Running a little low, but got some great news!

I can't believe it, but the four month post-op mark has come and gone!

Unfortunately, the past couple of months have been pretty rough for me.  I mentioned briefly in my last post that I was feeling pretty fatigued, and I am still fighting that seemingly endless battle.  I went in a couple of weeks ago to meet with my Restless Legs doctor, who keeps up with my iron levels.  I have been sleeping a full eight hours at night (or a solid ten to twelve on the weekends!), and still need a couple hour nap when I come home from work.  My legs and arms were extremely achy, both at night and during the day, so I finally made the choice to get my iron levels checked as the sensations were keeping me from falling asleep and interferring with my sleep at night (low iron levels can exaserbate RLS symptoms).  Because I have never been technically anemic, I get my ferritin levels checked (opposed to my hemoglobin levels) to monitor my iron; ferritin is the form in which your body actually stores iron in your body...from my understanding, the hemoglobin levels are a more immediate access of iron for your body, whereas the ferritin levels are more of a stored form that your body accesses when your immediate levels are getting low.  In short, low ferritin levels can lead to low hemoglobin levels...when your iron stores run low, your hemoglobin can start to dwindle.  My iron levels have never been above 30 (normal ferritin levels run anywhere from 11 to 307), and doctors opt to treat anyone (especially those with RLS)with levels under 50 with supplements.  Admitedly, I quit taking iron supplements last fall after an on and off relationship with them for the past couple of years due to the side effects (anyone ever been on that stuff?  holy upset stomach, nausea, and GI issues!).  I had been feeling so tired, so easily exhausted, that I was expecting my levels to be down to nothing...and found I was at a personal all-time low of 11.  So, running a little iron deficient, but technically still within normal values.  Because the low dip was likely due to blood loss in surgery, my doctor was hesitant to go with an iron infusion, so we opted to start back on a different form of the iron supplements.  I am still feeling quite exhausted, but am tolerating the new supplements much better than the first kind I was on.  The new form has a coating on the pills, whereas the old ones didn't, which I have found to be much more tolerable and I don't constantly burp them up or feel so nauseous.  The GI issues are still there, but not as bad as I remember so I think that I have found something that works for me!  Unfortunately, it takes awhile for iron stores to get back to normal, but hopefully I'm on the right track and will be feeling better within the next couple of months.  I'll be tested again in three months to see if my levels are rising.

This week marks my being four months post-op, which also means that it is finally time for some imaging to see if this surgery was successful!  Yesterday, I had an x-ray and a CT scan, and today I met with my orthopedic nurse specialist to discuss the results.  I was quite nervous, considering this was the first time we would actually be able to tell if my body was taking the surgery in stride and fusing around the grafts and bone implants, and...

I'M GROWING BONE AND MY BACK IS STARTING TO SHOW SIGNS OF A SUCCESSFULL FUSION!!!

My CT scan revealed a tiny bit of bone growth from my own vertebra into the areas of donor bone and bone grafts, and my nurse specialist told me I was right on track!  Actually, he said I was "top of the class," and that I'm even ahead of schedule in terms of how I am feeling!  That was really great to hear, and has helped to ease the pain of this entire process!  Unfortunately, I am still having incredible pain in my SI joint.  He said that there is no easy fix for this, and that we'll need to get into physical therapy to try and ease the pain.  They wait until four months post-op to start any type of rehab following this surgery, as they want to be sure the bones are fusing before trying to fix the muscles.  Being that it is almost a year to the day that I initially injured my back, he made the point that I have probably not used the muscles in my back and pelvis as I should be in nearly a year, so that could really be a large part of the pain.  I have my first appointment with rehab in two weeks, where I hope to learn some good exercises to get those pelvic ligaments back into gear.  He stressed that your body hurts when you overdo it as a sign that you need to take a step back; he said that this isn't a reason not to do things, but rather try to do something for less time the next time you do it if it causes you pain.  The x-ray also indicated evidence of arthritis in my SI joint on both sides, so that might mean a lifetime of daily Aleve doses!  Again, he mentioned multiple times that I was doing great in terms of recovery, and that I really need to keep in perspective that I had some major work done on my spine only FOUR MONTHS ago.  Sometimes it's hard to deal with the pain and how limited I feel in my daily activities, but I really need to take a step back and take in what I've been through and realize that loss of a year of recovery is only a very limited time in comparison to a lifetime of feeling better!! 

