Recovery Starts Here

I only had six weeks pain free after the double Laminectomy on Feb 23 then the left glute area started with stage one of the nerve pain...I call it stage one because it was the same nerve pain that left me debilitated about 6 months prior when that began on the right side and wouldn't go away.  I had plans a week later (first week of April) to spend a week in southern Utah where I was planning on do the ZION 100K again...I already knew I would be unable to do that but I love the area and decided to volunteer at the event and then spend the week with my friend Amber checking out places I didn't get to see the year before.  The doc had  put me on a steroid pack a week or so before going to Utah hoping it was just inflammation but that didn't help. Once I got to Utah I knew it wasn't going to be a good outcome since the steroids didn't help at all so I hiked and enjoyed every minute I could. I had to take some rest breaks but it was all worth it! About week 10 I went back to the Doctor and had another MRI.....I had the MRI locally on a tuesday and that evening the Doctor himself called me at 6:30 pm.....I knew that probably wasn't a good sign. Sure enough I was still a complete mess and one of the disc were completely gone. When I went back in to discuss it with him he asked me to be honest about my prior recovery since the one disc was completely gone and I told him...I was good...I only walked...no running at all.  I told him about my hiking in Utah the week or so prior and he said that wouldn't have done anything as it was already done before I left for there so he didn't mind at all me doing what I love. I did have to shovel 18 inches of snow off my roof less then a week after the first surgery since my roof and flat and my drains were completely iced over so nothing could drain. A couple days before the big snow some water had started coming through and I got out there then to get the ice off while I waited on someone else to come up and help. They finally showed up and took over and I had made arrangements with them knowing that this big snow was coming to come out and shovel it for me. The day of the snow he was suppose to come in the evening but didn't show and said he would be there by 11:00 the next day since it was going to get to the 50's so it would start melting and i could lose the entire back room if that happened....11:30 came and I called...said he got tied up at another job but would be right out....1:00 comes...nobody and its getting warmer...I call no answer. Tanner was still in college so I had no choice and I had to get out there and do it myself. My doctor was aware but said you had to do what you had to do and then said it may not hurt anything that some do things by the book and still have problems so do something they shouldn't and don't have problems. We don't know if that played a factor and at this point it doesnt matter why and he knew the spinal fusion was going to inevitable anyways but we were hoping for a couple years down the road.
Being such a major surgery it took time to get insurance to approve and with my age it took a little more since most people don't have this type of issue at my age. I was scheduled for June 6th.
The Procedure that was done was
1. L-4-L5, L5-S1 laminectomy and facetectomy
2. Posterolateral theses L4-L5 and L5-S1
3. Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with preparation of interspace L4-L5
4. Placement of 10X20 mm Crescent PEEK intervertebral biomechanical device L4-L5
5. L4-S1 segmental pedicle screw instrumentation with pedicle screw system
6. Harvest of local bone through same incision
7. Use of Porgenix and Magnafuse moralized allograft for inter body and posterolateral fusion
I was unable to eat of drink after midnight the night before and surgery was scheduled for 12:45 with an arrival time of 10:45. I took a xanax before leaving as I was very nervous. I arrived and found he was running late and my time would now be 2:00. My IVs were attached and the things on my legs so they would be able to monitor how close to the nerves he was during the procedure. My mom took me and was allowed to wait in the pre op room with me...poor thing couldn't stay awake.
