Getting Ready for Surgery

[susannajon]

Mary Lou,

I would have lost my mind! That must have been awfully stressful for you. My mom is a nurse, and she's scared me to death about infection risks in the hospital and the nasty germs that float around. That is one of the main reasons we decided on Hospital for Special Surgery, not only are they one of the highest ranked hospitals in the country for orthopedics, but they also have the lowest infection rate, probably because it is an othopedic hospital only, most surgeries performed are on otherwise healthy people. My heart goes out to you! I am so glad it all worked out.

Susanna

[Mary Lou]

Hi Susanna,

How's everything going? I was starting to panic when I couldn't post anything on this site for a few days. All I kept thinking was, your daughter's surgery is right around the corner and I wouldn't be able to wish you good luck.

Mary Lou

[jc3]

hi marylou
i don't know if you saw that i wrote to you asking what happened with the car accident. I hope everything is okay. I felt bad that i couldn't send a message to you about it right away because the board wasn't working. It seems like it is working now.
write me when you get a chance
jennifer

[nikyergen]

Susanna,
I hope all is well with your daughters surgery next week. Crystal is about to drive me nuts. I took her to school for a little while this afternoon. She is over her sinus infection and got a clean bill of health from the doctor earlier this week. We are moved into our new house, but had to wait a week for the new phone to be hooked up. It was finally hooked up late this afternoon. By then I had cows to feed and Crystal wanted to talk to her teachers about some assignments.

My mom is a nurse too. However, the one time in my life I could use her suggestions, she is about useless to me. But, she is taking our youngest daughter for the week while we are at Shriner's Hospital.

Anyways, I'm back on line again and can respond now. I have a ton of transcription work to do for a business in town that I work for. I need to get as much done as possible before Crystal's surgery so I have money to spend in the big city of Portland.

'til later,
Nikki

[susannajon]

To Kay, Jennifer, Nikki, and Mary Lou

Kay, wow, I am so glad your daughter is OK after her accident. Sometimes it takes a fender bender to remind kids that they are not immortal, and that hurtling down the road with nothing but few mm of sheet metal protecting you is a thing that must be taken seriously!

Nikki, Mary Lou, Jennifer, Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts. I was really bummimg too thinking this was a terrible time for the site to be down! As sugery approaches, no one in our house can sleep. Last night, 4 in the morning and we're all awake! I was tossing and turning all night, and finally got up to take a couple Benadryl to try and sleep. I saw my daughter's light on. She was up, drawing in her sketch book. A few minutes later, my husband was up, watching TV and eating cereal.

I am at peace with our decision to have surgery... what's eating me up is worrying about my daughter being in pain. She's never experienced any real physical pain before. Her worst experience was a couple of stiches when she was 3 or 4. When the doctors we've seen asked her to describe he pain levels now (pre-surgery) she describes them as a 7 or 8. I keep thinking, "Little girl, you have no idea what you're in for."

Anyhow, it is heartening to read your posts about your teenagers, doing normal teen stuff, even if it is wrecking the car!

Kay and Jennifer, I have read so many posts from people who's kids have shoulder blade pain after surgery, as the muscles and tendons get used to their new positions, and that it takes up to a year to work itself out. If that's the worst they are feeling, I think your girls are both going to be fine.

Wish me luck sleeping tonight! It's 1:20, and no luck yet...

Susanna

[nikyergen]

Susanna,
Boy, do I know the "I can't sleep" mode. I am in it now. I spend a lot of time wondering around my new house trying to decided what I want to do with it the next day when everyone else is awake. I keep hoping I will get tired enough that I will just go to sleep about 8pm and sleep until 6:30am the next day.

I thought the same thing about Crystal's pain level when she told the doctor how much pain she had. "Do you really know how much pain you are going to be in?" However, a personal friend of ours had a daughter have this same surgery last fall. The daughter told her that it was well worth it, because she does feel better now.

My prayers are with you and your family as you prepare for your surgical journey. We are following in your footsteps, six days later. You'll be about to head home, by the time we get started on surgery.

Well, I am going to see what I can get done in the house, quietly since everyone else is sleeping now.

Pray for sleep for all of us.

'til later,
Nikki

[jc3]

hi susanna
I practically cried reading your post worrying about your daughter's pain she is going to endure. It just brings back so many memories for me. My daughter never experienced real pain before this either and is the biggest baby so i would practically cry before the surgery thinking of what she would have to be going through. Remember she wouldn't even donate the blood, but they will manage her pain well and i have to say that with the pain and recovery my daughter does not have a bad thought about the whole surgery and recovery. She doesn't think back of it as a bad thing, she said she wishes she was still recovering from it, she loved being home, catered to and she said she misses being home all day not going to school and watching t.v. So they kind of forget i think after and i'm glad she at least remembers it not as a bad thing to go through.
Jennifer
Nikki,
At least you have the whole moving into a new house to keep your mind off things a little. It's good to be busy before this. I saw that you said you do transcription work, so do i from home. What do you do?

