Seven days post-op, and time for a recap...

It's been a couple of days since I mentioned that I was going to type up a recap of the actual day of surgery and my stay in the hospital, but it's amazing how these pain-killers can really make you feel foggy!  The last couple of days have come with great improvement, and every day I feel a little bit stronger and a little bit better!

So, to recap the day of surgery...I had initially thought that we had been told that the surgery itself would last about two hours, with a total time away from my family being five hours...I'm not sure where Leo and I came up with that number, because that was totally off!  Luckily, I was the first case of the day, and had to check in at the hospital at 5:30am.  My mom drove to our house bright and early, and Leo drove the three of us to the hospital.  When you are the first case of the day, they take you right back to the pre-op section of the surgical ward instead of admitting you into a room first.  This was really nice and helped keep me a little more calm.  In this room, we pretty much hung out, changed into a beautiful hospital gown, hung out some more, had my vitals taken, hung out some more, had an IV inserted, met with some of the anesthesia and surgical staff, and hung out a little more.  I was excited to be first on the list for the day, but that still didn't get me taken back into the operating room until 8:10am.  The OR was incredibly interesting, with huge computer monitors covering the walls (I saw at least six of them, I imagine that they use these to pull up imaging studies and to take live xrays to make sure things are in the correct location.  I immediately met the anesthesia staff, who -once I told them I was a little anxious- told me there was no reason to be and they had something to cover that!  And to be honest, once they pulled a little on my IV, I don't remember anything after that until waking up in the recovery room!  The doctor and his staff were incredibly informing of the procedure with Leo and my mom and would call them throughout the procedure to keep them updated.  So, even though I entered the OR at 8:10am, the first incision on the abdominal side was made at 9:50am.  From the anterior side, two plates were placed along my L4-L5-S1 bones, and screwed in to keep them in place.  At 1:50pm, Leo got a call that they were starting to finish up the front and would shortly be flipping me over to start the posterior portion of the surgery.  Another phone call came at 2:30pm, alerting my family that the incision had begun on my back.  From the back, screws were placed to attach the broken back bone back to where it belonged in order to increase the odds of a proper fusion.  At 4:30pm, Leo got another call letting him know that they were finishing up on the back side and I would be shortly be moved into recovery.  I don't remember doing anything strange when waking up (I know some people have some really great stories!), besides a little bit of groaning with the pain.  I'm pretty sure one of the first things I did was try to wiggle my toes, with complete success!!  I'm not exactly sure why, but that was one of my biggest fears upon entering the surgery.  And finally, twelve hours after being taken back to the OR, I was rolled into my hospital room at 8:10pm.  That evening it felt so great to see Leo and my mom and dad, and I remember feeling absolutely great!  I was so loopy and out of it, but did not feel much for pain!

The next day I woke up, I definitely felt the pain that I had read so much about online from other patients.  Unbearable, to say the least...my surgeon stopped in that morning, and they were able to switch my PCA pump from one drug (morphine, I believe) to something a little stronger (Dilaudid), which helped, but definitely came with some worse side effects (more sleepiness, more loopiness, more nausea).  Unfortunately, they hadn't initially ordered anything for muscle spasms, which are still a large part of my pain even today...after a little Valium, I was feeling a little better.  Tuesday day was also very nice, as they were able to remove my catheter and remove a tube that they had placed down my throat to depress my stomach (to make the anterior portion of the surgery easier, as well as to assist with nausea). Having mini goals like having tubes removed for instance was extremely helpful and made me continue to seek the positive in the difficult situation.  Tuesday afternoon was pretty good, and some family and friends stopped by, which really helped to lift my spirits...unfortunately I wasn't very entertaining and was pretty much lying on my side away from everybody the whole time, but it was still so comforting to have the support my friends and family.  I also received a garden of flowers and plants, and a delicious Edible Arrangement, all which made me smile whenever I saw them (or could focus my eyes on them, I'm pretty sure my eyes were almost closed for the first 48 hours!). 

Wednesday was extremely rough, and we pretty much placed a lot of the blame on the super strong pain killers.  I was so loopy, unmotivated to do anything, nauseous, and had a good idea at that point that I would not be going home on Thursday as we would have hoped.  We got me hooked off of the PCA pump and the nasty drugs, and that slowly helped my get back to a less-sedated state.  I also had spiked a fever of 101* Wednesday, which left me incredibly sweaty and incredibly cold...unfortunately the combination left me with a serious rash on the side I was laying on, but that immediately was reduced with the addition of some hydrocortisone cream and looks a whole lot better today.  Wednesday, even though it was pretty nasty, came with its own mini-achievements as well!  Sure, this may be way too much information, but with that many painkillers and some major surgery, your bowels really want to shut down!  My nurses were adamant about the condition (one of them in particular! and especially because it had been a couple of days since I had gone to the bathroom before surgery thanks to my daily painkillers), and she pushed for additional stool softeners, suppositories, and even an enema (really, not as awful as I thought...but maybe that was covered by the back-pain!)...and there was luck!  You'd never thought a person could cry out in happiness for all to hear about having a successful bathroom session!  Keep in mind, with a huge abdominal incision, that is a huge task!  Wednesday also brought on additional walking (another achievement! with the help of a walker, of course!), and the PT and OT women that I worked with were so very helpful and encouraging, inspiring me to get strong!  Wednesday I even climbed some stairs with the help of leaning against one wall and using a cane (to practice what it would take to get in and out of my own home).

