3 Month Post Op Xrays

Yesterday I had my 3 month post op xrays taken locally which will be sent to Dr. Lenke.  Can you see the little cages:

There seems to be a little connector piece above the top cage that is connected to both rods; I'll have to find out what that is.

Don't the screws look huge:

My dad said they look longer than the screws holding up his house.  :)

I'm trying my best to completely wean off the last pain med.  Recently I decide to skip the 1 pill a day I'm down to but ended up waking at 1a really hurting.  I took 1/2 a pill and it helped a lot.  So now I'm down to 1/2 a pill per day and look forward to ending this cycle soon.

I realized recently how much of my days/nights preop were spent in bed because of pain vs. life postop. Preop days were comprised of me laying day every afternoon at 1p until about 3p or 4p, up for dinner then back in bed by 6:30p for the night. Now, I lay down for maybe 45 minutes at some point in the afternoon to stretch out, not because of pain and go to bed around 9p to watch TV until about 10:30p. My days are much more productive now that the pain is gone.

I've been walking a lot more this week; just getting lost in thoughts and losing track of steps taken.  The other day I walked 4.6 miles and was completely wiped out and slept great.  Lizzie and I went to the mall because I needed new jeans (I've lost 13 pounds because of the surgery).  I lost Lizzie's pedometer in the dressing room and when we went back to get it, it was gone.  Oops!  I can't tell you how many pedometers our family has lost in the past 2 years.

Warmly,
Doreen

Arlene Lob Memorial Fund for Cancer

In loving memory of our dear friend and Les Lob's wonderful wife, Arlene, we have established an Arlene Lob Memorial Fund to Fight Cancer.  It is intended to collect funds in the short term to be given to the battle toward cancer.  The Fund is organized by the We The People group of Tanglewood and the Highlands Tea Party.  Les is co-founder and an active member of both groups.  Arlene's support and encouragement for Les contributed greatly to the work of these groups.

We are accepting cash contributions and personal checks made out to "We The People" up until March 1st.  You can give donations to Zelda Kimm, Dale Pflug, Jack Nelson and John Larsen or mail contributions to Dale Pflug, 3312 Beartooth Pass, Sebring, FL 33872. 

We all recognize the ravages that cancer has made in our community and its growing threat in the future.  Tanglewood is in the midst of its annual Cancer Drive, and at the close of that drive, a check will be written by We The People in Memorial to Arlene Lob from funds contributed at that time.  Funds received afterward will be forwarded to other Cancer Campaigns as they become available.

Please give generously to this worthy cause! We know that many have already contributed to the cancer drive, but if you have not, please consider this initiative.  If you have questions, please call Dale Pflug at home, 863-658-1280

Thank you for your consideration. If you knew Arlene and Les, please pass this message to others that can help!

Dale Pflug

John Nelson

John Larsen

Zelda Kimm

Incision Pix

I have a funny little story to share about the incision pix.  Last week while at Dad's, I glanced down and saw some before/after photos of me on a table.  It caught me off guard because I didn't recognize the photos so I asked Dad about them.  He said Mom wanted to show them to some of her friends.  Yesterday, I asked Jeremy to send me all the postop pix he had of me because I'm ready to look at them.  I haven't seen many of the photos because I wasn't comfortable looking at them, until now.  Jeremy show me the photos but I did not see the set that Dad had at his house.  After speaking with Dad today, he said I received a letter from Dr. Lenke's office while he and Mom were here in December which contained the photos.  After digging through a file cabinet today, I found the letter.  Dad mentioned that when I received it, I told Jeremy to put it away and that I didn't want to look at it.

While I am a bit apprehensive about exposing my body to the world, I hope that those who are contemplating surgery may find hope/strength/inspiration in seeing what is possible with surgery.  I, myself, was very grateful to see before/after pix of scoli patients.  Here is the first batch:

The photo above is from Dr. Lenke's office showing 6 days preop and 9 days postop.  I was still swollen but the changes are obvious including my rib hump (side shot photos) disappearing.  I now have 36 screws, 2 rods, 2 cages and a couple of bolts comprised of a combination of cobalt chrome and titanium.  I regained the 4 inches of height that I lost last year so I'm back to 5'10".

