Surgery is Monday - very nervous!

[rainbow2010]

My daughter was 14 when she had her surgery. She danced in the Nutcracker 6 months after her surgery. She started back dancing 3 months after surgery. She danced in West Side Story this past weekend and will be in three more shows this spring with her high school dance class(2 different shows) and her dance studio. Dance has been a great way for her to get back in shape and strengthen her back again! She was told to wait 6 - 12 months before doing leaps, but started sooner. She did have pain when she "cheated" on her doctor's advice. My daughter is fused from T5 - L3 with two rods.

[mariaf]

I'm so happy to hear that Heather's recovery is going great so far!

Just the other day, my daughter said that she found out that a girl in her HS, Emily, had recently had fusion. She only knew because Emily was complaining about her post-op brace. From what my daughter can figure out from the last time she saw Emily at school (she did not want to ask too many questions), Emily's surgery was less than two months ago (perhaps as recent as five or six weeks). The bottom line is that my daughter was pretty amazed that Emily was "back to her old self" so quickly.

I know that everyone's recovery is different, but I just wanted to share this as encouragement to anyone facing surgery that some patients do bounce back very quickly.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

To Heather's dad...

I'm so happy that Heather did well with the surgery & all. The drugs can make you very emotional. While in the hospital & on the morphine, I had a few weird dreams...I guess all to be expected...
I think at any age, coming thru this kind of surgery, we are so relieved in a great way when all of the anticipation & fear is over...it certainly can bring one to tears...believe me!
Lynne -age 47
fused T-11 to L-5 ant/post done aug 1, 2006/Boachie/Kim
6 MOS POST-Op...finally!

[HeathersDad]

Doing well

Heather is progressing nicely in her recovery. She's up and walking more, as well as finally being able to lie on her back comfortably. She's sitting up for longer stretches at a time now, which is handy since she started having tutor visits from the school this week.

By her choice, she's not taking the Oxycontin every 12 hours any more - only if she feels she may need it. For immediate relief she's still using the Oxycodine, and she's even cut back on that. She's still using the Valium for the spasms she gets, but even those are starting to subside. I'm really proud she's making the decision on her own, as to which medication she wants to take. Obviously my wife and I have a say - so, but so far Heather has been doing well with making the decisions on her own. I think she's overly concerned about the addictive factor of Oxycontin & Valium, but she's doing well.

Although she doesn't like having tutors coming in to help her catch up with her school work, she's starting to express her "I can't wait to go back to school" feelings. I'm sure it's more because she misses her friends than anything else. Her friends call and talk to her to tell her how much they miss her - but no one comes to visit. With any luck, she'll be back to school next month.

She finally sat at her desk with my son's laptop the other day, and read this thread. It made her feel good that so many people actually understand and care. I'm trying to get her to post stuff herself - but she's more interested in MySpace!

Anyhow - thanks again and again and again for all your kind words and support, they mean a lot, and they mean a lot to my daughter as well.

Oh - she asked me to post her before and after x-rays. I hope this doesn't violate any terms.

[MATJESNIC]

So glad to hear how well Heather is doing. Those x-rays are amazing. Thanks so much for sharing them. Her spine looks great!!!

Best wishes for a successful recovery.

[MATJESNIC]

Rainbow,

Just saw your post. How wonderful that your daughter is continuing with her dancing. My daughter is a dancer, as well. So it is very encouraging. Good for her!!!

[flowerpower]

Great correction, thanks for sharing. Hope recovery continues to go well.

Renee

[HeathersDad]

6 Month follow-up, and things are great!

My daughter had her 6 month follow-up exam this week, and is doing really well. We're all so happy about this! She's no longer on any meds, with the exceptional pill for pain that may be caused by out of the ordinary circumstances, such as the vibrations caused by the sound system at Fenway Park during the Police concert last month. I think that's been the only things that bothers her the most right now, vibrations caused by deep, bass-y sounds. She says it bothers her less and less, and I'm sure it's something that she'll get used to over time.

Her range of motion has increased, and her doctor has told her it's time to start physical therapy, so we're looking for a place closer to us than Boston. She's been given the okay to go back to dance lessons, as long as she remains aware of her limitations - which is, for the most part, a lack of side - to - side bending, at least for now.

Her scar is healing up really nice, although it will obviously always be there. I thought for sure she would be so self - consious about it, but it doesn't seem to bother her at all, which is great - I can't say I'd be the same way myself.

So, over all, we're all pretty happy about the surgery - I hope this helps others in their decision making process.

[flowerpower]

Thanks for the update, glad to hear your daughter is doing well. She must be excited to be able to get back to dancing!

The Police concert!!!! WOW, what a lucky girl, I bet that was a really good concert.

Best wishes,
Renee