Scared but scheduled for T4-pelvis Fusion Oct 2015

[susancook]

So sorry that all of your planning went down the drain. Are you OK? Can you call a friend to come over and be with you now?

With 4 active kids, you are no doubt very organized. Calling Dr. Lenke's office and asking why probably will not help you feel any better. There are so many reasons why a cancellation happens, almost all of which will seem trivial to you and me. I would call and ask if there is ANY way that you could be rescheduled the week that you were supposed to have the surgery.
If not, is there a better week for you, you could throw that out. Unfortunately, for most major surgeons doing a MAJOR case like yours is probably scheduled for all day.

My thoughts probably did not help much, but good luck and I am sorry that you need to have this added stress.

Susan

[Mom of 4]

Karen, Angie told me that a patient who is losing leg function was given my appointment. I'm typically not a selfish person, but I can't understand how 6 days will make a difference to them, especially when for me it means I will be alone in the hospital. Angie said they will text updates to my husband and Dr. Lenke will call him when the surgery is complete. Who will scrub my back the night before surgery? Who will hug me or hold my hand before I go under? The 11th is my only option unless I want to go further out, which would require me going through all the pre-op testing again. So, it's either go through it alone or wait several months and hope the same thing doesn't happen again. I'm not waiting. It's either now, alone or not at all.

Susan, your kind words mean a lot!!! Thank you so much!

[LindaRacine]

If I have one complaint about surgeons, it's that they don't have a clue about how much impact a date change has. I get that things happen, but I honestly think a little planning could resolve most of these problems. So sorry that this happened.

[Carol56]

Best of health

I wish you all the best. I will write more when I find out if I am sucessful at getting this post out to you. I am new to the forum.

[Mom of 4]

If I have one complaint about surgeons, it's that they don't have a clue about how much impact a date change has. I get that things happen, but I honestly think a little planning could resolve most of these problems. So sorry that this happened.

Thank you for your kind words, Linda!!

[susancook]

Mom x 4: this SUCKS big time! Are you OK? What are you going to do? Wish that I could help you but I am on crutches and waiting for surgery.
Susan

[PeggyS]

Mom of 4,

I'm am so sorry to hear about the turmoil of having your surgery date changed! It DOES take a lot of planning, esp. when you're not close to home AND when you have children at home! I can't offer advice, but I'm sending a hug & prayers.

[Mom of 4]

Peggy, I really appreciate the hug and prayers! I need it.

Susan, you are too kind! I'll keep you in my prayers!!

I'm still in limbo regarding the surgery. I haven't made alternate plans for a hotel following the hospital or arrangements for my kids because I don't have any options. I just don't see how it's going to work. My children obviously come first. It would be a whole different story if they were grown, but they're not. Maybe I should just wait until then. I've lived with the pain this long, what's a little more time??

[jackieg412]

Mom of four, it is a real shame what happened. You really need peace of mind facing this huge surgery. Things do pop up and you need your support staff. You need to feel good going forward because it is tough those first few days. Hopefully it will work out for you but waiting till the pieces fit may be a good option.peace of mind is a must.

[Mom of 4]

Advice, please!

I've decided to stop feeling sorry for myself (finally) and do everything I can to try and make this new date work! My daughter is going to miss the first week of her classes so that I won't have to go into surgery alone. I hate for her to do that, but have agreed to it. I didn't really have a choice. For those of you who have been through this, do you think once I'm discharged and in a hotel room (estimation one week), I can manage by myself? Dr. Lenke wants me to stay in NYC for a week post-surgery. It's either that or go home, which will probably be about a 5 hour drive. My husband may be able to come a day here or there, but there is no guarantee. It all depends if he can get "coverage" for our kids. I'd appreciate any thoughts!!

[Pooka1]

Hi. I am sorry to hear this happened. I just had the idea that you make sure Dr. Lenke KNOWS that if that person who got your slot or someone else near that slot drops out of the line up for whatever reason, you want your slot back.

Good luck.