The doctor came in to talk with me and then the anesthesiologist and shortly after I was headed back to the surgery room. As I approached I started getting more scared- I am glad he started the anesthesia right away because I was almost in tears with fear...what if something went wrong..this is my spine
the back bone of my entire body and well being.  It didn't take long and I was off in my happy place and had no idea what was going on.  When I woke up in the recovery area they called my family to let them know but I was only able to lay there. After about 2 hours and no room for me to go to they allowed two family members to come back....Tanner and my dad had arrived by then so they came back. Tanner snapped this pretend it doesnt hurt like hell picture and we visited for a few and then the waiting game for a real room began again. It was almost 4:30 hours till I got into a room.  When I arrived my folks and Tanner came in and it was rough. I had major hip pain going on...they thought from the position I was in during surgery as well as nerve damage and the position after surgery. I felt like if I could just stand up for a few it would feel a little better....now comes the most frustrating and scary part. I tried and tried just to raise my butt and hips off the bed and I had no strength to do that at all! I was scared I was so frustrated and I tried so hard and just couldn't do it. I said again I really need to stand up and move and so they had someone come in and teach me to try to bend the right leg then roll it over to the left...try to much and lift my hips up so my body would lay on its side using the bed railing and the bed and this was so hard!!! I finally got to a side position...next step was to let my legs roll over the bed and then push my upper body erect....again very difficult and painful but I finally made it up. They put a walker in front of me and I pushed and they helped to get me to stand upright. I asked to try to walk and they went with me a couple steps into the hallway to the nurses station and back...that was enough and it helped with the pain that I was having in the hips.  My folks left and Tanner and my dad went on home...Mom was staying with my brother so she was close if needed but it was also my nieces bday weekend so she got to spend some time with them shopping and enjoying a visit. Im not one to ask for help and why come sit and stare at me in the hospital.  Once I got settled into my room and bed they gave me an ice pack because the hip started to hurt again as well as my quads and every muscle and nerve in my lower body. I honestly felt so weak in the legs that I thought I had ran a Hundo!  They started me now on stronger pain medication through IV and that would last about 3 hours so every 3 hours or so they would come check on me. Night one was rough and around midnight the new nurse on duty came to empty my drainage bags and my catheter - about an hour later I had so much bladder pain and the urge to pee that it almost had me in tears....I reached over to see what was up with the catheter and the nurse that changed it had it draped over my hand rail so all my urine was draining back into the bag.  I called for help and finally someone came and fixed and got it going correctly but after that the bladder pain and pressure never went away. Morning came around and this same nurse told me I need to order breakfast at 7am...gave me a menu and left. About 6:45 I called and said I was told to order breakfast but have no clue how to do it because she gave me a menu and left? She came back in and said I need to call this number 3663.....I said ok...but how do I call that number with what??? She then reached way back behind me on a wall and says oh here is the phone.  I ordered some raise bran and hard boiled egg. The nurse then came in and took my catheter out and did some charting and I told her I had to pee and she said no you don't you just feel like it because i took the catheter out...so 15 min goes by and the nurses are changing shifts...I start to try to get myself up when they both were in there and they said what do you need and I said I need to pee....now the nurse from hell said we can help..all you have to do is ask...I said I did...I told you I had to pee and you said I didn't. I finally got myself up and used the walked to get to the bathroom and I peed!!! I had to then have a bladder scan the next 3 times I went to be sure my bladder was getting empty or close to empty each time.  The doctor came to see me and I told him about the nurse from hell....he said all went well but he wants me to have a bone scan when I am healed to see if it may tell more about my bones and what type of Arthur I may have. He said he was so surprised how weak my bones were with my activity level and that the 78 year old man before me in surgery had stronger back bones then me. He then said it is something congenial which the only person that had arthritis was my dads mom and she passed away very young so nobody really knows what kind. I don't have joint pain as would be expected either. He felt the surgery will be successful and we started talking running.  I had walked a half marathon 3 days prior to the surgery...It was one of Mainly Marathons series of 7 states 7 marathons in 7 days and it was starting in Northern Ohio...about a 4:30 hour drive and the RD gave me a free entry and was sharing a room with a friend.  It wasn't about doing any distance and I didn't care if I did half,full or just a couple miles...it was mostly for mental therapy as I needed to be with members of my running family before I would go under this major surgery and would be off for quite a long recovery. I am so glad I got to go...I stopped at the half and got an extra medal to give to my Doc....signed the back with a date and gave it to him after surgery and told him to keep that so if at 92 years old I break Harriet Thompson marathon record she broke the weekend prior he would have this from me :) He has done only one full marathon and he said he would like to do another but he cramped up around mile 20-22 and had to walk some and stretch...not that there is anything wrong with that but he really wanted to be able to run without walking...I told him he should do the RnR Nashville with me in April next year and that it is part of St Judes so he would have a medical connection and really think he would enjoy that....at that moment he said that will be our goal for me to be able to do that marathon in April! I loved this goal since at first he has to tell all patients that they should expect to not be running for 1-2 years. Of course we don't know how the healing and recovery process will go but hey its a goal and its a great goal!!!
OT came in and taught me how to put my socks on and took me around the hallway. We started with the walker and when i got in the hall she asked if I wanted to try without the walker and I said yes...she had a tie around me for safety that she held onto but I managed a loop with out the walker.  Mom Allison and the girls came over after bday shopping and stayed about an hour and the girls walked the hall loop with me once. I was not allowed to walk without someone being with me. PT was suppose to come but never showed up that day.