 

The above photo is 12 weeks post.  Notice how my left hip sticks out now?  Dr. Lenke will look at this when I see him in May.


I have more photos to post.

Warmly,
Doreen

Special Prayer Request - Updates

It is with a heavy heart I write this blog as Mom went home to be with our Lord on Feb 13.  I am finding peace in knowing that she did not suffer an exceptionally long time with the cancer and am especially comforted to know that she passed away peacefully at home with Dad by her side.  It was a humbling experience for me to be by Dad's side last week.  I am very thankful that my brother and sister-in-law were able to be there with us to help comfort Dad.  There has been a tremendous outpouring of love and support from friends, family and neighbors; THANK YOU!  I pray that God continues to give Dad strength and peace and that He helps all of us heal.  It amazes me that Mom found the strength to be here for our family postop in December and that we managed to have an early Christmas dinner including my brother and sister-in-law.  We hadn't been together like that in many years.

The drive to Dad's is about 8 hours plus a little extra for a gas stop and lunch.  I discovered that after about 1.5 hours in the car, I needed to sit on a pillow.  We stopped 1/2 way in Valdosta which is 4 hours from home.  I don't think we could have pressed on beyond 4 hours as my back was tensing up from stress.  We stopped at the 2 hour mark so I could get out and walk.  It was chilly outside so we found a Kroger where I walked inside.  It was incredibly refreshing to be in sunny, warm Florida where I was able to walk outside on flat ground.  I'm restricted at the moment from walking inclines and since we live in a hilly neighborhood, Dr. Lenke doesn't want me walking my neighborhood yet.

Since I wasn't able to make it to St. Louis last week, Dr. Lenke will accept local xrays to be sent to him.  I'm back to walking 2.5+ miles a day.  It is interesting to realize how walking actually feels good now compared to preop.  I will try to remind Jeremy to take 12 week post op photos today and post a slew of pics from day 2 postop to present.  I'm eager to see the changes.

Warmly,
Doreen

Special Prayer Request - Updates

My folks came to Georgia in December to help take care of Lizzie while I was in St. Louis and then also helped take care of me once I came home.  Their time here was cut short by severe back pain that afflicted my mom.  We all thought Ma may have tweaked her back with a pinched nerve or something similar.  Since they returned to Florida, Ma's pain has increased significantly.

It has been determined that Ma has lung cancer which was also found in her back.  She will have 3 weeks of radiation targeting her back and then will start chemotherapy afterwards.  Since all my prayer warriors will see this link, I humbly ask that you join our family in lifting Arlene up in prayer for God to protect her, keep her strong, stop the cancer and ease her pain.  I also ask for you to keep Pa, Lester, in your prayers to remain strong during this challenging time.

I'm doing well with my recovery: started driving last week, am down to 2.5 pain pills within a 24 hour period, and am walking between 1.5 - 2 miles every day.  I'm excited to see Dr. Lenke in a couple of weeks for my first follow up visit in addition to having a special Valentine's Day with Jeremy while we are in St. Louis.

Warmly,
Doreen

The Good, the Bad and the Blackout

It's been a while since I posted because I've been focusing my energy on recovery: eating, walking and resting.  I am 5 weeks 4 days post-op as of today and am down to one pain med.  Thank goodness I'm weaned off the other pain meds!

Update on Ma's back issue.  She hasn't been able to start physical therapy until today and Pa said that she had a good session, but is definitely tired now.  She returns for more therapy tomorrow so please keep her in your prayers.

My in-laws are here this week helping us and we are so thankful.  Today is Lizzie's 12th birthday and Nana baked her a birthday cake.  Looking forward to dessert tonight!

