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Hello Everyone,
It’s hard for me to believe, but it has been eight weeks since Kim has had her operation and I am so relieved to be on this side of the surgery. If I would have known how well she would be doing after this operation, I sure wouldn’t have been so freaked out beforehand!
She has been back to school full-time for almost three weeks now and is wearing her TLSO brace without complaint (most kids don’t need braces post-op but because of Kim’s impulsive behaviors due to her autism it was recommended). Initially I was concerned about her having to wear a brace but now I am very relieved because it is really hard to keep her “reined in” and the brace provides protection to her healing spine. One of Kim’s developmental issues is that she doesn’t have a lot of common sense and doesn’t understand why she can’t jump, run, etc. so the brace helps to slow her down.
For all of you folks who are about to have the surgery performed on your kids or on yourself my only suggestions are:
- Make sure you are comfortable with your surgeon. If you feel you have picked an excellent surgeon that will go a long way to keeping you relaxed about the surgery and during the recuperation period.
- Never be afraid to ask questions. A good surgeon understands and is compassionate that while this is routine for him/her, this is new territory for you.
- Have friends or family lined up that can help during the first few weeks after surgery. My mother helped for the two weeks after Kim came home; actually she took care of me so I could take care of Kim!
- Don’t worry if blood from the blood bank is used. Initially, I was really disappointed that Kim couldn’t donate her own blood; in a nutshell, the people at the blood donation center didn’t want to deal with an autistic person. However, when I researched how carefully blood is screened and how extremely remote the risk of adverse effects from donor blood is, I figured it’s not worth the worry. On the upside she wasn’t anemic going into surgery, she did receive one unit of blood during the operation and I don't believe she was anemic after the surgery either (at least no one told me she was and her color was very good).
- Remember that everyone heals differently and the only correct recovery timeline is the one that works for the surgical patient. When we start comparing how fast Person A recovers versus Person B, it serves no purpose and can cause distress if someone feels they are not healing as fast as they should.
It’s been quite a journey, but I have never been alone thanks to my cyberbuddies. I appreciate the support you have given me and I send my best wishes to all of you.
It’s hard for me to believe, but it has been eight weeks since Kim has had her operation and I am so relieved to be on this side of the surgery. If I would have known how well she would be doing after this operation, I sure wouldn’t have been so freaked out beforehand!
She has been back to school full-time for almost three weeks now and is wearing her TLSO brace without complaint (most kids don’t need braces post-op but because of Kim’s impulsive behaviors due to her autism it was recommended). Initially I was concerned about her having to wear a brace but now I am very relieved because it is really hard to keep her “reined in” and the brace provides protection to her healing spine. One of Kim’s developmental issues is that she doesn’t have a lot of common sense and doesn’t understand why she can’t jump, run, etc. so the brace helps to slow her down.
For all of you folks who are about to have the surgery performed on your kids or on yourself my only suggestions are:
- Make sure you are comfortable with your surgeon. If you feel you have picked an excellent surgeon that will go a long way to keeping you relaxed about the surgery and during the recuperation period.
- Never be afraid to ask questions. A good surgeon understands and is compassionate that while this is routine for him/her, this is new territory for you.
- Have friends or family lined up that can help during the first few weeks after surgery. My mother helped for the two weeks after Kim came home; actually she took care of me so I could take care of Kim!
- Don’t worry if blood from the blood bank is used. Initially, I was really disappointed that Kim couldn’t donate her own blood; in a nutshell, the people at the blood donation center didn’t want to deal with an autistic person. However, when I researched how carefully blood is screened and how extremely remote the risk of adverse effects from donor blood is, I figured it’s not worth the worry. On the upside she wasn’t anemic going into surgery, she did receive one unit of blood during the operation and I don't believe she was anemic after the surgery either (at least no one told me she was and her color was very good).
- Remember that everyone heals differently and the only correct recovery timeline is the one that works for the surgical patient. When we start comparing how fast Person A recovers versus Person B, it serves no purpose and can cause distress if someone feels they are not healing as fast as they should.
It’s been quite a journey, but I have never been alone thanks to my cyberbuddies. I appreciate the support you have given me and I send my best wishes to all of you.
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