that the worry becomes less and you pray more. You learn to close your eyes or go to the other room. Should of been at our house last night. It was a huge snowball fight in the house, and dad started it. You might think a snowball fight in the house was just terrible. But, it's just water and wipes up easily. Kids were running, dogs were barking and encouraging the rough houseness of the snowball fight, the cat hid in the corner, and mom and dad were laughing. It was well worth it though, and everyone pitched in to clean up the water.

Kris can attest that you just have to turn the other cheek after the first 6 months or so. Don't let them do something that might be really damaging, but you have to let them start living their normal life again. Can't keep them in bubble wrap for long, they just break all the little bubbles one at a time (lol).

Try to keep your wit and sense of humor. They go stir crazy quick and need to do some activity. I have the best picture of Crystal in a hoop skirt formal on a swing last June, just 12 weeks post op. Oh, of course, the skirt went up over her head and all you saw was the underside of the skirt and her pant-a-loons. Of course, like every other child, she had to bail out of the swing. I could of scolded her, but it was an alls well that ends well situation. My heart was in my throat all the time the first 4-6 months. Can you believe that out of a 17 year old? Even at the age you think they know better, they are still going to drive you nuts with it.

Keep us posted on how your lovely children are doing. And enjoy their "NEW BACK". We noticed a difference while Crystal was still in recovery. You should see her today. Stands straight and tall. How beautiful she looks now.

Prayers to you on on recovery and worry,
Nikki

AnnLF

12-02-2005, 10:42 PM

Hi All,

I'll keep this short...my husband are I are taking turns sleeping in the Marriott across from the medical center and I'm going to hit the hay here in a minute. Just wanted to give you a quick update.

Liz got out of intensive care today. They took the chest tube out and also took her off the continious morphine. She still can get it by pushing the button, but it's not constantly going into her. She's on the valium, as well. We're hoping she'll be less loopy tomorrow. Doesn't really talk unless she is spoken to.

They got her up to sit in a chair for about 10 minutes. Amazingly, she doesn't appear to be in intense pain. She rates it about a 4. Her doctor is calling her his little "stud-ette." He predicted that because of all the muscle, that she'd be pretty miserable the first couple of days. Gladly, he was wrong.

She still hasn't eaten anything. Her belly is quite bloated -- she looks pregnant! They're giving her stuff to help with that, so we're hoping for some major gas-passing!

I guess that's all. I'm hoping Briann/Elizabeth and Elizabeth from OK are doing fine and not running into any problems.

Goodnight! And thanks for all the encouragement. It's hard to imagine sports and snowball fights at this point, so it's helpful to hear. Love, Ann

Cheryl M

12-03-2005, 09:42 AM

Hey everyone!

We're home!!!! We got home about 8:00 last night. She is really nauseous from the pain medicine and doesn't want to eat but other than that and a really sore back, I think she is doing great. She would disagree. She doesn't want to see anyone. She won't even see her brother so he's staying tucked away upstairs playing video games. He and his grandmother really decorated our house for Christmas and he can't wait to show Briann all he's done. I can't wait until she's up for it. I'm gonna get her up every other hour and make her walk to the front door and back. She'd sleep all day if I'd let her but then she wakes up all uncomfortable. It really does help to walk.

Glad to hear all the November girls are on the other side. My best and prayers to both of you (Elizabeth's) and Hannah too.

Cheryl

flowerpower

12-03-2005, 09:42 AM

Glad to hear Liz is doing well so far. Wow, she must have a high tolerance for pain! Hope you parents are doing well also. Keep us posted -

Take Care,

Renee

flowerpower

12-03-2005, 09:47 AM

Cheryl,

you must have beaten me by a second on the last post! Glad to hear Briann is home. How sweet of her brother (and Grandmother) to decorate the house! I'm sure Briann will be pleased and honored when she's able to be up and looking around more. It must be the best feeling to finally be back home. Hope all continues to go well.

Renee

Laura P

12-03-2005, 10:18 PM

I regestered two days ago and must have done something wrong when I registered and couldn't post. I was waiting patiently and finally reregistered tonight and it worked right away. I just found this sight and am so thankfull for all of your helpful posts. Our 17 yr old will have surgery Dec. 16 in B'ham. We go for testing this Tues to find out exactly what technique she will be a candidate for. Thank you all again. I hope all of your girls continue to do good.
Laura

Cheryl M

12-04-2005, 09:57 AM

Laura,

Best wishes and prayers for a successful surgery. We found that the day after surgery wasn't so bad but the next 3 were tough. She did have good moments but there were many that were very stressful on us and worse on her. She had surgery on Monday, and Wednesday they took out the catheter, pulled off the dressing, removed her incision drain, removed an IV (she had several), etc. Wednesday was awful. They also took her off the morphine pump, on Wednesday, I think, and it was hard to switch to oral medication and get the right dosage to handle the pain. Luckily there were only a few times that the pain got really bad and they gave her a morphine through her IV immediately and within 10 or 15 minutes, she settled down.

Now that we are at home the pain is pretty much under control but she can tell when the 4 hours is up....she starts asking "is it time?" I set an alarm and get up in the night every 4 hours to give her medicine, even if she's not awake, I wake her up. Her appetite is returning, although the pain medication makes her a little nauseous. She asked for a Chick-fil-A sandwich last night and we ran out and got her one. She ate more than half. She read a magazine this morning and is finally watching a little TV.

She didn't want any sounds at the hospital. She didn't want us to talk to her or to each other and our cell phones rang constantly. We finally silenced them and would go in the hall to talk to everybody. She requested no visitors so we just talked with all her visitors in the hall. We loved having people come by but she just wasn't up to it. Our nurse the first two nights was awesome and she put a note on the door saying 10 minute limit on all visits. She said she really shouldn't have visitors at all given the seriousness of this surgery so we just got the word out that it's better to wait until she's up for it plus she didn't even want to see her best friends and still hasn't said they could come yet.

One more thing, she had some of the wildest dreams while on morphine and we started writing them down. She now laughs so hard when we tell her about them.

Sorry I rambled so long. Prayers to your daughter and her family. This forum has been great and can usually answer any question you have.

Cheryl

dancermom

12-04-2005, 01:29 PM

Hi Ann and Cheryl. We are home from the hospital today. We ended up renting a hospital bed for our home as it seems to help her get more comfortable as she can raise and lower herself and let her back feel supported. Elizabeth worked with a physical therapist on Thursday and it hurt so much to see her in so much pain trying to sit up and then take those first steps. She is using a walker to help balance herself and give her some stability. Her right hip is almost more painful than her back as that is where he took the bone graph.

This has been a tiring and emotionally draining experience and it feels weird to be back home - weird but good. Elizabeth is on Loritabs every 4-6 hrs., oxycotin 2x a day, and Valium 2x a day if needed. We have to be sure to wake her if she goes over the time to get her Loritabs as we found out that it is much harder to get the pain under control once it gets bad.

It feels good to read and find out about how Briann and Elizabeth are also doing. The girls have been through so much. I hope each family can begin to catch up on their rest and we all can start the road to healing with our girls.

Connie

Laura P

12-04-2005, 08:45 PM

Cheryl, You did not ramble. I am really wanting to know everything. I am a nurse and of course investigating everything I can. I worked womens surgery for a while so I know a little about surgery but not ortho. Of course it is diff. when it is your child.

My daughters biggest worry is not being with her friends. It is good to hear about how your daughter felt about visitors. I told her we would have a open door policy as long as she felt like having company. We will be 2 hours away for the surgery so probably will not have a lot of company until we get home. I also figure with it being Christmas alot of her friends will be busy until after the holiday. I feel like she will not feel like having visitors for a while but I will leave it up to her. Also, it sounds like youall have a sense of humor and we have alot of that around here. My husband keeps us laughing alot.

Also, the other thing is my mom just passed away in Sept. from a staff infection she got after small bowel resection. So I plan on being pretty anal about hand washing especially the staff. Keep the info coming we are on 11 day count down. I am real tearful and I hate it. My good friend put her on the prayer list this morning in class which I was going to do next week and I just started crying. No reason just tearful. I think the reality of it is starting to sink in plus a little fearful after just going through a bad experience with my mom. Thank for the prayers. I will keep everyone on here in my thoughts and prayers as well. Glad youall have made good progress.

Laura

nikyergen

12-04-2005, 11:58 PM

Laura, My 17 year old daughter had surgery 8 months ago. It was pretty hard to see and active athletic kid go through surgery. It has played its toll on her. She didn't like being slowed down for so long. But, if you asked would she do it over again. Today, she would tell you yes. She, like the other girls, had a few rough days in the hospital, but improved much better at home. She slept on the couch the first two nights home, her choice of where she wanted to sleep, and then she moved to her bed. I would have to help her sit up and stand up. But, like you had training in this and is wasn't difficult to do. For some reason the magic number is three. Three weeks you will see a dramatic change and three months you will see a dramatic change. I laughed when I was told that, but the person that told me that was right.

Your daughter sounds like a social butterfly like my daughter. We allowed her friends to come see her as soon as she was ready for them, which only took about one day home from the hospital. She was anxious to have someone for company besides family. I guess we kind of got old after a fashion. You will appreciate your daughters friends when she gets home. A lot of Crystal's friends were willing to come over and sit with her, because she was afraid to be alone for a while, while I went out to ride my colts and do things outside. It also gave me a break away from things.

I can certainly understand the fear of a staff infection, especially after loosing your mom. It is okay to be anal about the hand washing. I did find that they actually didn't really even handle Crystals incision site until it was time to go home. They would turn her to see that it wasn't oozing through the bandage. They redressed it once while she was in the hospital and then took the dressing off before we home. All that was left on her incision were steri-strips and they come off by themselves, eventually.

Since surgery is just before Christmas, you may want to do a family gathering for Christmas before surgery. If she comes home for Christmas, she probably won't be up to the hurrah of Christmas. But, keep her gifts from you and dad until Christmas, so she doesn't feel left out.

You will feel like you are on a marathon and it is survival of the fittest. Be sure that you get plenty of rest for yourself. If you have a question, don't be afraid to call the surgeons nurse. She can talk to the surgeon and give you the best answers.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

To all the rest, it is good to hear everyone is arriving at home safely. Things will start getting better now. Nothing like being home to heal.

Love & prayers,
Nikki

Laura P

12-05-2005, 12:40 AM

Nikki,

As you can tell sleepless nights. Thanks for the post. Glad to hear your daugher wanted her friends to come by. My daughter loves people and she cannot imagine not wanting to see her friends. Ran into her 5th grade teacher the other day and she had this surgery two years ago. She knows how outgoing Jamie is and said to use it to her advantage. Have her friends come by and walk her around the house to help build her strength. I thought that was a good idea. She had some of her teacher friends come by every afternoon and they walked with her. This gave her motivation.

Mom didn't get her staff infection in the incision it was in her IV. She had a triple lumen which is basically one catheter with three ports and two of the three ports grew out staff. So this was induced by not cleaning before pushing meds or handing new bags for her feeding. So I wasn't concerned as much with the incision sight as the IV. Mom was in the hospital for 9 weeks starting July 22 and I went up there everyday ( I missed a couple) but of course couldn't stay 24 hours and I don't remember the nurses washing their hands except when they left the room. Hind sight is so good isn't it. Needless to say her dad and I will be with her 24/7 taking turns. She told me tonight she was going to let me worry about the nursing stuff like PCA and pain med. 30 min before PT and certain things like that. She is funny I told her she would probably remember, but of course I told her she would have the best nurse. HA

We have already had family thing. Since my mom died we just have very little family left. We celebrated with my grandfather and Aunts thanksgiving and my mother n law will be here helping until we get home from hospital. So when she leaves it is just us 4. The surgery has helped change our routine without dwelling on changes since my mom isn't here. God works in mysterious ways and this is certainly keeping me busy. The good thing about all of this is I will be ready for x-mas by Dec. 16. Ha that is a first.

Thanks again for the encouragement we will be fine just good to hear what to expect. My daughter has a great attitude.

Laura P

Jane1832

12-06-2005, 09:45 AM

A w e s o m e !

nikyergen

12-06-2005, 10:17 AM

To All,
How are all the new recoveries? I hope you are all doing well. You will really feel much better at the end of your third week and then a huge difference at the end of three months. Hang in there. You pain levels will start reducing soon. The important thing is to get up and walk around carefully. Don't sit or lay all day, that will make recovery a lot harder. If you are having problems with the back of the toilet seat, my daughter did, put a pillow between your back and the back of the toilet. It really made a difference. Work on just getting comfortable with your limits. It is difficult when the doctor says not twisting, bending, or lifting. We've been at this for almost 9 months post-op now. It does get easier as you go along.

Laura P, How are you doing? Keeping busy, I am sure, preparing for Christmas and surgery. Keep yourself busy and try to get some rest. You will be on the other side soon. Being on the other side is much easier than it may seem. Don't be afraid to spoil yourself with some quiet time too. You may feel you don't have time, but it is important. My quiet time is on the back of my favorite horse, but not everyone enjoys something like that.

'til later,
Nikki

KRIS ATKINSON

12-06-2005, 11:17 AM

Nikki, you are making me envious! I love to ride horses, but not being a farm girl, I don't have one to ride! Can you all tell that today I am trying NOT to do anything that involves getting off my, ok, getting on my feet?! My excuse: plantar fasciitis: muscle problem in my foot. It hurst to walk on it. I should be folding laundry or analyzing the books, but surfing the net is much more fun! Riding a horse would be BETTER YET!!! But then, I have to wait for Erica to get off her restrictions anyway since I won't do what she can't do for now. If she were a seasoned rider, I suppose the doctor might let her ride horses soon, but since we are both novices, I won't even ask the doctor. Besides, it requires a trip to a place to ride on a trail (boring) for an hour for a chunk of $$$. Wish I had my own on my 1.1 acre of land!!!! Kris

Cheryl M

12-06-2005, 02:23 PM

Laura,
We had a huge support group from our church who prayed for us. Although there were many anxious moments and days, I was unusually calm the week before surgery. The day of surgery I was the same.....I did have anxious moments but all in all I was calmer than I ever would have imagined. God is good! I am by nature a worrier and there was definitely something other than myself keeping me calm. I finally just said "God she's yours, she's in your hands." And what better hands to be in.

Kris, my mom has the same problem with her foot. It's been giving her a fit since sometime in the summer. She just purchased $400 insoles for her shoes....she nearly died at the cost and is hoping they will work. She didn't have much choice.

Briann is typing on the computer....spinekids, I think. She wanted to go upstairs and she zipped right up there. Everyday is tons better than the day before. She's a little pale as I'm sure her iron is still low but Dr. didn't want her on iron until her bowels were straight. I grilled a steak for lunch with a spinach salad. Not really what she wanted but at least it's iron. Thank the lord her appetite is coming back. She didn't eat that much at lunch but when we get her what she's craving, she eats good. I'm so glad to be on the other side. If we can get her tummy straightened out and her iron up we will be in good shape. Pain is under control as of right now.

Would love to hear from the other Elizabeth's.

Cheryl

KRIS ATKINSON

12-06-2005, 03:42 PM

Cheryl, I'm probably the age of your mother (that makes me feel young!??). My insurance somehow paid the whole amount for my orthopaedic shoe inserts which were almost $1,000. Now my foot is wrapped and I wear a special foot massage thing that moves air around as I walk. Glad Briann is doing so well!!! Kris

Laura P

12-06-2005, 09:28 PM

Hello to all,

Hope everyone is recovering well. We are scheduled for a posterior T-2 to L-1 fusion. So now we know what to expect. Everything went good today just a long day. Our prayers are with everyone and look forward to being on the other side with everyone else.

Laura P

nikyergen

12-06-2005, 11:48 PM

Kris, Don't mean to make you envious. It has its down fall. Feeding and packing buckets of water twice a day, clean stalls, repairing fence, hauling hay, continuous everyday care, and not being able to just take off for a weekend. It's worse than having kids, they are harder to get a weekend babysitter for.

Now, ladies, lets not show our age. Some of us got started a little late in life raising children. Don't you wish we weren't falling apart so soon. Hopefully, we'll all have our kids past the scoliosis and kyphosis surgeries before we fall apart.

Anyhow, it's good to hear all of the young people are doing so well. Keep up the good work moms. We will keep our prayers for you on the other side and those of you anxious to be on the other side. It will be here soon.

'til later,
Nikki

KRIS ATKINSON

12-07-2005, 05:28 AM

Nikki, I know what you mean. That's what I tell my kids when they want more animals, especially horses. I would drop everything to get more animals if only my kids would listen better! Then I wouldn't have to do my kids' chores and the animal care! Enjoy your horses and all! Also, enjoy the snow, and you can keep that!!! I'm fine to drive to the mountains about 3-4 hours away to go skiing, next year after our post-op period ends. Then I don't have to drive through it daily, like I used to when I lived in Cleveland, Ohio. Kris

dancermom

12-07-2005, 09:30 AM

Hi Cheryl, Ann, and many others who have been so supportive. We have an appt. this morning at 11:15 to see the orthopedic dr. for him to check how Elizabeth is doing. We are not doing so great right now. Elizabeth's back keeps spasming and she just gets very emotional and seems unable to handle what to do to help herself feel better. She is still taking Lortabs every 4-5 hrs. and is on Valium twice a day to just help her muscles and mind relax. We are not in a good place yet, but I do have hope it is coming.

She can't find a comfortable place to sit for long and her hip is giving her a great deal of trouble with walking. It is very swollen and turning purple and yellow from the bruising.

We also had a great deal of prayer support and people from our church who have been to the hospital and bringing meals to us this week. We have tons of flowers and balloons that were brought to the hospital and to our home that really cheer Elizabeth up, but she just hasn't felt good enough to really enjoy being back home too much yet.

Glad to hear that Briann is doing so well. Elizabeth still hasn't had a bowel movement and I am getting concerned. She is eating fruit and I gave her a stool softener yesterday. I will try again today as that will help her feel much better I think.

Take care everyone. This is hard right now as I have never seen anyone in this much pain, especially someone I love so deeply. We have good hours and some good times, but hopefully that will increase each day.

Connie

Cheryl M

12-07-2005, 06:04 PM

Connie,
They would not release Briann from the hospital until she had a bowel movement. They gave her Milk of Magnesia. She hasn't had one since but they told me to give her 100 mg of Colace 3x a day and milk of mag if necessary. I guess the pain killers relax everything. She still has some rough times but is getting up and walking a lot now and sleeping a lot in between. She actually watched a full movie today on the couch and talked on spinekids briefly yesterday. Our Dr. used bone from a cadaver so she doesn't have the hip pain. I have heard that is really bad.

Hope everyday continues to be tons better than the last.

Cheryl

AnnLF

12-07-2005, 10:56 PM

Hi All,

I'm writing from the hospital. Lizzie started out doing so well, but we haven't stayed at the same pace. She is on that familiar routine of needing the meds because of the pain, then getting knocked out or nauseated. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Today, for the first time, I got pretty down. Her brother called her from college and I couldn't rouse her for anything to get her to talk to him. That's when he said, "Mom, is she okay?" So, after all my "be strong" talk, I was a pretty big wimp today. Ah well, this too shall pass, and each day will get better. I didn't get a chance to read everyone's posts, so I'm hoping Briann and Elizabeth are back at home and doing fine. Too bad we can't do an online group hug.
Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

12-08-2005, 08:54 AM

Ann, hang in there and God be with you! Kris

dancermom

12-08-2005, 09:00 AM

Ann, please know that you and Elizabeth are in my heart and prayers. This is a tough time and we are fighting the pain and anxiety here pretty big time. Hopefully you will have a big turn around soon and you will see an improvement in your daughter. This is so hard to watch and go through with our girls. I truly wish I could give you a hug and let you know it is ok to let down once in a while and not be so strong. I think we all go through that same thing. We have to be strong for our girls and get them through the pain and anxiety, but in the quiet times it is hard to hold it together.

Cheryl, Elizabeth finally had a bowel movement right before going to the doctor's office yesterday. Thankfully. I need to keep her taking things though to keep her bowels soft or each time will be torture for her.

Our main problem is just trying to get comfortable - especially at night time. I was up with her from 12-1 last night and then from 4-4:30 just trying to comfort her and help her figure out what would feel the best way to lay.

This too shall pass is a good saying, but going through this right now is sure hard. Please know that Briann and Elizabeth are in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there and know I am here to talk if you need me.

