Surgery this Friday

[golfnut]

OMG! Pooka, I think your are right. That is wild!

Pam's husband: Thanks for posting. Get a good night's sleep. I knew that I would be in intensive care the first night and not need my husband until night 2. Tell Pam we are all cheering for her.
Karen (Dr. Lenke's patient)

[TwinmomTN]

Postop day 1

We met with Dr Lenke and Dr Kim who assisted him this morning. The X-rays from after the surgery are awesome. The back view showed a pretty straight spine. The side view looked good also with the curves in the right place. We are very happy with Dr. Lenke and all his team.

She has not been cleared for anything to drink, so she is strugling with her mounth being dry. She is getting her hydration through an IV and is allowed to chew on some ice chips occasionally. Hopefully this gets better for her soon. I think they are just giving her stomach time to wake up. Her swelling doesn't appear too bad.

Her pain is manageable as long as she stays still. When the nurses move her every couple of hours the pain does spike. She is still hooked up to a lot of cords so moving her is a challenge.

She started on the breathing exercises and is getting about 1/2 a liter each time she inhales.

The next milestone will be sitting up. That will come when she gets in her regular Ortho room later today, hopefully.

More post to come later.

[Doodles]

So happy to hear the surgery went well. Hopefully, the week will show strong steady progress. Best wishes--positive thoughts and prayers coming your way. Janet

[JenniferG]

It sounds like Pam is going well. Keep it up Pam! A big thanks to Pam's husband.

[susancook]

Hope that you are doing well and that you are already healing. Thinking of you.
Susan

[TwinmomTN]

Postop day 2

She was having a lot of abdomine pain and swelling, so I was glad when the orders came for a physical therapist. The PT helped with sitting up in bed, then into a walker, and then to a chair. In the chair, she hit 750 on the breathing devise. The PT was excellent at her job. It was great to see the resolve Pam has to make progress here. After all the therapy, she was exhausted and immediately fell asleep.

More to come later.

[Confusedmom]

Tell Pam the first time they tried to sit me up, I nearly fainted and had to lay back down. By the next day, I not only sat up, but walked down the hall. (Then fell asleep, of course!) Day three was stairs, I think. Even now (5 weeks out), sitting is the hardest of the three. Wishing her progress and comfort!

Evelyn

[mabeckoff]

Glad to hear that things are looking good for her!

[golfnut]

Thanks for posing. I will look forward to reading about Pam's progress. Tell her we are all cheering for her.

[LSKOCH5]

So glad to see all good so far - moment by moment, it will keep getting better! Thanks for posting! Still praying for you & cheering you on from afar!

[TwinmomTN]

Test

Test ... Internet problems

[TwinmomTN]

Postop 3rd day

She had a good day. She walked to the door and back and sat for 20 minutes. The PTs are awesome.

She is still having "cotton" mouth and is only allowed 1/2 a small cup of ice.

She asked what is the average on the spirometer when laying down?

Here's my question...we have a six hour drive home...how did you handle breaks?

[KathK]

Drive home

Hi,
My drive home was about 7.5 hours. We split it over 2 days. We stopped every hour so I could walk. We would stop at a "big box" type store (Walmart or similar) and I would stroll around with my walker.

The second day was more difficult than the first. I found the "wear" on me to be cumulative.

kathy

[Confusedmom]

Are you planning to stay in St Louis for a few days at a hotel before you drive home? Every day you delay will make it a little easier for her.

For me, I like putting the front seat as far back and down as possible, and then laying a really squishy pillow on top of it.

We stopped at least every couple of hours driving. You're supposed to to help prevent blood clots, etc. One time there was nowhere to stop when I "had to" get out of the car. We pulled up to a closed country restaurant, and I literally layed flat on one of their wooden benches with my head on a towel for a while.

Pain meds are important for the ride home. If it gets too bad, you might break it into two days, but I doubt you will need to.

Best wishes,
Evelyn

[KathK]

Drive home

Hi,
My drive home was about 7.5 hours. We split it over 2 days. We stopped every hour so I could walk. We would stop at a "big box" type store (Walmart or similar) and I would stroll around with my walker.

The second day was more difficult than the first. I found the "wear" on me to be cumulative. It was wearing on my husband, too, worrying about the bumps. I didn't get back in the car for another 4 weeks after I got home!

kathy