kookykat
10-16-2006, 12:01 PM
I apologize for not updating sooner. I've been sick all weekend and haven't even gotten to *see* Sharon. Oh, well. As soon as I finish this, I go take a shower and head down to spend some time with her.
Last week was a nightmare. There was lots of ignoring of the Power of Attorney. As a result, there were massive misunderstandings, and I was put in a very stressful position for nothing. :mad:
I think we're all on the same page now. The surgeon said he was told Sharon didn't want surgery. I was told *he* didn't think surgery was necessary. Sharon *did* want surgery (and so did the surgeon), but the person asking her (one of the nurses) didn't know her well enough to get the proper answer from Sharon. So, once we got that all straightened out, we both calmed down a whole bunch. I'm still angry about them ignoring the PoA and am planning to see if they have a patient advocate I can talk to.
I haven't heard for sure (because it was Friday afternoon by the time we got everything unbent), but surgery was tentatively scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Sharon's got a burst compression fracture of the L1 vertebra. She's got a 40-percent impingement into her spinal canal from a piece sticking out the right side (toward the left). She's also lost 60 percent of the vertebral body height. Want to visualize that? Make a stack of 10 coins and take 6 away. :(
The surgeon is going to go in and put pins in T11 and T12 above and in L2 and L3 below and connect them all with a rod. He's also going to take a piece of her pelvic bone and use it to create some struts, basically, to support the whole shebang. He said he thinks a straight approach through the back will be possible, which is good news. Having to go in through the flank is much more serious, because it involves chest tubes and a much longer recovery time.
She'll be in the hospital for another week or so afterward, and then she goes to rehab. I was told she's got 20 days through Medicare. After that, she'll have to come home.
I'm going to be checking her function today, but when I left her Friday night, she'd already recovered enough to be able to lift her right leg *almost* as high as her left (within an inch, about)! She couldn't press her toes downward very much, but she *was* able to flex them a bit, which is just awesome!!! The surgeon didn't even think she'd be able to ever recover that much function, so the bed rest has been a good thing.
Yes, I was incredibly frustrated, but everything happens for a reason. The reason all the doors were slamming in my face was because Sharon was not supposed to leave the hospital until AFTER she'd had surgery!!!
So, that's where we are. I'll post an update as soon as I have more to report. Prayers, white light, positive energy - whatever your belief system is - if you would please include Sharon and me in your thoughts, we'd both appreciate it!
Hugs,
Mikster (and Sharon and the furry critters)
Last week was a nightmare. There was lots of ignoring of the Power of Attorney. As a result, there were massive misunderstandings, and I was put in a very stressful position for nothing. :mad:
I think we're all on the same page now. The surgeon said he was told Sharon didn't want surgery. I was told *he* didn't think surgery was necessary. Sharon *did* want surgery (and so did the surgeon), but the person asking her (one of the nurses) didn't know her well enough to get the proper answer from Sharon. So, once we got that all straightened out, we both calmed down a whole bunch. I'm still angry about them ignoring the PoA and am planning to see if they have a patient advocate I can talk to.
I haven't heard for sure (because it was Friday afternoon by the time we got everything unbent), but surgery was tentatively scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Sharon's got a burst compression fracture of the L1 vertebra. She's got a 40-percent impingement into her spinal canal from a piece sticking out the right side (toward the left). She's also lost 60 percent of the vertebral body height. Want to visualize that? Make a stack of 10 coins and take 6 away. :(
The surgeon is going to go in and put pins in T11 and T12 above and in L2 and L3 below and connect them all with a rod. He's also going to take a piece of her pelvic bone and use it to create some struts, basically, to support the whole shebang. He said he thinks a straight approach through the back will be possible, which is good news. Having to go in through the flank is much more serious, because it involves chest tubes and a much longer recovery time.
She'll be in the hospital for another week or so afterward, and then she goes to rehab. I was told she's got 20 days through Medicare. After that, she'll have to come home.
I'm going to be checking her function today, but when I left her Friday night, she'd already recovered enough to be able to lift her right leg *almost* as high as her left (within an inch, about)! She couldn't press her toes downward very much, but she *was* able to flex them a bit, which is just awesome!!! The surgeon didn't even think she'd be able to ever recover that much function, so the bed rest has been a good thing.
Yes, I was incredibly frustrated, but everything happens for a reason. The reason all the doors were slamming in my face was because Sharon was not supposed to leave the hospital until AFTER she'd had surgery!!!
So, that's where we are. I'll post an update as soon as I have more to report. Prayers, white light, positive energy - whatever your belief system is - if you would please include Sharon and me in your thoughts, we'd both appreciate it!
Hugs,
Mikster (and Sharon and the furry critters)