my decision is made....

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Hi all, I feel like I know so many of you after reading so much here for the last few weeks! Meg(spinewhine)-you really gave me great insight into what to expect, day by day in your blog. I think I must have read everyone's blog I could out there. All helped me come to my decision. I e-mailed the nurse on Friday to find out if the surgery could be done this summer and she got right back to me with all the information. I was kind of stunned they can fit me in so fast??! She said I can give my blood in NJ (Dr.'s in NY city) & other details. My husband is'nt 100% with me on my decision as of yet but I do think he'll come around. This will be scary for him & my 2 boys(7 & 10) *Just having my second child scared him a bit when I was in labor(extremely painful at 2 cm's probably due to my curvature)) since they could'nt get the needle anywhere in my lower back due to the scoliosis to give me an epidural. It took most of the night.Thank god they were able to finally give me relief. I was the hardest case for an epidural they had ever seen! Hopefully he has forgotten that part.....& in my heart, I know I've gotta go thru this now before I'm older...time to start my own blog .. thks, Lynne

[SpineWhine]

Congratulations! THe time will go really fast between now and the surgery. Hopefully you and your husband will stay strong and he will understand why the surgery will help you and be supportive. Maybe have him get some more info, or go to your Dr. appts so he can ask questions and learn more about what is going on. Maybe that would help him be more comfortable if he understood everything better?

Again, the first step is a doozy, and I am sure you'll be caught up ina whirlwind in no time. We're here for you!

[HGD24]

Lynne,
My husband accompanied me to some of my appts. and also read Dave Wolpert's book Scoliosis Surgery, The Definitive Patient's Reference. It really helped him understand what to expect and helped him think of questions to ask me or my surgeon. During my recovery when things got tough, he would even remind me if the book discussed the situation and if it was normal or not. I think including your hubby as much as possible in the next few months will really help him and you both through what is sure to be a stressful and emotional time.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

thks for the support...

I'll take any & every tip from here on! Heidi, I did get an upset stomach when I noticed you were in the operation for 12 hours?!! Yikes...I'm off to get a glass of wine!

[HGD24]

Lynne,
I was in surgery so long for a very good reason. My surgeon found that I was much more flexible once he had opened me up and so he was able to do more work and get more correction than he originally thought from the x-rays. Of course no one came out to tell my family this...they were expecting a 7-8 hour surgery and the only update they received was at the 3-4 hour mark when my bone graft and thorocotomy (including rib removal) had been completed and the surgeons were taking a break. Also, I have a very tiny build so it was a bit difficult and time consuming for the surgeon and neurosurgeon to work within such a small space.

I too was stunned when I found out how long I had been in surgery for, but relieved when I heard the reason. There are a few others on this board who have also been in for a 10-12-14 hours, it's rare, but does happen.

I'm happy to say that at 11 months post op, I'm feeling great and can't wait for my appt. on 2/1 to see how my x-rays look!

[CurvySAT05]

Heidi, I too had surgery on Feb. 1 of this year for my fusion. My surgery only took 4 hours and my curves went from 45* to 12*T and 20*L. Happy almost one year of fusion.

[HGD24]

Congrats Amanda! I'm glad you're doing so well after almost a year!

[jennlynn]

Lynne,

I am 10 weeks post op from a spinal fusion from L5-T5 with Thoracotomy. I so wish I had found this website before my surgery, but am glad to have found it now to know if I am progressing normally. I have to tell you that the first week is not pleasant at all, but you will have lots of good meds, and they should never tell you that you don't need anymore (that is a direct quote from my pre-op nurse!) If they tell you you can't have any more, ask for their supervisor. I too ran into some complications where they had to go higher than they had planned, so I was in Isurgery for 15 hours and ICU for 2 days before being moved to a surgical step down unit. I thought they were crazy when they wanted me up out of bed the day after moving into stepdown. I was amazed at myself that I could do it, legs more wobbly than a baby horse, but I did it! Each day in the hospital I got stronger, and the first couple of weeks home were somewhat blurry. Take the pain meds as recommended, and don't try to wean yourself too soon. My boys are 3yo and 18mos, so my mom & dad came down to help my husband. If you have anyone that is able to do that, I highly recommend it. If someone offers you to help, let them. If there is nothing they can do, ask for their prayers. My husband had issues with the whole birthing process, complications w/ epidural w/ 1st child, the 2nd nurse couldn't get it in at all so baby 2 had NO pain relief. Every time my back hurt after surgery, I would remind myself that I had delivered a child au natural and this too, would pass!

6 weeks after surgery was when I started PT. My MD highly recommended aquatic therapy if my insurance would cover it. They did and I definitely think that is the way to go. I am moving around pretty good on my own now, and have been released to work 4 hours a day until my 12 week follow up on 1/17. I am going back tomorrow for the first time. I wonder how long it will take me to get ready since I have to still have to stop and rest from time to time.

I am happy to answer any questions you might have, I know exactly how you are feeling, but was not fortunate enough to have found this website until now. Have faith that everything will be fine and it will. I will say that when I came out of anesthia and felt pain, it was a completely different pain than the constant ache and pain before surgery. It was well worth it.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Jennlynn,
you sound like you are doing very well at 10 weeks. Do you still have help with your children? Can you drive now?

My new blog http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com

[Cakedec]

Glad you're doing so well

Jennilyn,

Did you have a single 53 degree curve or 2 curves? Also, how many days total were you in the hospital?

How and why did you finally get referred for surgery?

Deb

[jennlynn]

My parents went home the 2nd week of December. My husband had to leave his job to help with the kids, but they went to the sitters as much as possible so I could have some quiet time. I am driving some, but short distances. I went to work for a couple of hours today, and am tired tonight, but no pain.

Deb, I had 2 curves, and the lower was 53*. I am not sure what the upper was, other than "excess of 40*. I have a long list of questions to ask when I go back for my follow up, and that is one of them. I am curious to know what my curves are now. My head was totally in line with my sacrum, so no one really noticed if I was standing, but the hump gave me away. I finally decided to have the surgery when I just got fed up with being in constant pain and not being able to pick up the kids or even feel like playing with them. The pain relievers they gave me made me feel drugged, and I didn't want to be that way when I had to care for the kids. I had problems breathing so I went to see about the surgery and the MD discovered I had lost 3 inches in my height. I have a friend that is an ortho MD and he strongly urged me to get it taken care of now while I was younger and it was easier to recover.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Jennlynn, Deb,
I got my report this week that shows my curves. It shows 59 thoracic, 60 lumbar & 95 T11-L3 thoracolumbar. Do you know what the last one is? I guess it's the mid section? Lynne

[CurvySAT05]

Wow that is a big TL curve. I thought my two 45* curves hurt, I couldnt imagine having a curve that big. Good luck with your surgery.