It really has been a rough couple of months for me.  I have been so exhausted, and so out of my element, I just don't feel like myself.  I have been very frustrated with the increased pain in my SI joint, and it is so difficult to find motivation to get out and walk and do my exercises when I'm in so much pain, but I do need to keep in mind that I have come a far way in only a little bit of time.  I can't wait to feel a little more like myself again, and my appointment today definitely helped give me a dose of "keep-it-up." :)  Today my nurse specialist asked me what things I'm not doing that I wish I was.  I got pretty emotional (which isn't too hard or uncommon with this constant fatigue, just ask Leo!), and replied that I miss playing outside, I miss gardening (I didn't plant any flowers this summer, and only bought a couple of pre-potted plants; and my backyard flower bed is overcome with weeds!), I miss playing and running around with my nieces and nephews like I used to (this was especially hard this past weekend when I got to see my niece Addison for the first time in nearly a year!), I miss spending time doing summer outside activities (I have yet to canoe in the new canoe we bought last summer!).  I do miss these things, and I wish that I could get through a day without being in bad pain.  Fortunately, the mornings are my best time (once I get out of bed and stretch out a bit), and that's when I work (I start back at full time last week as well...that's a great milestone as well!).  Unfortunately, lying in bed and putting pressure on my SI joint and pelvis is very painful, and being a side sleeper doesn't help the SI joint pain at all.  I'm quite excited to start therapy and know that I am working towards cutting back on the pain.  I really need to keep in mind all of the things that my nurse specialist reiterated with me today: I am only four months post-op from major back surgery, and I am on "top of class!"  :)  I can't imagine having to deal with continued lumbar pain, and need to remember that I have come a long way. 

Tonight, Leo took me out to dinner and we celebrated my fusing bones with our neighbors at the local restaurant Twigs (hello, butternut squash ravioli!!), and this was a great reminder of all of the great things that we have and can do.  It's easy to lose track of all of the things that I am blessed with when things seem to be keeping me down...I need to do better at remembering to be thankful for all that I have and all of my parts that don't hurt!  Thank you to all of you who have helped with support, given me a hand when I couldn't do something for myself, and been a source of good spirits when I sometimes lose track of mine...I couldn't be doing this without you!

Offical Blog Fail!!

Well, I'm pretty good at procrastinating at things...and this blog experience has been no different!  I didn't think that it had been that long since I last posted, but we are talking a month and a half here, people!!  It's not like I'm busy with things other than lying around and trying to keep my mind off of my back!  Oh well, here we are, and on we go...

Today is officially 11 weeks post-op...this time eleven weeks ago I was just being rolled into my patient room where I would be staying for four more days...and I'm doing SO much better now!!  I am currently enjoying the weather by sitting on the deck and enjoying a glass of wine...much better than a saline drip and IV pain meds!

Unfortunately, the SI joint pain that I mentioned in my last post (which feels like a million years ago, now!) has returned with a vengeance!  I had this pain prior to surgery, so it was not a new symptom, but it sure returned after surgery with a new state of don't-mess-with-me once I eased off of the pain pills!  Needless to say, I have been super frustrated and a bit down in the dumps these last few weeks, back taking pain pills after work and spending way too many hours lying in bed.  Speaking of back to work, I have returned!  I have now been working for just over two weeks, and have been working for four hours each day (6:30am - 10:30am), and it feels really great to get back to a schedule and to interact with numerous people again!  Once I've gotten out of bed and stretched out a bit, the mornings are really my best time of day, so I'm glad to be working in the morning (especially since they frown on working while on serious pain killers!  Tylenol only has to work for those four hours, so it's good the pain is still manageable in the morning!).  My pain really tends to increase as the day goes on and by the time it's time to go to bed, I cannot for the life of me seem to get comfortable and fall asleep.  After coming home for work, I usually grab a quick snack and lay in bed...and proceed to nap for two to three hours!  The nurse I keep in touch with from my surgical team has said it's very normal to be exhausted at this time post-op.  Being that I have Restless Legs Syndrome as well, I've had my ferritin levels tested multiple times over the past years (which is the form that iron is stored in in your body...and low iron levels make RLS symptoms worse), and they have always been low...considering that I lost a lot of blood during this surgery, I think that I may just being dealing with a little bit of anemia.  Not only am I exhausted, but my RLS has been pretty active lately, and I've spent nights pacing around the house until my legs feel better before being able to sleep.  The nurse said we'll monitor the fatigue and if things don't resolve in another month then we'll look more into it.  Luckily, Mayo uses a process called "Cell Saver" where they return some of your own blood they've removed during surgery to you after they've cleaned it, and that helped to negate the need for a transfusion during the hospital stay, but I am definitely still feeling the effects of a loss of a large amount of blood.  The life span of red blood cells is about 120 days, so hopefully things will start to gear up here in the next month of two.