[susancook]

I've decided to stop feeling sorry for myself (finally) and do everything I can to try and make this new date work! My daughter is going to miss the first week of her classes so that I won't have to go into surgery alone. I hate for her to do that, but have agreed to it. I didn't really have a choice. For those of you who have been through this, do you think once I'm discharged and in a hotel room (estimation one week), I can manage by myself? Dr. Lenke wants me to stay in NYC for a week post-surgery. It's either that or go home, which will probably be about a 5 hour drive. My husband may be able to come a day here or there, but there is no guarantee. It all depends if he can get "coverage" for our kids. I'd appreciate any thoughts!!

You have a right to feel sorry for yourself, but you do need to take action also. I sometimes have said to myself, "Pull up your big girl panties and deal with it!" That quote might be helpful for you.

I would suggest that you have someone with you for the week in the hotel. How will you get meals? Is the hotel near the hospital or part of the hospital so that you could call someone if you needed help? It would be helpful to have someone to help you with pain meds schedule, to bring you milk/snack with your meds. Will you have a walker to help you get up to the bathroom and walk some? Any cousins, girlfriends that could be with you? Is there anyone that you could hire from the hospital, like a nurses aide that could work nights, maybe a 12 hour shift?

Will your insurance cover your going to a skilled nursing facility? What does Dr. Lenke say?

Susan

[leahdragonfly]

help recommended in the hotel

Hi mom,

I am so sorry to hear about all this last minute stress. It seems like many of us have some last-minute thing come up which is extremely stressful. My first revision surgery also got postponed by almost a week at the last minute, because my surgeon needed to accommodate an emergency case, similar to your situation. I was extremely upset as we also have two school age kids, and had to change hotel reservations for my husband. That said, we made it work but it was an unwelcome shake-up at the last minute, so I can empathize with you. In my case however it was for a broken rod revision, so I had no choice but to accept the new date.

Since you asked for advice, I would be extremely concerned for you to go to a hotel room alone after being discharged. The first 2-3 weeks are very difficult. I think it will be very difficult at best, and could be considered potentially unsafe to be alone in a hotel. Who can you call if you need help? You will be very weak, vulnerable, taking a lot of pain meds, sleeping much of the time, trying to deal with constipation, etc. You should not be showering alone for the first few showers. You at least want someone waiting in the bathroom to make sure you don't fall in the shower or need help. What will you do for food? Your stomach may not be up to regular hotel room service or even frozen meals. Who could go out to the store for you to get whatever food sounds appealing to you at that time, or needed medicines? It just makes me worry so much to have you be isolated in a hotel room far from home with no support. It's not the same as being home alone, where you can call people you know if necessary. Is there any way you can farm your children out to friend's houses for a week or so so that your husband can stay with you?

Would it be an option to go to inpatient rehab until you are ready to go home? Even if you hired a home-health aid to stay with you (if you could stand it, since you have no idea who you would get) would be preferable to being alone in a hotel.

Lenke's office should be able to advise about this difficult situation. You need to talk to his nurse, not just the phone reception staff, someone who is very familiar with the early post-op challenges. I don't mean to sound negative, but as someone your age who has gone through this surgery three times in 5 years, I am very concerned for you.

[Mom of 4]

Dr. Lenke BROKE HIS ANKLE!!!

Gayle, thank you so much for your thoughts! You made a lot of good points. Fortunately or unfortunately, I know longer have a problem. I just got a call from Dr. Lenke's nurse. He broke his ankle and is now scheduling surgery 8 weeks out. Tentatively, I will have surgery March 9. In a way, I'm very relieved as I have lots of time to make plans. I just hope they don't get changed at the last minute like this time around. I'm NOT happy about having to go through all the pre-op stuff again. Oh well...

[leahdragonfly]

Hi mom,

While I am of course sorry to hear about Dr Lenke's misfortune, I have to think you feel relieved now. I was really concerned about your situation…Now, you will be able to plan it and go into this huge surgery with your family and support system organized and ready to focus on you.

Yes, I'm sure it's annoying to have to redo the pre-op stuff, but that is a minor inconvenience at this point.

Deep breaths as Ed would say, and good luck as things shape up for your new surgical date.

Take care,