Yes, I was thinking of him, too. Hope his family does a post soon.
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Yes, I was thinking of him, too. Hope his family does a post soon.
Mike had his long awaited 10 hour surgery. According to Dr. Tribus, he was able to stabilize the spine. I recorded the "after" surgery consult with the doctor. Once Mike is feeling up and staying awake to listen to it, we will post details of his surgery. Mike is still in ICU and in a horrible amount of pain. The staff have been very attentive to his needs and are doing their best to keep him as comfortable as they can. Thank you all for your support and giving Mike the confidence to go forward with this surgery.
Hi Mikes mom
Welcome.
Thanks for giving us an update....Do try to stay strong through all of this and remember that things do get better in time. Deep breaths for everyone.
Have they gotten him standing up yet? I did a lot of standing by my bed during my ICU days...or at least that what they told me. I don’t remember much during that period. Trying to get comfortable is so hard after scoliosis surgery.....it takes a really long time.
Don’t be hesitant to ask if you have any questions.
Ed
Just wanted to say I'm praying for you Mike and hope you are hanging in there.
God Bless,
Melisse
Hey guys, As my mom said, surgery went well, I was in ICU for a couple days immediately following, then I was moved up to the orthopedic floor. All the nurses here are great.
I've been in a LOT OF pain. It seems to stem from my pelvis where the anchor screws are, and then a really sharp, burning pain running down my left leg. The nurses won't give me anything strong enough to kill that pain, because the surgeon won't authorize it. The only med that gives me real actual relief, it's valium. Because valium is such a depressant, they're having to be careful with the doses I receive.
We started to use the tilt table a few days after surgery, but every time I got on it I was so lightheaded and nauseous that I couldnt step off because it felt like I would collapse. After a few days of that, we tried something different. Dr Tribus had me sit up at the edge of the bed until I wasn't so lightheaded, then I stood up with him holding me for about 10 minutes so i wouldn't fall down. Eventually I was able to take a few steps with the walker, then I sat in a cardiac chair for a bit. It felt great to get up and move like that. The next day I ended up walking about 40 feet or so down the hallway and back. After all this, the hospital decided I made enough progress to be released to the rehab facility. Yesterday was the first full day here, and it was a pretty rough day, pain wise.
Right in the center of my back, at the hip, on the left side, there's like a bump, it almost feels like it's full of fluid. But the to the right of that is where I'm having horrible pain. I'm hoping it's just screws trying to heal, but of course it's hard to not think it's something much worse. I had x-rays taken before I left the hospital, and haven't heard anything is wrong sooo... I just feel like being 11 days out, that pain right there shouldn't be so bad. Maybe I'm being too optimistic. I know you people will talk some sense into me!
I did a little PT/OT yesterday, but only laying in bed because my rear hip/center lower back area was so painful. We'll give it another go today. I was able to get up and take a shower tho, which was great. Overall mentally I feel good about everything, other than the possibility that something is wrong in that area that hurts so bad. I know this post is a little rambling, I've been typing on it a little here and there for the past few days so... I'll be more diligent and post more often now, and I'll post a couple before and after pics real soon......
Edit: I updated my signature with a link to some pictures....
...added link in signature with pictures...
Wow so happy to read about your progress, Mike.
A few things you wrote and some of the pictures instantly transported me back to when my daughters were fused. You are 37 but I group you with the kids in my mind. I hope your recovery reflects that.
What do they say about the focal pain in that small area especially combined with the sciatica? If it isn't nerve pain then what is it?
You are doing so well.
Best regards, Sharon
Maybe other people can venture a guess also but I think you are south of the 66T and 66L you walked in with. It is hard to see the lower curve on the after picture but I think both curves are reduced.
Hi Sharon, that picture I put up that shows the 66° lumbar and thoracic curves was an xray taken in St Louis in 2009 I believe. I just added that to give an idea of where I was pre surgery. I assume my curves had progressed since then, but I really don't have an actual correct number. Maybe I'll delete that pic, and see if I can find something a bit more recent. The problem with that is the quality of the current ones aren't great, because they're just pictures I took from a computer screen. If I change anything I'll post it..
Edit: Sharon, I completely misunderstood what you were saying about the 66° curves... But yeah, the quality of the after x-rays is pretty bad, so I'll try to get better ones when I get a chance. Thanks!
