JERSEYOT UPDATE: I broke my back - in hospital

[Jenna.KB]

Hello all, sorry for the hiatus in checking in. It has been VERY difficult. My parents - (God bless them a they've been here since Jan.21 - just 2 days before my first surgery) - but hurt..to the bones...every little thing is an effort and doing it on my own now (getting 3 & 5 yr old up dressed fed and out the door on certain days, making meals, driving in this damn clamshell - all of it is just exhausting, painful and more challenging than I can take right now. My husband is trying to come home earlier to help out but something inevitably holds him up and he doesnt get home til 6:30 - handling12 hr days on my own right now is almost too much but what choice do I have?!?!

On a happy note, if you feel like voting for a good cause (Childrens Eye Foundation), I entered a picture of my son when he was 5months old - so just look for the photo called "bright eyes"!) the link is below:

http://www.childrenseyefoundation.or...ion/photo-page

Hope all is well

Hi Jerseyot

Sorry to hear your in pain and struggling with everything. I will be wishing things get easier for you and soon.
Just wondering by 'clamshell' you mean some sort of body brace? I'm awaiting further scoliosis surgery and have been told I will be fused to secrum with possible pelvis fixation so will have a body cast for a few months. If the clamshell is a body brace is it really that uncomfortable?

Jenna x

[jrnyc]

so sad to hear that things are still so difficult, Michele...
hope they ease up soon....i am so sorry for all your pain...
i did vote for bright eyes...how adorable he looks!

Jenna, Michele wrote earlier in the thread that it is a
"clam shell body brace" that she has

for your surgery, i have never heard of any surgeons still
using body casts...maybe they do it differently in England...?

jess

[jerseyot]

Just thought I'd share this:

June is National Scoliosis month and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is putting together a free online live Q&A with Dr. Peter Sturm on June 12th at 7:30 ET. This chat will help families who struggle with early onset Scoliosis and are interested in non-surgical solutions.*

It’s a great way for families to have their questions answered in a small, personal chat with a knowledgeable and experienced doctor. We would love to have your support!

How you can participate!*

1) Email your community the RSVP link below!*
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3608301527

2) Share the link with your Facebook community!*

3) Tweet about the event using the #CCHLive! hashtag.

[Jenna.KB]

so sad to hear that things are still so difficult, Michele...
hope they ease up soon....i am so sorry for all your pain...
i did vote for bright eyes...how adorable he looks!

Jenna, Michele wrote earlier in the thread that it is a
"clam shell body brace" that she has

for your surgery, i have never heard of any surgeons still
using body casts...maybe they do it differently in England...?

jess

Hi Jess

I must have missed the earlier thread.

Maybe I heard my surgeon wrong, maybe he meant a body brace. He just said I would have a cast/brace for a few months after surgery to protect me and remind my body that this is the new position. I'm glad I'll have something holding me in and protecting me after surgery but I didn't have any sort of brace or cast after my first surgery so I don't really know what to expect. How long it is, heavy, painful (incase it digs in) etc

Jenna

[jerseyot]

Hi Jess! Thanks for the vote for my "bright eyes" boy! Hard to believe he starts kindergarten in September! You can vote very day! Just click the link.

The pain is on and off. I see a pain management / physical medicine Amd rehab (PM&R) on July 2nd and I'm hoping he can adjust/change/rearrange my meds to give more constant pain relief - because right now, everything hurts. I'm also now being treated for depression, which honestly, I think I've had for atleast a year with all this pain. Just so much to handle some days. Ido t we t tomiss the little things my kids do and accomplish because I'm so encompassed by the pain. Some days it's feels like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. Other days, it's more bearable. What a roller coaster....