Connie

Cheryl M

12-08-2005, 09:06 AM

Ann, Everyday will get better than the last and once they get the pain meds adjusted and the nausea under control the recovery is amazing. Briann's PT in the hospital made her walk no matter what. Once she was crying so hard and the PT sent Troy and I out of the room and "made" her walk. It killed us but we know now that she was right. I found that the nurses weren't great about getting her up and that I had to be "mean" and make her on Thursday and Friday and this is when she really started to turn for the better. She would get out of the bed, walk to the door, touch it, walk back, get in the bed, and say "are you happy now!!!!" and a few hours later I'd make her do it again. It was so hard knowing that she was in pain. i also insisted that the nurses give her a bath on Friday and she was furious with me but later that day she was actually released and we came home that night. Make sure they're giving her medicine so she'll go to the bathroom. That was a big turning point too.

My prayers for your Elizabeth.

Cheryl

AnnLF

12-10-2005, 09:06 AM

Alleluia! We're home! Elizabeth got released yesterday afternoon and we made it home just before rush hour started. (I had been worried about the stop-and-go motion in heavy traffic.) And all of you...my online support group pals were SO right....the turnaround within 24 hours was absolutly amazing. I think the last time I wrote, I was very down because it was one week from her surgery and she was still so out-of-it. Cheryl, I think you hit the nail on the head...they have to get up walking. Lizzie had two days in a row with a nurse who wasn't, shall we say, dedicated to her job? And Lizzie paid for it, because she had been doing great, and then seemed to go backwards. Once she got a new nurse (at our insistence when Ratchet showed up for a third morning), the improvement was remarkable. So, we're home and we're thrilled that Liz's seven-year-long stint with this is finally over. There was a huge Welcome Home Lizzie sign on the front of our house and that's the first time she actually cried....but the nice thing is, they were tears of joy! (We haven't figured out yet if Liz is very stoic or has a high tolerance for pain, but she didn't really ever cry during this ordeal.)

She actually had a good night last night...she was so happy to be in her own bed. We set the alarm to give the paid medication every four hours and had to wake her up to take it. It's 8:45 a.m. Chicago time as I write this and she's still sleeping. I had been worried about our stairs (we have a 2-story house) but with Ray and I at each elbow, she did fine. With each hurdle, you breathe a sigh of relief, don't you? I'm thinking she should shower today...so I'll be happy when that's over.

Hey, are your girls taller? Liz gained a good two inches. We must get the measuring tape out today -- I'm guessing she's 5'9" and she was 5'7" going into this.
And isn't amazing how badly you want them to pass gas??? Last Saturday, they did an enema because Liz looked about 6 months PG. I'm concerned because it's been a week and she hasn't another one since then. I'm hoping now that we're home and she's moving around more, that things should get churning. She's also taking that Colace. Connie, when you said your Elizabeth finally had a BM, how long did she go without having one?

Here's something I was pleasantly surprised by -- the incision. On my Liz, it's from the the bottom of her neck to the top of her butt, and it's not at all icky looking. Just one long, red straight line. The incision from her anterior fusion is still covered with tape, but the back one doesn't have any dressing on it anymore. That amazed me. I had thought we would be coming home and changing dressings.

Oh and one more thing I wanted to ask. Appetites? Have they come back yet? Liz eats 2 bites of something-- and then is full. Even she is getting frustrated because of all the goodie-type gifts she has been receiving.

Well, we're home now on the "other side" and it's our turn to help folks who were in our shoes a few weeks ago. I feel so happy to be home in my robe, drinking coffee and watching the snow fall. After 10 days of hospital coffee, mine never tasted so good! Love, Ann

Cheryl M

12-10-2005, 10:36 AM

WELCOME HOME LIZ! Your recovery will skyrocket each day from here on out. Just remember to sleep a lot and walk a lot and eat when you feel like it.

Briann is so much taller than me now and we were both about 5'51/2" before. I think she must be 5'7" now. I'll let you know when we take the official measurement. We forgot to measure before we went to the hospital.

I don't think a week is all that unusual for a BM. Briann is taking colace 100 mg 3x a day and milk of magnesia. My sister-in-law recommended All Bran Bars and she eats at least one of them per day. She is finally eating salad (filled with spinach leaves) to help with this and iron....she's still very pale. It took her a while to gain her appetite back and started out being good at breakfast and gradually its usually pretty good at all meals but not 100%. She started out eating dry honey nut cheerios for breakfast.

She's been sitting up playing Scrabble with her brother for about an hour. I imagine she'll sleep pretty good after lunch. She only had posterior surgery though so I'm sure her recovery was more simple than Liz's.

We still set an alarm for every 4 hours in the night. I've heard that if you let the pain get really bad that it can set you back 3 days and I sure don't want that.

WE'RE EXCITED THAT YOU'RE HOME AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Cheryl

Cheryl M

12-10-2005, 10:54 AM

Thought I would give you my recipe for Bran Muffins. My college roommate and I made these all the time and I used to make them for Briann when she was a toddler and they always helped. I plan to make a batch today so I hope I'm remembering everything correctly. i usually half this recipe but I think I remember that the batter stays good in the frig for 3-4 weeks. I just make about 6 or 8 muffins at a time.

2 cups of All Bran Cereal
2 Cups of boiling water
Mix these two ingredients in a very large bowl and let cool

1 cup margerine (cream)
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
cream these together and add alternately with the above and below ingredients. I remember getting muscles from mixing all this together.

1 quart buttermilk
5 cups plain flour
5 teaspoons soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 more cups of All Bran Cereal

Store batter covered in the frig. Use pam on muffin pan. Do not add extra liquid (I think i remember the batter being pretty thick) Preheat over 400 deg. and bake for 10-20 minutes.

Hope this might help!

Cheryl

dancermom

12-10-2005, 11:16 AM

Hi Cheryl and Ann. I am so glad that we are on this side of the surgery and into recovery, although it is hard at times. Elizabeth is having muscle spasms in her back and it really sends her into a panic when it happens. I have heard it is caused by the muscles starting to heal and walking should help relieve them a little. We are dealing with more emotional issues than physical it seems.

I am so happy to hear that Liz is home from the hospital finally. :) There is nothing like being back home and having your own things around you. The hospital gets really old.

As far as the BM goes, it took a little over a week for Elizabeth to have her first one, but she seems to be pretty regular now. She has been drinking grape juice and likes to eat apple slices with peanut butter. I only gave her one of the colace type tablets and that has been all. She says it hurts really bad to have the BM, but thankfully she is having them.

We actually got out for a bit yesterday. Elizabeth used the electric wheelchair at Target and got around pretty well although it tired her out pretty good. Our doctor wants us getting her out a little more and encourage her to walk quite a bit.

Take care my friends. It helps to know that you both are going through this with us. We can help each other get through these difficult times.

Connie

dancermom

12-10-2005, 11:19 AM

We are concerned about something though with our Elizabeth's recovery. The doctor chose to stop at T12 instead of going to L3 so she wouldn't lose as much flexibility. At this point, her hips are very uneven and the doctor said it is more exaggerated right now as her right hip is swollen and tender from the bone graph taken and her body should balance itself back out over the next couple of months. It is just very discouraging as her posture looks almost more crooked now than before surgery. Just wondered how your girls looked?

Connie

Cheryl M

12-11-2005, 06:43 AM

Connie, We must have posted at the same time a few days ago because I didn't see your post. It's good to hear from you. Sounds like Elizabeth is doing great.....TARGET! Briann still gets really tired too.

We had a little mishap during surgery. The pedicle screw at L3, her last vertebrae to be fused, pulled out on one side. The Dr. clipped the rod, I guess at L2, on that side and he said we'd have to keep a close look at it. She also had to receive a pint of donor blood. Briann did not have thoracoplasty and we were worried about the rib hump. The Dr. did a great job correcting this as it is very minor now and if I wasn't really looking I wouldn't notice. We have our post-op tomorrow and hopefully we'll find out more about that pedicle screw. She is also having numbness in her thighs. Not complete numbness but tingling, numbness, etc. Dr. said this should go away.

I pray that your Elizabeth's hips align when the swelling goes down. When is your post-op and how long does the dr. say it will take for the swelling to go down. I, too, would be worried as the things mentioned above concern me and have kept me up at night. Had the dr. intended to go to L3 and changed his mind during surgery? Why did he change his mind?

Its so hard to be patient but I guess their bodies have been through a huge trauma.

Merry Christmas to all of you.

Cheryl

dancermom

12-11-2005, 10:36 AM

Good morning Cheryl. Thanks for posting as it helps to read what Briann and others are going through.

Elizabeth is having a lot of muscle spasms in her back that are really bothering her. And, sleeping at night is really hard for her to get comfortable - no matter what we try. She is at a point where she hates to go to bed at night and she will not try to nap during the day. She says it hurts too bad when she wakes up and slightly moves. I guess I will call our doctor's office tomorrow to ask what to do.

We already had that one appt. where it was just 3 days after we got home. Our next appt. is Dec. 21st. He said he wasn't going to do x-rays again at this appt., but he just wanted to check on her. Good luck with your appt. tomorrow and please let me know how it goes.

I bet you are pretty concerned about the mishap during surgery with the pedicle screw. That doesn't sound good. I hope it won't cause any problems in her healing. Our doctor decided before surgery to stop at T12 as her lower curve in the lumbar area was not very big. It just seems to be more exaggerated right now and that is worrisome. Where did the doctor start Briann's fusion at? Elizabeth is fused from T2-T12. I was thinking that Briann's was around T4-L3.

Take care and I will be in touch.

Ann, I hope that Liz is doing well being home from the hospital. This was such a traumatic surgery on their bodies. Please know that I am continuing to keep Briann and your Elizabeth in my prayers as the recovery can be very trying at times.

-Connie

AnnLF

12-11-2005, 12:52 PM

Good Morning!

And I do hope that it is a good morning for all of you. We're doing fine here. Liz woke up today and came down the stairs and is sitting in a chair watching a Christmas movie. So, life is good. She has asked numerous times how the other Elizabeths are doing....and is curious about their appetites.

Connie, I feel so badly your Elizabeth isn't getting a good night's sleep. Add that to her misery! Those muscle spasms seem to be the biggest source of complaints here. My Liz is taking Valium for that and it really helps, but today, she seems reluctant to take it because it makes her so loopy. I think she's tired of being out of it -- feels like she's missing out on something. I do hope your doctor can help you out tomorrow. I would call right when the office opens and be a persistent pain-in-the-butt until you get some answers. Is the swelling around her hips down yet? Since tomorrow will be the 2-week mark, I would think that it should. Liz was fused from T2 to L4 and her back appears pretty flat -- but she did have a thoracoplasty. I almost feel guilty telling you that and I don't want it to upset you since you're already worried, but thought you might store it will all the other information you're collecting.

Cheryl, thanks for the recipe! It looks like it will make LOTS of muffins. I will definitely try it out. Yesterday, I made soft-boiled eggs, with bread bits and some butter, and Liz ate a couple of spoonfuls -- the most she's eaten since before the surgery. She's always had such a healthy appetite, that it's really bothering her that she has no interest in food. Still no BM...I'll keep you posted! Liz also has had that numbness in her thighs, but it seems to be getting better the more she walks. You are so right about the walking. That's why I feel we lost a couple of days in the hospital because her nurse seemed happy when she would walk in the room and find Liz asleep. The two days we had this nurse, she got up only to go to the bathroom. When we got the new nurse, that's when we saw the turnaround. Are there recovery concerns with this screw? When you say it pulled out, do you mean that it pulled out of the rod? That's where I get confused, why couldn't they just try a new one instead of clipping that one? I was a journalism major -- and am quite inept with a lot of the medical talk. Good luck with your post-op tomorrow and hope that Briann is getting stronger every day!

Gotta run. Liz wants to walk around the house! We continue to pray for the Elizabeths and hope their recovery gets better and better. I'll be anxious to hear from you tomorrow -- to hear about what Elizabeth's doctor is suggesting and to hear about Briann's post-op. Good luck to you both. Love, Ann

AnnLF

12-13-2005, 09:35 AM

Hey Cheryl and Connie,

How're things going?
Cheryl, did your post-op go smoothly? Did they do x-rays? How did Briann's spine look? Hope she's getting stronger every day.
Connie, is Elizabeth getting more comfortable and sleeping better? I hope you heard from the doctor about the swelling.
We're doing fine here. Each day, I see more improvement. You're right, Cheryl...YOUTH!
Still no BM....I'll let you know when the "eagle has landed." Man, I would think it would start to get uncomfortable, but Liz isn't really complaining. She's taking the colace, and started the Milk of Magnesia yesterday, so we'll see.....

Hope you're all doing great. We're thinking of you lots and my Liz asks frequently how the "other Elizabeths" are doing. Prayers and hugs from Chicago, Ann

dancermom

12-13-2005, 08:19 PM

Hi Ann and Cheryl. We had a much better night last night and I am praying for another good one. The doctor's office called me back yesterday and told me not to wake Elizabeth up in the middle of the night for pain meds any more - just to let her sleep and if she woke needing pain meds then to give it to her. They also let us start her on ibuprofen yesterday - 400mg 3x/day. She only has 3 valiums left and I don't think they are going to give us any more. she is also still taking Lortabs, but we have been able to spread the hours out a little more. Anyway - Elizabeth went to sleep around 10:15 or 10:30 last night and slept until 6:45 this morning. She was stiff when she woke up but it wasn't too bad. She seems to be doing better as of last night and I am not sure what has made the turn around - maybe just time.

Her hip is still curving out but it may be improving a little. We go back to the doctor a week from tomorrow and will definitely be asking more about what to expect. They also told me to bring my digital camera and I could take a picture of her before and after x-rays.

Ann, I hope that Liz can get her stomach to working good soon as she can have success in that area. It will definitely help her stomach and body feel better. I am thankful that we seem to be ok in that area now. Elizabeth loves to eat apples with peanut butter and I think that has been helping.

Cheryl, I also hope that Briann's post-op appt. went well today. She sounds like she is doing really well.

I am thankful that all of us are on this side of the surgery, but I also will be glad when our girls get stronger and feel more like themselves.

Take care everyone.

Connie

Cheryl M

12-14-2005, 08:05 AM

This is really weird. I posted somewhere about Briann's post-op but I can't seem to find it.

Anyway, things looked great. She was very anxious about the appointment and the ride into Charlotte (25 minutes) was not fun. They did take an x-ray. She measured thoracic 22 and lumbar 20. The dr. says these could settle a little and move 5 - 10 degrees but doesn't think they will. she is very balanced. We will have to keep an eye on the L3 where the screw pulled out and make sure it doesn't progress. Again, he thinks all will be well. The sensitivity and numbness in her thighs is still a problem and he told her to rub the sensitive spots to desensitize the area. He feels the numbness will go away although there's a possibility that it won't. After the appointment, Briann was fine. We even stopped at Friendly's for one of those Orange Slammers she really likes.

Hope all continues to go well with all of you.

Merry Christmas
Cheryl

dancermom

12-14-2005, 08:49 AM

Good morning Cheryl and Ann. It sounds like our girls are coming along pretty well with their healing. It is hard to believe that it has only been 2 weeks - at times it seems like a month or so. We have seen great improvement in the last 2 days though with Elizabeth. We are able to spread her pain meds out a little farther, the doctor allowed us to add in ibuprofen, and she has slept through the last 2 nights. She gets frustrated at things pretty easily and still gets kind of down, but things are getting better. She is going to go to a friend's birthday party on Friday nite. She won't be able to stay for the movies and sleepover part, but I will take her to the dinner and stay with her so she can leave when she starts getting too tired. At least she feels like going for a while and seeing her friends.

Glad that Briann's post-op went pretty well. I know you must be concerned about the numbness in her thighs. Hopefully over time the feeling will return and there will be no problems. We are still hoping that Elizabeth's hips even out as there is a big curve right now and she is very unbalanced. The doctor said it should balance itself out over the next couple of months, but I am uneasy about it.

I hope that Liz and Briann continue to get stronger every day and can enjoy Christmas as it approaches. Have they had many friends over yet? I am hoping that as Christmas Break comes and things settle down for everyone that more friends will find the time to visit and hang out with Elizabeth. Right now it is just an extremely busy time for everyone. She has had several friends stop by, but I can tell she misses the daily interaction with them.

-Connie

AnnLF

12-15-2005, 08:48 PM

We're lucky -- Lizzie is 17 and her friends all drive, so it's been a revolving door since she got home from the hospital. Plus, we live only a few blocks from the high school and as seniors, they can leave campus for lunch. So, they're coming and going on their lunch hours. It's good for Liz since I figure she must be getting sick of me!

Good luck to Elizabeth tomorrow nite. I hope she enjoys the party and is comfortable enough to stay as long as she wants. We're not at that point yet, as far as going out. But, hopefully, soon.

Cheryl, glad to hear the appointment went well. Hope her thighs "wake up" real soon. Spine-wise, it sounds like the surgery was a success. Good news.

We're doing fine here...watching more snow fall. I keep logs on the fire, so there is some contentment with being so confined. I see an improvement in Lizzie every day. The strength keeps on coming! The only thing I'm unnerved about is the bowel thing. Still no progress there and I'm amazed that she's not horribly uncomfortable. The only thing I can figure is that her pain medication is working in that direction too. It's going on two weeks....

My husband came home from work early today and I ran out for a couple of hours and I started my Christmas shopping and got a bulk of it done. It's strange, I used to labor over each gift, but nope, not anymore. I think, because of Liz's surgery, I have found a new way to "do Christmas." I vow never again to get stressed out over cards, shopping, parties, etc. So, in a strange way, the surgery has been a gift...there is peace in my house (and heart) instead of frenzy!

Here's hoping there's peace in your homes too! Particularly, peaceful nights with our girls sleeping comfortably and healing in their slumber. Love, Ann

Cheryl M

12-16-2005, 06:07 AM

Ann and Connie,

Good Morning! This has probably been the most peace Christmass we've ever had. I did the bulk of my shopping for my family (excluding my kids) in about an hour at the mall just before Thanksgiving. Just about everyone is getting a gift card from what I hope is their favorite store. My kids opted for a smaller Christmas so we can take a trip over spring break to celebrate Briann being on the other side. Of course, I've probably still overdone it with them. I don't think I'll get to Christmas Cards this year but I've sent enough thank yous to make up for it. We have been so very blessed and our church has meals scheduled until 12/28 excluding Christmas and Christmas Eve. Briann's birthday is tomorrow. She's 14! We are having a small group (3 friends) come over for pizza and a movie. She is working very hard to get caught up in school and I wish we didn't have to worry about that and could just enjoy spending our day together. She still gets tired so easily.

Ann, is Liz trying the stool softener and the Milk of Mag. We are finally fairly regular in that area. Praise! I hope that gets better very soon. I've been there and I know how miserable it can be.

Connie, Hope Elizabeth enjoys her party tonight!

Merry Christmas to you and your families and have a wonderful weekend.

Cheryl

flowerpower

12-16-2005, 09:19 AM

Happy Birthday wishes to Briann!!! Hope she has a wonderful day. You too, mom! - Renee

AnnLF

12-16-2005, 09:22 AM

Party time! For both Briann and Elizabeth! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIANN! What a wonderful way to start your 15th year...healthy and with a new, beautiful back. We're sending birthday hugs from snowy Chicago...

Hope Elizabeth has a fun time tonite and can forget about the last few weeks for awhile.

My Lizzie was hoping to go over to her high school this morning for a "holiday" (politically correct) program. All her friends -- and teachers -- are somewhat expecting her. Plans were made for a few of them to meet us at the door while I parked the car. But....it's not going to happen. I just placed a couple of calls and left messages on cell phones. It's just too early to attempt this, I think. Lizzie wanted to go, but I think it seemed too daunting to her and she doesn't want to try it. It's a good distance from the entrance of the school to the auditorium and I think that scared her. Plus, it's snowing and blowing here like crazy and that could make it more difficult.

Today could be a good day to bake some cookies. Wishing you all a great weekend and continued strength. Love, Ann

dancermom

12-16-2005, 09:54 AM

Good morning Cheryl and Ann. It helps my spirits to hear from both of you as my emotions seem to still be recovering from these last couple of weeks or so.

Elizabeth had a harder day yesterday and just was overly tired. The doctor's office wants us switching off the Lortabs to a non-narcotic pain medicine called Ultracet. I picked it up last night and Elizabeth will take one this morning. It is suppose to have the same type of ingredients as the narcotic ones except without the narcotic. We will see. I hope the party will work out tonight, but if she is overly tired or hurting then we won't go.

Happy Birthday to Briann!! I hope she has a wonderful day and can enjoy her friends coming over. I am glad that she is feeling better and can enjoy her birthday.

Sorry that Lizzie won't be going to the high school for the program, but I don't blame you with the weather and all. We are lucky right now in Oklahoma as there is no snow or ice. That will change this weekend as they are calling for rain mixed with snow for Saturday and Sunday. It is scary to venture out and walk for very far as I know that my Elizabeth still loses her balance at times and I make sure to be right beside her.

