A year ago today.

[Neesasmum]

Hi Samsmom

Yes, I will be sure to let you know if I learn anything new from the Spinal Liason Nurse when I talk to her.

I'm not surprised that Sam is finding it hard to focus on her exams at the moment, with everything that is going on around her. Annessa should be sitting exams on the dates she will be in hospital and is having to postpone them until April now. Hopefully she will be ok to sit them then. Like Sam, Annessa is apprehensive about the upcoming surgery and although she wants to have it she is also scared. That is a good idea to ask the doc about giving them something to sleep the night before, I will do that (I can't see me sleeping at all the night before!).

We went to our pilates class tonight and my friend was there who is a nurse and used to look after children who had gone through spinal fusions and she said she could tell by looking at Annessa from the front that her scoliosis had worsened since the last time she had seen her which was around the end of November. I think it looks worse too. I can't believe how fast these curves can progress!

When we found out the date of Annessa's op we decided to take all the family on a trip to New York and we have just returned from there on Saturday - it was great and really took our minds off it all for a little while.

You asked if we have far to travel to see our doctor and in that sense we are very fortunate as we live in Edinburgh which is where the 2 Consultants practice and the hospital is only 10 minutes up the road from where we live. I will be staying in the hospital with Annessa once she is out of intensive care though. Both surgeons are very dedicated and obviously have a busy workload.

Anyway, Samsmom, it is good to talk and share worries. I will let you know how I get on with the Spinal Nurse and please keep in touch.

All the very best
Anne

[Neesasmum]

Hi Lori

Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers! And thank you also for your advice, you obviously know exactly what we are going through! I was laughing at your "cocktail" story and I am sure I will feel the same way.

How is Chris now? I hope he is getting better and stronger everyday. Are any of your other children affected by scoliosis? I have a son who is 21 and he is fine. I still feel in shock by all of this and by how quickly Annessa's curve got worse!

Take good care and keep in touch!
Best wishes
Anne

[LorDon]

Hi Anne,
Chris is doing fantastic. He has been completely off his meds (including Tylenol) for roughly 10 days. All of the steri strips have fallen off and his scar is healing very nicely. He has no complaints at all. His appetite is back to normal and his color is back. I am astonished at how quickly he bounced back. The week in the hospital was the worst for us but once he came home, things got better each day. The recovery period has been much easier than I anticipated.

My 3 other children don't have scoliosis and I'm praying that they don't develop it. I must admit, I fall into the neurotic Mom category because I frequently have them bend over and I inspect their backs. They think I'm nuts, but that's ok. I've been called worse

I know how you feel about the shock of quickly progressing curves. Chris' curves jumped 17 degrees in a year and we felt like we were hit with a brick when we looked at the xrays and were told he needed surgery. The months that followed produced a myriad of emotions ranging from shock, sadness, depression and finally acceptance. The good news is that I am so glad that we went ahead and did the surgery and the relief I feel now is enormous.

You'll get through it. Believe me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Take care and keep us posted!

[samsmom]

Hi Anne,

That was a good idea about taking a trip. I am trying to keep Sam busy so we don't dwell on the upcoming operation ... maybe a spa visit. You must have had a great time in NY. So much to see and do. We are only an hour from NY and go there often.

Sam's curve progressed rapidly as well. They stopped bracing as the doctors felt she was done growing and we had an appointment to go for a re-check 6 months after. I had to call and move the appointment up because I could actually see that she had worsened. Sure enough, her curve increased 10 degrees in four months and we were advised to have the surgery!

It is good that you are close to where Annesaa is having the operation. From other posts I can see that people have to travel hours away and that just makes it all the more difficult. I will be staying with Sam in the hospital... and maybe my husband if they will allow us.

Take care and hang in there,
Michele

[samsmom]

Hi Lori,

I am glad to hear that Chris is doing fantastic. Is he normally pretty tough??
Sam has a really low tolerance for pain, so I am really concerrned. He really came off the pain medicines quickly. How wonderful.

What is his activity level like now? Is he back to school or does he have tutors coming in? Is he riding in the car or taking walks now?

It is good to find someone a few steps ahead and doing so well. Thanks for your encouraging words.

Best,
Michele

[LorDon]

Hi Michele,
Chris does have a pretty high tolerance for pain. He didn't really like being on the Oxycodone because he would wake up drenched in sweat. I did a quick search on the internet and found out that sweating is a side effect from it. He couldn't wait to be off of it. He also didn't experience many muscle spasms so he didn't use too many of the Valium. They also sent him home with anti-nauseau medicine but he never took any. He improved so much after we got home. Sleeping in his own bed without hourly interruptions and having his own surroundings helped him tremendously.

He isn't back to school yet and has 5 tutors coming to the house. I don't feel that he is ready to go back full time yet and that was confirmed yesterday. He had his history tutor in the morning for 1.5 hours and his Trig and Precalc tutor in the afternoon for about 1 hr and 45 minutes. He was really tired afterwards and his back was stiff from sitting for long periods. He said he had a hard time focusing at the end. Can't blame him there - trig and precalc aren't exactly exciting! He told me that there was no way he was ready to go back to school for a full day. I'm not rushing it. It's a huge surgery and I want to be sure he is completely ready. Being a boy, he isn't exactly anxious to get back either! I've heard that most girls don't want to miss much, but Chris is just the opposite. He doesn't sweat the small stuff, that's for sure.

Believe me, you will be surprised at how quickly they start to feel better and act more like themselves. I really expected a lot more pain during the recovery period but I was pleasantly surprised.

Stay in touch!