I have some more incision pictures (just what everybody wants to see, I'm sure!)! :)  These were taken at ten weeks post-op, and I am amazed at the difference in the scars from my previous post...things are on their way to healing well!  Here is the back incision:

It's definitely less red...although the top of the incision looks almost blister-like, there's no blisters at all present, just a little puffy scar action going on!  And the front:

Again, a little less red and healing pretty well!   I'm pretty glad those piercing holes are looking a little better and not so strange!  And I apologize PROFUSELY to my coworker Dawn who saw this picture before I had cropped it...if I ever offer to show you pictures on my phone, you might want to be cautious to say yes!  Haha...that's what happens when you flip through pictures when showing friends before even thinking of what you need to do to them before showing them off!! :)  Anyway, the incisions feel pretty good!  They are definitely not as sensitive to touch, but still are a little sensitive.  There are days when things feel quite tight, especially on the front, and they are still itchy!  I guess that a good sign of healing, right?!

So, back to my sore SI joint...yeah, a bit down in the dumps, frustrated with things, but I finally put in a call to my nurse Brian last week, who has been amazingly helpful!  Sometimes I feel like I call too often to check on things and see if there's anything that can be done (really, it's only been maybe four times!), but it's nice to know there's someone who knows what you're going through and if what you are experiencing is normal!  So, I called Brian last week and mentioned to him again about how bad my SI joint was hurting (I had mentioned it to him when I saw him at my before-my-return-to-work appointment), wondering if there's something else we could do.  Because we have to wait until four months post-op for imaging studies to ensure the fusion has taken and the surgery was successful, they really don't like to do much for treating additional pain before then.  But, THANKFULLY, Brian said that since we were at two and a half months post-op, we could consider an SI steroid joint injection...it may slow healing a bit in terms of the fusion, but because the pain is so bad, we need to consider the pros and cons.  So, of course, I said 'heck yes!' - and I spent my afternoon today in Gonda 15 South in the pain management area I know all too well (this was my fourth set of steroid injections, but my first in my SI joint...the others were in my lumbar facet joints).  The SI injections (done bilaterally, so one shot on each side of the spine) were deeper than the facet joint injections I had had previously, so there was a little bit more pressure, but there were only two shots versus the four I was getting when having lumbar facet injections, so it went pretty quickly.  I was incredibly nervous about the procedure today, as if I had no relief whatsoever, that would mean that there would be no options for treatment in the future.  But, IT WORKED!  The first test comes immediately after the injection, where you can tell if the anesthetic injected into the joint worked...I immediately felt great...unfortunately, that only worked for about an hour, and I started feeling pain in my joint while I was at home lying in bed once the anesthetic wore off.  BUT, I still feel much better than I did earlier...I am definitely not at 100%, but I definitely feel better.  And this is only day one!  It generally takes up to a week for the cortisone to fully kick in and get those nerves calmed down and pain relieved.  So, I am trying SO hard not to get excited too early, but I really feel hopeful!  And even if the injections don't last long, I really feel comforted knowing that my SI joints are a large cause of my continued pain and I know that there are other options out there that could help my permanently in the future (including bilateral SI joint fusion, keep your fingers crossed this shot holds up and we won't need to consider another round of fusion surgery! but if needed, I can do it!).  My last set of lumbar injections actually brought me into the ER before they kicked in due to a phenomenon called a cortisone flare, where the pain actually increases in response to the mecication before it gets better...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm able to keep the pain under control (plus, I have much better pain control options at home since having surgery) and that this shot kicks in fully soon.

KNOCK ON WOOD!!

Five weeks down!

Today I am officially five weeks post-op!  Things are definitely starting to look up, and I am getting stronger and growing more independent every day!  I was a little nervous as to how I would feel today after spending hours on my feet celebrating Easter with family yesterday, but this morning I woke up feeling pretty darn good.  Mornings are generally the roughest in terms of pain, as I usually wake with some good stiffness, but today I felt suprisingly good!

I took some pictures of my incisions at four weeks post-op that I meant to post last week, but never did...so today is the day to post them!  The steri-strips have all come off, and things look pretty darn good.  The incisions are both still quite tender to the touch, but really feel strange when you do touch them...it feels like a thick rope under my skin, especially on my abdomen where there's more layers that were cut through.  I even grossed my dad out yesterday when I made him feel my belly incision! 

WARNING!  There's some incision pictures below!!

Here's the back incision:

The picture is a little blurry, but the incision is pretty thin!  I'm hoping that as time goes by, the redness starts to fade.  All of the surgical pen marks have finally washed off and there's no more purple writing all over my back!  I still have quite a bit of painful sensation to the right of my incision, but I've been trying to kind of massage the area when I'm just standing around...I found a tip online to massage the painful area so that the nerves "relearn" that they don't need to tell me when I'm touched that it's pain to try to get them back to their normal state.  Hopefully this works and this painful sensation goes away soon!