Merry Christmas to all of you too and thanks for all your support and encouragement. It helps to go through this with your families.

Connie

KRIS ATKINSON

12-17-2005, 10:07 AM

Happy birthday Briann! I found out from Erica that she nearly fell going in the door to school yesterday, when our school started after a 2 hour delay due to freezing rain. I was concerned about driving her to school, as accidents were all over the highways and I hate driving. She told me to be careful driving home as she was standing outside the car to go in the school. As I started to pull away, in my panicky state about driving, it occurred to me I should have made sure she made it in the school building. I left hoping her twin brother would figure out if there was ice and help her, as he is often told to do when we are home. After school she told me how she almost slipped and her friend also almost slipped on the front steps at school. To think I drive her so the bus doesn't have a quick stop and send her through the seat in front and break her back. Here she almost falls on the way in the building at school! Happy birthday again Briann! Kris

AnnLF

12-17-2005, 10:31 AM

Kris, I guess it just shows that no matter how hard we try, we can't always be there to protect our kids! I know I'm treating Liz like a porcelain doll and I'm going to have to get over that. It's icy and slippery here too...maybe we should buy some de-icing salt and keep it in our cars to throw in the paths of our daughters! :)

Lizzie was having a pity-party yesterday....feeling blue that it's Christmas time and she's confined to either her bed or the easy chair in the family room. So, I'm thinking of taking her to the mall and renting a wheel chair so that she can soak in the season. It could be a spirit-booster -- since this is the first time she's really expressed being down about everything. Up until yesterday, the attitude has been great, but I think it's starting to wear on her. Oh well....as they say in the song, "we need a little Christmas, right this very minute!"

Watch that ice. Ann

KRIS ATKINSON

12-18-2005, 12:31 AM

Ann, we loved the wheelchair for a month or so after Erica came home from Shriners. Shriners used the wheelchair to aid her in walking, as she could switch back and forth between pushing the wheelchair and sitting in it. She was able to get longer distances and more interesting walks/strolls with the assistance of the wheelchair. Erica was very determined to walk alot and longer distances each time, so the wheelchair was a help to her, whereas patients who try to sit more than walk might use it too much as a cruch. Good luck with the wheelchairs or those riding carts at the malls and stores. I bet she'll love the change of scenery, and hopefully be motivated to increase her distances of walking behind the wheelchair from time to time. I also found our her twin had an armful of projects for his class as he walked carefully on the ice with her into the school yesterday. He put out his arm to assist her, even though his arms were full, but she ended up stabolizing herself and they made it in the door without actually falling. Thank God for the twin brother who helps her to and from school, as well as up and down our steps when it's slippery! Kris

nikyergen

12-18-2005, 12:32 PM

To all,
If your girls are feeling down and you can get them out of the house, do so. If you take them to the mall, invite one or two of their friends to go too. It is more fun for them that way. The best recovery for Crystal was letting her do things. Her friends would come see how she was feeling and took her to town for lunch, etc. They were all very careful with her and did things that were for her best interest. These kids are very social creatures and being cooped up in the house is really hard on them. I had to trust Crystal's friends and let them take her by themselves. Because, she had a brace after surgery, they all would want to know what to do and how to put it on her and off of her. Which was very helpful when she went back to school. I had to let Crystal be with her friends by herself, because they just don't act the same when parents are around. It's a hard thing to do, but you have to let them be themselves. You are probably saying "Oh, ya, ya, ya." But, you can't put bubble wrap around them. Have you thought about them popping those stupid little bubbles and driving you crazy. Keeping them cooped up will do the same thing. Yes, they are very fragile, or at least we as mom's think they are. But, in reality, they aren't going to usually do things that might injure themselves. They will heal much more quickly, if they can get out and about a little. The wheel chair is a great idea. But, take some friends and let them take her through the mall and do their girl things alone. They'll really keep an eye on her. Just because they are kids, doesn't mean they won't be responsible.

Okay, I am off my soap box.
'til later,
Nikki

AnnLF

12-18-2005, 06:38 PM

Kris & Nikki,
Thanks for the sage advice from moms who have been there. Lizzie's friends were over today and we made plans to go the mall Tuesday morning. I will go along, but they can take off and do their thing....and hopefully I can get a little shopping done as well!
As soon as the friends left, the attitude turned sour again. I'm accepting it, figuring she has to dump on someone and I'm the logical candidate. She's still down, saying she wishes we had waited until January for the surgery. Originally, we had the choice between the November date and one in early January and we were of the belief: "let's get this done and over with." Liz was first braced at age 10 -- and she's now 17 and grew through three braces -- so we had put this off long enough. (Had put it off so that she could participate in high school athletics.)

But your both right -- I think the change of scenery could help her snap out of this! I'll keep you posted. Thanks, Ann

dancermom

12-18-2005, 06:55 PM

Hi everyone. I think it does help to have friends over and get the girls out with their friends. Elizabeth is doing much better but still gets tired very easy and is dealing with some pain in her left arm and shoulder. I keep thinking it is the muscle and nerve healing, but we can ask the doctor at the appt. on Wednesday morning.

We had an 8th grade girl's Sun. school class party at our house this morning from about 12:30-2:00. The class had it here so Elizabeth could attend and be a part of it. She had a really good time and participated in the games and everything. She seems more like herself when friends are over and something else is going on.

Elizabeth is completely off Lortabs and Valium now which is good. She is on a medication called Ultracet and is also taking ibuprofen. Overall she seems to be handling things pretty well.

I hope that Lizzie's attitude will start to change as she gets out more with friends and can enjoy a little more of the Christmas holidays. Our doctor even mentioned going to see a movie with friends. The girls could just take their squishy pillows for their backs and would probably be fine. My Elizabeth went through several really down days, but things seem to be improving as she gets back involved in some fairly normal activities like school work and parties.

I hope Briann enjoyed her birthday and had a really good day. Pizza is always good and even better with friends!

Take care everyone. What Elizabeth and I have been doing is making short trips out like to one store. She is getting better at walking around and building her stamina up. We haven't tried the mall yet, as Elizabeth is afraid she would get really tired and not have any place to sit down. Plus it is so crazy right now with Christmas shoppers.

Love,
Connie

AnnLF

12-20-2005, 06:52 PM

Hi All!

Lizzie had her post-op appointment today and all is well. Actually, the worst part for her was the time spent in the waiting room for the x-rays. She was miserable there, but once we got to the doctor's office, they scurried to get her set up and comfortable in the examining room. She's right on track with everything. They removed the strips from the anterior incision and it looks good. It's amazing how fast they heal, isn't it? And also how the incisions are closed up nowadays. I told Liz that her 3-week-old scar looks better than one I have on my arm that's 30-plus years old!

Her x-rays looked great, with a beautiful straight spine! But, man, when you look at all that hardware, it just jolts you again with the realization of what your daughter went through. Her only kink is getting those bowels moving. He told us to get magnesium citrate and drink about 1/4 of the bottle -- he calls it the "green bomb" (it comes in a 7-Up-green bottle) and as such, thinks it should do the trick. I picked it up on the way home and will let you know.

Hope all are doing well. Connie, I'm happy Elizabeth had a fun time with her Sunday school pals -- friends are indeed an important part of the healing process. Lizzie's spirits have picked up a bit. I think I read on somewhere on this website about the magical "three week mark." Well, we'll be there tomorrow, so I'm hoping that's true. Did you notice anything on Monday?

I've had Jaime and Joseph on my mind all week. Hope we hear from them.

To all my new online friends: Have a wonderful season full of abundant blessings. I know in our house, this Christmas will be a special one with the surgery safely behind us. Alleluia! Love, Ann

Cheryl M

12-21-2005, 06:13 AM

Hi Everyone,
Ann, I think we are showing signs of the 3 week mark. Briann is using less and less pain medication and isn't asking for it but I'm still giving it to her. She wants to go to a birthday party tonight. I told her she could go for a few hours but not spend the night. I just pray that everyone coming is good and healthy. Briann is still having the numbness in her legs. I just pray that it will go away.

She had only 3 friends over for her birthday on Saturday. She pretended that there was absolutely nothing wrong with her but of course mom kept chiming in with "make sure you don't bounce on her or bump her."

How are your girls doing on schoolwork. One of Briann's teachers just kept insisting to me that she do a revolutionary war project. I finally said she is not capable of doing that as she is still so very far behind in just the basics in each of her classes. Her principal told me to say that she can do 20 minutes per subject per day and that's it. Just wondering what your girls are doing.

Sounds like they're all 3 moving in the right direction. We, too, have a different feeling around our house this Christmas. God has surrounded us by so many wonderful people that His love is overwhelming us this year. We still have meals coming everyday. I'm getting a little chubby but it is so nice not to have to cook.

Merry Christmas!
Cheryl

dancermom

12-21-2005, 03:08 PM

Hi Everyone. We had Elizabeth's follow up appt. this morning and it went really well. They did not take x-rays again but we were able to take our digital camera and take pictures of the last set of x-rays.

The doctor took the steri-strips off her hip incision and it looks so good. I am glad he did it as she cries and falls apart every time I touch her hip area. We don't have to bandage it any more and I am glad as the adhesive is really bothering her skin.

Her hip curve is still there but the doctor was encouraged because she can shift her body to make it straighten. He said that she needs to keep doing that and allow her body to hold itself in a straighter position. It is really strange, but I am glad there is hope for her body to look straighter.

She is only taking ibuprofen now and sometimes the new drug called ultracet(which has tylenol in it). I really am amazed at the improvement I have seen over this last week and considering she was using a walker and crying all the time 2 weeks ago, things are amazingly different and better. We don't go back for 2 months unless there is a problem

I do need to call the office though and get some paperwork taken care of for when she goes back to school in January. She needs to be able to use the elevator and have a set of textbooks for school and another set for home. She also needs to be able to leave classes 5 minutes early to not be in the rush of the hallways. I am not sure how to set all that up, but it may be part of the plan that many have talked about for school.

I am so happy that we are all on this side of surgery and the girls are doing so well. I also hope that Briann's numbness in her legs goes away very soon. Elizabeth is numb along her spine in several places but other than that we haven't noticed anything.

I'm glad that Lizzie's scars are looking so good. It is amazing at how good they look once the strips come off. Looking at the hardware in their backs does jolt you into reality and all their bodies have gone through. The first time we were back at the doctor's office and they took the x-rays, Elizabeth couldn't really stand to look at the films, but today she wanted me to take the pictures with my camera so she could show her friends what the rods look like.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. I am thankful for your friendships and going through recovery with all of you. It has truly helped in many different ways.

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

12-22-2005, 08:14 AM

Connie,
Do a search under 504 plans on this forum and this will give you information to help request services at school. Also, call the school and set up a 504 meeting. I think I used the suggestions by "proudparents." You also need to think of fire drills and other siutations and the plan they used for their daughter just about covers everything.

Glad to hear the appt. went well. Briann went to a friend's birthday party last night for about 3 hours. She is still on the Lortab and I wish we could switch her over. I'll call the dr. today. She can tell when it's time for the medicine as she gets uncomfortable but says she's not really in pain.

Merry Christmas!
Cheryl

dancermom

12-22-2005, 01:41 PM

Thanks for writing and guiding me to search for the 504 plans on this forum. I don't know why it didn't dawn on me that we would need something like that too. I really think the school is willing to work with us on what Elizabeth's needs will be when she goes back to school in January. The homebound teacher is telling us that it would be better for her to wait until Jan. 17th when 3rd quarter starts up instead of trying to go back for finals and end of the quarter testing. The homebound teacher can give grades and it will be less stressful than trying to jump back in full force right at the beginning.

Ann and Cheryl, what are you thinking as far as when your girls go back to school? Are you thinking starting back with half days or just seeing what they can handle?

I need to stay on top of some of these things with the school but for now everyone is out for Christmas break. They start back up January 5th.

Glad to hear that Briann got to go to the party last night with her friends. I know you are anxious to get her off the Lortabs. Can she take ibuprofen and does that help? Let me know what the doctor says about switching her off of the medicine. Elizabeth's doctor put her on something called Ultracet which is suppose to be like the narcotic meds without the narcotic ingredient - or something like that.

Take care and I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season.

Love,
Connie

dancermom

12-29-2005, 09:47 PM

Hi everyone. Elizabeth has been progressing so well and we have been having pretty good days - until this morning. She had knelt down by bending at her knees and reached forward to grab something and something popped in her lower back. She was in a lot of pain right after that and has been on the couch all day. We have been alternating between ice and heat and she is still taking ibuprofen. We called the doctor's office and the doctor is out until Tuesday. We talked to the PA and she told us that since there was no pain radiating down her leg it sounded like a pulled muscle or possibly something with a disc. She is the one who told me to alternate the hot and cold and just have her rest.

As long as she is sitting against her pillow on the couch she seems to be ok, but she cries every time she has get up and walk anywhere. We have an appt. for Tues. afternoon, but that seems like a long time off. The nurse or PA told us we could call again tomorrow if Elizabeth seemed worse or we had any other questions. We still have 2 Valiums left and I think we will give her one tonight to help her relax to go to sleep tonight.

I don't know if anyone has heard of this happening after surgery or what. The PA said that your lower back has a lot of pressure on it with the fusion of the upper vertebra and that there can be problems. Hopefully Elizabeth will feel better tomorrow but today has been kind of scary.

I just needed to vent and see if anyone had any thoughts. I hope that Briann and Lizzie are doing well and enjoying being with their friends during this school break time. Elizabeth was able to go to a movie with 2 of her friends yesterday and felt great - now today was a total turn around.

Thanks for listening.
Connie

Laura P

12-30-2005, 12:46 AM

Connie,
Keep us posted. Our prayers will be with you that your get a good report and you get her pain under control. We can sympathize. Prayers are going up now.
Laura P.
Jamie's mom - Fused T-2 to L1 12/16/05

Cheryl M

12-30-2005, 08:34 AM

Connie, So sorry to hear this. I wouldn't hesitate for her to see another Dr. today if she's not better.

I have been so anxious this week. Just worrying about complications and what if's. I've been worse this week than I was before her surgery. I guess this is normal.

Briann continues to improve. Some days are better than others. A shower still makes her very tired and she lays down an hour or so after she gets out. I'm not sure how she'll do at school next week. As of now, I plan on taking her for 2 classes per day and bringing her home to rest after that.

Praying for Elizabeth and hope that today she is all better.

Cheryl

AnnLF

12-30-2005, 11:18 AM

Hi All...so sorry to hear about the setback, Connie. I think we'd all agree that's our worst nightmare...that something happens or "pops" during movement or activity. Which is probably why we tend to treat our daughters like pieces of porcelain china. I know I do and I'm going to have to eventually stop. Hope today is better for Elizabeth. If it's a muscle thing, can you go back to using the Valium to ease the pain? That seemed to do the trick here.

Lizzie is forging ahead. It seemed like Christmas Eve was the turn-around. So, maybe part of it was emotional -- that she was bound and determined to enjoy Christmas. The 23rd was a bad day since that was when the bowels kicked into gear. But it was extremely painful -- I said on the side of the tub holding her hand and felt like I was a labor coach! She expressed more pain and agony that day, trying to poop, than she has done throughout this entire ordeal. But since then, we're seeing improvement every day. She's walking great, but the one thing that is still hard for her is the act of getting up and lowering herself. Still needs help with that.

As far as school is concerned, I don't know what to think. The 8-week mark would put her going back in a couple of weeks, but I just don't see it. Unless she starts making rapid improvements and surprises us all. She attends a large (2,500 students) high school and her classes are spread throughout a big building, and as it stands now, I don't think she could handle it. We also see the doctor on Tuesday, so maybe we'll find out more then.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. There are so many of us now that are on the "other side" that it helps ringing in a New Year without the worry of surgery looming before us all. Best wishes to all of you folks who have made this journey bearable! Ann

dancermom

12-30-2005, 02:11 PM

Hi everyone. Thanks for listening and the support. Elizabeth is doing a little bit better today, but she is still hurting when trying to move. The valium worked wonders at bedtime last night and we only have one left. I just took Ann's suggestion and called the doctor's office to ask about getting a few more - either that or a muscle relaxant. I am waiting on a call back.

Ann, glad to hear that Lizzie finally was able to get her bowels working and things getting more regular. I know that had to be very very painful as it was for Elizabeth too and she didn't have to wait as long as Lizzie. I understand about the school thing and figuring out when to go back. This setback has made me realize how easily something can happen.

Cheryl, I do understand the fear of something happening with our girls, but I also know that we can't live in fear and that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. I need to remember that in times like this when everything inside of me gets so anxious and feels so helpless. It is hard when we love our children so much.

Laura, thanks for your prayers. I hope Jamie continues to improve with each day. Hopefully you can tell a difference with each day. It is a miracle in how quickly their bodies heal each day.

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

01-01-2006, 08:07 AM

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what everyone is doing about school. Is anyone going back this week. Briann is still trying to decide but we're thinking we'll give it another week.

Cheryl

dancermom

01-01-2006, 02:13 PM

Hi Cheryl. Elizabeth isn't going back to school until January 16th. That is the beginning of the third quarter. Our school starts back on Thursday of this week, but if she goes back then she is responsible for 9 weeks tests and the work they do. If she waits to go back until the 16th, then her homebound teacher can give her the grades and will be averaged with her school teachers. It makes more sense to wait for us.

I also need to get the doctor's office to write a letter explaining when Elizabeth is allowed to come back to school, her usage of the elevator, extra textbooks for class, leaving classes 5 minutes early to avoid the crowded hallways, and the ability to go to the nurse and move around as needed.

Good luck with your decision for Briann. I know Elizabeth is ready to see her friends again and get back into the school routine, but she also doesn't want the stress of trying to catch up with the work for 9 week tests.

Take care and I pray that 2006 will be a really good year for your family.

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

01-02-2006, 01:48 PM

Connie,
How is Elizabeth's back. Did you ever see a dr? Seems like you said you'd see your dr. tomorrow. I hope she is all better and I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable once you've seen her doctor. They could possibly do an x-ray just to ease your mind.

Praying that all is better.

Cheryl

dancermom

01-03-2006, 07:26 PM

Hi Cheryl. We ended up not going to the appt. this afternoon as it was only if she was still hurting or having any problems. Everything seems to be fine and Elizabeth is back to where she was before hurting her back - thankfully! We will go pick up the doctor's letter for her to go back to school on the 16th. There were several things they were going to include in the note and then I need to conference with her teachers one day next week to talk to them about Elizabeth coming back.

I think this was a big wake up call for our whole family to let us know that even though Elizabeth is looking more normal and acting more like herself, she is still healing and has to be very careful in how she moves.

I hope Briann does well when she goes back to school. When will she go back?

Ann, how is Lizzie doing? How did her doctor's appt. go? Just wondering what was decided about her going back to school. The size of her high school would make a bit of a difference.

Take care everyone.

Love, Connie

Laura P

01-03-2006, 11:23 PM

Hey Connie,
I am glad Elizabeth is better. It is good to read this as just to look at Jamie she looks good but I know she has a long way to go. She has begged us to go to Church tomorrow night and I finally said "no tonight and she is not real happy with me". She rode with me somewhere tonight and I think it was harder than she thought it would be. Her buds are going to come by here after church. Glad to hear about everyones school plans this gives me some idea of when to shoot to go back for Jamie. I am going to talk with her counselor tomorrow and I can maybe guess towards the end of Jan. Hope everyone continues to improve daily.
Laura P.

AnnLF

01-04-2006, 01:12 PM

Hello to all my "Scoli-Pals,"

Just to let you know...that's how I refer to all of you when I'm chatting with folks about all my new friends!

Glad to hear everyone is slowly, but surely, on the mend. Lizzie went to the doctor yesterday and it ended up being good and bad. The good news is that surgically and medically, she is on the right track -- the x-rays look great. The bad news is that her strength isn't where it should be, which is kind of what I thought. She got so wiped out from the car ride, the x-rays, etc., that by the time we made it to the doctor's office, she was weak, pale and light-headed. The nurse had to come out into the waiting room with her stethescope and blood pressure gizmo and it turns out her pressure was very low. She told me to run and get her a Coke and they immediately moved someone out of an examining room to get Lizzie lying down. All in all, not a great way to start out the appointment! Within minutes, she was fine, the pressure went back to normal, but it sure was indicative of how weakened she is. So....as far is school is concerned, we're still a way off. A good three to four weeks.

