Clean living pays

This will be my last post for the evening! I just wanted to write and say that we got to see Mom tonight after surgery, and it was a joy. Here's the story from tonight. It contains several answers to all of the prayers being offered up today on Mom's behalf.

After Mom was sewed up at the conclusion of her surgery, we were instructed to wait in a new waiting area in the ICU. There we waited. And waited some more. Two hours passed. We fidgeted, checked our watches, sighed theatrically. I even attempted unsuccessfully to extract a bag of pretzels from the hospital vending machine.

Finally we were greeted by a nurse with an update. The nurse told us that Mom was doing well, and that she was being transferred to her ICU room. She said that we would be able to see her soon. She mentioned casually that Mom's ventilation tube had been removed.

This was a huge surprise, and not a pleasant one. We wondered if it was incorrect information, or if it was a medical mistake. "Are you sure?" Dad asked her. The nurse insisted. Yes, yes. "She has been extubated."

We immediately felt concerned about this. The surgeon had been very clear with Dad, mentioning several times: her ventilation tube will be in for at least one night, possibly two nights. Surgical teams are very cautious about extubation. Wisdom says you should never, ever remove a tube prematurely. Removing the tube causes the patient's throat to swell. Once you've taken it out and created that swelling, it's very painful to try to re-insert it.

Dad paged Mom's surgeon. We sat in the waiting room a while longer. We sighed theatrically a few more times.

While we were waiting for a call back from the surgeon, a nurse directed us to the room where Mom was recovering. Oh, my, it was good to see her. It was so good to see her! She could see us and speak to us. Her ventilation tube was gone. Her vital statistics were absolutely perfect. Blood pressure was spot-on.

After a 10-hour surgery in which she picked up the most awesomely Frankensteiny scar this side of Halloween, she had the clarity of mind to give the nurse Dad's cell phone number as soon as the tube was removed and she was able to speak. Wow. Good morning, Miss Lucid.

She was very weary, and she was in a lot of pain. But Dad got to give her some kisses, and we got to hold her hand and tell her how amazing she was.

Dr. Horton called us back shortly after we reunited with Mom. Dad explained that his concern about the ventilation tube was no longer an issue. Mom's initial recovery was all the reassurance Dad needed to support the decision to remove the tube. Dr. Horton explained that in 95% of his patients, the ventilation tube stays in overnight. But Mom was different. She was beating the odds.

So — Mom's initial recovery has been better than that of 95% of her surgical counterparts.

Mom has always been one of the healthiest people I know. All that stuff that Dr. Oz wants us to do? Mom actually does it. Smoothies with fresh fruit, flax seeds on green salads, steamed veggies for dinner, gym appointments never broken.

I remember once she told me about one of her guilty food pleasures. She lowered her voice to a whisper before she told me, "Sometimes I sneak into the cupboard after lunch and steal an almond or two."

That's right, folks. Mom's favorite forbidden snack just happens to be loaded with heart-healthy Omega-3's.

The simple fact that Mom has already recovered this beautifully in the wake of an absolutely brutal surgery shows me a couple of things: (1) prayer works; and (2) clean living pays.

Mom is spending the night in ICU. We will be re-joining her at the hospital tomorrow. I'll post another update then. Thanks to everyone for your prayers, phone calls, and visits. We are feeling very blessed tonight.

Live from the waiting room!

Day zero of Mom's new spine.

Mom and Dad arrived around 5:30 a.m. Chuck Taylor was here to see Mom off into surgery, along with my brother Scott and his girlfriend Ana. Mom was prepped for surgery around 7:30 a.m. (she got a dose of what Dad calls "happy medicine"). At 7:45 she went into the OR, and the first incision was 8:25.

So, now it's four of us (Dad, Tim, me, Debbie), hanging out at the hospital for the long haul. I'm utterly thrilled that instead of the typical hospital waiting room with a blaring TV and frantic hospital staff, we have managed to ensconce ourselves in a quiet, semi-private waiting space, complete with wireless signal and super-comfy furniture. Wow! It's the nicest hospital waiting room I've ever come across. It's especially appreciated, since we're going to be spending lots of time here over the next couple of days.

We are all hunkering down with our laptops, working on projects, enjoying the calm day, appreciating the chance to be together.

We have been receiving updates on Mom's condition about once an hour. I'll keep you posted throughout the afternoon. Thanks to the host of you that are out there praying and fasting for Mom at this very moment.

For more updates on Mom's surgery throughout the afternoon, hit the "refresh" button on your browser. I'll try to update whenever we get news from the OR, maybe once an hour.

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10:40 am EST - Another update phone call from the OR. We are loving the helpful communication from the surgical team. Dr. Horton is moving into the fusion part of the surgery. He's moving from one tricky part of the surgery into another. The doctor has surgically separated several vertebrae which had compressed upon each other and grown together over the years. Now he is fusing Mom's vertebrae into one giant "super-vertebra" (that's my term, not the doctor's). More updates soon.

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12:15 pm EST - Mom is doing great. The surgery is going really well so far. We have many fans of Mom gathering here in the waiting space. The doctor is now beginning to put titanium screws into Mom's spine. We're thinking that Mom will be gaining a few pounds during the surgery because of all the metal being added to her back.

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Update from Dad - 1:30 pm EST - Just heard from Monique in the operating room (1:20 PM). Things are proceeding normally with Cheryl's surgery. They continue to work on the spinal fusion, which is going to include all the vertebrae from the sacrum to T5, which includes most of her spine. Progress involves drilling holes and inserting stainless steel screws and rods to support the bone graft. Thanks for your continued prayer. We should be somewhere near the halfway point. More later.