[scoliosis-mom]

Susanna,

You sound just like me before my daughter's spinal fusion in 2003.

My daughter was so brave and seemingly unconcerned about the reality of the operation that she walked to the O.R. with no sedative. I was also standing there thinking "she has no idea"...

12 hours later, it was a different story.

Just a note about pain management in the PICU. Some kids (my daughter included) don't find significant relief from the morphine drip. After 3 days of feeling pretty terrible, the PICU staff switched her to Percoset and she actually did much better and responded more swiftly. The head of the PICU told me they occasionally have kids who don't get the relief they need from morphine.

But, today, she really has no significant memory of the first week and also tells me she wish she could have another 2 months off at home She just mentions that the doctors didn't really tell her what the first week would be like, but she's okay with it.

You guys will get it through it just fine!

Susan

[nikyergen]

Jennifer,
I do transcription work for the Oregon Historical Society, Union County History. I am also working on finishing my Medical Transcriptionist training, so I'll have that too. I really enjoy the Historical Society transcription. It is interviews with people that have been here in the area for years, and were farmers and ranchers when they came here. It's interesting to listen to. Sometimes, I know the people, or the people they are talking about. It gives me new insights on our Union County History. I was a transcriptionist for years, before computers, and really enjoy doing it.

I am glad I do this kind of work, as it will allow me to be home and work and take care of Crystal. I, also, homeschool my youngest daughter. Crystal is glad right now that I don't have a job in town. When I did work in town, it really upset her. I was at home being a mom for 11 years and then went to work. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't just call me during the day to say hello. So, I decided it was time to put my computer to work for me, and this allows me some deductions on my taxes too.

Well, I need to get back to my headphones and getting to burning up my keyboard. I type 120 wpm. So, doesn't take me long to get one interview done.

I'll check in later.

'til later,
Nikki

[susannajon]

Thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts. I had major surgery a couple of years ago, and so did my dad and sister , and none of us got adequate pain relief from Morphine. It didn't do a darn thing for us. I talked to the pain management person at the hospital and they decided they would start our daughter on Delaudid instead of Morphine, so hopefully she won't have those first two terrible days that my family experienced. This hospital seems awesome when it comes to pain relief. They are known for their pain management department. Thanks especially to Jennifer, for sharing your insight. It helps to know our hospital took care of your Nicole when it was her time.

Susanna

[jc3]

hi susanna
Delaudid is what nicole was on instead of morphine. She did fine with it. At one point they had to up it a bit, but she stayed on that for like 5 or 6 days, which actually was longer then they wanted her on it.

[mamakay]

susannaj,
Thanks for the input on the shoulder pain.
That seems to bother her everyday and I am not sure how long it will take to be over.
Yes you must look at your baby and think thank goodness she doesn;t realize what pain is ahead,
Does she have pain now? Some kids on here have actually come from surgery w/out much lasting pain. My Dr said patients need the pills from 2weeks to 6 weeks.
Maybe your dtr will get lucky and be the 2 week type.
Does she have pain now? Ste was taking motrin everyday before the surgery.
What is her curve?
Good luck and a prayer...kay

[susannajon]

Hi Kay,

Thanks for your prayers. The support of all the mom's out there in cyberspace has been wonderful.

My daughter does take a lot of Motrin too. Her back aches, especially when she gets her period, and she gets muscle spasms. I haven't been letting her take Motrin, so she's been making due with Tylenol these past couple of weeks. I'm just being cautious about bleeding (probably over-cautious).

My daughter's curve is 43 degrees thoracic from T3 to T9, and 60 degrees thoracolumbar from T9 to L4. The thoracolumbar curve is structural, and the thoacic is compensatory, so the doctor is only going to fuse the structural curve. His plan is to fuse her T11 to L2, using an anterior approach. He expects to be able to get her curve down to the low teens. She's got a bit of a rib hump, but he'll be using her ribs for the fusion, so that should be fixed as well.

Yesterday, we finished most of the last minute stuff, like picking up a potty seat with arms and getting a shower chair and some extra body pillows and such. Today, we're doing the last of the laundry and packing the car. Tomorrow, it's off to New York!

Susanna

[jc3]

susanna
just wanted to write a last minute GOOD LUCK! All of us here will be thinking about you all day on wednesday. How long did he say the operation should take? This whole thing will be over before you know it. Thursday after our appointment if it's not too late we will try and run over for a visit. Where will you guys stay the night before the surgery? Do you have to stay in a hotel or is she allowed to stay at the hospital?
Write back before you leave for ny if you get a chance
Jennifer

[jc3]

hi nikki
i didn't even know that you replied back to me about the transcription work. I also do transcription work and as you said the best part is being able to be home. Sometimes it's alittle hard though to do my work with the phone ringing, cleaning up the house, and running out to the stores, etc... But i love that if there's something going on at school with the kids i can be there. What you do sounds interesting. I type up court hearings.
Anyway, how is everyones stress level at your house?? Hope all is well
Jennifer