I had a lengthy discussion with her doctor how hard and when to push. I think that's been the hardest thing during this recovery -- I wish they had sent us home with some sort of guide that would give you an idea of what to expect and when. In the last week or so, I've been more of Nurse Ratchitt, forcing her to do things more independently. For example, Lizzie is walking around fine, but she still has great difficulty getting up from the roll-over position in bed. Turns out that at 5 weeks, she should be doing that. But who knew?

Another thing I've discovered and wondered if you guys have encountered this. Lizzie has to learn to get comfortable in her own skin. She seems so very cautious, which has come as a surprise to all of us -- including her doctor -- since she was so amazingly strong and stoic following her surgery. At one point, he was calling her his little "stud-ette" because she was recovering with such ease. But, to be honest, after such rapid improvement, we've somewhat hit a stalemate. So, I don't know -- maybe it's a psychological hurdle to overcome now.

She's also lost nearly 20 pounds and as an athlete, the doctor said much of that is probably muscle mass, which could contribute to her weakened status. So much for being in great shape leading up to surgery!!

But I can't complain. Liz's surgery was long -- 11 hours -- and I guess it's just going to take more time than we had anticipated to re-build her strength. And plus, a little girl who had surgery two days following Lizzie, is back in the hospital with the chest tube in because she had so much fluid built up around her lungs, so it made me realize just how lucky we've been.

So, no school on the horizon here. The good news is she is reading book after book, and the home-schooling should start sometime this week.
Connie and Cheryl -- have you made any decisions on school?
Laura -- such good news that Jaime is wanting to get out and about. That itself is a good sign!
I haven't seen that Renee has checked in lately with news of Joseph's recovery --hope he's doing well.

I'm going to try to get Lizzie to go see a movie today. More strength-building...Take care everyone. I think of you all so often! Ann

nikyergen

01-04-2006, 01:24 PM

Ann, I am sorry to hear your daughter has been having problems. I think part of it is she is being overly cautious. Which, to a point, is okay. You may need to encourage her more to do things. Don't deliver breakfast/lunch/dinner to her. Have her come sit at the dinner table to eat. You may already be doing this, but as mom's we kind of cater to them a lot. Encourage her to get up and jut mosey around the house, instead of sit. Keep energy foods close by her. It won't hurt her to snack, since she is still losing weight. Since she is an athlete, maybe gatoraide or poweraide may be better for her. My girls are all atheles and prefer those beverages over soda. It will also help replace electrolites she has lost from so much weight loss. The other side of it is with her being an athlete, she may be depressed because she can't do what is normal for her. We went through that with Crystal, so we worked hard at finding activities she could do and feel good about. She wanted to be moving. So, we did dumb things that we never ever do, like take the dog for a walk, feed and water the cat. They might be small things, but things she could do to help regain her strength. Keep us posted on how things are going. Nikki

dancermom

01-04-2006, 10:05 PM

Hi everyone. This website is such a God-send. To know that others are going through similar things or have been in the past and we can be so supportive of each other is such a wonderful thing.

Laura, it is good that Jamie wants to start doing things again. I understand why you would say no at this point for going to church tonight. But in another couple of weeks it will probably be very good for her to get out with her friends and start to get back into normal activities as much as possible. Our doctor encouraged Elizabeth to do things with friends and get out again. Tonight was the first Wednesday nite that Elizabeth went back for youth group. She and I went to Sun. school last Sunday for the first time since her surgery.

Ann, I'm sorry to hear that Lizzie is having these problems. I know you are very concerned about her and her gaining her strength back. My daughter only lost a few pounds as she barely weighs a little over 100. She looks thinner and I worry about her appetite, but 20lbs. seems like quite a bit. I think you are doing good to try to get her to go out and do things like seeing a movie and starting to do things for herself more.

Elizabeth has been able to get herself up from the rollover position in bed for quite a while now as we worked on that as she started to feel better. It helps her to feel more independent and she is better able to turn in bed at night and get comfortable. As Lizzie works on doing this herself, it will help increase her strength and independence.

Elizabeth will start back to school on Jan. 17th which is the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Her homebound teacher can give her grades for this time period at home and they will be averaged with the grades from her classes before surgery. I think she will only do half days to start with and then build to all day. I have to meet with the counselor at the beginning of next week and talk with her teachers.

Cheryl, I hope Briann is doing well. When will you send her back to school? It is scary thinking about the what ifs, but it will be good for the girls to get back into their normal school routines.

Take care everyone.

Love, Connie

Laura P

01-04-2006, 10:24 PM

Connie,
It is good to hear how good everyone is doing. We are just right behind youall. It turned out for the best as far as Jamie not going back to church because she ended up getting the stomach bug her sister and I had. She has slept all day and looked awful but it was because she was getting sick. It is a short lived bug but it makes you feel awful. I was hoping she wouldn't get it but she has. She ate tonight so she is already feeling better. She has lost about 8 pounds so far and weighs 100 even. Hopefully that is all she will loose. I would die if she lost 20, I cannot imagine. Hope everyone is doing good. I spoke with her school today and they are looking into getting her a homebound teacher so we are right behind youall.

Prayers to all.
Laura P.

flowerpower

01-05-2006, 12:15 PM

Hello Ladies,

I finally have a (quick) moment to check in, my mom has been here last couple of weeks to help out and the siblings don't go back to school til next week so things have been pretty hectic around here. Joseph is doing good so far, the only thing really bothering him is his left hip area. The same spot that would cause problems before surgery is bothering him more now. We had our 1st checkup on Tues. The x-ray of his back looked good as far as correction. We compared that to the initial x-ray from 1st diagnosis in 9/01 when measurement was (I think) 22T/18L. Anyway, the correction looks comparable to, or better than, what his spine looked like then. Only thing I am not so happy about is shoulder blades/hips still appear somewhat uneven. The rotation wasn't corrected as much as I'd hoped, but if we would have had surgery sooner the rotation wouldn't have gotten to the point it did. His weight is still down, still pale and he tires easily but appetite has been good, no bowel problems. The hospital started the Colace with pain meds immediately after surgery so that helped alot.

Will be done with Lortab by this afternoon and dr. suggested Tylenol during the day and we will start Vicodin at bedtime, we'll see how well Tylenol does with the soreness. Dr. also said he can start back school anytime he feels ready. I had contacted the school to start up home tutor and now they asked for specific date from dr. (now they said they did not want to send tutor if he is only going to be out a couple weeks). I asked dr. office to give a date of Jan. 30th even though I'm sure Joe would go back before then. They "compromised" and gave the school a date of Jan. 19th when Joe should definitely be back at least 1/2 days. Dressing is off and Joe was able to shower by himself last night, a relief for him. There is itchiness around incision, have to keep reminding him not to scratch too close. Still some swelling around tailbone/hip area but that has subsided alot. I just hope that things continue to progress as smoothly and uneventfully as they have so far.

Hope things are going well for all the post-surgery kids and their families, I haven't really had time to keep up with the posts, hopefully next week when things quiet down. Everyone take care and have a great day!

Renee

Cheryl M

01-05-2006, 01:53 PM

Hi Everyone!

It's so good to hear from everyone.

Briann went to school for an hour on Tuesday and again today to work individually with her math teacher. She has had a homebound teacher since 2 weeks before Christmas and will still be considered homebound until she goes back full time. We're thinking of 1 or 2 classes a day starting next week. We'll just wait until Monday morning and see how she feels. Her math teacher pretty much "caught" her up in those 2 hours. Her Social Studies teacher suggested today that Briann read a section and the she's going to call every afternoon and give her a 5 to 10 minute lecture over the phone. I thought that was incredibly nice.

Briann still gets very tired and stiff.......I can tell how she walks that she is hurting. Her friends at school were so happy to see her that they jumped on her with hugs, etc and three teachers in the hall screamed at them. I bet it was pretty comical but I am glad they're watching out for her.

Ann, sorry to hear about Lizzie's slight setback. I too am so worried about how much to push and how much to spoil. I just keep saying "you know your body so you'll have to say when you've had enough." Have her get out with friends even if it's for a very short time. I can see a tremendous difference in Briann after she's been with friends. She begged to see King Kong with friends one afternnon which was 3 plus hours. Our new cinema has great seats and she said she did great. My best friend was there to make sure she was O.K. and I was waiting by phone to run pick her up.

Laura, So glad Jamie continues to improve.

Connie, how long has Elizabeth had a homebound teacher? I wonder if we started Briann too soon.

Renee, it sounds like Joe is making great progress. Did Joe have thoracoplasty? Briann's dr. refused to do it. Her shoulders are even but one side of her back does stick out father than the other, although much much less than it did. I think that if you weren't looking for it you probably wouldn't even notice.

Have a great day everyone!
Cheryl

AnnLF

01-05-2006, 10:35 PM

Hey Gals,

Well, the drill sergeant got to work today! I pushed, pushed, pushed. But what's making me crazy is that she's resisting some of it. This is where I'm baffled, since Liz has always been so very active. She's a senior -- for those of you with kids that age, you know what I mean. You barely see them -- Liz's tennis season is in the fall, from there she would go to cheerleading during the basketball season and then track in the spring. Plus, she played competitive tennis year-round and so was always on the run. Now, however, she's seemingly content to be a lug. Will keep plugging away. Thanks for your advice Nikki... we took the dog for a walk today, in our lovely weather. Ah, Chicago in January.

Liz had on a pair of those elastic waist-bad shorts yesterday and when she was walking across the family room, her older brother said "jeez, Liz drink a milkshake or two, would you?" She is now 5'9" and 114.

So glad to hear Joseph is forging ahead. And sorry to hear Jaime got the dreaded bug. Jeez, the poor kid didn't need that on top of everything else!

Connie & Cheryl -- isn't it great that we're talking about school? It wasn't that long ago that we were bonding over our pre-surgery jitters and here we are ... so much farther along on our mutual journey. Wow, Briann started her homebound tutoring way back before Christmas? She must really be catching up quickly.

It was good to hear from everyone. Take care, all! Ann

nikyergen

01-06-2006, 01:23 AM

Ann, Glad you could use the dog suggestion. We live in a very cold climate too. We've had snow since before Thanksgiving and had about two weeks of almost bitter cold. Crystal is 17 1/2, so really understand the resistence thing going on. Sometimes you just have to ignore them and go on with your chores. They eventually get tired of waiting and do things for themselves. If you keep a glass by the sink for her, she can get her own glass of water, etc. I had to resort to that kind of stuff, because Crystal was enjoying being waited on hand and foot. She was back to school at three weeks post op, at her prom at four weeks, and back showing her show sheep at 12 weeks. She was able to show in two major shows this summer and also obtained a job at McDonald's. You can only motivate so much. You need to do for yourself and tell her that you'll do what she needs when you get around to it. And, stall doing what she needs done, as long as it is within her limits, until she does it herself. I so understand the wanting someone else to do things for her.

Just a note on those that have kids that are athletes. The doctor hasn't released Crystal to play basketball or anything yet, and probably won't until April. I was really hoping to get her to watch her middle sister play ball and haven't had any success at it yet. I think it really hurts her inside to even think about watching a game and not being able to play. We had a home game today. When I got there, she told me she was headed home and was going to clean her room. This was the kid that would avoid everything else to play ball. So, don't be surprised if watching their sport is not what they want to do.

Don't worry all these kids will be driving you nuts soon. It will be about time for Spring Fever. Once they figure out they can function without pain, they get extremely hard to slow down. Remember, Crystal jumped over the door to the dishwasher chasing after her dad. She was about 6weeks post op. I sat and cried about it. Now, I just turn the other cheek.

Things will change. Remember you next marker is three months. Big changes occur then.

Nikki

flowerpower

01-06-2006, 05:11 PM

Ola Chicas!

Finally! Things seem to be quieting down this afternoon - I actually got to read the last few posts without interruption :rolleyes: Let's see, to answer Cheryls question: Our dr. never broached the subject of thoracoplasty, he felt he could achieve good enough correction without it. The rotation started to really become noticable around July, and it increased more than the dr. anticipated. And yeah, a regular person probably wouldn't notice; I just look at his back way too much...I just picked up some of his schoolwork this morning, needless to say his enthusiasum is none to high :p

I totally understand what Ann is saying about the resistance to exercise. Every time I suggest going out for a walk, Joe decides he needs a nap. Part of it is the hip pain, part is being a teenage boy notwanting to be seen walking the neighborhood with his mother :rolleyes: so we usually wait for the cover of darkness. Just as well, (some of you may hate me for saying this) but it has been so hot & dry here the last couple of days I'm happy to wait til evening. I also got a chuckle about Ann's milkshake comment as I just finished making a smoothie for Joe, he is definitely enjoying the pampering!

Nikki, I totally relate to your comments regarding Crystal & lack of enthusiasum over things they used to enjoy that they can't do now. Joe will be missing out on so much this year: his high school band is travelling to Australia this summer and will play at the Sydney Opera House, he was doing so well in his bowling league; he got the Coaches Award 5 seasons in a row as well as placing 1st in a local tournament. While in the hospital, he received a letter that he was nominated & invited to participate in the People to People Sports Ambassador Program, to be a representative on one of the bowling teams....his sister went to Disneyland with a friend yesterday and it just broke my heart to hear them talk about what a good time she had and knowing Joe can't do any of those things for a quite a while...guess now I will try and focus on helping him find new activities/hobbies to enjoy until then. Oh, and I've also been meaning to tell you Nikki, how much I enjoy your stories about your kids' antics, makes me feel normal, lol! The dishwasher story gives me chills, because I can picture that scenario all too well!

Well, its been nice catching up a little, hope everyone continues to do well and we'll see what the next month brings! Take care everyone,

Renee

Laura P

01-06-2006, 06:47 PM

Renee,
Thanks for the update. My Jamie dosn't want to get out either. We have tried for three days to go out and let her look for a new cell phone and by the time we get ready she dosn't feel like going out. So it is good to hear that we arn't the only ones having trouble getting exercise. It is extremely cold today so we are jealous of the hot weather. Hopefully by next week I can start getting her to get out more. Her hip is giving her fits also.
I too am enjoying hearing Nikki and everyones stories. Thank you all for the wonderful love and support.
We are working on getting a home bound teacher so we can take our time going back. All of the teachers were working with us but we can't take tests so nothing will change except homebound can get our tests for us. So hopefully this will work out.
Have a great weekend. Keep up the stories as I realize we are normal.

Thanks
Laura P.

KRIS ATKINSON

01-07-2006, 04:49 AM

Cheryl, I sent you some private messages. Tell me your thoughts. Kris

dancermom

01-07-2006, 09:05 AM

Good morning everyone. Just wanted to update you all and check in. I picked up a letter from Elizabeth's orthopedic doctor and have a meeting scheduled with the 8th grade counselor on Tuesday afternoon. I plan on discussing the letter which talks about when she can come back and restrictions like the elevator pass, 2 sets of books, extra time in between classes and things like that. I thought it might help to talk to the counselor first and let her lead the discussion between Elizabeth's core teachers. We are planning on Elizabeth going back to school on the 17th starting with half days. I don't know if homebound teaching ends the minute she goes back to the regular classroom or what.

We started the homebound teaching the second week of December I think. The teacher has come out about 4 or 5 times and will probably only have one more visit. I'm just not sure.

Elizabeth did walk for a bit with me the other day but she seems content to lay around the house and watch tv. I don't like that either and keep encouraging her to do things. She still gets tired easily and it seems like her shoulders start hurting sometimes when we are out for a bit. Elizabeth does want to dance again and is upset about losing her leg flexibility and all, but I keep encouraging her to walk and I remind her that by this summer she should be able to get back into her dancing. She wants me to buy something called a theraband to her her keep her leg muscles good.

Stay strong everyone and we will continue to get better. I am anxious to know what the 3 month mark is like since that seems to be another big mile stone. Ann and Cheryl, can you believe that we are almost at 6 weeks post-op? I am so thankful to be this far out.

Laura, hang in there with Jamie and it just gets better and the girls get stronger. I don't think Elizabeth took any pain medication until bedtime last night and then it was ibuprofen, so that is a great thing.

Nikki, it is good that you and Crystal are farther out than we are as it helps to hear how she is doing and see the improvements. I can't believe she went to her prom at 4 weeks out - that is so awesome!

Renee, hang in there with Joseph. I understand the teenage boy thing and about now wanting to be seen out walking with his mother. I have a 17 year old son and I don't think he would be caught with me doing that either. Elizabeth is 14 so she doesn't mind quite as much although it isn't her thing either.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend.

Connie

flowerpower

01-07-2006, 10:36 AM

Thanks for the update Connie, good to hear Elizabeth is off pain medication. The Tylenol didn't do so well for Joe yesterday, he would get up for really short periods and need to lay down again and I could tell he wasn't walking at his usual pace. We finally broke down and gave him a Vicodin at 6pm. I almost feel like this is a small step backwards, but this still seems so soon after surgery, my gosh, the steri strips haven't even all fallen off yet. We had asked a nurse that was present during Joe's surgery to take some pictures during the procedure. There are about 3 pictures of Joe's back showing the exposed spine 1 of them after screws were placed also 1 picture just after incision was closed. I am not a squeamish person by any means but I did feel my knees start to buckle as I was standing there in Costco! After seeing that, I can't believe these kids aren't hurting more. It's good to see and realize how well they really are doing.

Was also going to talk about school but I hear people waking up upstairs. Will come back later.

Renee

AnnLF

01-10-2006, 06:49 PM

Renee,

This is the way I figure it -- there will be good days and bad. So, don't feel badly if you have to resort to the vicodin. It's really not going backwards -- more like a sidestep! My daughter has been off the pain meds 2-3 weeks and hardly even takes Tylenol now. But last night, she was having a muscle spasm, so I was glad to have the valium on hand.

Wow, can't believe you got those pictures. I AM a squamish person and I'm betting that I couldn't handle that. But then again, I'm the one who passed out after seeing my daughter following her surgery. At first I was fine -- just so relieved to see her -- you all know that feeling. But about 10 minutes later it hit me. What a wimp.

I haven't checked in for awhile and I hope everybody's doing okay. Liz is getting stronger each day. She went out with some friends the other night to Panera Bread. Now, that's progress, huh? I was so relieved that I didn't even worry. They were all going to the basketball game afterward, but she didn't feel like she could tackle that yet. Maybe this weekend. And Connie, I can't help but think that this time of year lends itself to laying around watching TV. Here in Chicago, what else is there to do? I'm starting to see a spark in Lizzie again, so I'm hoping your Elizabeth is feeling perkier soon too. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that the student services lady at our school told me that when Liz returns -- half-days -- that she'll stay on homebound status for until she's solidly back full-time. I think it's to their advantage to do so, academically speaking.

We've got tutors coming and going. As a senior, classes get so specialized that not one person can do it. So, one district employee is handling three classes, but we've also got a French tutor and a math one. No way, no how am I able to help with the calculus. Did I even spell it right?

Take care everyone! Ann

dancermom

01-10-2006, 07:35 PM

Hi everyone. Good to see you all checking in and giving the updates. It really helps to see how far along everyone is and what is going on in the girls' lives.

I went to the school this afternoon and took the letter from our dr. concerning the restrictions and things for when Elizabeth goes back to classes. Right now we are planning on her going back a week from today - the 17th. We have talked about half days, but I work in the mornings and middle school starts at 7:45. By noon she has had more than half of her classes. If she goes in the mornings half day then she would only miss her 2 afternoon classes, but if I wait and take her after I get home at noon then she would miss 4 of her classes. We may just let Elizabeth go on Tuesday and see how she handles the day with the understanding she can call to come home if she gets too tired or starts hurting.

I think I am glad she is still in middle school as the grades are important, but not as crucial as they are in high school with GPA and all. Once she goes back on Tuesday then her homebound services will end - as far as I know. The homebound teacher really doesn't know any more than I do. I am nervous about Elizabeth getting back into the full-time school routine, but I think she is basically ready for it.

Elizabeth has been laying around a lot watching television, but she has started to be more active in doing her school work and working on a project using power point with the computer. She misses being with her friends and the daily routine.

I hope Briann and Lizzie continue to get stronger every day. Has Briann gone back to school yet?

Renee, don't worry about giving Joe the stronger pain meds. It is just one day and one step at a time. I agree with Ann that it isn't a step backwards just sideways. Elizabeth is barely taking anything these days but still occasionally takes the ibuprofen if she needs it. The days will come when Joe needs less and less. It is amazing how well all these kids are doing after going through such trauma to their bodies. Hang in there and just know that you have to follow your instincts with what Joe needs and trust yourself to know what is best for him.

Take care everyone. Laura, I hope Jamie is feeling good these days. I hope you have gotten the homebound teacher set up and things going.