Mike, Its hard to say what could be causing any localized pain when the whole surgical area is raw and inflamed.....Inflamed tissue can impinge on nerves causing pain....and nerves can be quite stubborn when it comes to healing and healing takes time.....I see your horizontal anterior scar, it looks like you skipped the ileus which is a good thing. I was 9 months along and huge. That when the guts stop working, its extremely important that you maintain your daily bowel movements. Drinking water and walking helps with this.
The showers are heaven.... If you can get in for frequent hot showers, they will help. The main thing is falling, your not allowed to fall. Take the walker in the shower with you if need be.
You realize that frequent short walks are so important for blood transfer. This brings nutrients into healing zones, and also helps reduce swelling which can happen all over....(hydrostatic pressure imbalances and fluid stress) This happens after surgery. When the nurses came to my house, I always did my short walks no matter how much it hurt. Remember that you can always stop for a break. I used ski poles. Sometimes it seems like walking across the United States is this unobtainable goal, but it isn’t when you take it one step at a time. Now you are ready to walk around the world. One step at a time.
Surgical pain can continue, it seemed like I had no improvement for a few weeks, it truly was dreadful, then suddenly I had this immediate improvement of 10-20%. It came in steps for some reason. Since the nerves seem to have this on/off heal switch, there was no gradual improvement, then some nerves healed and I improved. Many here have reported these steps of improvement. That first step came around 4 weeks. Patience with pain is something we learn....Pushing through pain is something that became part of my psyche. Its not our choice, its an adaptive trait.
If you can get copies of your digitals burned to disc from the radiology dept, that’s the way to go since they can be zoomed in.
Hang in there, you made it
Ed
Mike...
Opoids are pretty useless for radiculopathy (which is presumably the leg pain you're having). Are you on gabapentin?
--Linda
Yes I'm taking gabapentin. I'm having horrible pain in my rear hip area, seems like there's fluid or something pooling back there, theres a bump protruding around the incision by L2-L4. about the size of a credit card. It hurts mainly when I'm sitting, which seems to put pressure on that bump. Laying down takes some pressure off but not completely. Also, after any amount of sitting or walking, I get extremely cold. My temp has been pretty stable and bloodwork showed no infection so not sure why I get so chilled.
Had a nurse check out the spot I'm having so much trouble with today. Pretty much said it's normal fluid build up, and that there's going to be pain no matter what right now. Makes sense, it's not even been two weeks yet. I guess I'm just getting tired of laying in this bed, not spending enough time up moving around, and feel like I want to be swinging from the rafters by now... Ah well... Steady as she goes... I did stand for a shower today, didn't sit down at all. That felt great! Tired me out a bit, and caused a little extra pain, but just being able to stand long enough for a shower was a great mental hurdle. Overall, everyone says my progress is excellent so far, especially since we went without the tilt table. The nurse is on her way in now to change the dressing on my spine since it got wet in the shower.. I'll see if she'll take a pic or two and I'll post.... Good luck everyone........!
So.. Honestly I never ever had any intention of posting a picture like these.. Just kind of seemed embarrassing I guess. But here is a pic of my back the morning of surgery before we left home, and the other is a picture that was taken five minutes ago. I can certainly see improvement, especially in the right shoulder blade area. I know my spine and my situation was and is special, and unlike most others. A bit more cosmetic improvement would've been great, but if pain relief is what comes of this, then of course all this is absolutely worth it........
Attachment 1907
Attachment 1906
Mike, No worries on the photos....were used to it around here....Our scars are our silent testimonials of triumph and pain, which goes deep with us. There is no embarrassment...
How many walks do you do during the day? and how is the log rolling doing? Are you using the tilt table most of the time?
With sitting, I didn’t like leaning back or sitting back in a chair. Didn’t want to make any contact since its so delicate, so simply sat up with perfect posture. Your not making contact with your delicate fluid spot on the back of the chair are you? Also, sitting at that stage was short, under a few minutes, any more and I would have to stand back up. Standing up seemed the most comfortable position for me. Sitting is a difficult position after scoliosis surgery. Understand that this is all immediate recovery related, and that it will pass as you heal and toughen up again.
I was also very cold after my surgeries and set the temp at 84 degrees in the house. Had some record gas bills.
I take it you are still in Wisconsin? How far are you from your surgeon?
I think your going to do just fine, your posts reflect this. Its good to have that huge bubble of anxiety burst upon surgery. You have turned the page. (smiley face)
Hang in there
Ed
Looks awesome to me, Mike. Be proud.
