Pooka1
04-01-2008, 10:30 AM
Per the thread title, Savannah came home yesterday, five days after surgery as predicted by the surgeon.
It was a race from the point of her release (soon after her last pain med dose) to getting to a pharmacy and filling her script near our house in the next town in time for her dose four hours after the last. I drove thought the pharmacy near us and they couldn't fill it because they didn't have the resident's first name on the paper! So they had to call over to the hospital and try to find the name before they could fill it. That took about 10 minutes. When I explained I had Savannah in the van and needed the meds before the four hour point, he kindly jumped us up the line and let me wait for it. Otherwise we were looking at a ~1.5 hour wait and she would have gotten behind on the dosing. :eek:
I will mention to the resident when we see him at the follow-up in six weeks what happened. I would have thought he would know by now that a pharmacy would have to have his first name in order to fill our script.
We came home to an empty but well decorated house! My husband and other daughter were getting her brace fitted here and then over to the next town to have the surgeon okay the brace. So they had put up balloons and streamers to welcome Savannah home. That cheered her up but afterward, we had a bad time adjusting pillows so that she was supported and comfortable. It took a long time.
After returning to peak pain med levels, Savannah was more comfortable. We had a delivery of a fruit arrangement that looks like a bouquet of flowers that my in-laws sent. It had a balloon and she really liked that. Her sister Willow put a beautiful metal box of chocolates in her room also. So she had a few nice surprises with a few more on the way (it's a secret!). She already got an IPod from my husband and had music to listen to in the hospital. That seemed to cheer her when we were there.
She got around pretty well yesterday, buoyed by the happiness of being home and being with her sister. They went upstairs, outside, etc. Savannah helped Willow put on her brace and foolishly tried to help her tighten it. I explained that pulling like that is equivalent to lifting (or worse) and that she can't do stuff like that.
She got around fine that first day and slept less than I expected she would. She has to be a little careful coming down stairs, though. We set her up in the guest bedroom on the first floor which happens to have a painted ceiling (blue sky and clouds - don't know why the previous owners did that). It has her bed, a private bathroom, and a TV. So she is very comfortable in there, at least during the day. We put her flowers and balloons from the hospital in there and it is very cheery.
Last night, she kept having very vivid dreams/nightmares worried that I wouldn't wake her up for her meds on time. She also doesn't want to be alone in there... it is on the other side or the house from our bedroom and her sister is upstairs. So my husband put one of our cordless phones in there so she can use the intercom function any time she wants to get me in my bedroom.
She seems better today pain-wise. We just have to stay on top of it.
Before Savannah was discharged, the resident came by to check her one last time. I asked him if Savannah could see her post-op films. He pulled them up on the computer in the room and Savannah and I could both see it. I had seen them earlier when I went to radiology with her. It looks perfectly straight. On side view, the two rods were almost overlaid which I took to mean she was mostly de-rotated (assuming she was exactly normal to the shot). I asked the resident about this and he said that it could be viewed as a rough estimate of her rotation correction. I was very happy about the de-rotation because the surgeon said he would fix some of it but not all of it. Looking at the film and looking at Savannah, I think he fixed 80% or more of it. :)
She has mostly screws but two hooks at the top on the left rod.
As mentioned, Willow got her night-time bending brace. In the brace, her curve straightens completely. I couldn't be at the appointment because I was taking Savannah home from the hospital at that time so I didn't get to ask some questions. I am assuming Willow's Risser is similar to Savannah's (3-4) and so may not have to wear the brace for long. Also, I wanted to know what her present angle is compared to that determined in February. My husband comes to the appointments but can't keep up with details beyond what I tell him. I'll just call the surgeon's office for this stuff.
So that's the news. It's good to be home. It's been pretty much as advertised so far.
sharon
It was a race from the point of her release (soon after her last pain med dose) to getting to a pharmacy and filling her script near our house in the next town in time for her dose four hours after the last. I drove thought the pharmacy near us and they couldn't fill it because they didn't have the resident's first name on the paper! So they had to call over to the hospital and try to find the name before they could fill it. That took about 10 minutes. When I explained I had Savannah in the van and needed the meds before the four hour point, he kindly jumped us up the line and let me wait for it. Otherwise we were looking at a ~1.5 hour wait and she would have gotten behind on the dosing. :eek:
I will mention to the resident when we see him at the follow-up in six weeks what happened. I would have thought he would know by now that a pharmacy would have to have his first name in order to fill our script.
We came home to an empty but well decorated house! My husband and other daughter were getting her brace fitted here and then over to the next town to have the surgeon okay the brace. So they had put up balloons and streamers to welcome Savannah home. That cheered her up but afterward, we had a bad time adjusting pillows so that she was supported and comfortable. It took a long time.
After returning to peak pain med levels, Savannah was more comfortable. We had a delivery of a fruit arrangement that looks like a bouquet of flowers that my in-laws sent. It had a balloon and she really liked that. Her sister Willow put a beautiful metal box of chocolates in her room also. So she had a few nice surprises with a few more on the way (it's a secret!). She already got an IPod from my husband and had music to listen to in the hospital. That seemed to cheer her when we were there.
She got around pretty well yesterday, buoyed by the happiness of being home and being with her sister. They went upstairs, outside, etc. Savannah helped Willow put on her brace and foolishly tried to help her tighten it. I explained that pulling like that is equivalent to lifting (or worse) and that she can't do stuff like that.
She got around fine that first day and slept less than I expected she would. She has to be a little careful coming down stairs, though. We set her up in the guest bedroom on the first floor which happens to have a painted ceiling (blue sky and clouds - don't know why the previous owners did that). It has her bed, a private bathroom, and a TV. So she is very comfortable in there, at least during the day. We put her flowers and balloons from the hospital in there and it is very cheery.
Last night, she kept having very vivid dreams/nightmares worried that I wouldn't wake her up for her meds on time. She also doesn't want to be alone in there... it is on the other side or the house from our bedroom and her sister is upstairs. So my husband put one of our cordless phones in there so she can use the intercom function any time she wants to get me in my bedroom.
She seems better today pain-wise. We just have to stay on top of it.
Before Savannah was discharged, the resident came by to check her one last time. I asked him if Savannah could see her post-op films. He pulled them up on the computer in the room and Savannah and I could both see it. I had seen them earlier when I went to radiology with her. It looks perfectly straight. On side view, the two rods were almost overlaid which I took to mean she was mostly de-rotated (assuming she was exactly normal to the shot). I asked the resident about this and he said that it could be viewed as a rough estimate of her rotation correction. I was very happy about the de-rotation because the surgeon said he would fix some of it but not all of it. Looking at the film and looking at Savannah, I think he fixed 80% or more of it. :)
She has mostly screws but two hooks at the top on the left rod.
As mentioned, Willow got her night-time bending brace. In the brace, her curve straightens completely. I couldn't be at the appointment because I was taking Savannah home from the hospital at that time so I didn't get to ask some questions. I am assuming Willow's Risser is similar to Savannah's (3-4) and so may not have to wear the brace for long. Also, I wanted to know what her present angle is compared to that determined in February. My husband comes to the appointments but can't keep up with details beyond what I tell him. I'll just call the surgeon's office for this stuff.
So that's the news. It's good to be home. It's been pretty much as advertised so far.
sharon