Lauren's Surgery

[momof2girls]

Lauren made it through her surgery fine. Her surgeon actually only had to fuse from T5 to L2. She was in surgery about 5 hours. We were in the Peds ICU until around 5 o'clock this afternoon. We were keep ICU a little longer because they had to hold us there until they had a room come available. She did not rest very well last night but she made it up by sleeping all day. She has a PCA pump with morphine but she is not using it constantly. She hates to be moved but is getting better with that. Her surgeon said that she is doing great.

Hopefully tonight we all can get some rest because last night she wanted one or both of us to stay within her line of sight.

Thanks to everyone and I will post again soon.

Charlene

[Pooka1]

Charlene that's great news!

Lauren had plenty of folks here thinking about her.

Onward and upward!

[mariaf]

Terrific news!!

Being moved is always difficult after any surgery but hopefully each day should get better

[pmsmom]

Welcome to the "other side"!

Keep us posted when you can! We all know how busy and tiring the next few days and weeks will be.

We'll be here!

Marian

[Vali]

Charlene thats great news. Please pass on gentle hugs and best wishes of a smooth and speedy recovery.

[jjsmom]

So glad to hear all went well! Continued best wishes through this next phase.
Barbara

[ddb]

So glad to hear all is well. Speedy recovery wishes from Va.

Dee

[gabs mum]

Really happy to hear all is going well for you.
Will keep watching for updates.
Donna

[WNCmom]

Wonderful news--thanks for updating us! And very glad to hear about the shorter than expected fusion.

Mary Ellen

[momof2girls]

We made it home Sunday afternoon around 5:30. She was very nervous about the car ride home (we are only about 20 min away) and was unsure about being at home. She did very well with the car ride. Dad was very careful but she still told him how to drive. It's not as bad as she thought it may be being at home. Her biggest problem is getting confortable, whether it is lying down or sitting up. Her appetite is not back to normal yet. Hopefully, it will return to normal soon.

I think that she is afraid that stiffness she is having will be permanent. She got very emotional in the hospital and still some at home. She is scared that she wont be able to do the things that she enjoys. I have noticed that she is starting to loosen up some and her doctor said she would but to a 14 year old in pain she just doesn't understand. She even told me she wasn't going to have kids for fear of passing this on to her kids. I know this all will pass but it is very hard for now. Has anyone dealt with this? If so, please give me some advice on how to handle it.

Thanks for everyone.

Charlene

[gabs mum]

A phrase that I say over and over to get me through the low points of this journey is ....."This too will pass"
I believe that there will be happy and healthy times ahead and this pain, sadness and struggle WILL pass.
Wonderful to hear you are home.
God Bless
Donna

[ddb]

Charlene I'm so sorry your having a tough time - it can be very hard as parents when we can't make it better. I'm still on the other side of surgery, but can relate because there isn't much I can do to take away the thoughts and worries my daughter has for the upcoming events. I try hard, and know that all will be ok months from now. What has helped a little (my daughter tells me on good days) is me staying positive when darkness comes to her. At the time I don't think it helps, but she tells me it did not matter how she acted when I try to help her through.

My thoughts are with you , your famaily and Lauren during her recovery.

Dee