Love, Connie

Laura P

01-11-2006, 07:23 AM

Hello everyone, we have the homebound teacher in the works. Our doctor has approved for her to go back 3/9/06 which is the end of the 9 weeks but feel sure she will be back before then. They were so supportive at our doctors and said "anything we need". We are down to very little pain meds in the day and 2 at night. Yea we are sleeping through the night. What a great feeling. We are going to let her go to church tonight for just a little bit. We are going to make her use a wheel chair just so it dosn't tire her out and she can see everyone longer. I am going back to work next Thurs and Fri. and may go back to my regular hours the next week. I just work 3 days a week. My husband will be with Jamie and we will tag team. So we are doing so much better. Glad to hear everyone else is doing good. I took Jamie to Target yesterday and she lasted about 45 minutes. I was proud that she did that good no help she walked the whole time.
Renee, I think Joe is doing wonderful on his pain meds. Our doctor just refilled ours and we are at the three week mark. Jamie is still taking the muscle relaxer but down to one pain med in the day and two at night. Yesterday was our best day yet as she slept through the night and didn't wake up hurting. YEA!
Thank you all again for the updates. I read them all just run out of time to update. I don't know where our days go. I think I am better at time management when I am working.
Have a good day.
Laura P. :)

Cheryl M

01-11-2006, 01:56 PM

Hi Everyone,

It is good to hear from all of our post-surgery patients and to know that they are all making steady progress.

Briann is only going to school for math right now. Our quarter also ends on Friday and we have a holiday and teacher workday on Mon/Tues so we're shooting for at least a 1/2 day on Wednesday of next week. She's just going to call me when she's had enough. She has been going to her evening drama class for the last 2 weeks but comes home extremely tired. I think we're trying church again tonight.

We still occasionally have to take a pain pill. She didn't sleep well a few nights in a row and last night I tried giving her 1/2 dose of sominex and a tylenol and she slept great. We still have a few lortabs that she takes only occasionally. I try to remember the tylenol during the day...it just seems to help.

My continued prayers for all of you.

Cheryl

Cheryl M

01-16-2006, 06:13 PM

I know this isn't the place for this but I just couldn't resist. Ann, how about those Carolina Panthers!!!!

Hope everyone is continuing on the road to a full recovery. We're hoping for 3 or 4 hours at school Wed through Friday this week. Briann does seem to be able to do more and more each week. Our homebound teacher says that once she makes it a full day she'll be off homebound and be counted absent if she misses, so I'm gonna let her go as long as she can but at least pick her up an hour early for the next week or so, just to make sure.

Have a great week everyone!

Cheryl

dancermom

01-16-2006, 08:43 PM

Hi Cheryl. Elizabeth is going back to school tomorrow for the first time since her surgery. She wants to stay through lunch and see how her back does for the afternoon. There is an understanding that she can call me at anytime and I will be there to pick her up. She has a pillow to take to use in her chair and hopefully that will give her back some support. I am very nervous, but she is so ready to get back and be with friends and get back into the school routine.

Our homebound is basically over I guess. It is kind of strange here as the teacher didn't really know that much about how it would work with Elizabeth going back to school on a part-time basis. So, we are assuming that homebound ends the minute she goes back to the classroom. Kind of scary.

Ann, I hope Lizzie is doing well and can go back to school soon. What have you decided with that?

It feels good to be 7 weeks post-op and this far along. Elizabeth hardly takes anything any more, but I plan on her taking some ibuprofen to start the day tomorrow and more at the nurse's office in the afternoon. She may come home before that. I just really don't know what to expect.

Take care everyone and thanks for the updates. It feels good to talk to all of you and check on the girls' progress.

Love,
Connie

nikyergen

01-16-2006, 10:25 PM

Connie, It is hard going from homebound back to school. We found that our school worked really well with us to make Crystal's transaction back to school. We did the same thing, I took her to school in the morning and she would call me if she got wore out or just hurt to much. Sometimes she could make it through several full days of school and then do a half day or just stay home for a day. I wish everyone had a small school like we have to work with. The smaller the school the simpler things are. Crystal's teachers were also very good about letting her stand if she needed to during class. They also allowed her to sit in their chair since it was more comfortable. Do check to see if she can stand up during class if need be. This was important for Crystal as sitting in hard school chairs was difficult to do for long periods of time.

Nikki

AnnLF

01-16-2006, 11:07 PM

Hey Cheryl!

Actually, we were thinking of you all yesterday when our beloved Bears got trounced! You deserve the bragging rights. But, I'm glad we didn't place any bets....

Connie & Cheryl: Good to hear Briann and Elizabeth will attempt school this week. Here, this is interesting. In all my spare time, I decided to print out this whole thread that you, Cheryl, started back in October -- the "we have a surgery date" one. We've kept a journal through this journey and I thought adding all the posts in this forum were a must. Anyways, it's interesting to go back and read what we were thinking back in October. Cheryl, you were hoping Briann would go back to school on Jan. 2 ...
I know I was hoping Liz would be back by now. Oh well.

What's the most fascinating part of reading the old posts is how much more relaxed we are now. The three of us --- we were a pretty tensed up bunch leading up to November 28th!

The revolving door of tutors continues at our house. Lizzie is catching up and she's lucky she doesn't have to take finals, which are this week. No school until we go back to the doctor on Jan 31st. So, maybe she will be able to start out February going back half-days. Nikki, you're right about the size of the school. I think that's intimidating Liz somewhat. Her school has 2,500 kids in it and it's huge so it's a daunting thought to picture her manuevering those hallways.

We went for a good long walk outside today. I would say the big thing holding Liz back is her reluctance to feel comfortable in her own skin. She seems very stiff and tense while walking. But, it felt good to be outside and if we can keep doing that, maybe she'll relax a bit. We're having unseasonably warm weather here in Chicago. We're used to wearing boots, hats, scarves, and gloves in mid-January. Hey, that's probably why the Panthers won. We didn't have "Bear Weather!" ;)

Good luck to Briann and Elizabeth this week as they get back into the school scene. I hope it all goes well ... let us know. We'll be thinking of both of them. Love, Ann

Laura P

01-16-2006, 11:22 PM

Hello to all,

It is good staying caught up with your Elizabeths. Jamie homebound teacher starts tomorrow so this is going to be interesting. Our school is the same as yours as we either have to do homebound or school no wavering. So we have taken homebound for the whole 9 weeks so we can relax and she can go back when she feels like it.

It is good to hear your updates. SOunds like everyone is doing good. If we could get rid of the restless leg syndrome we would be doing better. Will talk to the doctor tomorrow. Thanks to youall and look forward to hearing more of your encouraging stories.

Laura P. :)

AnnLF

01-18-2006, 09:39 AM

Hi Laura,

Hope the homebound tutoring went well. I forgot what grade Jaime is in -- high school, right? In Liz's case, being a senior, she has three separate tutors, so she has to keep a schedule to keep it all straight. She has one for calculus, one for French and one who does all the rest. I am finding that they are very flexible in terms of what really needs to be made up and what they'll waive for her.

Did the restless leg thing first start since the surgery? I know that can be very frustrating, from what I've heard about it. Especially if it happens at night when she's trying to sleep.

Well, we're seven weeks today. Whew. In a way it seems like yesterday and at other times, it seems like FOREVER. I talked to the nurse at the doctor's office yesterday. As I've described her before, Lizzie just isn't comfortable in her own skin. She's somewhat robotic. So, since we belong to our YMCA, I asked if she could swim yet. I thought that maybe the bouancy of being in the water would allow her to relax and get comfortable. Wow. We got an absolute "No way." I guess there still is a big risk of infection. I was figuring at seven weeks, that might be gone. Oh well, 'ya learn something new every day.

Hope you got some answers about the restless leg syndrome. And hope Jaime is getting stronger every day. Love, Ann

nikyergen

01-18-2006, 09:53 AM

Ann, Your daughter will get comfortable in her own skin soon. It will start very soon. The kids are almost afraid to move wrong because they have been told no bending, twisting, etc., so they are trying to follow the rules and they become robotic about it. I wish you could see Crystal today at 10 months post op. The way she moves and carries on, you would never think she had surgery last year.

Yes, a small school, 225 students k-12, is very nice to work with. I wish all of you had that small of a school to deal with. Our girls have always gone to small schools and they really like them. Classes are relatively small. I think our sophmore class is the biggest class at 47 students total. Our smallest high school class is Seniors at 23 students. Our school consists of two hallways - one for high school and junior high classes and the other for the elementary students. And we have 2 gyms, a library, cafeteria, and FFA Shop. So pretty small. I think the only reason we have two gyms is so that the basketball teams can get all their practice in. We have about 8 teams that need gym time for practice. You'd think with this small of a school that we wouldn't have much for sports. But, when that is all the kids have to do in the winter time, because they are all farmers/ranchers kids, they all play.

Glad to hear everyone is getting along well. You will all see some big improvements in mobility soon, very soon. And before you know it you won't be able to keep up with them anymore.

Nikki

Jamie's Mom

01-18-2006, 10:30 AM

Hello to all,
This is Laura P. Long story they changed my name. When I first registered this was what I registered as but it wouldn't let me post. I sent emails to customer service with no response. So I reregistered, and have been under Laura P. Yesterday it wouldn't let me on and I figured out they had straightened out my first registration and disabled my second so here I am under Jamie's mom.
We got a good report from her doctor yesterday. THat was the good news the bad news is he couldn't explain the problems she is having with her hands and feet so we are going to make sure she isn't anemic first and then go from there. He said "she was doing good". We go back in 8 weeks for recheck. Hopefully the hands and feet situation will be gone by then.
Homebound is going good. This is going to be a big help and alot of stress off of her to hurry back. Yesterday wiped her out going two hours to the doctor then two hours home. It rained the entire way to and from. We were both exhausted. Glad everyone is doing good.
Ann, Jamie is a Junior sounds like your Liz is doing good. When you say not comfortable in her skin to you mean stiff or just real cautious. I can't spell today for some reason. I can tell when Jamie's muscle relaxer wears off because she gets extrememly stiff and pulls to one side. Is that what you mean. Our doctor told us to keep taking those. She is almost never taking pain meds now just the muscle relaxer. The iron has tore Jamie's stomach up but we will keep trying. Glad to hear from everyone and I don't know what I would do with all of your help and kindness. Have a good day.

Laura P

Cheryl M

01-18-2006, 01:05 PM

Hi All,

Good to hear updates from everyone

Laura, Briann had restless leg problems just after Christmas and still does on occasion. I would have to rub her legs in the middle of the night and put heat on them. She used to get growing pains years ago and she says that's what it felt like. I read somewhere on here that this feeling is probably a nerve thing. She does have numbness and sensitivity in one leg (upper thigh) that we are praying will go away. She says the feeling has changed somewhat (it's just different feeling now) and the girls on spinekids told her this was a good sign that it was changing. Maybe this is similar to what Jamie is having.

Glad to hear your appt went well. We go back sometime next week. Briann went to school for 3 1/2 hours today and is laying down now. Maybe sometime next week she'll go a full day.

Cheryl

dancermom

01-18-2006, 03:30 PM

Hi Everyone. Believe it or not, Elizabeth has made 2 full days of school this week. She is feeling really good and is smiling as she comes out at the end of the day. She is using the elevator to get to the second floor of the building and is allowed to have 1 friend ride with her. She has extra books at home so she doesn't have to carry them around. Elizabeth told me she went to the nurse's office this afternoon to take a couple ibuprofens, but it was more just not wanting to start hurting - trying to catch it before. Anyway, she is doing great and I can't believe it.

I just wanted to encourage everyone and say thanks for all the support and encouragement you have given to my family. I know that we all still have a ways to go in healing and recovery, but the girls have come so far in just 7 weeks. It is so encouraging.

I hope Lizzie starts to feel more comfortable soon and can get back involved in the high school. I can understand why you would be uncomfortable with her going back before she is ready with it being so big. Glad that Briann is going back part time and hopefully it will be a full day before you know it.

Sounds like we need to keep praying for Jamie with the restless leg syndrome stuff. That is not fun and keeps you all from getting a good night's sleep, which you need. Please keep us informed as to how she is doing.

Nikki, thanks for the encouragement to all of us. It is good to know how well Crystal is doing at 10 months postop. It is so good to hear that she moves so well and is not bothered by the rods or fusion. I am thinking that by this summer, Elizabeth will be able to swim and start dance back up. We will just have to see what the doctor says, but it is encouraging to hear your updates.

Love, Connie

AnnLF

01-24-2006, 10:32 AM

Hello Everyone,

Wow, Connie, it sounds like Elizabeth is forging ahead in her recovery. I'm so glad school is going well for her. And by the way, I think it's great that you seem to have connected with Marie and her daughter Jaime. I thought of you when I saw that she was from Oklahoma. How nice to have someone "geographically desirable!"

Lizzie is doing so much better here than the last time I posted. It was almost like one day, she just turned the corner. Tutoring is coming fast and furious so her days are somewhat full -- what a difference from a few weeks back. She goes to the doctor next Tuesday and I'm sure he'll give the go-ahead for school. I've been amazed to read how many kids are back to school already -- kids who've had surgery after Liz.

I keep telling Lizzie "Crystal stories," Nikki. She especially likes the dishwasher one. I, however, cautioned her not to try it!

Hope everyone is doing great. We must be -- our posts are getting fewer and farther between! Love, Ann

nikyergen

01-24-2006, 11:02 AM

To All Of You:
You all know of the Shrine Hospitals all over the U.S. Well, I am one proud Momma right now. We have the East/West Shrine Football Game in Baker City, OR, every year in August. They select an East Queen and a West Queen. The criteria is that you have to be or have been a Shrine Hospital Patient. Crystal is the East Queen this year. She was told Sunday at her Internationl Order of the Rainbow meeting. You should of seen her face. She just beamed from ear to ear. Not that my life is busy enough, but now more. But, Craig and I are proud parents that out of all the nominations, she was the one choosen. Good thing Craig was appointed as her escort for the year. It gives him something to do and keep organized, but you know who will organize it.

All the proceeds from the East/West Shrine Football Game go directly to the Shrine Hospital.

Keep up the good work ladies. Your girls are doing great. Isn't it funny how one day they just seem to really turn a corner on recovery. And, then a little while down the road it will happen again, and again, and again.

'til later,
Nikki

Cheryl M

01-24-2006, 11:05 AM

Hi Everyone,

I was just thinking too that we are not posting as much. I somehow have time to get on to read and then get pulled away before I can post.

Sounds like Lizzie is getting caught up by her tutors. I'd keep her at home as long as possible. Yea, I had to brag about the Panthers and then we get stomped. Oh well, it was a fun.....at least until Sunday when we had a house full of bummed out fans.

Connie, Wow, when Elizabeth went back...she went for it. Glad to hear things are going so well.

Laura, I sent you a private message. Hope the leg problem is improving.

Renee, Joseph seems to be doing great!

Briann made it a full day yesterday and is trying it again today. Everytime the phone rings I'm ready to hop in the car and pick her up. I miss having her at home with me. I mentioned that OK. Elizabeth went full days last week and I think Briann felt she needed to try it to stay caught up. I keep reminding her that everyone heals differently.

Have a great week everyone!

Cheryl

dancermom

01-24-2006, 10:03 PM

Glad to see your post Cheryl. I kind of miss talking to you guys more often, but I guess that means life is getting back to fairly normal for all of us.

Elizabeth is doing really well in school, although she complains every night of her shoulder hurting. It is the right shoulder every time and it is just very tight. She used a heating pad tonight and didn't turn the heat down like I asked her to, so she kind of burned it a little. It is a little pink, but hopefully that will be gone by morning. School work seems to be going well and she is glad to be back as enrollment for high school will be taking place soon and they are doing a lot of testing and talking about classes and things for next year.

I am glad that Briann made it the full day yesterday. I bet she was pretty proud of herself as that is a big accomplishment. Each child is different in their healing process, and I think they are all doing well. I understand about that feeling of wondering if the phone will ring for you to go and pick her up from school. I still wonder about that with Elizabeth.

Nikki, congrats to Crystal on being selected East Queen this year. How exciting!

Ann, I am so happy to hear that Lizzie is doing better. I am so glad. I can't wait to hear how her doctor's appt. goes next week. We don't go back until sometime in February. Is Lizzie ready to go back to school? Elizabeth was very ready to get back into the school routine with her friends and feel a part of what was going on. She made it back in time to be in the 8th grade Pom picture for the yearbook. She did the Pom dancing for football season, but she has missed the basketball season with surgery.

Take care everyone. It was nice to connect with Marie and her daughter. I just hope I can be an encouragement and help to her in the days ahead. We don't live in the exact city, but close enough that we can keep in contact. I just hope that Carrie has had a good day and that Marie is feeling more calm. This is a trying experience to go through, especially for the families as it is hard to watch someone you love in so much pain.

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

01-25-2006, 08:37 AM

I need some advice. Our post-op 8 weeks appt. is tomorrow. What questions should I ask? I will feel funny not walking in with a ton of questions like I used to pre-surgery but as of now, I really don't have a lot of questions.

Cheryl

nikyergen

01-25-2006, 09:50 AM

Cheryl,
Your concerns now are your daughters limitations and how she is healing. Ask how the fusion looks, what are your daughters limits on weight to lift, can she do some light exercises in a swimming pool (sometimes doctors allow this because the boyancy from the water is an advantage, how does her scar look like it is healing, etc. It is very strange to not have a huge list of questions, but remember the scariest part of the whole thing is over. If there are things that you feel are going slow for your daughter as far as healing goes, ask about it. If you don't feel your daughter is moving around well enough mention it to the doctor.

All of these girls should be progressing along quite well at this point. They should be able to do things for themselves and moving around relatively well. If you don't feel this is happening for your daughter discuss it with the doctor.

Hope this helps.

Nikki

dancermom

01-27-2006, 08:17 AM

Hi Cheryl. I can't wait to hear how Briann's 8 week post-op appt. went. We don't go in until February 15th. I am glad that you asked about what questions were good to ask and know. You are right that we have a million questions before surgery and then you just take things as they come after surgery.

My Elizabeth is bummed out today as she is home sick with a bad cold. They are having a reward day at school and going to see a movie, eat lunch out, and then roller skate (which she couldn't do this part). Anyway, she came home from school yesterday morning not feeling well, and I called her in sick today. I feel bad for her as she was just getting back involved and feeling apart of things. Oh well, at least she won't be missing any academics today.

Nikki, thanks for the advice and questions that you talked about for Cheryl. It is nice to have you this far out on the post-op side and to see how well that Crystal is doing.

Take care everyone.

Love, Connie

AnnLF

01-28-2006, 09:12 AM

Hey Gals -

First things first. Nikki, does this now make you the Queen Mother? Congratulations to Crystal...what an honor.

So glad to hear the girls are doing well getting back into their routines. I hope to be reporting the same very soon. Rats...what a drag that OK Elizabeth got the dreaded bug. With all that our girls have been through, that's the last thing they need.

Hoping Briann's post op went well. When we go on Tuesday, here's one thing I'm curious about. Lizzie got her period a couple of days after the surgery (which actually was about a week early at the time) and hasn't had one since. Anybody had similiar scenarios? And I agree with you Nikki about the pool and the boyancy that it would afford, so that is definitely going to be one of my questions. Liz has greatly improved, but still seems somewhat stiff and robotic and I think swimming would really help with that.

Have a terrific weekend! February is on the horizon - can you believe it? November was in front of us for so long and I love that it's now fading behind us! Love, Ann

lorrie

01-28-2006, 12:36 PM

Hi Ann
Genevieve's period started about three days before her surgery which was on 22nd August. She didn't have another until November 30th. I did mention it to the nurses at the hospital and they reckoned it wasn't uncommon. After such major surgery your system kind of goes into shock and it can take a good while to settle back into a regular cycle. Should probably say that G wasn't really all that regular before surgery but a gap like that was way over the top even for her!

Many congrats to Crystal,Nikki - i'm glad things are going well for you people!

Lorrie

Marieokc

01-29-2006, 11:14 AM

Hi everyone:

Just wanted to take a few minutes and let you know that Carrie was released from the hospital on Sat. Jan. 28, and her surgery was Monday Jan. 23. She is doing great and looking so good.

She is happy with the results and I know she will really be glad that the dr. didn't have to do an external incision to get the bone graft from her hip. He said since the fusion went so low, he was able to get it from inside and it worked out great. She said it still feels sore. She was fused from T2-L3, a very long fusion.

Thanks to everyone for keeping good thoughts for us during the very long months/week/days before and after the surgery. That was something else to go through. But, Carrie was always so positive about it and she made our tough decision a little easier. We are just taking it easy and starting to feel normal again, still have a long way to go for recovery, but this is the good side to be on.