And here's a picture of the front:

I'm also quite impressed with how thin this incision turned out as well!  I think that the weirdest part of the incision is where my body jewely used to be (I had belly piercings on both the top and bottom, which you can clearly see from the picture and remaining scars!), and hope that these jewelry holes eventually close up too (the bottom one was pretty much stitched shut, but the top hole still looks pretty open).  Considering that the scar goes around the left side of my navel, I'm pretty impressed just how normal my belly button still looks!  Again, I too hope that the redness in this incision will decrease with time as well.  In fact, in looking at my scar today (just a week after this picture was taken), I already feel like my incision looks totally different and not so "fresh"...I'll try to post pictures of the change every couple of weeks.  This incision has come to be a running joke in the house, and is now referred to as my "front butt crack!!"  The abdomen around the incision is still a little puffy from surgery, and I'm not super thin to start with (although I'm down almost 25 pounds since this winter!), so when I push my belly inward toward the incision, it really does look a bit like a butt :)

During the course of last week, I really cut back on my pain meds and I finally feel clear minded!  I'm only taking one or two of the "good pain pills" daily, which has left me feeling the pain a little bit more (but it's definitely not out of control!) but I definitely feel more like myself.  I told my husband that I think that this past Friday was the first day where I actually was kind of bored here at home by myself.  Now that I don't feel like I need to nap every so often, I feel like I'll be able to actually concentrate on some of the things that I wanted to accomplish while I'm at home...like doing some good book reading and watching some movies! 

Unfortunately, I also started feeling additional pain last week, which may correlate with the reduction in pain meds.  Some of the pain that I had before surgery has returned, and I noticed it while out for my daily walks mid last week.  The pain is lower and less central than the levels where my back was fused...I was fused from my fourth lumbar vertebra to the sacrum, but I think that the pain that I am having (in reading other patients' notes and the location of the pain) is coming from my sacroiliac (SI) joint.  The picture below shows the relation and placement of these joints:

 
This is generally a common issue years after having a fusion at these levels due to the increased stress on the sacrum having a solid piece of bone sitting on top of it versus three individual bones with discs to minimize some of the stress.  But the pain I am having I know all too well and definitely had it prior to surgery as well.  I put a call into the doctor this morning to see what we need to do, and a member of his team called me back...unfortunately (although clearly the best route!), he said that we need to wait until this fusion is complete before we start poking and proding and testing for additional sources of pain.  This clearly makes sense, and if the pain is still there after my fusion has started to heal there are some diagnostic tests to see if the SI joint is also causing pain.  I asked if there could be arthritis in this joint as well, considering the extensive arthritis they found while working on my lumbar region, and he said for sure...we'll have to reach that road when we get there!  I'm definitely pretty disappointed to have this pain return, but we've definitely addressed a good portion of the pain and I can only hope that there are additional options if this pain remains once my lumbar bones have fused.  They have scheduled my four month post-op imaging studies (I'll have an x-ray and a CT scan) and follow-up with my surgeon, at which point we'll be able to tell if the fusion has been successful...this will happen during the last week of June.  I sure hope time flies by...although I feel really good, it's hard to not know whether this is actually working or not! 

Trying to stay positive!!

Home Equipment!!

Part of the reason I wanted to start this blog was to help out people who are thinking about undergoing fusion surgery, and thus I wanted to write a post about the equipment and things I've been using at home to help with the recovery process after my own lumbar fusion surgery.  Now that I've figured out how to incorporate pictures into my posts, you better get ready...this one will be full of them!!  More than anything I've learned since coming home from the hospital, the most important is that you need to understand that you WILL require help when coming home, including both from people as well as pieces of equipment that will help make your everyday activities easier...this has been a very humbling experience!

First things first, after undergoing back surgery, you are going to need assistance getting around.  In the hospital, you will be taught how to move without bending or twisting, get up and down from a sitting position, and learn how to log roll in and out of bed (keeping your back straight, moving up on your elbow while lowering your legs to the floor).  Despite these tricks, it is handy to have equipment to help make these tasks easier. 

I used the walker regularly when I first arrived home.  I used it to get some walking done around the house throughout the day and night (thank goodness we have laminate floors so I was able to move and pace around pretty smoothly, after Leo added the tennis balls!), to assist getting into a standing position while getting out of bed, as well as raising and lowering myself while sitting or using the bathroom.  I would highly recommend this piece of equipment if you are considering a fusion surgery...luckily, we were able to borrow this walker from Leo's dad.  Currently, it is folded up and ready to be returned...progress!!

Also pictured is a cane, which is also a piece of equipment that I would not have done well without!  After graduating from the walker, I relied heavily on the cane to help me move around.  I still take it out with me when I walk around the block when I'm on my own (although I am not currently relying on it to keep me up...I just get nervous about mis-stepping on uneven sidewalk when I'm by myself), and also tend to bring it with me whenever I know that I will be in a crowded area...for example, I have taken it to dinner with me or to the mall, where I know that people will be all around...this way, I'm using it more as a notice to others to be careful not to bump into me or to make room for me as I walk through. When I arrived home from the hospital, I also took the cane into the shower with me to help steady me...we also invested in a shower grab bar, which I'll talk more about later (of course, there's a picture for that as well!!).  Although I was tempted to purchase a hot pink one and totally bedazzle it, I got this one at the Mayo Clinic Store where I decided to go with a blue one in case Leo ever needed to use it as well!

