19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

[JDM555]

John,

Getting that pic shot slammed on opiates sounds like a great idea! If you were having a bad day and got pulled over, the officer would never suspect anything. LOL

Here in Nevada, you do not get your new license after the photo. They mail it to you. That's a way to make sure you have an address.

Anyway, its Christmas. No sense worrying about things. Its time for hot toddies, eggnog, Santa suits, (if that's your thing) LOL and presents! And of course, remembering how lucky and blessed we truly are.

Merry Christmas
Ed

Haha seriously. I just cut my hair and I shaved, I want to take the picture tomorrow, but I guess you need an "appointment" I tried going online, says January 18, 2010 is the FIRST date lol. It's at 8 AM too. I will hopefully get my handicap placard tomorrow and try to do the License picture to knock two birds with one stone. I don't mind waiting for the license in the mail, I can use the current one if I do end up driving before the new one comes, I just really want to change the photo since on the license, it says my weight and height are....hold it.....wait for it.....waittt....



....wait...




...I said wait....



5'7 and 90lbs. Plus, I look like I am 11 years old, TOPS.

LOL So if an officer looks at it and tells me to step out and I'm 6'4 190 lbs, he'll be like...damn one HELL of a growth spurt. LOL

[jrnyc]

Hi John
i WISH i had some of your tall..i was 5 ft 5 & a quarter...i never left out the quarter..but am now down to 5 ft 3...shrinking from curves.....& i always wanted to be tall! i know you think that you are too tall...but be grateful...think of all the things you can see over that i cant see...REALLY..i am super jealous!!! my nephew hit 6 ft 3 when he was only 16, & i am so happy for him! he is 23 now, & i always told him, there is a reason America rarely votes for short guys for president!!

i dont blame you for worrying..i would too...but just know that it will all work out...when surgery happens, you will have to surrender control to some very excellent medical staff...& just let go! you wont be incapacitated to the point of not being able to get things done...a few weeks after surgery they will probably have to tie you down to keep you from doing too much!

try to rest...worrying is exhausting!

jess

[JDM555]

Hi John
i WISH i had some of your tall..i was 5 ft 5 & a quarter...i never left out the quarter..but am now down to 5 ft 3...shrinking from curves.....& i always wanted to be tall! i know you think that you are too tall...but be grateful...think of all the things you can see over that i cant see...REALLY..i am super jealous!!! my nephew hit 6 ft 3 when he was only 16, & i am so happy for him! he is 23 now, & i always told him, there is a reason America rarely votes for short guys for president!!

i dont blame you for worrying..i would too...but just know that it will all work out...when surgery happens, you will have to surrender control to some very excellent medical staff...& just let go! you wont be incapacitated to the point of not being able to get things done...a few weeks after surgery they will probably have to tie you down to keep you from doing too much!

try to rest...worrying is exhausting!

jess

Awesome, I hope you're right about having to tie me down. I am looking forward to spending the holidays and then having the surgery monday morning. I'll keep people updated with the Placard and after surgery. Thanks everyone.

[JDM555]

Update:

I got my handicap placard form in the mail today from Stanford. I took it to the DMV, got the card AND renewed my license

So, everything looks good. I want to wish EVERYONE a Merry Christmas Eve tonight and a Merry Christmas Tomorrow. Happy Holidays everyone!
John

[jrnyc]

aha....no "i told you it would work out" 's from anyone....

ditto to you for the holidays...& to all who are praying for you...

merry merry happy happy...

jess

[fierceliketiger]

John,
I am late getting to this topic. But, I also had my surgery young (I was 23)...my scoliosis was also REALLY low, so low that it involved reshaping my pelvis. I can attest that you should be able to walk a mile after 4 weeks, no matter if its raining or not. It sucks, its going to hurt. In fact, my surgeon's secretary summed it up for me before my surgery:
Secretary: "If you come in anytime from the time you have your surgery until the 6 week mark you will tell me to go *&@$ myself just for scheduling it. After the 6 week mark you might decide to bring me cookies."