The Good
Had my first big outings from the house this past weekend since the not-so-successful outing on Dec 24th to see Christmas lights.  On Saturday, Jeremy took me and Lizzie to the hair salon.  I was a bit apprehensive about the hair washing part since the chairs are low to the ground and recline backwards.  We brought my pillow and it actually turned out better than I expected.

On the way home, we had lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  I've been walking through the house without my walker for about 2 weeks, but brought the walker with us in case I needed it.  Our server recognized us right away (it's been a couple of months since we were there last) and was extremely accommodating when he saw the walker.  He was kind to pull the table toward me to make sure I was comfortable.  I must say, it was a beautiful, sunny day and it felt so refreshing to be a part of society again.

Driving home, the pain hit me full force and thankfully we had my med with me because I knew my dose would be due prior to getting home.  We learned on this outing that my current maximum time in a car is no more than 30 minutes one way and to be away from home no more that 3 hours.  We were actually gone 4 hours and it was just a bit too much.

On Sunday, we took Lizzie to a pre-birthday lunch with her friend.  We were well planned with the distance of the restaurant from home, meds and water in hand, pillow and walker packed.  When we arrived we were given a choice of waiting for a table with chairs or to be seated right away in a booth.  My first choice was table, but since I didn't want to wait, Jeremy and I figured that if I sat at the outside end of the booth and he sit across from me, that might work out in terms of him helping me in/out of the booth.  Our plan was good but my execution was off which leads me to...

The Bad
As I was lowering myself onto the booth bench, I miscalculated the height of the bench and wound up dropping down onto the much lower than anticipated bench.  This sent a jolt up my spine that was quite painful to say the least.  Despite my faux pas, we had a delightful lunch but opted to take dessert home because the pain was increasing.

The Blackout
Sunday evening started out as my typical routine of going to bed.  I woke up about 4am to use the toilet and soon realized the little room where our toilet is located within our bathroom started to spin and that I had to get out ASAP.  I opened the door and started yelling for Jeremy.  What I don't know is if I was yelling in my head or just whispering because Jeremy didn't hear me.  I must have made some sort of noise because the last thing I remember was our dogs barking.  I woke up but I could not see anything except total blackness but I could hear Jeremy's voice.  I told him I didn't know where I was.  He said, "Drink this, keep drinking," he was holding a glass of Gatorade.  Next thing I remember was lying in bed with my vision restored.  I asked Jeremy what happened.

Jeremy explained that the barking dogs woke him up and instead of looking for me in bed, he said jumped out of bed and looked toward the bathroom.  He said he saw me trying to brace myself in the doorway of the where the toilet is located, but that I let go and was falling face first toward the bathtub.  Jeremy said he doesn't know how he did it (of course it was God that gave him the necessary speed), but he caught me from behind right before my head hit the tub but knew that he had to keep my back straight.

As Jeremy told me the story, he said he called out to Lizzie for help and asked her to bring a glass of juice.  I have a habit now post-op of keeping both water and juice at my bedside, but I had already drunk my juice which is why there wasn't any upstairs.

As Lizzie tells the story, she heard Jeremy yelling, "Oh God! Oh God!"  She thought she was dreaming until Jeremy yelled her name.

I asked Jeremy did I say anything after I fell.  He explained that I was out cold and was limp in his arms like a rag doll.  I asked how did he get me off the ground.  He had Lizzie push an office chair toward me and he somehow got me up into the chair and then rolled me to bed.

What caused this incident?  Initially we thought my hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) may have been the culprit.  If I don't eat small meals/snacks throughout the day, my blood sugar will drop to the point where I experience loss of vision (only able to see blackness) and the feeling that I will faint.  I haven't had a hypoglycemia incident in many, many years.  Since the surgery, Jeremy and I have been careful to keep water, juice and snacks at my bedside before I go to sleep at night.  The next day, I kept thinking about the entire event and something wasn't making any sense.

