Surgery with Dr. Lenke

[rohrer01]

Doreen,

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom's condition. It's really hard as adult children to see our parents ill, as they are always the strong ones and took care of us our whole lives. You are in my thoughts and I hope this has a positive outcome.

As far as your pain med intake, that's great! I would tend to think that you are correct in saying that your shoulder/neck pain is a combination of all you are going through. Although, I just walked 2.5 miles on my treadmill and notice my neck starting to hurt, so called it quits for the day, so it could be with the stress and the walking with already tense muscles. You are one of the few adults on here that I've seen come through this surgery so well with such a short recovery time. It's amazing and encouraging for those of us still on the twisted side of the fence. It will be nice to see how your appt with Dr. Lenke goes.

Take care,
Rohrer01

[TwinmomTN]

Doreen,

I am very sorry to hear that the cancer was confirmed. I will keep her and your family in prayer. It sounds like you are doing really well
otherwise with your recovery. Keep your chin up.

Pam

[mabeckoff]

I will continue to keep you and your family in my prayers. Keep up your good recovery

[rohrer01]

Melissa,

It's good to see you back on the boards! I was really worried about you after that last post. You've got so many people's concern. Your suport here is great. I know this is Doreen's thread, but I'm sure she won't mind. ;-)

[mabeckoff]

Melissa,

It's good to see you back on the boards! I was really worried about you after that last post. You've got so many people's concern. Your suport here is great. I know this is Doreen's thread, but I'm sure she won't mind. ;-)

Thanks for caring. I just did not know what to say. I feel like I am complaining all of the time now. Not that Dr Bederman has given up on me, I know that he won't but he does not know what to tell me . He cannot prescribe the patches nor the pain pump. For that I need to go back to pain management and talk to them. He really does not want me to do that because he feels that I will be on them for the rest of my life, but he will if I want him to. I have so much stress right now in my life which is not helping me at all.My daughter and her SO as well as my inlaws are arriving tomorrow and I just don't know how the time together will play out.
The house situation is another story as well . I am so tired of being in pain without any relief in sight.

[jrnyc]

melissa, i'm gonna write over at your sept 9th surgery thread, so as not
to go into Doreen's thread....

Doreen, nice that you got the number of pain pills down...

jess

[Doreen1]

Didn't Make it to St. Louis

I wasn't able to make it to my first follow up appt with Dr. Lenke last week because my mom passed away the day before we were to fly to St. Louis on Feb 13. We were in FL last week and got home yesterday. It is a harsh realization that my mom, my best friend next to my hubby, is gone and that I won't be able to speak with her. I am finding comfort that her pain wasn't long-term and am amazed that she pushed through her pain to help take care of me post op in December. Dad called Monday morning to say that Mom wasn't doing well but insisted I not cancel the St. Louis trip. Moments later he called to say Mom had passed.

I talked with Kelly at Dr. Lenke's office today and she said to skip my 3 month appt and scheduled me for a 6 month appt in May. I'll have local xrays this week which will be sent to Dr. Lenke. I won't continue with Forteo as I got very sick with my first postop injection a few weeks ago. Kelly confirmed that since my bone density was 99% normal everywhere except my lumbar area, that severe scoliosis tends to result in false density readings, and that with the BMP I now have in my lumbar, that stopping Forteo is probably not an issue. She suggested I talk with the doc that prescribed Forteo but I've decided I won't continue.

I discovered what my limits are with riding in a car while traveling to FL. I'm 12 weeks post op today. We needed to stop at the 2 hour mark so I could get out and walk. On a cold day we walked inside Kroger. We also spent the night in a hotel at the halfway mark, 4 hours. I realized on this trip how good walking feels. It was invigorating to walk in warm, sunny Florida on flat ground. Because of the stress of last week, I increased my pain pills slightly, but am glad that I'm back to 1.5 pills today.

Hubby will take some photos of my back today and I'll post them to my blog tomorrow. Thank you for keeping my family in your prayers.

Warmly,
Doreen

[mabeckoff]

[QUOTE=Doreen1;135787]I wasn't able to make it to my first follow up appt with Dr. Lenke last week because my mom passed away the day before we were to fly to St. Louis on Feb 13. We were in FL last week and got home yesterday. It is a harsh realization that my mom, my best friend next to my hubby, is gone and that I won't be able to speak with her. I am finding comfort that her pain wasn't long-term and am amazed that she pushed through her pain to help take care of me post op in December. Dad called Monday morning to say that Mom wasn't doing well but insisted I not cancel the St. Louis trip. Moments later he called to say Mom had passed.


Oh Doreen I am so sorry to hear of your loss.I know how you feel as my Mom passed away 10 years ago this month. It was also very fast. You will be in my prayers.God bless you

[JenniferG]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Doreen. It's hard to lose your mother, all of us whose mothers were our best friends will understand how you feel. She lived to see you through this surgery and knew you were doing great.

[Doodles]

Doreen--
I'm so sorry about your mom. That she was able to care for you in December is amazing and I'm sure was a time of closeness for you. Thoughts and prayers with you. Janet

[jrnyc]

my deepest sympathy to you, Doreen...
those of us who have lost their mother can empathize
with some of what you are going through..
keeping you in thoughts and prayers...

jess

[LindaRacine]

Hi Doreen...

I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. It's an awful lot to have to deal with so soon after your surgery. I'm glad that you had time with your mom before her illness, and glad that she didn't have to suffer for a long time.

My thoughts are with you.

Regards,
Linda

[Doreen1]

Incision Pix

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and condolences. I had a good night last night because I didn't cry myself to sleep.

I finally decided to look at my postop pix which I wasn't ready for until now (I hope the attachment work, if not, they are on my blog).

Before After Pix from Lenke Dec 2011.jpg
The photo above is from Dr. Lenke's office showing 6 days preop and 9 days postop. I was still swollen but the changes are obvious including my rib hump (side shot photos) disappearing. I now have 36 screws, 2 rods, 2 cages and a couple of bolts comprised of a combination of cobalt chrome and titanium. I regained the 4 inches of height that I lost last year so I'm back to 5'10".

12 Weeks Post Op Feb 2012.jpg
The above photo is 12 weeks post. Notice how my left hip sticks out now? Dr. Lenke will look at this when I see him in May.

I recall some forum discussions about mixing metals in patients so I was a little surprised to learn I have both cobalt chrome and titanium.

Warmly,
Doreen

[Singer]

Doreen, I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. Losing a parent is so tough.

Your post-op pictures look excellent, especially the last one. I doesn't look to me that your left hip is sticking out that much, but it may feel differently to you. At any rate, you look great.

[Marina63]

Post op

Wow, Doreen! You are looking fantastic! That incision is healing nicely.

What's up with the hip? Did Dr. Lenke give you any idea of why it sticks out (not noticeably)?