And truthfully, until the 6 week mark, it SUCKED. After that it slowly got better until I was hiking and biking all over the place 5 months out. (yes, I had a broken rod, it was caused by a non-union, not because of activities, and because I tend to win the medical lottery, lol). I fell a few times, in fact most everyone here has a "first fall after the surgery" story, and they hurt, it jars your back...but most often it doesn't break anything, just hurts your pride. The rods that you are getting are STRONG.

My first thought when you mentioned walking to class was "How is he going to sit in class?", not "what if its too far of a walk?". I would make sure your teachers all know of your surgery (just tell them before the first class)and maybe you can get a place in the back or side of the class so you can stand when you need to.

I hope that you have a really good few days before surgery and then that you have a speedy recovery. I will be sending all my good healing vibes to you. Remember when you are going through the worst of it that this is only temporary, and you'll return to your "real" life soon enough, even if it takes 6 months or a year. Its a short period of time to make the rest of your years less painful.

[titaniumed]

Hi Fierce,

I will agree on that 6 week mark, however we had anteriors......

John will have it much easier than us.

Good idea on sitting in the back of class with the sitting issues.

Hope things are well.

Merry Christmas
Ed

[JenniferG]

Yes, it's the sitting, not the walking, that's hard in those early weeks. But you are young John and you will recover well and life goes on.

[JDM555]

John,
I am late getting to this topic. But, I also had my surgery young (I was 23)...my scoliosis was also REALLY low, so low that it involved reshaping my pelvis. I can attest that you should be able to walk a mile after 4 weeks, no matter if its raining or not. It sucks, its going to hurt. In fact, my surgeon's secretary summed it up for me before my surgery:
Secretary: "If you come in anytime from the time you have your surgery until the 6 week mark you will tell me to go *&@$ myself just for scheduling it. After the 6 week mark you might decide to bring me cookies."

And truthfully, until the 6 week mark, it SUCKED. After that it slowly got better until I was hiking and biking all over the place 5 months out. (yes, I had a broken rod, it was caused by a non-union, not because of activities, and because I tend to win the medical lottery, lol). I fell a few times, in fact most everyone here has a "first fall after the surgery" story, and they hurt, it jars your back...but most often it doesn't break anything, just hurts your pride. The rods that you are getting are STRONG.

My first thought when you mentioned walking to class was "How is he going to sit in class?", not "what if its too far of a walk?". I would make sure your teachers all know of your surgery (just tell them before the first class)and maybe you can get a place in the back or side of the class so you can stand when you need to.

I hope that you have a really good few days before surgery and then that you have a speedy recovery. I will be sending all my good healing vibes to you. Remember when you are going through the worst of it that this is only temporary, and you'll return to your "real" life soon enough, even if it takes 6 months or a year. Its a short period of time to make the rest of your years less painful.

Thanks a lot for that, that helped. I hope I can last 2-3 hours in the classes I have registered for, I will keep a pillow with my so I can sit against the chairs. I will also email every teacher and talk to them face to face to let them know what happened and if they don't mind me coming to class a few minutes late or leaving a few minutes early.

The problem is on Wednesdays, I have lecture at 8:00-8:50AM and lab from 1:30-4:15PM, I don't know how I'm going to last staying on campus from 8-4:15. I guess I can go home and then return back later, but I don't want my mom or dad to go and come back, and then go and comeback 4 times a day. If I'm driving, I wouldn't want that either. So IDK what I'm going to do, I might talk to the professor and tell him that if I can get the PPT's and just do the homework from school and turn it in the morning, that would be better.
John

Hi Fierce,

I will agree on that 6 week mark, however we had anteriors......

John will have it much easier than us.

Good idea on sitting in the back of class with the sitting issues.

Hope things are well.

Merry Christmas
Ed

Yeah, Posterior would have an easier recovery. I will make sure to talk to all my professors and I'm sure they will all understand.
John

Thanks guys, and Merry Christmas!