Thursday was so much better than than Wednesday, and I felt a lot more confident about going home the next day. I finally gained some interest in eating food, and although it wasn't much at a time, jello and toast were so much better than liquid chicken broth through a straw!  I walked quite a bit more Thursday, and was pretty proud of myself! :)  Big deal of the day Thursday: I got a shower!  With help from a nurse, my wounds were covered and I stood with the walker while washing up what I could...so refreshing! 

Friday went very quickly, and I had final meetings with OT and PT, had another shower, put on my own clothes (felt SO great!), and was sent home with a huge bags of meds!  My mom drove me home and I laid down for bed, in my OWN BED! 

The last couple of days have been so much better than the first couple of days in the hospital!  My appetite has returned and although I fill up pretty quick, it's nice to be able to eat what I want!  So far, fresh fruit has been the star of the meals (holy mandarin oranges, people!).  I have been walking around as much as I can using the walker around the house, and have even been walking around using only the cane!  In smaller areas, like the kitchen and the bathroom, I feel pretty confident just holding onto countertops!  I still use the walker to help get in and out of bed, and in and out of chairs or the toilet...I'm getting stronger but my legs just aren't quite there yet!  We didn't get outside to walk this past weekend, but I'm hoping to do that either today or tomorrow...the weather has definitely been beautiful out (my mom opened the deck door the other day and we stood by it just to enjoy the weather for a little bit!).  I've been feeling more and more confident about doing things on my own.  Thankfully, my mom has been able to take off this week and a portion of next in order to help me withe my daily activities.  I am SO thankful for her help and her almost hyper-sensory feeling of knowing when I'm struggling with something or when I could just use an extra hand.  I still need help to get all arranged in bed (with pillows under my legs), taking a shower (seriously, what a humbling experience to have your own mother have to wash your back and everything below your waist because you can't bend over as a thirty-year-old!!), and small things like carrying dinner plates to and from wherever we eat (my weight restriction is 10 lbs.).  My goals the next couple of weeks are to continue to keep increasing my activity, try to get down off the pain pills as much as possible, and continue to try to help my back fuse! 

In terms of the incisions, these things are pretty nasty, but hopefully the scars will reduce down to a small line when all is said and done!  We were able to take a little closer look at them when we were at home.  I have to wear an abdominal binder for four weeks (except for when showering), and I have opted to keep some gauze over the incisions to prevent irritation from the binder.  Under all that goodness, the stitches are all interior and the wound is just covered nearly completely with steri-strips.  Luckily, the back incision is only about three inches in length.  Unfortunately, the abdominal incision is quite a bit larger.  I met the doctors for a final pre-op the Friday before surgery, and completely spaced on asking them about body piercings...I had called and spoke with one of the doctors on the surgical team who told me that they definitely wanted the belly button rings out for the surgery but that the jewelry could be reinserted a couple of days after surgery once the first dressings were removed.  The day after surgery, that same doctor told me that although she remembered telling me that I would be able to reinsert the jewelry afterward told me that that was not going to be able to happen as they had to cut through the bottom part of the piercing.  Keeping in mind that I actually have two belly piercings (one and top and one on the bottom...yes, these were from my skinnier days!), I assumed that she meant that I would not be able to use the bottom piercing.  Upon a closer look, the incision is about 6 inches in length, starts just above the belly bottom through the top piercing, goes around the side of the belly button, through the bottom piercing and down from there...seriously?!?  Ah well...if this works, I'm okay with that!

This is really getting carried away...I was going to try to post some photos, but maybe I'll make that a project for tomorrow!  I apologize for the length of this post, but now it's all out on paper and hopefully everyone will have a better idea of what kind of ordeal this process has been.  I appreciate the support, encouragement, and love that I have received from my family and friends, and know without a doubt that I would not have been able to do this without them!!  Looking forward to having a couple more visits with friends tomorrow!!  Until then, no BTL!!  No, that does not mean beer, tanning, laundry...it's bending, lifting, or twisting!  My new motto for the months to come!!