Susan
Mike
Hoping the pain isn’t too bad, this period of recovery can be hard.....hang in there
Maybe you will get some Thanksgiving dinner....go easy. My best advice for today would be to stay clear of the stuffing. Don’t go there, trust me on this one. If it will last a century in a cardboard box, it wont be the healthiest choice....
Now I have all the cooks freaking out....(smiley face)
Ed
Haha, thanks for the advice Ed! I'm still in this rehab facility, which I'm ready to break out of any day now, but the people are nice, the food is actually good, and they take the rehab seriously. I just got done taking a looong hot shower, stood up the whole time, probably 20 minutes or so. Felt great, but kinda wore me out. Yesterday in PT I walked up and down ten stairs, that was pretty encouraging also. I just had the nurse take the bandage off my back for good, and had her take a pic of it. Here it is:
And why does every picture I put into the body of my responses keep showing up sideways???!!!! I even tried rotating them in my folder first in anticipation that maybe it would rotate it to be the correct orientation, but nooooooooooo! Oh well. Happy thanksgiving everyone...
Wow your scar healing is excellent!
So glad to hear you are recovering well. I think you are grouping with the teenagers in term of recovery. I think you will reach a point where your back is stable and you don't have to worry about it any more.
Best regards, Sharon
Happy thanksgiving. Looks great.
Had an interesting thing happen yesterday. So I was laying in bed, the hospital bed in this rehab place, with the back tilted up a ways. So I was laying, but my torso was angled up at,I dunno, let's say a 45° angle. All of a sudden, the bed gave out, and the part that was tilted up just fell down about 4" I'd guess. Very abruptly, which also means my body was very temporarily not in contact with the bed, and slammed down on it after the bed caught and stopped falling. It wasn't very far, but it definitely hurt to land on my back like that.
Go figure, it was thanksgiving, but they did have a maintenance man come in to take a look. He had no clue because this bed was borrowed from the hospital because of its extra length. I am like 6'7" or so... So we ended up just laying the bed flat and unplugging it so it couldn't be moved overnight accidentally. They're supposed to be delivering a new bed this morning sometime around 10:00.
In the meantime, I'm stuck sitting in what they call a cardiac chair...? I've never heard that term. Basically just a small recliner that's electric that will recline, extend the foot rest, and also move itself into position to help you stand up. Not the most comfortable, but it is what it is. My back felt like it was on fire after that bed collapsed like that yesterday, and the best they would do for the pain was give my meds a half hour early.
Anyway, other than that, I really do feel like everyday is getting better. I'm trying really hard in PT and OT, I just want to get out of here and get home! I'm having my girlfriend, mom, and dad go out and buy me a nice recliner for when I do get home(which I'm expecting will be absolutely no more than two weeks.) Probably more like one week. My dad is tall like me, he's 6'6", so I talked him into going out on this crazy shopping day to sit in a few to see if they're big enough.
Have a great day everyone!
Hey Mike. That's crazy about the bed. Sorry that happened.
Your spirits seem high which is so good. That will help so much.
Mike,
You didn’t eat the stuffing did you? This probably contributed to the failure of the hospital furniture. He he Hope this new pain passes quickly....
The scars look good, keep an eye on them. If there is any doubt, redness, swelling etc, have your doc take a look. Incisional infection is serious. Is your fluid pocket improving?
I can understand about wanting to break out and go home.....
Are you log rolling out of bed now? or using the tilt table?
Things do get better everyday.....
Ed
No tilt table. I was on it maybe 3 times, and doc said forget it, and I've been doing the log rolling method. Just got the bed fixed, repair guy said he'd bet his life that it wouldn't happen again. We'll see. My family from Ohio showed up here yesterday evening, they'll stay for the weekend. I've been wanting to get a nice recliner for when I do get to go home, so since today is black Friday, I figured I'd try talking them into it. They agreed, and since my dad is 6'6", I talked him into going with the women so he could test out the size for me... Haha.. They picked a nice one out, and it'll be waiting for me whenever I get to go home.
Mike
Your approx 18 days now. You hanging in there?
I’m wondering what kind of meds your taking being as large as you are? I peaked out at around 5 weeks post on well over 100Mg of Percoset. I’m having trouble remembering this stuff lately.
What do you think on breaking out? Do I need to post some Thin Lizzy? (smiley face)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRo3u04vY1E
Ed
Funny you should ask... I just texted Jenn I'm ready to break outta here! They're actually doing the home assessment this Wednesday, so I'm planning on going home after that. Just need a couple handles installed. One right by the entry door in the garage that goes into the house, and at least one just outside the shower. I'm hangin, but I'm ready to get home.