[jrnyc]

Is there anywhere you could rest in between...a nurse's station? i do think it would be better if you work out an arrangement with the professor....so that you dont have to hang around campus all those hours! especially in the beginning of the semester, or quarter....

hope you just relax now...this weekend is time to do just that! many people will be thinking of you on monday!

merry xmas...
jess

[JDM555]

Is there anywhere you could rest in between...a nurse's station? i do think it would be better if you work out an arrangement with the professor....so that you dont have to hang around campus all those hours! especially in the beginning of the semester, or quarter....

hope you just relax now...this weekend is time to do just that! many people will be thinking of you on monday!

merry xmas...
jess

Hmm, nurse's station? Not sure. I have a couple of friends who have apartments near by, I want hang out there or rest/sleep/eat or something. The only problem is Wednesday, that 8-4:15 is ridiculous. It's a computer programming class, I will ask my professor if I can download the program and do the work from home because I can't last 8-4:15 in one day with my back when I need to rest. I'm relaxing nicely, had a nice time last night, so far today is good, enjoyed some really nice times with my family and awesome presents. I'm very thankful for everything. It seems so close, I feel a little nervous cause I know this time, it is 100% set for me to have surgery on Monday. Wooooh, this is going to be an interesting ride! Thanks guys
John

[kt2009]

When I was working on my Masters I would go to the student union and just lie down on a bench. I wasn't too self conscious...most teens do it anyway! I did look a little silly log-rolling to sit up! Just twenty minutes on your back can refresh you. Even now, while I am teaching, I will occasionally go to the clinic and lie down on the bed for 15 minutes!

[JDM555]

When I was working on my Masters I would go to the student union and just lie down on a bench. I wasn't too self conscious...most teens do it anyway! I did look a little silly log-rolling to sit up! Just twenty minutes on your back can refresh you. Even now, while I am teaching, I will occasionally go to the clinic and lie down on the bed for 15 minutes!

Ok, I'll keep that in mind. The thing is I have long classes, 3 hours or 4 hours. So if anything, I want to go lie down in the middle of class lol. I'm sure all my teachers will understand that I just had major spinal surgery and need to take breaks. But I have no idea where the nursing station is at my community college classes that I'll be taking at night (6-9) and (6-8:30), so I'm not sure. I might stay for 1-2 hours and then do the hw at home or something.

I'll find something out. Thanks though.


Update: I was suppose to get a call from the surgery admissions unit friday to confirm my date/time of my surgery, but it was Christmas, so I didn't hear anything. I guess they were closed? I tried calling many times and no one answered. I ended up calling the outpatient stanford center and talked to them to transfer me to someone to help me out. I finally got through and she said my surgery is on the 28th at 8:00 AM, so that means I have to check-in at around 6-6:15 AM monday morning. I will shower with the antibacterial scrubs the night before and the morning of. I will bring my insurance card, my ID, and enter the surgical admission unit which is on the second floor.

Any more tips? I know no eating and all that good stuff.

What about clothes, something comfortable. Like some stretchy shorts/sweats and a t-shirt or something? I'll get slippers as well. I'll wear long socks to keep my feet warm. Anything else?

[rich1752]

take something that is easy to take off. I was taken back to the pre-op room along with 8 others. I was given a gown and booties and told to take everything off. My surgery was scheduled for 8am, so had to be there at 6:15am. They give you a warm blanket to put you at ease. They will hook you up with all these electrodes to monitor all your senses during the surgery and hook up the IV. They will explain the procedure and have you sign the permission slip. About an hour later they rolled me into the operating room. I don't remember anything after about 10 minutes at arriving at the operating room. It was lights out! Next thing I remember was waking up in post -op. It happened so fast. Mine was 12 hours long.

rich

[jrnyc]

How close are your friends' apartments? cause that sounds as if they could be there for you, day or nite....whereas you dont know if the nurse's station is open at nite...

any kind of surgery, you need easy on & off clothes...zippers in the front are good, cause you dont know if you'll be able to raise your arms easily....loose clothing, the looser the better...easy on slippers or shoes, even if there is someone there to help put them on for you....are you bringing a warm robe for your days in the hospital?

tomorrow nite is time to relax...all you could do will be done!
prayers are going out for you for your surgery & healing....it is time to let the medical people take over...trust them, trust your surgeon, & have faith that all will be OK..the rest of your life is waiting for you to be healthy & happy....

blessings to you, john, & best of luck
jess