Marie

dancermom

01-29-2006, 04:06 PM

Welcome back home Marie and Carrie!! Now the recovery and healing process really begins. It is such a wonderful thing to be back home and in your own surroundings.

I'm so glad that Carrie is healing so well and that she doesn't have a separate incision for the bone graph. I'm sure her hip will be sore though just from having the bone taken for the graph.

Keep us informed as to how Carrie's progress is going and please know that you will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers through the upcoming weeks. We are at 9 weeks post-op as of tomorrow and I really can't believe it. Take care and welcome to the other side. :)

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

01-29-2006, 06:56 PM

Yay! I'm so glad to hear things went well for Carrie and welcome home! Marie, the hard part is over, it is all up hill from here. There will be some humps to get over but each week is tons better than the last. At nearly 9 weeks post-op, we are still seeing a drastic improvement as the weeks go by.

Ann, I read in my Scoliosis book by Dave Wolpert, at least I think that's where i read it, that irregular periods are very common after surgery. You can usually expect one just after surgery, even if you just had one, and then they can be very irregular after that. I wouldn't worry for now.

Briann's post-op was good. We are a little concerned that her curves have settled some since surgery. Initial measurements were 22 and 20 at 2 weeks and at 8 weeks they were 30 and 25. Dr. felt he was probably off on the first measurements. We are most concerned about the lumbar curve because that screw at L3 popped out during surgery so she was only fused to L2 and before surgery he intended to fuse to L3. We have to keep a close look at this curve to make sure it doesn't progress. Her Risser is now between 4 and 5 so hopefully it won't progress! Scary! Scary! to think we could face another surgery. Dr.W said he has never had to do a 2nd surgery in his many years of doing this. I pray that we won't be the first. I so pray that I can turn this over to God and listen for His wisdom and guidance. THe Doctor said she'll be amazed at how fast her strength comes back each week after the 2 month mark. They were kind of amazed that she went back full days last week. She does come home very tired.

Well, enough about Briann. I am so thrilled to read about everyone and I find myself reading the posts more than I'm posting and just thanking the Lord that they are all doing so well.

Have a great week!

Cheryl M

Laura P

01-29-2006, 09:21 PM

Marie,

Welcome home. It will get better everyday. The worst is over. We were out of town this weekend and so I am just now reading everyones post and catching up.

Ditto Cheryl on the irregular periods. Very, very normal. Glad everyone is doing good.
Laura P.

nikyergen

01-30-2006, 01:42 AM

Ann,
I wish it made me the queen mother. All I can see is that it makes me the poor $$$ mother. We have another daughter that is a Worthy Advisor for International Order of the Rainbow for Girls and is on one of the bigger Rodeo Courts here (two crowns on this kid, but you wouldn't know it as she doesn't act any different, just the same ole kid). Likes to be in the barn and help her dad mechanic on equipment. Don't know what summer will bring, but I can see dad and I not seeing much of each other. I need to buy stock in a gas company quick. Maybe I can get a little return for my money.

Actually, since dad is a Shriner, he is the King Dad and gets to escort Crystal all over the state this year. He accepted her first official visit after her crowning. So, she has to take two days off of school and travel to various meetings with her dad. I don't start the rodeo stuff until June, which is a relief. I'd rather do the horses and rodeo court than some of the other stuff.

It is so wonderful to hear how all of the newbie surgery recoverys are doing. Everyone seems to be doing so well. Tell your kids to keep up the great work. I'm so proud of how well they are doing. We are approaching one year fast and furious, but won't have a check up until 13 months because of our doctors schedule. He is hoping to get Crystal's foot surgery done before then if they can get her in. If not, sometime between April and June. Oh, I hate the waiting. But, then it isn't life and death, just that the pain in Crystal's feet gets to her after a day at work on her feet.

Tell all of your girls, no jumping over the dishwasher door, it isn't safe and makes mom want to cry. You will be surprised at what they will start trying to do soon. I finally gave up trying to wrap Crystal in bubble wrap and decided that she wouldn't do something that would hurt. You know all they do when you wrap them in bubble wrap is pop the silly little bubbles to drive you nuts.

Keep up the great recovery.

Nikki

mariaf

01-30-2006, 12:17 PM

Nikki,

Congratulations to Crystal! We actually watched the East/West Shrine Game on TV a few Saturdays ago. This must be VERY exciting for her.

(p.s. I mailed you something about a week ago - if you haven't received it yet you should be getting it soon).

take care,

AnnLF

02-01-2006, 09:07 AM

Hi All,

Welcome home Carrie...and Marie. I hope all is going well with the recovery and that yours days (and nights) are painfree and uneventful. Keep us posted as to how it's going.

Thanks to all for chiming in about the periods. But guess what? Lizzie got hers yesterday. This was after I told her about Genevieve not having one for a few months...one side effect of the surgery that Liz was genuinely happy about. Then, boom. It arrives. Oh well.

We were at the doctor yesterday and all looks well. Her post-surgery curve is 40 on top about 30 on the bottom (she was 75/63 before surgery). The doctor cleared her for school -- Hurray! She will start next Monday, half-days. She's so ready, but a little frightened at the same time, as I'm sure all your girls felt. I've told her there's nothing to be worried about...I'll make sure the cell phone is charged and the volume is on high, so that she can call if she needs to reach me.

Nikki, I'm so mesmerized by the descriptions of your life. Living where I do in a congested metro area, it sounds truly lovely.

Cheryl, I can tell by your post that you are worried. (Isn't it amazing that I feel I've gotten to know you folks so well that I can pick up on things like that?) But trust in your doctor that he's never had to do a second surgery...I'm sure you're in good hands. I feel bad that that darned screw popping out during the surgery is still a source of concern. Please know that all our girls are in my prayers -- that things for all of them continue on an uneventful course.

Hope everyone continues to get stronger and healthier day by day!

Marieokc

02-01-2006, 11:36 AM

Hello:

Thank you all so much for continuing to think about us. I still look at this forum almost daily. Carrie seems to be doing so well during the day, but she said she doesn't like the nights. I know it's because she can't get comfortable and her anxiety kicks in a little bit. You know how everything seems better in the light of day.

She has been trying out each bed and couch in the house until she finds a comfortable one, and tonight she is going to take a warm shower right before bed. Those showers always tire her out and she wants to sleep for a long time. Then we are also going to try to walk more and sit up more and just keep her busy and her mind occupied until she feels tired tonight.

She is really doing so well with walking, sitting, standing, and moving around--it's been so amazing. She has taught her little sister how to help her get up from the couch, and that makes them both feel better. She said she wants to do more things for herself, so she doesn't feel so dependent on people. I'm so glad to hear that.

She is off the Oxycontin and just taking Darvocet every 4-6 hours as needed. We noticed that the Oxycontin was for moderate to severe pain, and this Darvocet is for mild to moderate pain, so we think of that as a step in the right direction. She goes back to the dr. on Friday for her check up and the Dr. said he will get better xrays than they took at the hospital.

I think she will be so happy with the incision and how her back looks. She said she is having to learn how to lie flat on her back because it feels so different since her protruding shoulder blade and rib hump had been there for so long and she couldn't life flat. I think the biggest thing to us was that she said she now has more lung capacity. She always thought she was OK, but now that her rib cage is more straightened out, she can tell that her lung capacity is so much better now. That is pretty dramatic for us. Just makes us realize this was the right thing to do at the right time.

I hope we are able to help others who are coming up on this surgery. It is definitely something to go through, but the kids are so amazing. Carrie told us about the third or fourth day in the hospital, "This wasn't so bad, I don't know what yall were so worried about." She also told us that she knew we didn't follow her rule that no one could cry until she did; because she never did cry at all (except for some pain afterwards). What a girl!!

Thank you all so much for keeping me sane. Each day is a banner day around here and we are just so thankful for everyone keeping us in your thoughts. Take care.
Marie

Laura P

02-04-2006, 02:52 PM

It is amazing how far we have all come in the last 8 weeks. Jamie is doing great. She is officially driving again, as of today. We are going to keep her homebound teacher until March 8 and let her go part time to her electives. She still tires easily and sometimes just has to go lie down and rest her neck but all in all she is doing good. Now we are having to slow her down and tell her to not lean over don't do that etc. Her lab work all came back normal but she is still a little on the low side of anemia so we continue to give her iron tabs. Her tingling in her joints are better after getting her on iron. So all is well here.

Marie glad youall are doing good. You will be here soon I promise. These last 8 weeks have flown by and I can't believe it.

Nikki, I am delayed but going back to work I do not have any time but congrats on crystal. What an honor. I know she calls you queen mom. Ha It was reinforment to me to have Jamie glad I was with her but now she is back to wanting to be her friends. I am glad though that means she is doing good but I did enjoy being with her.

Cheryl, I know it is worrisome about Briann but hopefully things will be ok. Hang in there.

Has anyone heard from Renee and Joseph. It seems all of the kids are doing great.

Have a great weekend. Spring is just around the corner. The daffodils are popping up here it has been so warm. It is cold here this weekend and flurries expected Mon. so they may get it but it has been so warm we cannot complain.

Laura P.

Jamie's scoliosis natzi as to saying "don't do that, don't bend that way.HA

dancermom

02-05-2006, 02:40 PM

Hi everyone. It does seem like we don't post as often now that we are farther out from surgery and time has passed. I think that life is moving on and thankfully our kids are getting fairly back to normal in their lives. Elizabeth really misses being able to dance more than anything else. We are hoping that by this summer she will be able to start taking classes again.

Laura, I also feel like the police in telling Elizabeth to be careful or to stop kicking her leg up so far or whatever. I just don't want any major setbacks. We go back to see the doctor on the 15th and that will be about the 3 month mark - not quite but only a week or so short. I am praying that the lower lumbar curve isn't as pronounced this time.

Cheryl, I can understand why you would be worried and concerned about Briann. Please know that I will keep you all in my prayers, especially for God's peace and wisdom. When do you go back for a recheck? Hopefully things will not have changed any more and the doctor will be happy with her progress. Glad that Briann is doing well with school and all.

Ann, so does Lizzie start back to school this coming Monday? I know that my Elizabeth was very ready to go back and be with her friends and into a normal routine again. I was so anxious those first couple of days back and she did great. So, I pray that Lizzie will also have a great first week back with the half days.

Marie, how did your appt. go with the dr. on Friday? We see Dr. Herndon on the 15th and I am sure he will have Elizabeth take x-rays again. I'm so happy that Carrie is doing so well with everything. She sounds like a really amazing young lady. It also sounds like you guys can tell a huge difference in her back with how she can now lay flat and doesn't feel the shoulder blade protruding or the rib hump. With Carrie being in band, the extra lung capacity is a wonderful thing. All of it is so amazing and good. I am so happy that you guys are now on this side of the surgery.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support. It just helps to know you are here and that we are going through this together.

Love,
Connie

Marieokc

02-06-2006, 07:01 AM

HI everyone:
Just a note to let you know that Carrie's post op appt. went great! Dr. Herndon told her that he was so proud of her and that really made her day.

Her curves are around 10-15 degrees from 52T/40L, and everything looks great. He took some x-rays and her spine looks so straight, if you can look past all of the hardware. Her balance is perfect and her head is directly lined up over her pelvis. He was happy with her incision and the amount of activity she has been able to do. He said he wants her walking and eating now more than ever. She has been striving to do just that to make him happy.

Her tummy is straightened out now, and he said we could add Motrin as a pain reliever and try to cut back on the Darvocet. She has been handling that pretty well. She is glad to be coming off the Darvocet because she doesn't like some of the minor side effects--wobbly legs, flushness, and sometimes an upset stomach. So, I think she appreciates having something else to use so as not to depend on the narcotics as much anymore.

Her chief complaint now is that she is having trouble going to sleep and staying asleep. She used to be able to sleep anytime anywhere, and now that she can't, it seems to bother her that she is having so much trouble. She becomes anxious at night and still wants her Dad near her when she does get to sleep. (He's happy to oblige; I think he wants to be near her too. He's been camping out in a sleeping bag on the floor in the living room while she sleeps on the couch). Anyway, she said that he loves to see friends/family, but she doesn't like that everyone goes home at night--that kind of makes her sad. We had lots of family over this last weekend, and her cousins spent Sat. night with us, and I think that really made her feel so much better. Just a side effect from some of the meds and the pain I think.

So today, we are going to go the band room at the high school and visit some friends, then I will try to take her shopping at the music store for a few minutes if she feels like it. Her homebound teacher is coming for her first official lesson today at 3 p.m. and I think her sister will be having several friends come over to practice their ensemble music after school, so Carrie will enjoy seeing and hearing that. We will continue to walk twice a day and eat well. Her walks are becoming longer and not as tiresome each day.

These kids are so amazing at what they can do. Here we are at two weeks post-op and I can't believe it. I know things will continue to get better and better each day. I'd like for all of our schedules to get back on track, and I know that will make Carrie feel more normal too. She still has a ways to go, but it's great to see how far she has come already. When she gets down, I tell her not to compare herself to what she could do two weeks ago, compare herself to what she could do two days ago. That seems to help her.

This experience has been something else, and I have said many times, I couldn't have done it without all yall. This support group has been so wonderful. Thank you everyone for everything.
Love, Marie

flowerpower

02-06-2006, 03:10 PM

Hi everyone,

I have been MIA for a few weeks now, I have missed chatting with everyone. The computer problems are getting somewhat better but I have tried posting quite a few times the last couple of weeks, what happens is I end up typing so long trying to catch up, some ad or pop-up will come on-screen and when I try to close the tab I lose everything, even what I was typing. VERY frustrating!! Joe had been going great the last 2 weeks, back at school full time and even fitting in some extracurricular activities (academic team and chess). He and sister are both home sick today though, we have been having a really hard time with flu, colds and sore throats. There has been someone home sick just about everyday, so I am very far behind in everything. I am determined to finish this today though! I think about you all every day and still keep all the kids in my prayers. Glancing though some posts, I am very glad it seems everyone is doing well for the most part.

Cheryl, I pray Briann will not suffer any future problems from the screw that pulled out. Congrats to Queen Crystal and "Queen Mother Nikki" (a "virtual" curtsey to you both :) !)

Marie, I'm so glad Carrie's surgery went well. It is amazing how well these kids bounce back from surgery!

Ann, glad to hear Lizzie's doing well. Let us know how back-to-school goes.

Connie and Laurie, so glad your girls are doing well also. Add me to the "squad" as I am constantly after Joe about pushing the limits. He won't use his hall pass to leave class early, won't use the elevator pass I worked so hard to get, lol, and just yesterday made my heart stop when I saw him laying on the grass while his brother and cousin were playing soccer around him! and his brother jumped over him!!! I immediately thought of Nikki and the dishwasher incident - it makes me cringe to think of what may be going on in school.... :eek: For the most part though, he has been pretty good about watching what he does, I know its really hard for him to hold back when he sees his friends horsing around and being physical..

He did have a dr. appt last week though and dr. said he was doing fine. X-ray looked good though there is still a bit of rotation. But it makes me so happy to see Joe standing straight and centered and he is very happy, which is most important. At our next appt. in 6 weeks, dr. said he may start to lift some restrictions - Joe is still limited to walking only.

Hope everyone continues to do well, hopefully computer problems are under control and I can post more. Take care everyone, and have a good week!

Renee

AnnLF

02-12-2006, 10:09 AM

Hello All,

We must all really be getting back to normal. The "we've got a surgery date" thread was way down on the list!

So happy to hear Carrie is doing great at the 2 week point. Those are the tough ones, so it's downhill from here, Marie. Congrats.

Lizzie went back to school last week and did great. Can really see an improvement in her strength after just one week. It's always been a Catch 22 -- hated to see her go back in a weakened state, but she wasn't going to get much stronger without being back in the routine. She is able to do a modified gym class where she can walk the track and lift 3 lb. dumbells, so that should help re-building the muscle tone. We had to go shopping beforehand to get her some jeans to wear. She's a size 2. And at 5'9", she's one tall drink of water!

I had a bit of a scare reading the Chicago Tribune last week. Did anyone hear about the tainted bone tissue that came out of New York? It landed at numerous Chicago hospitals. So, I'm reading the paper at 7 a.m. and get to the part where it says the tainted tissue made it's way to Rush Medical Center (were Liz was) where it was used for spinal fusion surgeries. For two hours, I was weak in the knee. Called the doctor's office at precisely 9 a.m. and their phone had been ringing off the hook. Apparantly, the surgeries took place last summer and didn't affect any patients in their practice. Boy, oh boy, who would think you'd have to worry about stuff like that?

It sounds like things are resuming to normal for all of us -- aren't we blessed?Hope everyone is doing great and continues to heal uneventfully. Love, Ann

Cheryl M

02-12-2006, 12:53 PM

Ann,

So glad that Lizzie is back at school. Our Doctor told us at Briann's 8 week post-op that her energy would improve quickly from that point and it really has amazed me. I still pick her up 30 minutes early from school because her last class is an advisory class, she rests for 30 minutes to an hour and then she's good to go until bedtime.

I, too, read the article about the tainted bone. It hit the Charlotte papers just after Christmas. I was sick! I heard about it on the 5:30 Friday night news so I had to wait all weekend before calling the doctor. I did look it up on the internet and it said that doctors were informed of this in October so I felt better since Briann had her surgery in November. Her doctor said that all doctors would have heard if any of their patients were involed and luckily no one at OrthoCarolina was involed. Praise the Lord. The article I read specifically discussed scoliosis fusions so I was pretty sick to my stomach that weekend. I'm pretty sure that everyone in our area who recived the tainted bone has tested negative for any of the diseases of concern.

Hope everyone has a great week. The Charlotte area got a few flurries this morning. We haven't had snow in 2 years now so we're hoping for at least one good one.

Cheryl M

AnnLF

02-13-2006, 12:58 PM

Hi Cheryl,

So happy Briann is doing great. Have you noticed any connection between increased strength and increasing weight? Did Briann lose much, and is it coming back on? Liz also has last period free and today she was going to try to make it through the whole day, but couldn't do it, so I just picked her up -- two classes shy of completing a full day. She was so mad at herself, but she said it's the sitting that bothers her and that she just didn't think she could make it for two more classes. I told her not to beat herself up and that tomorrow, she could try again.

So you had the tissue scare too. I am so surprised that something like that could slip through the cracks, in this day and age.

Did you get some good snow? We were watching the news reports from the East coast and couldn't believe those snow totals. We've been lucky here in Chicago -- after a snowy December, it's been fairly mild. Which has been good for Liz -- it's made it much easier to get outside without the fear of slipping on snow and ice. Have a great week! Love, Ann

Cheryl M

02-14-2006, 08:06 AM

Ann,

Briann went 1/2 days for a long time and was totally wiped out when she got home. I think her strength came from just adding a little extra every day. The hard chairs at school are horrible for our kids but Briann refused to take a pillow. She's getting a cold so I'm getting her at 12:00 today. She felt horrible last night. Briann has been eating good for a while. I'm not sure how much she lost or has gained back. Her jeans are still a little on the baggy side.

I wish Lizzie wouldn't beat herself up. Everybody heals at different rates. Hopefully adding a little everyday will help. I found that getting out with friends helped Briann more than anything. She would seem so depressed or just "blah" and then she'd come home charged.

We didn't get any accumulation of snow but it was pretty for about an hour. The NC mountains got quite a bit. I guess we'll just have to drive a few hours to see any this year. We usually go skiing at least once or twice a season so I guess it's good that we're not getting snow since we can't go this year.

My best and prayers that Lizzie will gain strength everyday.

Cheryl

Laura P

02-14-2006, 11:16 PM

Hello to all,

Briann sounds like is doing great. I am sorry she has a cold. Just seems like they get so much extra after all they go through they are just all troopers. Tell her to hang in there and hopefully the warm weather will be here soon and all of the virus/colds will be gone.

Ditto what Cheryl said to Lizzy dont rush it. Just do your best. Our friends called this morning before school and said "tell Jamie to enjoy her homebound and don't come back". Both her daughters were up late last night doing homework. They are 10th and 11th grade. I am so glad Jamie is not pushed to go back. She only has about 3-4 weeks left though. It is really going fast.

Cheryl it sounds like youall got the same weather we did in Alabama. They built it up that we would get 1-3 inches and all we got were a few flurries. We are going back to gatlingburg this weekend with our church and maybe we will see a little. My girls would love for it to snow. We havn't had a good snow since 1992. My husband brought his sled back from his moms and so we blame it on him. Maybe one day it will snow again.

Good to stay caught up on everyone. This is so long will add another post.

