Joyce came to be with me....Bless her heart! Thank you!!! {{{HUGS}}}
It's been a very looooooooong day! My son Chris and I awoke at 4am and made our way to St. Thomas Hospital where they soon received Chris to prep him for the disk fusion surgery he was to undergo.
It's been a very looooooooong day! My son Chris and I awoke at 4am and made our way to St. Thomas Hospital where they soon received Chris to prep him for the disk fusion surgery he was to undergo.Chris has suffered for several years with spinal stenosis...and severe compression of the disks that pressed against the sciactic nerve causing numbness down both of his legs and into his feet. He was in pain the majority of the time - and on pain medications to help him do the normal, routine things of life. It's been a wrenching few years - and taxing on his body! It's a miracle in itself that he was able to walk at all!!!
Today however, was the day that hopefully that would end that road to destruction....which the doctors told him would inevitably cause him to become paralyzed due the severity of the compression of nerves.
The surgeons worked as a team for two and a half hours. When they began to do the lumbar laminectomy and fusion, (2 in all), they discovered yet another bulging disk and ended up fusing 3 of his disks. LC - 4&5...I don't know all the terms.... inserting 2 rods and 6 screws into his spine...whew!
Today has been a difficult day - to say the least. I last saw him at 5:30 a.m. and didn't see him again until they put him in his hospital room at 2:00 p.m.
He was in and out of consciousness and set up with a morphine pump for the pain. Pain - seems to be an understatment - I feel so horrible for him!
Even the slightest movement in or around his bed or him - causes excrusiating pain! The morphine doesn't seem to be helping...
Later in the afternoon a guy from Orthotics came and fitted him with a back brace that he will have to wear during his long 2 - 3 months of recovery. But in order for him to be fitted with it - they had to move him - and wrap the belt around him.
Soon after physical therapy worked, almost simultaneously, and made him sit up in bed. He was able to take 2 steps...and then back in bed...where they could remove his brace so he could try to find a comfortable way to situate himself.
There is no real way to situate him that elminates his tremendous discomfort and pain! Sleep for now - seems to be the best alternative to conscious
awareness!
Tomorrow will be a rough day as well! The Physical Therapist has forewarned that she will get him out of bed tomorrow and try to get him to walk a few steps and sit in a chair. I'm not sure about the walking part - but I' guess tomorrow we'll see.
For more information about the procedures you can see a video at the following links:This explains what they did a whole lot more than I can possibly try to explain!!!
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