Friday they also came in and changed my bandage and took one of my drains out. The hook looking things on that photo are where the drains are. Throughout the night I had to pee so many times and its such a huge process just to get myself up. My ab muscles even feel like that have pulled away from my skin due to the stress of trying to maneuver my body and then I use everything in me just to push myself to a sitting position then on to stand.  I do a count to three then deep breath in my nose and blow out the mouth before each movement.  They giggled once and said they have never heard anyone count to 3 before but it works!!  That evening I had a surprise visit from Tanner and his friends....It was nice because I was ready to walk the hallways but you hate to push the call button because they workers are so busy with other people you don't want to bother them to come walk around the hallway with you. They brought me a cream horn from Schmidts and I only ate the top off it with some cream - I was afraid too much sweets would cause some bowel issues and I think the body heals better with less sugar. The 4 of them took me two laps around the hallway, we looked like someone very important with a good looking posey around them.
A big storm came through and they hung out for about 90 minutes and then I went to sleep for a bit. Sleep is very tough...I only needed the IV pain medication Friday night and stopped that in the early Saturday am but Saturday night about 1:00 it was unbearable again...I kept pushing the call button on both sides of the bed and nothing happened....the call button and remote was on the table but I must have forgotten to bring it closer to me during a potty time. I did some breathing and managed to get myself to sleep for another hour then tried all the call buttons again but those don't work....I managed one more time to breath myself to sleep and then the gal came for vitals and I told her the buttons on the bed don't work and i couldn't reach the controller...she got my nurse and the pain had gotten too far out of control that she had to do the IV meds to get me back to a manageable level...then I started back on the oral doses and things seemed to be fine.
Saturday mom stopped over and brought me some chipotle...I ate a little but don't have much of an appetite still. She stayed for about an hour or so and told me about my nieces bday presents (they got her an electric guitar!!) My niece has been learning guitar for awhile and is really good...she is also super artistic...she just turned 14. She was excited to open her other presents and had to wait till grandma got back so there isn't much to do but sit and stare at wall in a hospital room so mom headed back after an hour or so. She checked to be sure PT would be there today too.  We were hoping my other drain would be removed on Saturday but there was still enough drainage that they needed to keep it in.  PT did come and taught me to do steps since I have steps in my home. She also walked me around the hallway walker free!!! She let them know that I could now walk the hallway with out assistance as I chose. I had another great surprises on Saturday...that afternoon my old Pastor that got reassigned Pastor Kym James and her husband Frank brought me balloons and he brought his guitar and they played and sand me a couple songs. We all prayed together and it was very refreshing.
Sunday morning came and I got the ok at 5am to take out the drains but the nurse was busy and had to check in a new patient. Then at 7 am the shift changes so I had to wait till the new nurse got situated....finally an hour or so later she came and changed the dressing and removed the drain. It thought removing it would be like a sigh of instant relief but it wasn't.  I got released and we got home around 1:30 in the afternoon and got settled in. It felt good that night to be in my own bed and I really worried about not having the rails and such to pull on to get up but I found it easier getting in and out of my own bed. It is now Wednesday and I have been home for about 72 hours and things are improving. I am a little concerned with the top of the incision as it looks like a big sac of fluid and almost feels that way too. I iced it last night and today it seems to have gone down a little but I did call the docs office to let them know. She suggested it could be scar tissue forming and she would let him know and get back with me if I should be alarmed. I walked outside today about a total of 300 steps...my goal was to make it to the end of the street but I came up short and decided to turn around. As of around 9 pm last night I haven't taken any pain meds but I think I will have to after while. I had a headache and was allowed to take tylenol and that has helped.
My son when he first saw my incision was like OH WOW....i said what is it draining or something wrong and he says no.....it just looks like you have a giant extended butt crack half way up your back.
I managed another walk this evening and the total steps for it were 585. I have no need to push myself as I want things to recover the way they should.  I have had a strange smell in my nose all day. Years ago I was told I had Ol Factory hallucinations where people smell a smell that is not there and I really haven't had them to to bad the past couple years but maybe being in there with all the nerve has brought it back on...lets hope it is temporary because its very annoying!! One smells something but can't even describe what it is...its not foul its not pleasant its just a weird ass smell!
The first part of May I started tracking again with Whale Watchers since I had gained over 20 pounds since the first of the year. I was so depressed and the comfort food really did help...plus before the first surgery I couldn't even stand without crying for longer then 30 seconds so ice cream and junk became my go to. I lost about 8 pounds that month and the week since surgery I lost 3.5 so Im in the right direction. Trying to eat lots of protein so the muscle and such will heal quicker.