Carly surgery

[suzmob]

Well, it is two days post op and Carly is doing just fine. She has a slight fever which I am told is normal at this point. Hopefully, today its ice chips and maybe sitting up for a few minutes. It has been a crazy last few days. The staff and Robert Wood Johnson Hospital have been amazing. The actual procedure took less than two hours! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, please continue with them.

[lin515]

What wonderful news. My daughter had a fever as well after surgery that was just surgery related with no infection showing in her blood.They made her use that annoying breathing thing with the ball. It did go quite high one night and then it was gone. The first few days are rough, but then there is that one day where there is such a turnaround that you can hardly believe it is the same kid that you just saw a day before. Continuing my prayers for a speedy recovery. Give her a hug from her scoliosis forum friends and keep us posted.

Much Love,
Linda

[Cheryl M]

So glad to hear Carly is doing well. My daughter also ran a fever the first few days. No infection though. Wow! Just two hours. That's great! Keep us all posted and I'll continue to pray for a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Cheryl M

[Gail]

Glad to hear the good news about Carly. I have been praying for her. I hope she continues to improve. May God heal her quickly and completely.

Kindest Regards,
Gail

[carolnj]

Hi!

Robert Wood Johnson in New Jersey? My son had his surgery there on June 22, 2005, by Dr. Laufer. We loved the care he received there as well. He was in ICU for 3 days, a regular room for 2 and home on the sixth day. His surgery took 3 hours. He is doing great now - he is a senior in high school, driving, working part time, has a girlfriend

I'm glad to hear Carly is doing well - how old is she?

[suzmob]

Carol

Carly is 14. Today she walked a loop around the cooridors of the hospital. She is being so brave and I am so proud of her. I know this is so very difficult for her, the pain is unlike anything she has ever experienced. They want to remove the morphine pump tody, I don't think she is happy about that.

Dr. Laufer is fantastic, I know of many people who have either had surgery by him or know of someone who did. We are very lucky to live relativly close to his office and the hospital.

[carolnj]

Hi! How is Carly today? How did she do without the morphine pump? I was so surprised when Alex came home with just tylonel w/codeine for pain. He did fine with that. He slept in the livingroom in a recliner for about 6 weeks. We made the mistake of trying him in his own bed when he first came home. He so wanted to just lay down in his own bed but he wasn't able to roll without pain or just sit up. It took us about 15 minutes to get him up and out and that was it for 6 weeks. Of course, he, at 16, was 200 pounds and 6 ft 2!

It is amazing how fast they progress once they are home. Alex was a little tentative at first going out because he was concerned of crowds and people knocking into his side where his incision was/is, but by three weeks, he was ready to get out of the house so we went to walk around New Hope and he did fine with breaks throughout the day to sit and have a snack or a drink.

We are only 20 minutes from RWJ and maybe 30 minutes from Dr. Laufer's office. The drive home was much easier than I anticipated - I just drove slow and avoided bumps as much as possible. We took pillows as was suggested on this site but we didn't need them.

[suzmob]

stomach problems after surgery

Amazingly, her back doesn't bother her too much. It's her stomach that is giving her all of the problems. She has been home from the hospital for two days now, and is having pains in her stomach. They are bothering her quite a bit. She stopped taking any pain meds (first tylenol #3 and then plain tylenol) because they seem to make the stomach feel worse. I thought things were going a little better today, but then about an hour ago, she suddenly felt very sick to her stomach and actually vomited up this disgusting green stuff (sorry to be disgusting). I called the dr and of course he was on his way out, (does he ever work a full day?) He said to keep her on a liquid diet today, which is easy because she has no appitite at all and we have to bring her back to his office tomorrow morning. Of course tomorrow is my first day back at work and I have an important thing scheduled, so her father is bringing her. (we are seperated). I feel tremendously guilty about not being able to go. Has anyone else experienced stomach problems like these after surgery? Please let me know.

[Gail]

I am praying for Carly.

Kindest Regards,
Gail

[carolnj]

Once we were home, Alex didn't have any trouble with his stomach but he had a terrible time with it in the hospital. He reacted to the pain medication (dilauden) and was sick from that. I understand the green stuff - its from not having anything really to bring up. He did that for two days when he was still in intensive care. Once he was off the heavy pain meds and was home, he didn't have an appetite at all. He would have a little bit of soup and that was it. This from a kid who usually is a bottomless pit. Once he started getting some regular sleep and feeling a bit more like himself, his appetite came back. He didn't have pain in his back either which surprised me too. He had more pain from the area of the chest tube.

Please post back after her appointment and let us know how she is doing.

[Erika1988]

I had terrible stomach and bone graft problems after surgery it'll take some time but it will get better.