Laura P

Laura P

02-14-2006, 11:46 PM

This one is kind of personal will try and explain. Just wondering if anyone kids have done things out of the ordinary? Jamie got caught lying this weekend and it is so out of character for her. She is a great child, I didn't say perfect just no problems what so ever. She is very involved with our youth group at church and mission work. She hangs out with great kids and we have been very lax on curfew within reason depending on where she was. She was at a friends house and they were playing board games she lied about going to get icecream? Makes no sense but the reason we found out she lost her cell phone (she just got an upgrade about 3 weeks ago). Jamie and I went and looked for it outside the home she was at that same night and then we got her dad to go and help us. She had already called her friend to look inside and the whole time we are calling it. We left her here to get ready for bed and when we got back to the house she had been at she called us crying saying she was sorry and she knows she is grounded and told us they had gone to get ice cream. So we go and look in the parking lot and of course everything is closed and no phone anywhere. We checked with the ice cream store and no one turned it in. We feel like it fell out of her pocket of her coat. Well, she says she has no idea what made her do it she thought we would be mad because she didn't call and let us know she was at the ice cream place. The mom at the house she was at had her college son to drive them in the van so they could all ride together so everything was so normal we are just floored. We tease her all the time because she forgets to call and we just call her and she always answers and says sorry I am here. So it isn't like we are strict on it. Someone asked me if she was still on meds. I said "no hasn't been in 3 1/2 weeks, can't be that". I know it isn't drugs or sex but lying just is so unacceptable. She has had to read Luke 16:10 and explain how it affected her life and what she learned from it. She even told her best friends what she did and they can't believe it. I guess all kids are going to mess up but this one makes no sense. Sorry for sounding off we are just flabergasted. She is on restriction for several weeks. She has to ride to church with us which is not fun for a 17 yr old. That is her social hour before and after and if we leave before she is ready it isn't fun. I told her we are starting back from the beginning building her trust and I might be showing up when she leasts expects it. I guess it is hard to accept that there was no reason behind it. Wonder if anesthesia killed some brain cells. Ha Well, are we the only ones that something stupid has happened. She has definately learned her lesson. She couldn't go to a basketball game with her friends last night and some more of her friends wanted to come over tonight and we said not this week. We may be the only ones sorry for rambling but am still in shock. My husband and a dear friend of mine are the only ones I have told and of course the moms house she was at. Hope everyone else hasn't done this but wish someone has so I could figure this out. I keep asking her if there is anything else and she says no. The mom at the house she was at couldn't believe it either. She talked to the kids to see if anything else was going on and they said no. Oh well, we will look back on this hopefully and laugh about the time she got in big trouble. Have a good one.

Laura P

KRIS ATKINSON

02-15-2006, 10:33 AM

My 15 year old daughter has been experiencing strange behaviors that are partly related to the 12 month restrictions from sports, etc. She is unable to release stress by doing physical activities with others and is handling it by unusual means. She is partly having an issue with wanting to "blame" things on other family members, to get back at others for her problems. I try to get her to do activities she can do, like clubs, but she rejects alot. My husband and I are working together on handling her feelings with these difficulties, but it takes time. It's almost like she is in denial of scoliosis surgery. She hates me mentioning scoliosis or surgery at all and always has. She rejects people trying to help her get her mind off her situation and wants people to pay attention to all her negative behavior. In her case, she throws and breaks things in our house when she is angry, and we are working through this issue. Yesterday, she tore valentines she had made, which is an improvement, since she demonstrated some control, actually. What she damaged this time was her own, unimportant, items. She broke my ceramic coffee cup last weekend in a rage, so she seems to have progressed from breaking other people's stuff to breaking stuff that can be easier replaced. At least it is improving. If only she could play basketball and soccer like she used to to release stress. She tried jumping slightly about a month ago to throw the basketball and her back felt pain when she landed, so she knows personally how she can't do sports aggressively. Take care, Kris

flowerpower

02-15-2006, 10:52 AM

Hmmm...if it was a fairly quick trip to the ice cream place, maybe she forgot or didn't think it was a big deal to call. Of course, once she couldn't find her phone at the friends house she probably realized it could have been lost at the ice cream place and knew how upset you'd be at not only losing the phone, but at a place you didn't know she was at. I can understand your feelings, I would also question why my child wasn't forthcoming over a seemingly small matter. She sounds like a good kid though, I'm sure this is probably just a "teen" thing but I would have done the same thing you did.

Renee

nikyergen

02-15-2006, 11:00 AM

My, oh, my, we are having issues to. Crystal's pickup needed some work done to it, so we have been letting her use my 1-ton pickup when she needs to go somewhere. We ask her to be home at 7:30, she shows up at 8 or 8:30. Her dad told her to be home at 8pm last night, not 8:05 or 8:30. Guess what she was home at 8:10. She was the child that always called and let us know where she was and if she was going somewhere else. She would call even if she thought she might be 5 minutes late. I think part of it has to do with being 17, as Crystal is 17 also. The things she always held close to her heart, God and family, don't always come so close to her heart these days. We have found ourselves actually having to be harder on her than ever. She used to be so respectful of our worry and always let us know what was going on with her. Now, I feel like it is deep dark secrets. They usually do get the best of her and she fesses up to us. So, we are trying to discipline and be caring and understanding at the same time. Pretty tough job sometimes. Don't feel like it is just you. I think we are all going through something, especially since our kids are getting older and want to become more independent.

Nikki

dancermom

02-15-2006, 12:45 PM

Hi everyone. It seems like forever since I have written although I try to get on here and read and stay up on everyone. Elizabeth had her recheck with the orthopedic doctor this morning. It has been almost 3 months since her surgery and her x-rays look beautiful. He was concerned a couple of months ago with the lumbar curve, but she is able to straighten herself out and he is almost certain that he made the right decision to stop at T12 instead of going down to L3.

I am a little sad as I didn't get to go to this appt. My hubby had the flu or something like it this last weekend and gave it to me. I have been down since Monday. I plan on going to the doctor today just to make sure it hasn't turned into a sinus infection or something as I really need to go to work tomorrow.

Anyway, back to Elizabeth's appt. - he wants to see her back in 2 months and then if everything is looking good he wants her to start physical therapy. He also did some lab work today as she had some really funky blood levels after surgery for 2 consecutive days. I am not sure what he is looking for, but hopefully it is all good.

Good to hear about everyone. I am so thankful that we all are on this side of surgery and able to look back and see our children's progress. It sounds like we each are facing different things going on. Hang in there and know that you always have a listening ear on here.

Take care everyone.

Love,
Connie

Snoopy

02-15-2006, 01:06 PM

Okay, Jamie's story. Jamie's friend was grounded from the internet and he was talking to Jamie on the phone, while Jamie was on-line. We have our computer in the living room and I happened to walk by and saw something on the screen that I didn't recognize as part of our provider. I asked Jamie what she was doing and she told me she was checking Sean's mail. I said, I don't think so! He's grounded from the internet! She apologized and immediately close that window and told him she wasn't allowed to check his mail. I never made it a habit to check my kids' e-mails, but for some reason the next day I checked the e-mails she had sent. Here was an e-mail telling Sean that I talked to her and explained that 1) he was grounded so it wasn't right for her to check his mail (it was also wrong for him to ask) and 2) that since she doesn't know who is sending him mail, she could very easily infect our computer with a virus, and therefore she was not allowed to check his mail any more, but she would still do it if he wanted her to!!! :eek: I told her she was grounded from the internet for the weekend and when Sean's mom picked her up I told her that she was grounded and that it held for her house as well. She asked why she was grounded and when I told her why, she then grounded Sean! Oh, what a mess. The problem seemed to continue until I finally told Jamie she was grounded from Sean for a week-no phone calls, no IM's/e-mails, no visits-nothing. You know what, that break did them good because I got my old Jamie back.

So you see, I'm not sure it has to do with their back surgeries, 'cause Jamie was about 1 year post-op at the time. I think it is just something all teenagers go through and if this is the worst we have to go through, I say bring it on. I am very thankful that my girls are honest, responsible, truthful, well mannered young ladies. I can deal with the little things, even though it is hard, I'm glad the issues aren't stealing, drinking, smoking, drugs or sex.

Mary Lou

lorrie

02-15-2006, 04:36 PM

Hi Folks
I think maybe these young people have had to be so responsible and sensible and brave for such a long time - years for some of them - that it's not really surprising if they breakout once in a while and do something a little crazy. Maybe be more surprising if they didn't. The things you've been describing sound like typical teens and I think maybe it's just more shocking because you've got used to them being 'good'.
Geevieve is capable of a lot of the wild things teens do but she has taken to refusing to eat her evening meal at home - to the extent of spitting food out which I thought we had cured her of years ago. I've been having to send her to her room for thinking time and then bringing her back and getting her to apologize and eatthe rest.
I'm sure a lot of it's reaction - I was amess after her surgery so it wouldn't be surprising if she had some reaction to work through too.
Lorrie

Laura P

02-15-2006, 10:39 PM

Thanks everyone. I agree with everything. She has just been our sweet little Jamie. She is spending time with her sister and they have been in each others bedroom just laughing and talking. So, I know she is a great kid and it was just a rash decision but she made a bad one and thank goodness it was something we can handle. Sounds so nothing if I talk about it "whew she went to the ice cream store" but it is the lying that tore me up. It tore her up too because when I asked her what finally made her cave in and call she said "it was her heart that it was eating her up". She still is grounded but youall have made me feel good. Alot of my friends say "if that is the worst thing she does we are ok". I agree 100% and we are already laughing about it when she isn't around so this too shall pass. Thanks everyone and isn't it good to have normal problems instead of worrying about pain, or complications. Hope everyone has a good weekend we are going to the smokey's with our youth group. There will be over 12,000 teens. "whew" it is fun though. Lots of speakers and contemporary christian bands and no sleep. They are out of school Mon so they can recoup. Have a good one.

Laura P

KRIS ATKINSON

02-16-2006, 05:34 AM

Thanks guys for reminding me how thankful to be right now. All I have to do is remember the agony of hearing the update from the doctor when he was working directly on Erica's spine. I went to my parent room and prayed and cried that he would stay safely away from any nerves that could paralyze her, etc. That was the worst few hours of my life. I was oh so thankful and relieved to hear the update that they were sewing up the back and then that she moved her fingers and toes. Last night I layed in bed with vertigo and other problems as I reminded my 3 teenagers that they get to pay for anything they break, as I heard them throwing things. My headache is gone this morning and the vertigo is stable again for awhile, no broken items I can see, just chores UNDONE as usual. Could be worse, right?! Thanks for being there for me too, guys. Kris

Cheryl M

02-16-2006, 05:12 PM

Kris,

I was just thinking about you today. We should still try to meet at Starbucks or something. I would love to meet you face to face. Glad to hear ERica is doing well and hope your vertigo goes away.

Laura, we have had some different behaviors too. I think Briann's is from frustration of not having 100% of her energy but wanting to give 100%. The youth trip sounds fabulous. Our youth goes this summer to sing in the National Cathedral with many other choirs. I'm going this time. Two years ago I couldn't go because I had mono. YUK! My husband's family owns the Krispy Kreme in Gatlinburg. His uncle recently passed away but his son is now in charge. Stop by for some donuts and ask for Joey.

Connie, so glad to hear Elizabeth's appt went well and that her lumbar curve is doing what it's supposed to do. That has to be a tremendous relief.

Glad to hear from everyone.

Cheryl

Laura P

02-16-2006, 11:37 PM

Cheryl
Thank you that is so sweet. A friend is riding with me and we are going up early to get the rooms for the kids and also the tickets at the convention center. We should have a little free time before the kids arrive if I have time we can stop by. Thanks for the info. Sorry to hear about your husbands uncle. Gatlinburg is a big mess right now we were there a couple of weeks ago and the sidewalks are all tore up. Should be fun with so many teens. Jamie is refusing any help other than getting her in the back door because of the crowds. I am anxious to see how she does this weekend. She will probably do fine, or at least never admit it to me.

Kris hope your feeling better. Do you have sinus problems? Alot of times this causes vertigo when it goes down and blocks eustation tubes. I guess you know if you have had before. I have had and it is no fun. We are seeing alot of sinus and bronchitis right now. The weather had been 60 and 70 the last two days. That is probably not helping everyones sickness right now.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Talk with ya Mon.

Laura P.

KRIS ATKINSON

02-17-2006, 05:14 AM

Laura, I had sinus surgery 5 years ago. My sinuses have been going nuts for 2 days now. I am on Mucinex, and take Mucinex DM when necessary. I am debating WHEN I am supposed to take which. Are you a nurse? You sound like you work in a medical environment as you talk. I looked at my Mucinex DM this morning as I tried to hold the sniffles and debated switching to it, but I'm not sure exactly what it will do, as a doctor described that DM basically tells the throat not to cough?! My vertigo is probably partly from sinuses, but also from stress, including what Erica is going through. Maybe it is 2 15 year old twins and a 13 year old !!! Or being 50 years old???
Cheryl M, I love Starbucks! How are things doing regarding the rib hump issue?
Kris

cherylplinder

02-17-2006, 11:01 AM

Kris,
I picked up your question this morning and don't have time to search back to see if you have listed the reason for theses symptoms before, but I am a pharmacist and can tell you some really basic information on these OTC's(over the counter meds).
Mucinex is a new dosage form of an old standby (Robitussin) that is in a gel cap, I believe, and is extended release(you don'e have to take it every 4 hours like Robitussin). Robitussin and Mucinex are brand names of guafinesin(the active ingredient) which thins mucus and secretions in the upper and lower respiratory tract.
The "DM" is dextromethorphan, which inhibits your cough reflex in response to these secretions.
Most of the time the secretions are either an allergic response, a viral infection (both would have fairly clear secretions) or bacterial infection(thcker generally yellow or green secretions which may need an antibiotic). In these cases an antihistamine can help. Some OTC's are loratadine(Brand name Claratin and Alavert), brompheniramine, chlorphineramine(both older antihistamines which can cause drowsiness in some people, but also have a stronger drying effect).The antihistamines inhibit histamine which is the chemical released in an allergic, viral , or bacterial response that causes the blood vessels in the responsive area to swell and release more mucus and cause stuffiness. When the blood vessels swell, they are more permeable to the fluids in your blood. Your body is trying to wash out the offenders. Hope this information helps. Hope you feel better soon! Sounds like you need all your strength! :D :D

KRIS ATKINSON

02-18-2006, 08:19 AM

Cherylplinder, (now I remember why I used Cheryl M's whole name, there are two of you out there!) Thank you for your explanation. Now I have it in writing, what the pharmacists/doctors have been trying to explain. So DM basically is needed if my system can't handle the extra secretions at times when I am overloaded with thin mucus, I guess that is what you mean. If my cough gets worse due to all the mucus at some times, I should temporarily switch to DM, correct? I have a feeling this past week has been high alergy season or something, since I notice others commenting on their alergies. Of course, allergies also react to emotional issues, as well. My husband "challenged" my daughter to some basketball shooting yesterday afternoon, when it was around 60-70 degrees here in NC. She took the bait and had a good time with him. I noticed she jumped to shoot baskets, like she used to before surgery. She told us later she had no pain this time. We both encouraged her that she was improving, although she didn't want to praise. You know, she's a teenager!!! I was thrilled to realize jumping no longer causes pain, even if she wants to make light of it publicly. She also said she "forgot" and jumped forward in class at school. She acted as though she had disobeyed doctor's orders, and expressed guilt for forgetting. She said there was no pain, I think. We again encouraged her that she is showing the ability to handle more activities without pain or risk to the spine. Maybe I can relax more (yeah, right, I'm a MOM) and be less afraid of her falling. Yesterday she also got on a scooter and scared me. I was afraid she would lose her balance and fall. Then again, she can't go very fast on a scooter, so the fall shouldn't be too bad. I am fortunate it is still winter in our case, as her year restrictions will almost be up when people start playing outside alot in the next few months. Kris

dancermom

02-19-2006, 10:59 AM

Good morning everyone. We have a coating of ice on the ground and it is sleeting more. We have been so unseasonally warm here in Oklahoma that I hadn't even thought of Elizabeth falling or anything like that, but now that the ground is icy, I am so nervous about her walking on this stuff. How exciting that Erica can jump and move now without the pain and fear of something happening. I know you will have that check inside of you for quite a while as our kids have been through so much and we just don't want anything jeopardizing their healing.

Laura, the conference sounds like a lot of fun and very uplifting. You will have to write and let us know how it went. I hope Jamie has a great time and doesn't even have to think about her back. You mentioned that you guys have had a lot of sinus and bronchial stuff there, and we have had it here too with both me and my husband on antibiotics for it. So far Elizabeth and our son has stayed pretty healthy.

Cheryl, by this summer Briann will be able to do just about anything she wants to and that will help her not feel so frustrated and different. Elizabeth gets frustrated too with having to worry about her back, but she does know it is only for a period of time. This next weekend our youth group is playing laser tag and doing some different things. She knows that she can't do that stuff yet and is kind of bummed, but hopefully her friends will hang around and she won't be alone.

Ann, how is Lizzie doing? Has she been able to stay the whole day at school yet? Elizabeth uses the elevator pass to go up to the second floor but I think she uses the stairs most of the time coming down. I am amazed at how well she is doing and I try not to worry. Her shoulders are sore quite a bit though and I wondered if Lizzie or Briann had that problem too.

Marie, I hope Carrie is continuing to get stronger every day. I still can't believe how well she handled all of this and kept her mental attitude so strong and determined.

Just wanted to check in with everyone. I am so thankful to be this far out and now I am not even coounting weeks - just realized that. I guess we are pretty much at 3 months though.

Love, Connie

Marieokc

02-19-2006, 06:47 PM

Hi everyone:

Just wanted to write a note to let everyone know that Carrie is doing incredibly well! I know everyone kept telling me that these young kids heal so fast, but I would have never believed it. I is truly amazing what they can do in a short period of time.

Carrie is planning to go back to school on a trial basis this Tuesday (Monday is a holiday). Tomorrow will be four weeks since her surgery. She will continue to be on homebound instruction until we officially take her off. We want to make sure she is able to handle everything that goes along with just attending classes--the walking, sitting, standing, etc. They have made special arrangements for her as far as riding the elevator, leaving class early/or coming in late, having a student help her with notebooks, and a set of books at home and a set in each classroom. But, I know she will get tired during the day and may need to lie down for just a few minutes in the office so she can finish the day. Of course, I will be available to pick her up if she finds she just can't make it.

As of right now, she is totally caught up with all of the work that was assigned while she was gone. She basicially did 4 weeks worth of work in two weeks. She has been working hard to get caught up in trig, physics and English. Her homebound instructor has really been a joke because Carrie's dad and I have been doing the teaching and this homebound teacher has just been bringing her work here and taking her homework back to the other teachers. She told us up front that she wasn't qualified to teach any of the classes that Carrie is taking this semester. Luckily, my husband is an engineer so the math and science were a breeze for him to teach; and I have been doing my best with the English. Another good thing is that Carrie is such a good student, that the subjects weren't too hard for her. Mostly, she just needed the time to do the work since those first two weeks she was out of school, she was really out of it. haha

I cannot believe all of the things that she can do and how far she can walk--two miles a day! She can get herself up and down from any chair or couch in the house, and from the floor. She is eating well and sleeping well and hasn't taken any pain medication for more than a week now. She can get dressed by herself and usually only needs help if she drops something on the floor. But, even then she is learning how to pick things up.

She was having some difficulties last weekend when she had some neck strain from doing a lot of homework and looking down without bending her back or hips or anything. But, she has since figured out a way to make that more comfortable and she doesn't strain her neck anymore. She seems to be in good spirits and I think she is just ready to get back to school and see her friends and especially get back into band and get ready for their state contest and solo contests coming up in a couple of weeks.

She said she doesn't even think about her back much anymore. She is so glad that she doesn't have to worry about the curve progressing from now on and she is just thrilled with the way it all looks. It is nice and straight and the scar is going to be very nice when it fades. I know she will be thrilled when she can tell that most if not all of the pain is gone when she is doing school work and/or marching in band. She does carry a little squishy pillow around with her everywhere she goes, and leans back on it in chairs.

I appreciate everyone still thinking about us and I hope some of my words can help the next person coming up on surgery. The other side is a wonderful place to be, and I know Carrie is so glad that this is all over with. She told us the other day that even though she had to go through the actual surgery, she thought we as her family had it rougher than she did. She said she was asleep and/or can't remember most of the stuff at the hospital, but she knows it was pretty rough on us. I am still in awe of her and what she has gone through, and I want to thank everyone out there who had kind words for us during this tough time. Yall helped me so much.