The last thing in this picture is a grabber, which I also picked up at the Mayo Clinic Store.  This has definitely come in handy!  Remember after back surgery, NO bending!  And considering I dropped things regularly before surgery, I knew this would come into good use!  I still use it to pick things up that I've dropped and open up the curtains in the morning (the grabber fits perfectly around the curtain rod!).  This particular grabber also has a small magnet at its end, and the saleswoman in the store said she actually has one at home and uses the magnet to pick up metal things that have fallen behind something large, such as under the refrigerator...I'm guessing this grabber will come in handy even after I have recovered completely from surgery!

Something that I hadn't even thought about prior to surgery was having a hard chair to sit in on hand.  Unfortunately, our dining set is counter-height (so I couldn't get up into those chairs!), and the only other seats we have are our super-low, super-soft couches.  Luckily, my mom had a set of these hard, portable chairs and she brought over a couple for me to use.  Granted, the chair was a little too hard to sit on comfortably (hence the pillow!), but this is something I have used numerous times and have it sitting in the living room so I could sit with guests in the living room (I'm sitting on it right now!).  This is also where I sit to do my prescribed sitting exercises to get my legs stronger while my daily movement is decreased.  I've also been quite reliant on a great set of tray tables (thanks to my Aunt Patty! perfect Christmas gift!), which I use to do everything from writing, eating, using the computer, and even folding laundry.  They are lightweight and easy to scoot around the living room and are at a perfect height for me to feel comfortable at. 

Also in this image on the tray table is my own little "sippy cup."  My mom got this for me after I woke up in the middle of the night and  managed to spill my water (which was in a covered, but not spill-proof, to-go cup) all over the hardwood floor in the bedroom!  Luckily, Leo was patient with me and helped clean up the mess (which was made even bigger by the fact that I managed to kick the cup with my foot and the walker while trying to get up and out of the way!), and Mom found this great spill-proof cup at Walgreens after she heard about the incident the next day.  Needless to say, Leo was happy and we haven't had another "incident" like that again!

The biggest area where we've "installed" equipment to help with my daily tasks is actually in the bathroom...and all of these pieces really have helped me to feel comfortable with getting ready and showering now that I'm home on my own.

YAY!  One of the more expensive purchases, but definitely one of the most used(!): the toilet seat riser!  This particular riser Leo picked up at Walgreens, and it adds six inches to the height of the toilet.  This was particularly helpful when I first came home and during the first weeks at home, as it was still difficult for me to raise and lower myself.  It's still on our main floor toilet, and I'm hoping to take it off within the next week or so.  It did and still does make the process of getting up and down a little more comfortable.  It has definitely become a nice conversation piece as well!!

Another area of the bathroom that we've altered was the shower:

This adjustable shower grab-bar (also from Walgreens) has definitely come in handy!!  I used this grab-bar along with my cane when I initially got home from the hospital while showering to help keep myself standing upright.  This particular grab-bar is adjustable and suctions to the shower wall...it even has a area on each suction cup (which turns from green to red) to let you know if the suction is not strong enough and if it needs to be re-applied.  The hospital staff also recommended a shower chair, but I felt pretty confident on my legs, so we decided to go with the cane and grab-bar.  I was quite reliant on this piece when I first started showering at home, but use it even now to balance myself when I close my eyes while rinsing my hair or washing my face.  I had watched a youTube video where a woman who had had a fusion surgery more than a month previously had fallen in the shower (she ended up fine, but what a scare!), so I tend to lean on this piece or on the shower wall while closing my eyes to ensure that my balance is as steady as it needs to be!

This non-slip shower mat has also been a life saver!  This is one of those super easy, suction-cup to the shower floor kind, but has definitely helped me from slipping when my balance wasn't as steady as it was before surgery.  In addition to this style mat, I also purchased a small non-slip mat for placing just outside of the shower...initially when I started showering when I was home alone, I would step out onto a hand towel, which worked fine but I was always nervous that the towel would shift on the floor and I would end up falling.  I feel much more confident exiting the shower on a non-slip surface.  I would recommend both non-slip mats for the bathroom!

One other thing that I've used in the bathroom is a long-handled scrubber for washing up in the shower.  After surgery, you are not able to bend (nor should you be doing this!!), and thus washing your lower half is quite difficult!  Luckily, I had family that was more than willing to help me initially, but after getting the long-handled scrubber, I was able to feel more independent and could wash my legs and feet on my own!