Meds... Ah yeah.. So before surgery I was taking 60mg of morphine twice a day, 10/325 Percocet at least twice, sometimes three, and rarely four times a day, and a muscle relaxer twice a day.
Right now I'm taking 20mg of oxycodone every 3-4 hours, 60mg morphine twice a day, I think it's 100mg of gabapentin twice a day, Tylenol a few times a day... I was taking valium every 4 hours, but as of last evening,I told the nurse that I'd like to stop taking that one. I'm not real sure it was doing much, but mostly I just didn't want another med to try to kick later on. They're also giving me vit c, iron, and senna for my bowles. I know this is kinda gross but I actual had to request a butt pill a couple times because I just couldn't go, and I didn't want that to get too far out of hand. Since the last one it's been all good.
And man, I used to listen to thin lizzy a bunch!
My surgeon asked me how many steps I had in my home quite a few times. I have 2 leading into the house......It was all about falling. No steps, no treadmill. Anything to keep from falling.
We have to become lower GI experts after spine surgery. Opioid’s have a tendency to lock us up, and opioid constipation is extremely painful. It’s a careful balance of spine pain or lower GI pain.
I was saved by the Magnesium Citrate. Sold over the counter, $2 per bottle, it would be a good idea to have a few bottles of this laxative on standby, it will save a trip to the hospital in case you lock up again.
With me, it seemed that the lower GI pain outweighed the spine pain, and that was what made me quit the meds. After 6 weeks of this, I was willing to accept some spine pain over bowel issues. I replaced the meds with nutrients, thru smoothies. It takes a lot of energy to heal, eating and re-supplying that energy becomes a necessary thing. I lost 40# in 40 days and was withering away and turning grey.
I would boil in my tub and listen to a queen concert dvd over and over since it was not a priority changing the disc! I listened to “Another one bites the dust” hundreds of times, and came close, but no dusty for me!
My survival along with healing was my priority back in those days.....There were no outside distractions, everything other than maintaining myself was put on the backburner. I wasn’t going to worry about anything other than healing. It was my time to recover......
Ed
Yeah, I've also decided I need to just focus on me as much as possible. My full recovery is most important at this point.
So it appears I might have developed a seroma on my lower back. It's been swollen a bit since I left the hospital and came to this rehab place, and it has appeared it's been pooling fluid. It hasn't bothered me at all, really, pain wise. Until yesterday. It's as big as it's ever been, and it's starting to get pretty painful. Painful to the point that it affected my physical and occupational therapy. My next appointment to see my surgeon was Dec 22, and I just didn't think that was soon enough. I sent some pictures of the bulge, and pretty much right away I got a call from his nurse saying they want me to come in on the 5th. Of course that made me extremely nervous that something more serious was going on, but then she described the fluid and how my body just isn't reabsorbing it. My family doc is also coming in here to see me today, so I'm hoping to hear it's just a seroma, and it'll need to be drained.
Here's a couple pics of the "bulge".......
Mike, Seroma has been mentioned here in the past.....
Be sure to let us know what your family doc thinks....
I was told that if I had anything happen to simply come on down to the office. It didn’t matter if my surgeon was there, they had multiple docs, nurses, and PA’s hanging around.
How often are you up and walking each day? Since I couldn’t sleep much or sit, I was either walking or pacing most of the time. I assume that this helps with the draining and equalizing process. I had my ileus and my feet and ankles were huge from edema.
I hope this passes quickly
Ed
The nurse practitioner here at rehab thought the "bulge" deserved immediate attention. She contacted my surgeons office, who wanted me to come in today. Which was great, because I was in a lot of pain, and I just wanted an answer about whether this was something to worry about or not.
I wasn't able to see my surgeon, but one of his associates, and another ortho scoli surgeon, which was fine with me. We quickly and obviously determined it wasn't spinal fluid, because I didn't have a headache that felt like my head exploded. (I've had a headache from spinal fluid leakage before, and it is absolutely the worst. EVER.) So it is a seroma. They decided they were going to drain it right there. They removed 500cc of fluid, and definitely could've kept going, taking more out. He was like pushing fluid down my spine and incision area to where they had the syringe sucking all that junk out. Kinda gross, but here's a pic of all the fluid they removed:
http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1480466908
I'm back laying in bed on my back right now, and my pain level is much better, BUT, I've taken all my meds a little over an hour ago. They fitted a sort of corset for me, to help my body absorb the rest of the fluid. If that doesn't work, they'll put a drain tube in me, and admit me in the hospital for a couple days. If THAT doesn't work, then they'll have to surgically go in and clean everything out. Hoping it doesn't come to that.