Take care,
Marie

dancermom

02-26-2006, 06:41 PM

Hi everyone. Just had a strange day with Elizabeth and wanted to share. We had a youth retreat this weekend and it went from Friday night through this morning. The first night Elizabeth and a friend came back here to sleep as she can't comfortably sleep on the floor with her sleeping bag yet. Then last night she got a bed at the host home and they all stayed together. She didn't participate in the laser tag or the bowling although she pushed hard to do the laser tag. I felt like the mean monster saying no, but she did not need to wear a backpack with laser equipment and run through a dark maze. No way. Anyway, this morning at church one of the leaders came and found me because Elizabeth was crying with her lower back hurting her really badly. This is the area where she has the lumbar curve, although she can use her stomach muscles and hold herself pretty straight. I guess because she was really worn out, her body was not holding itself very well and her back really started to ache.

This little episode just reminded me that we are not even close to being out of the woods on recovery. She looks and seems to feel so normal, but this was just a wake up call that she still has quite a long ways to go in the healing process. She took a nap this afternoon and seems to be better tonight. It was just hard having her cry with her back hurting after all she has been through.

I have to remind myself that we have come a long ways but still have quite a ways to go. Thanks for all the support and encouragement that each one of you give when our kids are going through tough times. They will all get through this and so will we, but it sure does help to talk to people who are also going through these same trials.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Love,
Connie

Cheryl M

02-27-2006, 01:07 PM

Connie,

Briann has a big youth thing this weekend too. We call is d-now and she will be sleeping at someone else's house Friday and Saturday night. I'm really worried. She doesn't want me to request a bed. I just hope she doens't over-do it. Thanks for letting us know about Elizabeth. I'm definitely going to call her "host" parents and make sure they at least let her know that a bed is available.

Glad Elizabeth is doing better. I think Briann has strep. She definitely has a sinus infection so the antibiotic will take care of strep if she does. They didn't do a test since she was going on antibiotics anyway.

This is our first major illness since....I can't remember. She's been pretty healthy except for a few sniffles here and there.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Cheryl

Laura P

02-28-2006, 11:05 AM

Hello everyone,

So sorry it has been so long. It is just crazy around here with me being back at work and Jamie is now driving and back to her schedule. She will officially be back at school full time next Wed. 3/9. This has def. been worth her being homebound this 9 weeks just to help with getting her full schedule back.
The only bad thing about being homebound was she lost her parking space at school. They are at a big HS and have a waiting list and none of us thought to alert security that she would be back and actually has been there part time for 4 weeks. So long story short we got her a handicap placard and they are letting her park there. Otherwise I would have to drive her again. She would have loved that. So we learned a lesson and most people would have gone to this student and explained there had been a mix up but the lady in charge loves power and was a real toot about it. So we just got the placard and are done with it. This kid only had the spot for one day. Anyway that was the only draw back about homebound.

Thanks to all of you for your support. I know we have a long way to go as I read and get caught up on all of your posts. Jamie is back to her normal self. Sweet most of the time but still acts likea teen sometimes.
She will be off of restriction this Fri. but on a more limited basis. I think she def. learned a lesson.

She did great in Gatlingburg a week ago. It was alot of fun and uplifting but
it wore me out. I am getting to old.She did come to me on that Sat. night requesting something for her back. She said it wasn't hurting just would not relax. She was very, very busy all that day. We did get to see snow and it was beautiful The good thing was it didn't stick to the road. Cheryl the traffic was so bad that we did not have time to go by Krispy Kreme. My hips didn't need it anyway. I found the fudge and peanut brittle stores though. Ha.

Kris, I sure hope you are doing better. Looks like CHerylP helped you with alot better knowlege then I could have. Pharmacists know alot more then us nurses do. I always recommend our patients to talk to the pharmacist about OTC meds asthey are even confusing for me. The sinus junk is still lingering here in AL. It is suppose to be 70 deg this Thurs so hopefully Spring is almost here. The March flowers are in full bloom here and are beautiful. THe bradford pears are starting to bloom.

Cheryl hope Briann is feeling better. The good thing about strep is you know they usually bounce back pretty fast. We have had several cases in our office too.

Connie Jamie had a weird pain a couple of weeks ago and I was here. It took her breath away but went away pretty quick but she had to lay down. Hasn't had again and we can't think f anything she did to aggravate it but anyway we are with you on still knowing she is healing.

Marie, glad Carrie is doing so good. I hope she continues. Jamie's dad has had to help her with Math because her homeschool teacher told us up front she didn't do Pre=Cal. So they know not to come to me. He is a engineer also.

Well, believe it or not we are letting Jamie go to the beach spring break with a family from church. They know her situation and said plans are to lay around the beach all week and they will be glad to stop when Jamie needs to. I know I have to let go but I just pray she does good because she dosn't like to ask for things from others. The big thing is the sun screen. I told her if she didn't put enough sun screen on that scar she is was in big trouble. She isn't a big sun worshiper anyway so hopefully she will behave. We go back for our recheck when she gets back so he can fuss also if she dosn't behave.

Good to get caught up. Enjoy this beautiful week. I think I am going to wash my car.

Laura P

AnnLF

03-01-2006, 09:48 AM

Hi All,

I've been out of touch lately -- I'm back to work and not spending as much time on the computer -- and we started a big redecorating job in our house, so we're torn apart and the computer is not as accessible as it normally is.

Tried to read everyone's posts and catch up. Sounds like all is going well, so we can all count our abundant blessings! For those of us who were among the "November girls," can you just believe we are already 3 months on the other side? For us, we knew Lizzie was going to have the surgery way back when she was a freshman and we kept putting it off, putting it off, putting it off (to allow her to do high school sports). So, it hung over us a good four years and it's amazing that it's now part of her history. We were at the doctor yesterday and everything looks great. She doesn't have to return for 3 months, so that's a tangible sign life is returning to normal! He even cleared her to start easily hitting a few tennis balls and for that she was extremely grateful. Tennis has been such a huge part of her life, that I actually worried about her sinking into depression over it coming to a halt. She probably will never resume the competitive side of it, but that's the beauty of tennis -- it's a life-long sport she can play forever.

I think you're so right Connie -- our girls have come such a long way, but they still have a way to go. It's the strength re-building that is going to take time. When I asked, our doctor told us yesterday to expect the fatigue to last another good 3 months. Liz comes home from school pretty wiped out.

As far as the "misdeeds" of our surgery girls, from our end, we've seen a more disrepectful, sassy side of Liz. Normally, she is very sweet and loving -- certainly not perfect, she's a teenager after all! But frequently during her homebound time, she would erupt over the smallest things. For much of it, I tried to write it off as her frustration over everything, but it did get to the point where ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. I also think part of it is due to the fact that leading up to the surgery, and through the whole ordeal, she was the QUEEN BEE. So much attention is focused on these kids, that maybe they get carried away with the royalty bit. We moved a TV into her room during her recuperation, and moved it out after another sass episode. As her life returns to normal, the smart-mouth girl is disappearing!

She's back to school full time now and she, too, lost her parking pass Laura. Such a drag for seniors -- Oh, the humiliation of having mom drive you to school!!! I'll find out today if the problem has been solved. Her doctor gave her a note yesterday, requesting that she be allowed a parking pass. Hope it works.

Oh, here's our big news. Lizzie decided on college. She'll be attending Indiana University in Bloomington next fall. So, she'll be a Hoosier! It's a gorgeous campus and we're thrilled for her.

Did I tell you that she and I are going on a cruise for spring break? It's a mother-daughter trip with a bunch of other girls and their moms. They all started planning this back in the fall -- who know how important senior year spring break is, right?!?!? At the time, I couldn't even think about it with the surgery looming, but about a month ago, I checked and we were able to get on the ship. So, I'm looking forward to that. It should be a special trip -- Lizzie is our youngest and I just can't believe she will be headed to college in the fall. And we'll be empty nesters! Yikes.

Hope everyone continues to mend and get stronger. And that they don't get the bugs going around the schools -- they certainly don't need that on top of everything else! Happy March! Love, Ann

Cheryl M

03-16-2006, 08:01 AM

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to get an update on how everyone is progressing.

Briann is doing great but she still gets so very tired. Are you seeing this too. Homework sometimes nearly kills her and I've asked the school to cut back on some of her assignments. Anybody else having to do this? Also, has your school contacted you about the 504 plan and readjusting it. Are you still using it? Briann's school has been giving us a fit, especially one teacher and the school called today about revising the 504.

We go back to the doctor on the 30th. Just praying that everything is healing like its supposed to.

Our spring break starts the 24th and we're heading to Cancun. It's a trip I promised Briann when she was having a bad day. Her dad said, "you did what!" We're excited and hoping it's not too torn up from the hurricane.

My continued prayers for all of you.

Cheryl

Laura P

03-16-2006, 09:51 PM

Hello to all,

Just a quick update.What was the “P” short for, in J.P. Morgan?
e everyone has a good springbreak. Ours is next week also. Cheryl, hope youall have a great time. We were in cozumel last year the week before it hit. Jamie had her recheck this past Fri and everything is going great. He dosn't want to see her again for 3 months. So all is well here. We are letting her go to the beach next week so hopefully all will be well. Glad everyone is doing good.

Laura P.

AnnLF

03-20-2006, 07:51 AM

Hi,

Happy Spring! Isn't it wonderful that we're out of those dark days of autumn when all we could think of was "surgery" and now we're talking of spring break? Cheryl, Lizzie and I will be in Cozumel for a day on this cruise we're taking. What a shame we couldn't connect -- so close, yet so far.

Lizzie, too, still gets very tired at the end of a day. Over the weekend, we were out shopping and after about an hour or so, she'd had enough and desparately wanted to go home. This from the girl who could last hours at the mall, pre-surgery! But, all very normal, I'm told. I asked the doctor about it the last time we were there and he said to expect it for another few months. I just needed to hear that, since I had been worried she wasn't progressing the way she should.

As far as school, Lizzie assures me that she is almost all caught up. I guess I'm not as involved as I would be if she was Briann's age. As a senior, Liz is handling it on her own, now that the homebound stuff is over with. I hope that's wise and I'm not making a mistake letting her be in charge! What is the teacher hassling you about? Maybe a good, strongly-worded letter from Briann's doctor that explains all that she's been through would help. (That's how Liz got her parking pass -- hurray!)

Hope all is well with everyone and the promise of spring is a tonic for all of our kids who've had such a long, long winter. Ann

Cheryl M

03-20-2006, 05:31 PM

Ann,

I too wish we could connect in Mexico. I can't wait for warm weather. It sleeted here in NC today.

Briann's school is an IB School (international bacculareate). I doubt I spelled that right. Anyway, it's pretty strenuous. Lots of projects, etc. On a typical day she gets at least 2 hours of homework and when the projects hit, it can be 5 or 6 hours. I just asked that projects be trimmed for her and they are giving me a fit. 2 hours per day, she can handle but not much more than this. Before they agreed to trim the projects, they asked me if she had extra curricular activites such as youth group. I was floored. They think unless she is chained to a desk and doing nothing but school work that they shouldn't trim her projects. She shouldn't even be allowed to go to church. Of course I'm probably exxagerating but I have been furious with them. They were so good when she was out but now......they think she's 100% and ready to go.

Thanks for letting me vent and glad to hear Lizzie is doing so well. Have fun on your cruise.

Cheryl

dancermom

03-21-2006, 08:09 AM

Hi ladies,

It is always good to see both of you writing and sharing. We are still dealing with Elizabeth getting tired and her back bothering her. She called me from school yesterday and I went to pick her up. It seems like when she is overly tired or has done something a little different (like a long car ride or sleeping in a different bed) then sometimes her back bothers her and she feels like it is hard to support it. After she took some ibuprofen and rested then she was fine yesterday. I guess this is just part of the recovery processs. We don't go back to see the doctor until April 21. At that time he may let her start some physical therapy. Will Briann or Lizzie be doing any physical therapy or have they already?

Cheryl, sounds like Briann is pretty busy and consumed with the school work. I don't think I have heard of that kind of school before, but it may be similar to some of the charter schools or centers we have here in Oklahoma. Hang in there and keep sticking up for Briann. It is amazing how quickly people forget that our girls have been through such a major surgery and that recovery takes quite a while.

Ann, I hope you and Lizzie had fun on the cruise. Glad she is getting caught up on everything for school. My son is also a senior this year, so I know how busy things are starting to get with graduation not far off.

Laura, I'm so glad that Jamie had a good recheck and doesn't have to go back for 3 months. Is she worried about what kind of bathing suit to wear this year or worried about her scar? Elizabeth doesn't seem to mind people seeing her scar, but I know she is wondering about a bathing suit.

Take care everyone.

Love,
Connie

Laura P

03-21-2006, 10:40 PM

Hello ladies,

Sounds like everyone is back to doing good. Cheryl I am sorry about all of Brianns homework. I am so thankful that we did the homebound and didn't rush Jamie to get back too soon. She went back the first day after homebound and hasn't had any problems. Cheryl, I too have never heard of a IB school. Our high school is very hard and many of the kids that have graduated have talked about they were more then prepared for college. So we do have what they call ap classes but have not heard of IB. Please vent anytime as I know it is frustrating. Our only problem was like Liz and loosing our parking pass. The teacher in charge looked at her and said she would have to park at the church and walk. This is quite a distance if you havn't had surgery much less with surgery. She is a real toot about the whole thing. Our only consolation is someone spoke up for her and they gave her a handicap parking pass. I had to go and get her one from the city but it turned out to be free so I calmed down. Hope it gets better and hope you had a good and warm spring break.

It is so cold here is AL. It was sleeting Sun. and this is spring break week. We let Jamie go to the beach and she said it is nice there but promised she has not gotten any sun on her back. Connie to answer your question no Jamie does not care about her scar. In fact she said she was kind of excited about showing it off. She is something. Hope she does good this week. Will know on Thurs that is when she will be home.

Ann hope youall had fun. This is the first time in 5 years that we do not have a cruise planned. We love them.

Hopefully soon warm weather will be here to stay.

Laura P.

AnnLF

03-22-2006, 08:32 AM

Good morning!

Well, it was spitting snow here yesterday, so this cruise is looking better and better. Sounds like you all in the South are getting hit with the sleet. Snow, sleet...bring on the sun!
Liz, too, isn't shy about her scars, which amazes me. That's a sign of strong self-esteem for all our girls! Her front one, for some reason, seems to be fading more rapidly than the back one. Have any of you tried those creams? I bought some of that medera (sp?), so I'll post the results, if we see any.

Cheryl, I feel bad you are under this school stress. Vent anytime you want, because all of us certainly understand what Briann went through and you'll get the sympathetic ear you need. I haven't heard of an IB school either, but it sounds like they're a tough bunch. I've never been one for the dreaded projects...they just seem to cause stress for the whole family. Not to mention that more than 2 hours of homework for 14 or 15 year olds seems extreme even if a student hadn't undergone spinal surgery! Ah, Cancun will be just what the doctor ordered....

Laura, when Liz went in to see her administrator about getting the parking pass, he too, kind of hassled her. She was pretty rattled. I guess he said something to the effect that it's interesting she can drive, but can't take the bus. They just have no idea. She comes home often during her lunch period to rest before heading back for the afternoon -- she'd need a personal chauffeur. But the strongly worded letter from her doctor outlining her surgery did the trick...saying he didn't want her jostled on a bus or standing at a bus stop. She got the pass.

Connie, that ibuprofen sure does the trick, doesn't it? Can Elizabeth take some to school with her? Lizzie takes two in the a.m. automatically with her vitamins and it seems to ward off any pain from sitting in the school chairs. But you're so right, the fatigue is part of the process. Do you have any spring break plans? I think we all really deserve it this year.

Take care all, Ann

AnnLF

04-05-2006, 10:50 AM

Good Morning All!

Just a quick note to see if anyone else has experienced this. Liz and I spent 2 days in 2 different airports trying to get home from spring break. It was a nightmare, to say the least. Her left foot was so swollen at one point, even after elevating it, that I called the doctor. This was after they announced that we would finally board the plane, but that it was likely to sit out on a runway from 2-4 hours due to bad weather in Chicago. I was nervous about her sitting for so long with this incredibly swollen foot. To make this long story short, when we got home (finally), she had to go for an ultrasound of her leg. Her doctor said that because it was her left foot only (her anterior surgery was on the left side), he wanted to play it safe and make sure there was no blood clot. The good news is that her she was all clear, thank God. The foot is still swollen, so, who knows? I'm guessing that after months of a somewhat sedentary lifestyle -- and then going on a cruise with lots of walking and activity -- it may have been a shock to her system.

Hope all is well with everyone and that spring breaks went well! Ann

dancermom

04-05-2006, 01:21 PM

Hi Ann. That is truly strange and a bit worrying about Lizzie's left foot. I guess it is possible from the inactivity that her body was just not used to moving so much, but I would have been pretty worried too. We aren't having any of those type of problems, although when my Elizabeth gets overly tired her middle back starts to really bother her and she gets pretty achy.

Have you guys done any physical therapy? We go back to see the Dr. on April 21st and if the x-rays look good then he said he wants to start her on some physical therapy. I have no idea what type of exercises or what he will want her doing. Elizabeth is ready to start being more active again, but we both know she will have to build her strength back up and her endurance.

I hope Briann is doing well, Cheryl. I know that we all have gotten back into the school routine and life has gotten busy again. That is a good thing and shows how much the girls have healed and moved on with life.

Laura, how did the beach go for Jamie? Did you keep from getting her scar sunburned? I know that we will have to be diligent with sunscreen and watching the time outside.

Take care everyone.

Connie

AnnLF

04-10-2006, 07:55 AM

Hi Connie,

Glad to hear from you. I'll be anxious to hear what kind of therapy Elizabeth will have. Liz isn't on tap for any -- her doctor is of the belief that with kids, just getting back into their routine is enough. I'm not so sure of that. At her last appt., he told her she could start (softly) hitting tennis balls again, but she's apprehensive about it. A little dose of physical therapy might get her on track.

The foot is back to normal -- how bizarre was that?!? It's amazing how little things like swollen feet take on a whole different dimension following these surgeries. A year ago, I would have said, elevate it, and then that would have been it. Hope all is well with you and Elizabeth and she continues to stay on the mend. Ann
P.S. Oh, Lizzie's scars were fine following our week in the sun. She applied 45 sunscreen to the scars only -- she has an olive complexion and is very brown everywhere else -- and the 45 did the trick.

Cheryl M

04-18-2006, 03:48 PM

Hi Guys,

It's me! Our surgery date is 5/15. Doctor said it should take less than 2 hours. I'm pretty sure Briann is not going to have the thoracoplasty. We gave her facts and testimonies and we're letting her decide. Just got word from the school today that she will be exempt from all end of the year tests! Praise the Lord that we don't have that to worry about.

I've been avoiding even discussing this and praying that it would just go away but it appears that we're really gonna do this.....again! Doctor says it should only take a few hours. He does want to replace the whole rod which means a full incision and her scar is looking so good right now......bummer! He says she should go home at least by the next day. I'm going to push for at least 1 night there.

I sent some private messages. Thanks so much for all of your support. I truly feel like I know all of you and it feels so good to know you are praying for us.

Hope everyone continues to heal beautifully!

Cheryl M

dancermom

04-19-2006, 08:00 AM

Hi Cheryl and Ann. Cheryl, glad to talk to you, but I am so sorry that Briann is going to have to have this second surgery. I can understand your worries and concerns - even the thought of the scar healing so nicely and then having to open her back up. I have told my Elizabeth and she feels really bad for Briann because she knows how she would feel in reverse.

I would definitely push for at least one night in the hospital. It is too major of a surgery to be sending her home too quickly. I do pray that it is nothing compared to the first one though. I will be anxiously awaiting hearing from you once you guys go through with this. I also have to agree with you concerning the thoracoplasty - it is good that you are letting it be Briann's decision.

Ann, thanks for the sunscreen advice. I put some sunscreen on Elizabeth a couple of days ago and it really bugs her for me to run around the scars, but I don't want them turning purple on her or burning. I was thinking 45 or 50 sunscreen should work well for her too.

We go back for a recheck this coming Friday and I am anxious to find out what he has to say. I missed the last appt. because I was sick, so I will be glad to see the new x-rays and hear what she can and can't do. We also should find out about starting physical therapy. I will let you all know what he says.

Take care everyone. Our school is out on May 25th and it is a big deal for the 8th graders to go on limo rides the last day after school gets out. It isn't too expensive when you have a group of 10-12 girls chipping in for a couple of hours in the limo. I don't know why that is our school's tradition, but my daughter has been planning this every since her brother was an 8th grader four years ago! My son graduates on May 21st and I can't believe that he is a senior. So, it should be a busy next month. I hope all of you can enjoy the spring and Cheryl, please know that I will be keeping you and Briann in my prayers.

Love,
Connie