Amanda is Home

[ARN010]

Amanda got home at 2 pm today, Memorial Day. I could write a book about the "adventure" and I have tons of tips but too tired to type now. She is 100% corrected T4-L1 and no more rib hump. She gained about 1.5-2 inches in height and we see "eye-to-eye" now.....but she's still got a couple years of growth. I'll post more later but for now just wanted to let y'all know. Thank you sooooooooo much for the kind words, tips, and prayers. Anyone going into surgery please e-mail me I have a ton of tips.

Take care, love you all?

How about a scoliosis-fusion party at my house???? I live about a block from the beach....anyone interested?

Love and peace and big kisses!!!!!

[jillw]

I'm glad to hear things went well! Hopefully you can catch up on some sleep and Amanda will have a very speedy recovery from here!

[Susie*Bee]

Yay for Amanda and you!!! It's so good to hear you are home in your own comfy surroundings. It should be steady progress now, and that is always encouraging. You have both grown stronger through this. We'd love to hear "all about it" sometime after you get rested. Take care.

[WNCmom]

I'm so glad to hear it went well and that you are home now. I hope YOU can recover, too, as Amanda is recovering. And what a wonderful correction!

You mentioned that she still has a few years of growth left. When you are able, would you be willing to share the prognosis on her growth? Will she lose much height because of the fusion? I'm interested because my son may be in this position not too far down the road...

Thanks for keeping us posted. I breathe a sigh of relief every time I hear things went well in surgery.

Mary Ellen

[ARN010]

I'm so glad to hear it went well and that you are home now. I hope YOU can recover, too, as Amanda is recovering. And what a wonderful correction!

You mentioned that she still has a few years of growth left. When you are able, would you be willing to share the prognosis on her growth? Will she lose much height because of the fusion? I'm interested because my son may be in this position not too far down the road...

Thanks for keeping us posted. I breathe a sigh of relief every time I hear things went well in surgery.

Mary Ellen

i am so glad to be home! :) the hospital beds are so uncomfortable! :(
i wish it wasn't this painful, and that the nurse didn't make me walk 30 min a day! :mad:
I CAN'T WAIT TO RECOVER!

[Wishing]

Hi Amanda,

Congratulations on your successful surgery and on your beautiful new back. You have been really great. You Mom posted how well you were working in the hospital, walking with that walker and everything. You gave it your all. You should be so proud of yourself. I hope the pain will be less and less with every day. You have been a true inspiration to us old folks. I'm probably older than your Grandma and will have surgery next month. I figure if you can do it, so can I. Take care and you'll be fit as a fiddle in no time.
Rita

[Susie*Bee]

Yay, Amanda! That is so super that you are up to posting this yourself!!! I am so proud of you! :D

I remember (one year ago) how it was so hard to do that walking, but they say that is the best way there is to get better, so keep it up! Walking is a sort of miracle medicine for us, to make us stronger and shorten how long it takes to recover. (Of course, it takes someone my age a LOT longer to get better, so pretty soon you should be doing super great fantastic!) I'm sending you a big but gentle cyber hug... ((((hug)))) -- and hope you are remembering to give your mom a real one every once in awhile too, for loving you so very much. :) Susie

[WNCmom]

Great to hear from you, Amanda. At the rate you're going, this recovery will be history very soon. Keep up the great work!

Mary Ellen

[ARN010]

i have some questions for those of you who got the surgery! :confused:
like how to take a shower and not having to change the dressing? anyhow recovering really well! :cool: even though chocolate is a life line!

[Jennybear]

Hey Amanda,

Showering for me is relaxing, they even made me take one while I was in the hospital. My father is in a wheelchair, so he has a bath chair. I tried to take a standing up shower a few days ago but i got super light headed. I'd suggest a chair with a pillow wrapped in a bag for your back. And for the dressing part, I just have little tape things called sterry strips and my mom replaces them as they fall off. Hope this info can be some help.

[txmarinemom]

i have some questions for those of you who got the surgery! :confused:
like how to take a shower and not having to change the dressing? anyhow recovering really well! :cool: even though chocolate is a life line!

Don't laugh, but stick your head through a plastic trash bag use medical tape (bio-occlusive works best - ask your pharmacist where to find it if you have trouble) to seal off around your neck.

Tape the "oh-so-chic" Hefty bag around you well enough, and you won't get a drop on your dressing. Promise.

This works well for washing your hair, and then just use a washcloth or wet wipes for parts of your body the bag covers (I know that's not what you want, but it has to work for the short term).

A detachable shower head is invaluable. My tub was wide and deep enough I didn't even buy a shower chair ... I used my kitchen step stool (redneck, but effective - LOL!) ... and very stable!

If your dressing gets damp (not soaked), just blot dry (then let it air out) - or have someone blow dry on low heat.

I know I couldn't WAIT until I could take a nice long soak (hot water on sore ribs sounded HEAVENLY), and nagged my doctor into saying "Okay!" at 3 weeks post-op - laff ... I swear, I felt like I'd won the lotto. Certainly, I can't imagine any amount of money would have replaced that simple pleasure I'll never take for granted again!

(BTW, at 4 months post-op, I still take 2 bubble baths a day ... well ... just because I can! :))

Regards,
Pam