I can't get this picture to turn, but you get the idea!!  Once my mind was clear enough to sit down at the computer, I typed up a medication chart, which was integral to keeping track of when I needed to take which medication and if I had taken it or not.  The pain killers definitely do a number on your ability to think straight, so I was pretty reliant on this chart to keep track of if I had taken the meds that I had needed to.  I have tapered off the strongest pain killers within the last week and a half so I have just been keeping track of what I've taken and at what time on index cards (which are really easy to throw in your purse if you are planning on running some errands!), and make sure not to take too many pain killers within a short period and have been trying to take Tylenol every four to six hours to keep the pain in check.  This is something that you can't really prepare for in advance of surgery, as I had no clue what I would be on when coming home, but found to be really necessary in some form or another...trust me, your mind won't be all there when you are on such strong pain-killers, so you will need to keep track of your medications in some form! 

Other things that you will need when returning from the hospital will be saran wrap, gauze, and tape to cover your incisions while showering and recovering them when finished (if told to do so).  I was also sent home with an abdominal band to wear for about a month post-surgery to help with the abdominal pain caused from cutting through the abdomincal muscles.  I also found this elastic band helped minimize irritation caused from my clothing rubbing against my incisions (especially on my back where I have a painful pressure point).  I still wear this band and am trying to decrease the time I have been wearing it recently.  Having it on also helps remind me to walk tall, keep my back straight, and to just be aware of my movements.  Luckily, my mom was able to find a second band at a local medical supply store so that we could swap bands out every couple of days and wash them.  I was also sent home from the hospital with all of the ice packs that I used, and it has been nice to have these in rotation and could always have a frozen one on hand when the pain was particularly bad for either of the two incisions.

I tried to get as many things prepared that I could think of prior to surgery, including putting things that were in low drawers or high shelves within reach.  I bought myself quite a few pairs of black athletic pants, which I have been wearing religiously since surgery (I've worn jeans a total of three times since surgery!)...the athletic pants are easy to take on and off and do not really irritate the incisions as much as wearing jeans with a belt does.  Plus, especially early on, napping is common and the pants were comfortable to move around in as well as crawl into bed with!  Daily clothes turned into pajamas, and vice versa!

For some reason, I really thought that I would have time in the hospital to be bored...I purchased myself a Nook (which I'm really glad I did as I've used it quite a bit since then), brought my phone and both chargers with in a small bag to keep near my hospital bed and was worried I would run out of things to do...seriously, I hardly remember my time in the hospital thanks to the pain killers!  I was not in a stable frame of mind most of the time I was there, and think that Leo got the most use out of my phone and Nook playing games while he was hanging out with me!  So, if you're preparing yourself for a fusion surgery, don't plan on sitting in the hospital watching television or reading books...it probably won't be anything like that!  To be honest, I haven't read and have only watched one movie since I've been home...I've watched quite a bit of TV, but my mind had felt pretty tired while on strong pain killers and I didn't think I could really comprehend a book.  I have plenty of books on hand, and would like to try to spend more time resting my back and lying down and think I could handle reading now since I've dropped the major pain killers.

There are a couple of unexpected results that I've discovered since surgery that I just wanted to note.  I know I've commented about it before, but a major side-effect of pain-killers is constipation!  Luckily, I've gotten this under control with the help of Colace and Miralax, but know that while on major pain killers, you are likely going to have some bowel issues!  The nurses in the hospital were helpful with recommending what to have on hand at home (one nurse highly recommended Miralax, which I've found very helpful!) and the Colace was started while I was in the hospital, so I was on track even before leaving the hospital!  Also in regard to the use of strong pain-killers, there is a likelyhood of minor withdrawal symptoms when trying to cut back on the drugs...the first couple of days I was dropping down my strong meds, I woke up with nausea and really bad headaches.  I am feeling much better now and am almost at the point of removing these drugs from my daily regimen (trying to cut back slowly!), but reaffirmed the withdrawal symptoms when speaking with a friend who had also undergone major surgery and had similar symptoms when dropping the drugs.  The last thing that was completely unexpected to me (but was reaffirmed after doing a little research online) deals with "lady symptoms"...I had never considered it, but obviously when undergoing serious abdominal surgery, it is possible to have some resulting cycle disruptions!  My face is broken out like I am a teenager again and my cycle is nearly two weeks late (TMI?!? Sorry!)!!!  I was a little nervous at first about the potential for pregnancy (but really, intimacy is one of the last things on your mind when your back hurts!), but after confirming that that was NOT the cause, I have found that moving all of your goods around inside your abdomen and the trauma of major surgery can really mess with all of your systems!  After googling the topic, I have found that many women experience this after major abdominal surgery, which I found very comforting!  So, if you're a woman considering fusion surgery with an anterior incision, know that this is something that could happen!

