Surgery with Dr. Lenke

[Doreen1]

Howdy, Howdy!

I had a great meeting with Dr. Lenke and it was SUPER short; 14 minutes to be exact. I only had a few questions and had a plane to catch. Updates on my blog http://bit.ly/NrM6mC including xrays showing fusion.

Yes, Evelyn, I'm 15 months post op. Linda, I'm tickled to hear about your recovery! I heard you were seen recently standing tall! Jeremy was hunting in SD and I thought of you and your hubby. How is he?

I'll be scheduling next year's appointment with Dr. Lenke and plan to do it when the weather is warm. Lizzie and I will stay a couple of days and make it a girls trip. There is a little boutique in St. Charles that we passed by when I was in STL preop. They had great clothes and made it a goal to shop there post op.

[golfnut]

Doreen,
Congratulations on a good appointment with Dr. Lenke. I just read your recent post on your blog. Isn't it wonderful to feel estatic about having successful surgery? You are such an inspiration to so many on this forum. Good luck with your archery training and competitions. I can't wait for the weather to improve and get back on the golf course. I, too, am so thankful to have had Dr. Lenke use his unbelievable talents on my spine.

[walkingmom]

Hey Doreen,

Congratulations on your recent post-op appointment. I just read your blog. It sounds like you are really busy with life and moving on to new ventures. I certainly can relate to your comments about being cold all the time. My winter wardrobe is basically fleece!

Anyway, thanks for the update!

Donna

[tampamom]

Hi Doreen,

So happy to read your story and hear such fantastic results! It is very encouraging and insightful. Just curious if there is a thread where you describe how you life was with Scoli, curve development? Reading where you were preop is certainly my fear of where my son could be later in life if we don't do surgery now. It is just hard to do when he feels fine.

I am most impressed with your archery. Your back looks so strong in that video you daughter made

Congratulations on everything.

God Bless,

Cecilia

[Doreen1]

Hi Cecilia,

My earlier posts under this same thread mention my journey and curve development or read my the 2011 entries of my blog for more details of preop life for me. You will find excellent info on this forum. If your son is a minor, be sure to explore the adolescent and teen section. Thx for your kind words. Praying for God to guide you to the right path for your son.

Hi Doreen,

So happy to read your story and hear such fantastic results! It is very encouraging and insightful. Just curious if there is a thread where you describe how you life was with Scoli, curve development? Reading where you were preop is certainly my fear of where my son could be later in life if we don't do surgery now. It is just hard to do when he feels fine.

I am most impressed with your archery. Your back looks so strong in that video you daughter made

Congratulations on everything.

God Bless,

Cecilia

[hasteffen]

Doreen!
So glad to hear your appointment went so well! I am looking forward to my 6 month appt. in April. I imagine I will be in and out as well. I am going to get my xrays done the day before because my appointment is at 7 am... I am hoping to see Pam since she has a 7:15
Best, Heidi

[Doreen1]

Hi Heidi,

Can you believe you are already 6 months post op? Time flies by, doesn't it! How are you feeling? I hope you're able to meet up with Pam.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Doreen1]

So Bummed!

I was so thrilled yesterday when my bow got set up and I was able to draw it for the first time. This morning while practicing drawing, I took a video because I wanted to see if my scapula was moving. It moved; however, I also heard the worst noise after shooting this vid. I'm SOOO bummed! Vid and details here http://bit.ly/16dTYie

Warmly,
Doreen

[Susie*Bee]

I know you must feel bummed about the setback, but that is so super that you can draw your bow! Congratulations-- and it won't be long before everything will get straightened around and you'll be back in business. You are doing extraordinary things!

[Doreen1]

Officially Classified & Bulls Eye!

It's been a busy few weeks with Lizzie having a national tourney in KY along with my para archery classification appointment in KY too. We had a great time in Louisville and it even snowed! Lizzie was a bit frustrated with her performance, but hey, at least she showed up and did her best! She and I plan to shoot together at this event next year.