[jerseyot]

Does your surgeon know you are in so much pain? Why did the Physiatrist cut down your meds? Your pain needs to be under control so that you can function. Is there a pain clinic nearby where you could go. Some people just need to be on pain meds longer than others.
I hope you can get a solution very soon.
Thinking of you, Sally

Sally - i'm soooo sorry i'm just seeing this now! As you can imagine, my life has been turned upside down and inside out since January 24th and the broken back 7 weeks post-op definitely didn't help things...at ALL...it just made/makes my recovery that much more challenging...and painful...i see the surgeon tomorrow and i'm going to ask him to up my dose again because when the PM&R doc at Magee cut them in 1/2, i still took the remained of what i had and THEN started on the 1/2 dose, which has been kicking my a$$ ever since...of course, i need to drive short distances to take the kids to and fro and i do not in any way want to be woozy so what i do now is take the pain pill (long acting one) early in the morning around 5am, so by the time i need to drive somewhere i feel ok. If he did up my dose, it would be ok though b/c all of July & Aug my son will be in a camp 4 days a week 8-4pm that picks him up so no driving needed. IDK, but i have to talk to my surgeon about this...and the ill-fitting clamshell isn't helping either...i'm a mess...ugh!!! Sorry for the booo hooo's but man, how much more can i take?!?! I feel like my back is just giving up on me - like something isn't right...but he keeps saying "it's soft tissue pain" - i disagree...and we'll have a discussion about that on Monday, so stay tuned...I see the pain management guy at Rothman Institute (there's one here in south jersey now!) on July 2 so that visit can't come soon enough. He's not only a PM&R doc but he's a pain management doc. fingers crossed...

[jrnyc]

Michele, i am indeed voting every 24 hours....
we need more votes....for that cutey

jess

[jerseyot]

Awwwww, thanks Jess...that's so nice of you! I can't believe it - I just posted the pic yesterday and in 24 hours he's gotten 32 votes already!!! Wow!!!

Anybody else want to vote for a good cause (The Children's Eye Foundation), click on the link below and vote for my son at 5 months - "bright eyes"! You can vote every day (or every 24 hours!):

http://www.childrenseyefoundation.or...ion/photo-page

[mabeckoff]

I am so sorry that you are still is much pain. I hope that on July 2nd you get some relief

[Jenna.KB]

Awwwww, thanks Jess...that's so nice of you! I can't believe it - I just posted the pic yesterday and in 24 hours he's gotten 32 votes already!!! Wow!!!

Anybody else want to vote for a good cause (The Children's Eye Foundation), click on the link below and vote for my son at 5 months - "bright eyes"! You can vote every day (or every 24 hours!):

http://www.childrenseyefoundation.or...ion/photo-page

Voted again :-) He is a little cutie

Jenna x

[jerseyot]

Jess: you're so funny. Thanks for the votes

I am counting the days til my July 2 appointment.....

[golfnut]

I voted again. He's a doll.

[annabeller]

Oh Honey that sucks! I haven't been on here for months. We had our surgeries around the same time. So I was actually coming on here to see how you were doing. And it doesn't look good. Why did your back fracture? How was your surgery. I am a complete asshole for disappearing. I am doing really well. My surgery seems to have took. I am thinking about you and my heart goes out to you. I get how painful and depressing all this is.

[jerseyot]

Why?? Why?? Why??

Well...it appears im not "out of the woods" yet with regard to my back. *We have an issue. A big issue. And a lot of prayers are needed. As you know, I broke my T12 transverse process clear through on 3/25...according to my surgeon it definitely should have healed by now and apparently it has not. It's still fractured on the right side despite wearing this brace 24/7 except when sleeping now.

SO, we have 2 options. Wait a other 2-3 months and PRAY (really hard) that it heals; if it doesn't, he will need to extend the fusion literally top to bottom, taking out the hardware he worked so hard to "Install." Obviously no one wants that. It would be a complete 100% revision doing the whole 2nd surgery all over again. He's completely baffled about the stabbing lower back pain b/c "everything looks good on CT & X-ray" The continued fracture of the T12 is what he thinks is causing me so much pain on the right side, radiating out and sometimes down. The leg pain is nerve pain and the pain mgmt dr I see on Monday can help me with that.

So there you have it. This thing HAS to heal. It HAS to. So if I may, please say a prayer or send positive vibes my way that this fracture heals that I won't need to go through a complete revision. Im hopeful and I know with your prayers and support anything and all things are possible.


THE SERENITY PRAYER:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;*
courage to change the things I can;*
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;*
enjoying one moment at a time;*
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;*
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;*
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;*
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.

[golfnut]

I am so sorry to hear this. You have my support and prayers.