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Update from Dad - 2:40 pm EST - Just heard from the O.R. (2:35 PM). Cheryl's surgery is ahead of schedule. All the hardware bracing is complete and the vertebrae are in place. Dr. Horton is now harvesting bone from her pelvis to place in the inter-vertebral spaces. Once that is done, the surgery is complete. She will then be released to Intensive Care. We who are waiting will be transferring to the family ICU waiting area where we will meet Dr. Horton and hear his report. Everything looks very good at this point. More later.

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Update from Dad - 4:00 pm EST - The bone is in place between Cheryl's vertebrae. Now the difficult work of installing the two unifying stainless steel rods begins. They will bring together all the bracing hardware and finish the operation. They estimate another two hours or so. So, in the end, the surgery will take 11-12 hours, which is pretty close to the original estimates. It has been a long day, but things are still going well. I hope the next update will be the last one of the surgery proper. Thanks for praying.

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6:00 pm EST - The operation is complete! Mom is getting sewed back up right now. We'll get to meet with her doctor and see her briefly in about an hour. She'll spend the night in ICU.

I look forward to meeting the doctor that just helped give so much quality of life back to my Mom. It'd be cool to give him something more than a handshake. Like, say, a giant steak. Or a foot massage. He must be exhausted every time he completes one of these incredible surgeries.

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Update from Dad - 7:00 pm EST - Cheryl's surgery is at last over except for closing the wound and doing the necessary antiseptic preparations. I am waiting for a call from Dr. Horton, which will come as soon as he has finished these final steps. She will be taken to ICU next, where I will be able to see her briefly. Everything went well and now the long healing process begins. She won't wake up until tomorrow sometime. Please pray that post-op difficulties will be minimal and that her bone graft will be successful. About 12 percent of bone grafts don't work, and that really complicates things.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and your concern for her and us. Today has been long, but the steady succession of people who have been with us in the waiting room has made the time pass much faster. Thanks for all of you for sharing your time with us. Good night!

THE JOURNEY TO SURGERY - December 18

After my early years of dealing with scoliosis, I thought it was behind me forever.  In those early years I had many uncertainties, the biggest being that I would be unable to bear children it it didn't stop it's progression.  I am forever grateful (now) for those horrible high school months of wearing a smelly and unsightly plaster cast extending from my arm pits to my hip bones.  I was looked on as weird to say the least.

In the past few years some telltale signs began appearing.  I was getting shorter (2").   My lower back ached daily, my balance was off.  I had no idea it was the 'ol scoliosis again.  I have spent the last few years working on "winning" over these maladies. I finally ended up at the Emory Spine Clinic and the xrays showed my spine increasing in its curvature.  I now have an "S" shaped curve with 2 curves, each at 67 degrees.  I has progressed about 2 degrees with each quarterly visit.  The last visit in September determined that my spine was marching on collapsing on itself which would eventually lead to its collapsing on my lungs and heart.     I had prayed that the decision for surgery would be simple.  It was.   There is no other way to stop what is happening.

How do I feel about this?  At first I was in denial.  I sought to do everything physical to avoid surgery.  I spent time weekly with an excellent physical therapist who specializes in fragile backs.  I have hired a personal Pilates trainer to strengthen my core muscles surrounding the spine.  I swim 2x week.  I work on cardio and other strength training at the gym 4x week.  I lost weight.  I gave it all I knew to do BUT it did not  change what was happening.  SO - the decision was made easy and I am at peace about having something so massive.

What do I mean by massive?  The surgery is 12 hours and time in hospital looks to be 12 days.  Recovery - long.  I am told that to get back to "normal" is 12 months.

This blog is to give you a window into what our family has ahead.  I do not want to waste this whole thing on just getting through but want to learn a lot of things through the process.

The blog is for people to post their words to us and for us to post our words of "where we are"  along the way.  Thank you for joining me on this unique journey.

...Cheryl

Surgery plans - the long view

One of my strong memories from childhood is lining up every few months beside Mom and leaning forward as her fingers carefully massaged our spines and checked for good alignment in the vertebrae. Mom was touched by scoliosis as a child and spent a year of high school in a full body cast. Throughout my childhood, she was vigilant in making sure that her children did not have to deal with the same disease.

After staying dormant for most of her adult life, Mom's scoliosis is back. She has researched treatments exhaustively and has logged countless hours in non-surgical alternatives (pilates, stretching, physical therapy, etc.). A few weeks ago, she met with a well-known specialist in Atlanta who does corrective surgery for scoliosis patients like Mom. After a close examination of her medical history and current X-rays, he made it clear that if left untreated, the scoliosis will continue to cause problems for her — namely, chronic pain and breathing difficulties. She has already lost two inches of height in the past year as her spine has compressed more and more.

Major surgery is scheduled for December 18 here in Atlanta. The surgery takes about 10 hours and involves placing composite rods in the spine and then doing a bone graft from the pelvis to solidify the repair. Patients are in the hospital for ten days and then have months of rehab. The surgery is not going to be fun. At the same time, I know that Mom is looking forward to regaining her lost height, and picking up a good medical reason for elegant posture.

This week we found out some great news. After going through a battery of tests at Emory, Mom was told by her doctor that they can complete the surgery in one pass instead of breaking it into two surgeries, several days apart. This was a huge answer to prayer. It will mean less expense, a shorter hospital stay, less potential for complications, etc.

We look forward to seeing Mom stand tall again.

posted by Carissa