The process to become a classified para athlete is quite the experience, to say the least. The doc was very nice; however, when I stepped into his room, it looked like a torture chamber. In fact he chuckled when I mentioned that. In a nutshell, he had me doing movements that were quite uncomfortable to say the least. At one point he said, "I'm sorry I have to ask you to do this, but you need twist, bend and lean for me as best as you can." I raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you kidding me?" Let's just say I scored a zero on the core/trunk section. I think the worst part was that his office was freezing cold and I had to wear a tshirt with my tennis skort (all athletes need to show up wearing workout clothes so he can see how the body responds to his manipulations). Let's just say I couldn't stop shivering the full hour. It was so bad that he tried laying my coats and towels on me to warm me up.

By the time I left his office the pain set in full force and I had to take two meds on the 6 hour ride home. Initially, the doc said I didn't make the cut, but he followed up with me days later apologizing profusely that he made a mistake and that I am officially classified as an ARST standing para archer shooting in the Open Division (compound).

Last week I finally shot my bow and it felt SO incredibly good! My clusters were good too:

First Shots.jpg

Aim II.jpg

Looking forward to shooting outside soon. The cold weather really causes my back to tense up, I shiver, and the spasms begin. Once the shivering begins, it's hard to stop. I came across a heated hunting vest that has a battery life of 2 - 10 hours, depending on the setting. I might invest in that soon.

My weight training has improved and will bump up my weight to 20# next week (starting weight was 5# a few weeks ago).

It's hard to believe that last September I didn't have the strength to move the string on my daughter's 22# bow and now I'm shooting a 28.9# bow!

I'm having some issues that I will talk with my local doc this week. First is my right ear, have had a hard time hearing out of for a while now. The doc in KY asked me if I have Rheumatoid arthritis because he saw something "funky" with my thumb. I told him no and he asked if my family has RA. Since I'm adopted, I don't any family medical history. I got curious and looked up RA and am a bit surprised that the issues I'm having are very similar to RA symptoms: painful ankles, knees, wrists, etc. I've had a sharp pain in my right heel for a while and just realized I've been compensating my steps by not putting as much pressure onto that heel.

Some balance issues and numbness have resurfaced so I'll bring that up too when I see the doc. The summer before my surgery, my doc thought I had MS. At that point, I kept tipping toward the right a lot. Since it was discovered my symptoms were actually a result of a severe B12 deficiency, the balance issue went away as soon as I started weekly shots of B12. Now I have an increasing feeling that I'm tipping backward or to the right and have to grab onto to something along with my left hand feeling ice cold and goes numb. Also, the symptoms that I feel whenever I miss my shot day are now occurring before I'm due for a shot.

Interesting.

[loves to skate]

Good for you Doreen. It must be so satisfying to be able to do what you love again since your surgery. You are a great encouragement to others trying to decide on surgery.
Sally

[Doreen1]

Strange thing is, I never touched a bow before my surgery.

Good for you Doreen. It must be so satisfying to be able to do what you love again since your surgery. You are a great encouragement to others trying to decide on surgery.
Sally

[loves to skate]

Strange thing is, I never touched a bow before my surgery.

Well then, I guess you have found yourself a new and satisfying sport that you are obviously good at. I think that is great.
Sally

[Doreen1]

Met with local doc who feels I have RA as I have a lot of the symptoms and I'll have blood work this Friday. He said that 30% of patients do not test positive for RA but still have it; it's hard to confirm via blood work. The pain in my right heel has been increased and has been spreading into the rest of my foot and up into my calf so walking hurts. It is also becoming difficult for me to stand and shoot so I'll ask my coach if he can design a stool for me to shoot from. Doc is also concerned about MS-type symptoms returning and he wants my neurologist to revisit the MS possibility. Problem is, my neuro doesn't have any openings until my July check up appointment so I'm on a cancellation list. What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger, eh?

I was able to shoot x3 days in a row last week which was a first. Unfortunately, my string popped again so I had to have the draw weight set heavier from 28# to 31#. I've got my work cut out for me with building strength to draw the extra weight. There is a new video http://bit.ly/NrM6mC that hubby took of my back so I can see what's going on when I do seated rows. I must say, weight training again feels wonderful! A little over a month ago I started out with 5# and am now up to 20#.

[jrnyc]

i hope the doctors can figure out what is going
on and get the diagnosis correct, so you can begin a tx...
perhaps there is another neurologist you could see...someone
good, who has appointment sooner than July for you...??
you are in my thoughts and prayers...

jess...and Sparky