Thursday, March 09, 2006

An update...

Greetings from the Valley Village MoFiLa Chapter Headquarters, recovery compound and day spa!

After two consecutive nights of sleep, uninterrupted by blood tests, IV alarms, panic attacks, physical therapists, coughing fits, freezing hospital temperatures, assisted bathroom treks, profoundly unhelpful relatives and difficulties caused by under/over medicated states - I can report that both circusfaerie and I are feeling much, much better.

She was originally scheduled to have her surgery (lumbar microdissection/laminectomy with anterior and posterior spinal fusion at L4 and S1) on Monday the 27th and spend four days in the hospital.

It turns out that the vertebra were much smaller and the work more detailed than the surgeon anticipated. They also wanted to test nerve function and reduce swelling before completing the fusion, so her doctor chose to do the anterior and posterior fusion on two separate days. The second surgery was Wednesday, March 1st and she was in the hospital for a total of 9 days. The worst part was breaking the news when she woke up that she wasn't finished with the surgery. Even so, I can't thank everyone at St. John's enough for their amazing work - I simply can't imagine how they do it.

So, recovery. Since she has incisions healing on both her stomach and back, she can only walk for limited amounts of time, sit up for 30-45 minutes a day, and can't twist, bend, stoop or carry anything. (Yay, memory foam bed!) She has a snazzy medical corset which deeply appeals to her goth nature. The doctors were necessarily vague because everyone's recovery period is different, but it looks like mostly bedrest for another 2-4 weeks, then depending on how she progresses we'll go from there. She doesn't start physical therapy until the spine is completely fused at 4-6 months.

Throughout all this, circusfaerie has shown incredible strength, grace and courage which makes me ashamed to even admit to being tired and cranky, which of course, I am. It's not easy for me to ask for help at my age, and at 22? Asking your mom to move in and help out has got to be almost as bad as the surgery itself, but she's been remarkable and has already cracked me up more times than I can count.

Unlike my mother (THAT. WOMAN!*) our friends have all been amazing, supportive, and more help than I'll ever know how to repay. I'd also like to take a moment to express my gratitude for online grocery shopping, take-out food, the drugstore down the street, bed bath and bankruptcy and the entire internet in general. (OH, HOW I MISSED YOU INTERNETS! I had to subsist without you for eight whole days!)

Now, does anybody know:

• Where can we get a good recliner?
• How do I install a damn hand-held shower? *Stupid waterpik*
  
• How do you take a shower without soaking the dressings?! Saran Wrap is beyond useless.
  
• What are your best recommendations for keeping busy/happy during recovery?
  

Keep all your good wishes and positive energy coming, it makes more difference than you know. Thanks!

* TM Kimberly

PS: I've postponed school for the duration. It's kind of a bummer, but I can't imagine worrying about English composition in the middle of all this, and it'll be there when I get back.

posted by Space Kitty at 2:45 PM|| Comments (2)