The doc said this is fairly common, especially given the size and severity of surgery I had.
Ed, I have been up and walking quite a bit, the nurses here have been telling me how great and fast my progress is going. But now that I'm thinking about it, I think I should be getting up a lot more frequently just to take a walk around.
Mike, good call on your nurses part....Glad you got some relief. That is a lot of fluid...
It would be logical to say that any infection involves worsening pain....and your ability to feel this pain change over your current medication dosage is critical, along with having professionals monitor your seroma and your incisions. It would also be logical to say that early detection of infection would be beneficial.....I am guessing you will be hanging out for a little while longer...
Have you experienced any night sweats? I had that happen every few days for months, I am guessing that it was my body fighting off infection, that, and a combination of the meds. (anesthesia meds) I was also very cold for a really long time. I didn’t have an electric blanket, but that sure sounds like a good idea. Freezing/sweating/and freezing, again and again.
My surgeon warned me about being sedentary in my recovery and didn’t want me hanging out in bed all day long.....I didn’t see what the problem was since sleeping for me was so hard even being as tired as I was.....if I wasn’t sleeping, I was up, and I was up like 20 hours per day. Standing is also exercise, and that leads to walking....I have no idea how exercise affects fluid absorption, all I can say is that it did work for me with ileus and edema. I didn’t have a seroma....
I hope this mellows out....
Ed
Hey Ed, as far as they could tell, that was not an infection at all, just fluid that wouldn't be absorbed by the tissues in my body. There was still quite a large bulge even after they took all that fluid out, which I thought was odd. I mean, there's clearly more fluid in there, you've already got a huge needle in me, why not try to remove as much as you possibly can at that time? Last night I put on that corset, as tight as I could get it, and took quite a long walk around this place. I took it off before I went to bed, and as I'm typing this, I can physically feel that the bulge isn't nearly as big as it was. Could be a coincidence, but it's encouraging, so I'll definitely be wearing that thing more often than not.
The first week or so after surgery, the night sweats were absolutely terrible. I would wake up in the middle of the night, and feel like I was just in a swimming pool. Just absolutely soaked. I'd have to change my clothes and sometimes call a nurse in to change my bedding. It was awful. That's gotten much better, although sometimes, I do wake up in the middle of the night, like right now, and my back is a little sweaty. I think that's just because I keep this room a little warm, because like you, I've felt freezing cold ever since surgery. Sometimes I just can't get myself to warm up. I mean, I am in Wisconsin, but it's only been in the 40's, and I've not been outside too much. I've been layering on clothes though! I do feel like I'm starting to get over that as well lately.
Before I went to see the surgeon yesterday, we went to my house to do a home evaluation about my coming home soon. I've already ordered a ton of medical equipment from Amazon that'll be delivered today... Raised toilet seat with handles, a walker, grab bars for the bathrooms and one for the door going into the house, I got one of those bed rails that sit between the box spring and mattress, have legs on the floor, then a rail that goes up above the mattress so I'll have something to help push myself up when I logroll out of bed. Yeah, the plan is still for me to go home tomorrow. There's really nothing more that I can do at this rehab place that I can't do at home, so I'm busting out. Pt has recommended in home therapy for a while after I go home, which is fine with me. It'll be 2 or 3 days a week.
Later today I'll go see my family doctor, I suppose just for a general checkup, and for him to sign off saying I'm good to go home. It's about 3 weeks earlier than originally expected, but I really have made great physical progress since I've been here. Other than that damn fluid pooling.
Well, it's like after 3am here and I feel wide awake, so maybe I'll put my corset on and go for a quick stroll..
Hi Mike. I live in Illinois and can relate to freezing. One thing I found was wearing a polar fleece vest helps. It keeps you core warm. I sometimes even sleep with it on. Try it. It can't hurt anything.
Yeah I actually got one of those moisture wicking, under layer things, long sleeve..... It's super thin material, and you'd never think it would keep you warm, but it works really well... Very surprising. This is actually exactly what I've been wearing:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00SC...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They do work well but I am thin like you and I found out if I am cold to add another layer and the vest works well for that. It is
Like making your core warm. I also found out not to let the metal get cold. Since it is inside you might think that shouldn't happen but it does.