The one thing that my surgeon told me in the hospital that has really stuck with me was when he came to see me the next morning after surgery...he told me that the one thing that I couldn't do that day was to tell the physical therapist that would come to see me and work with me that day "no."  They were going to get me out of bed and try to get me moving and although this would be slow going, I couldn't turn down the opportunity as this was integral to my recovery.  This has really stuck with me, and has reminded me that even though things hurt and that I have not experienced pain and discomfort like this before, I need to move and get physical.  This being said, these next couple of weeks my goal is to focus on more "purposeful walking" (getting out and intentionally walking, not just walking around the house trying to pick things up), spending more time lying on my back and relaxing and letting things fuse properly, and really concentrating on limiting my bending, lifting, and twisting even when I'm starting to feel as though I can so those things without pain...I still need these bones to fuse together correctly and want to try my hardest at recovery...I really do NOT want to do this again!!

Okay, this turned out to be another novel!  But hopefully, for those of you who are considering undergoing fusion surgery, the equipment list was helpful and gives you some ideas as to what would be helpful to have at home when coming home from the hospital.  If any questions arise or if anyone can comment on other equipment that was helpful for them, please comment!!

Four weeks!!!

It's been awhile since I've last posted, but this last week has been filled with some fun days, great guests, and some encouraging adventures!!  I'll post more about what this past week has brought soon, but not until at least tomorrow afternoon, as my cousin Jenni has been staying with us for the past couple of days but unfortunately has to get back to Middleton, Wisconsin, to work on Wednesday so tomorrow will be her last day with us.

I just wanted to make a quick post, as it was four weeks ago today that I had surgery!!  How fast did this past month fly by?!  Today Jenni and I went and walked around Quarry Hill Nature Center here in Rochester after a quick picnic, and we ended up walking around the park for a total of about two miles!  Sure, it was a slow pace and I was pretty reliant on my cane, but what a milestone!  I'm feeling a little sore tonight and am trying to spend some time laying down to relax my back, but it was great to get out and do some walking around that was not around the neighborhood. 

And today, the last of my steri-strips covering my incisions came off!  My abdominal incision has been steri-strip free for about a week now, but finally the back ones were ready to come off (maybe with a little help with some picking...I just couldn't help it!)...both incisions look good (or so I think...I have nothing to compare them too!).  My back incision is extremely sensitive though, and although I've been trying to stop wearing my abdominal brace for a few hours a day, my clothing seems to irritate the incision and the skin on one side of the incision terribly!  I had mentioned the especially-tender area to one of my doctors at the appointment two weeks after surgery, and they said the sensitivity is likely the result of a pressure point resulting from lying on my back in a certain position for so long during surgery.  Hopefully these nerves figure out that they don't need to hurt all the time sometime soon! 

Alright, time to get serious here..."Hall Pass" is in the DVD player and I need to concentrate on that!  Another post will come soon...I've already promised one on post-surgery home equipment and now one sharing my adventures of the last week! 

Lazy days...

Yesterday was a really lazy day, with some great sleeping in and some serious nap time!  And, judging today's weather and the emotions these gray, blah days bring on, today might be the same way...and I am perfectly okay with that!  My parents stopped by yesterday evening after going out for dinner to say hello, and it was great to see my dad who had been on a business trip since the previous weekend.  Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, right?!

I just wanted to make a quick entry (we'll see how this goes!) this morning, as I just wanted to share a couple of pictures!

I received this beautiful piece of artwork from my two year old niece Addison last week, and it's been on our fridge ever since, where it makes me smile every time I step into the kitchen!  I had sent Addison a little kit with foam eggs and stickers to decorate them, and I was SO excited to get a decorated one back in the mail!  And, I also got a great colored Thomas the Train picture as well...Leo was especially impressed by her penmanship :)  Addison, my brother Brian, and his wife Carrie live in Colorado, and we've been able to Skype a couple of times since I've had surgery, which has been really nice (although I scared Addison the first time we Skyped, as I was laying in bed and probably looking a little down and out!).  I know I say it all the time, but SERIOUSLY, the kindness, thoughts, support, and love I've received from my friends and family during these past couple of weeks has meant more to me than words can say and has really helped lift my spirits!!  THANK YOU TO YOU ALL!!

I remember being in college, where I used to walk past a flower shop on the way home after class to one of the apartments I lived in during that time, and I remember thinking that once I was older I wanted to keep a bouquet of fresh flowers in my home whenever I could...so I thought I'd better start!  Leo had given me a bouquet of tulips in a super cool vase, and now that all of my hospital flowers are gone, I wanted to refill that amazing vase with some fresh flowers! 

