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Amy, 20 days after surgery

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  • Amy, 20 days after surgery

    Hi, This is my first post. My 15 y.o daughter had a spinal fusion, T2 to L3, Oct 19..so tomorrow it will be three weeks. She is going to start going back to school this week..slowly...one or two classes per day. Seems like as the mom, there is always something to worry about...first the surgery. Now thank God that's over-that was the hardest thing. Then the first week or two of recovery, the incision site...the reactions to medication (very nauseous)..the loss of appetite/loss of weight...and I wonder what is ahead. Even though we were prepared for surgery, I don't think you can really prepare for how major it really is.. and the impact, afterwards. Especially for her....the emotional impact. She wonders when she will be back to normal. I have to remind her it's only been a few weeks.I wonder if those of you whose children have had the surgery have anything to say about the adjustment period for them, after surgery.


    It has been very helpful to read all of these posts.
    Liz
    mother of Amy, age 15
    Spinal fusion 10/19/09
    T2 to L3

  • #2
    Liz,

    It sounds like Amy is doing great!

    In re emotions... there were some dicey periods where both my daughters couldn't seem to get their emotions under control. This was compounded by an insistence that they were the same as before... that they weren't acting differently. It is very dicey because you can't keep arguing with them and you can't keep quiet (they wouldn't let me). You just have to try to keep things calm and, at times, walk away.

    It only lasted a few days in each case LUCKILY! It was during the narcotics time but I'm sure it was more than just the drugs and likely just the enormity of the situation. Neither kid had much to say before surgery so I guess they were talking about it in that emotionally unstable way afterward.

    That's my best assessment of the situation. I'm not a psychologist.
    Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

    No island of sanity.

    Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
    Answer: Medicine


    "We are all African."

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Liz


      It sounds like your daughter is doing very well going back after only 20 days. My daughter had surgery July 20th, T2-L4. Her recovery has been long. A nerve was compressed in her upper thigh and she suffers from muscle/leg weakness and is walking with a cane. Aside from that her back is doing well.

      She went back when school started in September at about 7 weeks post op. I wrote a letter (on a Microsoft Word document, so I could email it) to all her teachers. I explained the surgery and briefly what she went through. I attached before and after xrays, so they could see all the hardware in her spine. I told them she looks great on the outside but is still healing on the inside. I wanted to give them this info so they would have somewhat of an understanding of the situation. I am a school nurse and have always found the teachers very receptive when you let them know what is going on. The school lets her leave class early and arrive late so she is not in the crowded hallways. I also got an Advil order so the school nurse could give it, if need be.

      The first couple of weeks the kids in her school had a lot of questions about what happened. The difference in her appearance is dramatic. She went from an 81 degree kyphosis curve to a perfectly straight back. I don't think she minded too much about the questions but she did have a brief prepared couple of sentences to tell everyone what happened...without going into detail.

      Good luck! Hannamom
      Daughter April had surgery July 13th, 2009 by Dr. David P Roye at Morgan Stanley Childrens Hospital. T2-L4
      She's doing very well!!

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by amyrocks View Post
        Hi, This is my first post. My 15 y.o daughter had a spinal fusion, T2 to L3, Oct 19..so tomorrow it will be three weeks. She is going to start going back to school this week..slowly...one or two classes per day. Seems like as the mom, there is always something to worry about...first the surgery. Now thank God that's over-that was the hardest thing. Then the first week or two of recovery, the incision site...the reactions to medication (very nauseous)..the loss of appetite/loss of weight...and I wonder what is ahead. Even though we were prepared for surgery, I don't think you can really prepare for how major it really is.. and the impact, afterwards. Especially for her....the emotional impact. She wonders when she will be back to normal. I have to remind her it's only been a few weeks.I wonder if those of you whose children have had the surgery have anything to say about the adjustment period for them, after surgery.


        It has been very helpful to read all of these posts.
        Hi!

        First of all congratulations to your daughter and you for coming through the surgery. My dd is 7 1/2 wks. post op. and doing very well, thanks be to God!

        I know it's hard--my dd was very nauseous after surgery from the anesthesia.
        Being on the pain meds afterwards as well was no picnic--nauseous, no appetite, etc.

        As for returning to normal, I know her first question to me was "When will I have a BM?" b/c of all the gas and bloating and such.

        Your dd is still very early out from surgery but it does get easier. We homeschool, so I didn't push my dd to get back to classes quickly mainly b/c the pain meds were wiping her out--all she wanted to do was sleep. So at about 4 wks post op she was doing about 2 hrs. of school/day and napping in the afternoon.

        Once she was off all pain meds (for her it was 5 1/2 wks or so), she had a lot more energy. That was about the time she could pretty much get back to full day of homeschool.

        It will get better and life will return to normal. If nothing else, this whole process will teach patience.

        Do not feel competitive with anyone here--everyone's recovery is different, but it happens.

        Take care,
        Marian

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