Then the only thing that warms it is a hot tub soak. Stay warm you will feel better.
Well the damn seroma came back with a vengeance... As luck would have it (again), I was able to make a last minute appointment with another surgeon. Same guy as the other day. He removed about 500cc of fluid the first time. Today, meaning about 15 minutes ago, he was able to suck out around 1250cc MORE! Crazy. I really hope this time takes care of whatever is going on inside me. The doc felt confident after the procedure, and you can see a major difference in the way my back looks now, compared to when I walked in here.
I need to wear this corset as much as I can possibly stand it, to get the rest of this fluid to absorb into the right places. I'm also going to try to keep this bed I'm in at more of an upright angle, to get that fluid to drop down so the corset can do it's job.
I finally also came to the realization that I'm trying to move to quickly through recovery. It's only been 3 weeks. I felt so good so soon, I thought I was ready for anything. Although I was getting reassurance from physical and occupational therapy that I was progressing so fast, and they even signed off on discharge papers to send me home. Then this seroma thing started to appear. Total reality check. I'm positive I've been moving in the wrong ways, and probably, definitely... Doing things my body isn't ready to be doing. I need to just relax and take the time I really need to heal this thing properly.
Edit: I typed all this yesterday around 5pm, but apparently never actually posted it.... Just sayin..
Wow! There is 946cc’s in a quart, and that was only 3 days....
How are you feeling besides the seroma? Did you bump up your activity and do you think it might have contributed to the increase in fluid?
Has this other surgeon mentioned anything about this continuing, coming back to manually drain on a regular basis, and testing for possible infection to rule that out?
I have read that these persistent seroma’s can create their own bursa sac....
Ed
Hi Mike...
Whatever you're doing, you're not causing the seroma. I think it's just anatomy. As far as complications go, this is definitely one of the really easy ones (assuming it doesn't eventually evolve into an abscess and/or infection. If the seroma continues to return, they may need to put a drain in to get it to resolve.
Have you been wearing the brace they gave you?
--Linda
Hi Ed and Linda..
Yeah, have been wearing this brace/corset/girdle(ha!) since I went in the second time to have the seroma drained. I didn't wear it much after the first time it got drained, because when I had it on, it felt like it was just forcing the fluid up into other areas.
Since this second time he was able to drain SOOO much more fluid than the first time, I've had it on probably 95% or more of the time. Took it off to take a shower, and one other time just to let that area breathe a little. I do feel like we definitely made progress this second time. There's definitely still fluid in there, and you can see it, but it's very spongy, and it's staying in basically one area, just at the base of my spine. I'm really hoping by wearing this corset so much, my body will finally just absorb this, and I can move on.
I finally get to go see MY surgeon tomorrow. The two times I had the seroma drained, it was done by one of his colleagues. I'm certainly glad to meet with him, and get his opinion, but I'm also a bit nervous about his opinion. Ok, backing up a little, after the second drainage, when they got over 1000cc out, I sat up on the edge of the exam table, and apparently you could see what fluid was still in there dropping down due to gravity, and forming a bit of a pocket. I really wish I would've asked him to try to pull more fluid as I was in the sitting position, just to get as much as possible. But, hindsight is 20/20, right?
Ok back to tomorrow's appointment. I was originally told that normally they'd attempt to draw the fluid out manually with syringes, if that didn't work, I'd have a drain installed, and probably spend at least one night in the hospital. If the drain doesn't work, then the last option would be to surgically go back in and clean everything out, and I believe a heard him say they'd maybe close everything up a little tighter...? Does that make sense? Maybe that would lessen them size of the "pocket" the fluid continues to fill in? I'm ready hoping Dr Tribus tomorrow sees that there's not much fluid left, and either go in manually one more time, or go with the drain. Just not looking forward to more surgery.
I know I'm writing a lot here, hope I'm not rambling too much. I've got LOTS of time just sitting/laying in this rehab place. As far as that goes, occupational therapy has completely signed off on me, so I'm done with that. Physical therapy I'm still working with, and I'm assuming I will be for quite a while. I like it though, gets me up and moving. They timed me yesterday, that I walked roughly 967 feet in six minutes. Feels like I walked further than that, I thought I was almost speed walking!
Alright, enough for now. I'm am planning on going home for a few hours this afternoon, just for a change in scenery mostly. It's only a 15 minute car ride, so it's not horrible. It is supposed to snow about 2-4 inches here today, first snow of the year.
Have a great day everyone!