I began to recall 4 mild episodes about 3 weeks prior to the blackout that only occurred when I got up in the middle of the night to take meds and use the restroom.  These 4 other episodes felt as if I might have been starting a hypoglycemia incident, but because I wasn't fully awake at these times during the middle of the night, I kinda thought maybe I was just dreaming or that the combination of meds were making me think strange thoughts.  Immediately I realized the connection that these episodes only occurred in the middle of the night, so perhaps this had nothing to do with my hypoglycemia since my past incidents with hypoglycemia only occurred during the day.

Suddenly, I remember my doctor telling me about some side effects of the sleeping pill (Ambien) I was taking post-op: sleep walking and doing things in the middle of the night that patients have no memory of the next day like eating a lot of food out of the refrigerator and not knowing the next day where all the food went.  Jeremy and I talked about it and agreed that the sleeping pill might be the primary issue that caused the blackout.

After speaking with Dr. Lenke's nurse, Kelly, she explained that blackouts can be common post-op for a few different reasons:

1.  The combination of post-op meds can lower blood pressure.
2.  Blood counts can continue to be low several weeks post-op.
3.  Sitting up and getting out of bed too fast can cause blood pressure to drop quickly.

Kelly said she feels confident that because I normally have low blood pressure, the blackout was probably caused by a combination of the reasons listed above.  I immediately stopped taking the sleeping pill and am down to one pain med.  Since then, I have not only been able to sleep through the night one evening, but am very clear headed the times I wake up in the middle of the night, waking Jeremy to let him know I needed to get out of bed.  This is a precaution Kelly recommended for several days since the blackout that I don't go into the bathroom alone and to turn on all the lights.

Kelly told me that Dr. Lenke recently had a patient who blacked out in her bathroom, hit the tub on her way down and broke her neck!  I'm passing along this information for those who are scheduled for surgery so you can be aware that blackouts can be common.  I found relief in talking with one of Dr. Lenke's patients who also experienced a blackout.  She, too, tried to brace herself in a doorway but blacked out and hit her head on the door frame on her way down.  My relief was in learning how common blackouts can be; that my episode wasn't the first by any means.  Kelly said that if I had broken any of my hardware, I would have known it right away by experiencing excruciating pain.  The only thing I felt was some stiffness the next day in new places which was most likely caused by Jeremy catching me and having to move me off the floor.  

I continue to thank God for this journey, including the "hiccups" along the way, because each day is a bit better than the prior day.  As I mentioned in my first blog, I hope that by sharing my experiences, it may help someone leading up to their scoli surgery.

Warmly,
Doreen

Special Prayer Request

I've been trying to update my blog but just simply haven't had the energy.  Shortly after arriving home, my mom developed severe back pain.  After visiting a doctor near our home, an x-ray revealed a compressed disk.  Because her pain has been increasing, Ma and Pa left this morning to return to Florida where she will see her family doctor tomorrow.  Please pray for Arlene that God protect her and put the right people with the right solution in her path.

Most days of my recovery are a bit better than the day before, but not always.  I recently discovered that the stabbing rib pain that I've had for several months in the lower right rib area is completely gone.  I can actually lay on my right side hugging a pillow in comfort.  The front of both sides of ribs feel as if I've been beaten with a baseball bat.  That was caused from having to lay on my stomach during the surgery.

I'm completely weaned off one of my many narcotics and am working on weaning of a second one.  Pain starts to increase in the afternoon, like now.  I really dislike being on narcotics so I am doing the weaning process slowly and am listening to my body.

I still don't have the courage to look at pictures of my back, but Jeremy continues to take pictures for me.  My sis-in-law came by with my brother recently.  She is a nurse and was so kind to remove the remaining steri strips from the incision.  She said it was one of the best looking incision with the least amount of bruising.  Bruising?  That didn't cross my mind I would be bruised.  Oh well.  I'm able to shower myself which is a BIG accomplishment, but really wears me out.

Running of out steam to wright more, but a nap is calling for me.

Warmly,
Doreen