Thanks to a ride from my mom, we stopped by Flowerama (where Mayo employees get 20% off with an ID, FYI!) where I picked up this pretty mix of flowers for the vase!  They brighten up the dining room, and I love getting a smell of them as I do my laps walking around the house! :)

Okay, well maybe this did get a little longer than I expected (but really, what did you expect?!)...wishing everyone a happy weekend!!

Odds and Ends...

My second day without a babysitter, and I am still alive and the house is still standing!  That's always a good sign!

Last night, Leo's dad Frank came into town and they went to a farm show here at one of the local arena centers...he stayed over night (and Leo left for work bright and early) so this morning it was nice to have someone to eat breakfast with chat with for a little bit!  He had to be home mid-morning so he couldn't stay too long (a farming friend was expecting some animal bedding to arrive that he needed some help with), but that put my day off to a good start!

Today has been relatively low key...I tried to get some things done around the house, write some thank you notes for the great flowers and things I've received over the past couple of weeks, and do a little relaxing as well!   So far, so good! 

I've been trying to keep a list of some ideas of things to write about on this blog-o-mine, and I have a bunch of "Odds and Ends" (hence the title!) that I wanted to mention in regard to previous posts or just things I've encountered as a result of the surgery.

Firstly, I wrote awhile back that surgery took a bit longer than was expected, but forgot to mention why.  Apparently, the bones and discs that were being repaired or removed had very strong evidence of arthritis from rubbing on one another, and it took the surgeons quite a long time to scrape out the poor quality bone.  When I heard this after surgery, I felt a little more validated in my pain.  Sometimes I worried that people thought that I was making up the pain (and sometimes I even wondered if it was really that bad when I was having a stretch of good days!), but the surgeon himself told my family that there was truly a reason why I was in so much pain, and that that was very evident in what they found internally.  Another reason why the surgery took so long was due to the curve in my spine.  Apparently, my lumbar curve is a little more exaggerated than usual, and when I was placed on my back to go in through the abdomen, that extra curve created little space between my lumbar bones and my pelvis, making it difficult to get at the backbones with a pelvis that wanted to be included in the party!  So, the process took a little extra time, but things still went as planned!

Another thing I noted when I was still in the hospital was how I had spots along my hairline and on the back of my head that were very tender, which I especially noticed once I was allowed to shower and wash my hair...well, it turns out they had put me into a halo-type apparatus to keep my head from moving around while they were working on my spine.  I still have one sore spot above my right ear that is still tender, but otherwise things have improved in that aspect.  Kind of makes me wonder what else they do during these operations!!

Also while in the hospital I had some serious cases of the hiccups, without any real reason for them occurring!  I still get them at home occasionally, and finally googled it and found that abdominal surgery can actually bring on hiccups!  I guess messing with the diaphragm, stomach, and even having tubes down your throat can bring on a case of those annoying convulsions!  Luckily, they've been occurring less and less (knock on wood!), but they aren't the kind cured by holding your breath or drinking water...that I've tried!!

I had also mentioned in a previous post about not remembering doing anything strange as I was coming out of anesthesia, but I alluded to some strange dreams that I had been having post-surgery that I meant to talk more about...well, I had dreams for about a week after surgery that people were working over me, like a nurse would be over your hospital bed, or your friends or family looking over you while you were laying down.  On numerous occasions, I would wake myself up trying to respond to my 'dream people' "No, I don't need anything!," "Thank you!," and Leo said one evening I was apparently trying to tell someone goodbye!  The dreams were very short (maybe they were actually hallucinations?!?), and I always woke up right away when trying to talk and realized that no one was hovering above me!  My 'dream people' generally were inquiring about how I was, if I needed anything, or were people who had come to visit.  And I know that this wasn't just me on strong drugs while nurses checked up on me all hours of the day and night, because it even was happening at home!  Uh, yeah, maybe I am going crazy?! :)

I have already started to receive itemized statements from the clinic and hospital regarding the cost of the surgery, and the amount makes me cringe!  I am SO thankful for amazing insurance, as we would not have been able to afford this without the insurance that we are covered under!  I don't think that we've gotten all of the statements, but the total from what we have gotten is comparable to nearly three times my annual salary!!  OUCH...thank goodness for out-of-pocket maximums!!

Tonight it is our neighbor Shawn's birthday (Happy birthday, Neighbor!!), and we are going to head out for dinner at O'Neils to celebrate with him and his wife as well as his sister!  I am so excited for my first real attempt at eating dinner out of the house!  Hopefully all goes well, and if not, there's plenty of room to walk around in if I need to get up and stretch out!  And I could really go for some fried mac-n-cheese bite appetizers (seriously...if you haven't tried them there, you must!!)...AMAZING!!

Alright, I meant for this to be a short entry, but again, my novelist side has taken hold...maybe if I get time tomorrow (who am I kidding, what else am I going to do?!?!), I'll write another entry!!  Until then, peace out!!