Jo C.

Ed1937

How did the surgery go? IIRC, I think you said it was scheduled for the 3rd. Sorry I didn't ask about it earlier.

M1

Ditto! Thanks for the reminder Ed.

Caro_Lynne

Jo C.

How very kind of you to ask; thank you. Surgery went well. Recovery has been a bit rough but improving. Prior to surgery, the nerves in the spine were so compressed that he had severe pain in his back and especially in his legs along with significant leg weakness. He could only walk about five to ten steps and have to sit down and could not stand in one spot more than a few seconds.

After surgery with laminectomy and fusion, his legs immediately returned to their usual ability to fully function; it was amazing. He had the minimally invasive procedure with the DaVinci Robotic approach; truly stunning how things have advanced in surgery over the last few years.

He was discharged home on the fourth post-op day along with a walker. Initially it was dreadfully painful for him to rise from a sitting position or sitting back down. Even resting he had quite a bit of pain. He was taking the full Norco tablet as well as Flexaril. Each day things have improved bit by bit. He is now able to rise and sit without nearly as much discomfort and does it much more easily yet still a bit difficult. His ambulation is stronger. Still having post-op back pain, but he is doing better sufficiently to enable him to try and cut his Norco tabs in half which the surgeon had recommended be done when it was tolerable.

Have had trouble with dressing tape holding dressing. Last night the tape on his dressing curled up along with the dressing and for the first time exposed his incision iine/sutures. I noticed a little redness around the incision. Reinforced his tape but it does not want to stay. He has an unusual dressing over the wound which I am not familiar with, so I shall make a call this a.m. and see what they want to be used or if they wish to see him for wound observation. Being an unhealed area into the spine, I do not want to take any chances.

All in all, it was a better experience than he had thought it would be and the leg results have been wonderful and greatly, greatly appreciated. (How wonderful to be a surgeon and be able to restore function for people!) Back pain still with him but not as much as prior to surgery and as the area heals it should continue to get much better. Working on GI issues.

Will say it was a very good idea to purchase a recliner with a lift function. He absolutely cannot tolerate sleeping in bed, pillows and positioning or not, but he can sleep off and on in the recliner and the lift feature really helps him get up when he has those nighttime bathroom trips, ( thank you Flomax.) Wish we had an elevator in the house like you have, M1, but having the chair lift in the stairwell is what got him upstairs to the bedroom. It is a very large room with an en suite, his new recliner and a large TV, so it has served him well like a small "apartment." I am peacefully in the guest room. P.T. to make the first visit today so we shall see where that takes him.

With me being limited with my beyond the beyond bad and painful knees, it has been a blessing to have our daughter fly in for a couple of weeks to assist. Once again, thank you very much for asking; you two have been my heroes and your caring really means a lot, dear friends.

M1, how has it been going with your visits? I wonder if your partner has begun to get out of her room a bit as yet. You have the patience of a saint even if you aren't one - (Ha!)

And Ed; how are things going with your son's search for a new group home setting for himself; I really hope he finds something great that will serve him well very soon.

J.

loveskitties

Jo, have you tried 3M Micropore surgical tape for DH incision? It is skin friendly and easy to get off and on. Held very well for an abdominal surgery I had.

M1

Glad to hear the update Jo. We are all to familiar with spinal surgeries here.

Jo C.

Was seen in surgeon's office this a.m. The RN changed his dressing. No more tape of any kind! They use a special McKesson Protective Dressing that has it's own clear, sticky part around it and it supposedly holds very well; also silver for antibacterial action. Ordered a box of them. https://mms.mckesson.com/product/1058159/Molnlycke-498600

I will lay in a supply of the micropore tape to keep on hand for other "happenings." Thank you for the hint.

New to me as I had not used these before. Always learning. He is exhausted from the outing and has three hours to go before P.T. arrives. His dance card is full.

J.

Ed1937

Thanks for the update. The main thing is that it was successful. Being uncomfortable and in pain is a temporary thing. At least that's the way I always look at it. I hope things progress better than expected, and you can both get some rest.

Mike is back in the hospital, expected to be released probably Wednesday. We found a group home about 15 miles from here, and we went to see it. I expected it to be bad like the other one. But it was as clean as my house, and seemed to be run very well. In the end, he was rejected because they felt he was too high functioning to properly fit their facility. So he will come back to live with me while we try to find an apartment that he can afford.

Jo C.

Ed, I am sorry Mike had to go back to the hospital and am also sorry the group home did not work out for him; it sounded as thought it may have been doable. Here's hoping that a good fit will be found soon and bring him peace and add to his quality of life. Let us know how that is going, I do think of you and this particular quest. Mike is blessed to have such a Dad who is supportive and that cannot be easy much of the time.

Well; DH here, is doing much better. He has zero pain while sitting in the recliner; when he walks his pain level is only 1 - 3. He is walking much straighter and more briskly (with the walker) as each day passes. The significant pain occurs when standing and sitting back down. This is where that recliner chair lift becomes important - it still hurts even using the lift, but not as bad when getting on and off other chairs. This is to be expected since he has an incision in his back, vertbrae messed with in laminectomies as well as bone grafts, some taken from his hip. Over all, it is going well.

Wonderful to see progress day to day. Soon he will be able to shower and we hope soon that his GI tract will respond to all of the helping interventions that have been and are being provided. Cannot lie down in bed to sleep whether we use 45 degree support or pillows/positioning. He continues to use the recliner chair for sleeping, but in the week(s) ahead that will change and get better too. It continues to amaze both of us how wonderfully his legs have been restored - delighted and grateful for that.

Take good care of you Ed; you have had a few challenges pop up lately, time for good things to happen.

J.

Ed1937

Jo, I'm really glad the surgery was such a success. These improvements in surgery lately are really something. Yes, each day gets a little better.

White Crane

So glad the surgery went so well.