6/7/15 Chuck’s report
Ok, another one down and looking good! Stuff keeps happening fast but we are able to cope and keep up with all the activity and medical issues we are facing.
Susy saw a orthopedic surgeon on Monday about problems she’s been having. She has had cortisone injections into her neck over the past couple of years, that helps for awhile but doesn’t cure anything. She’s been experiencing pain on some days, her fingers are going numb and she’s lost some of her mobility and strength in her arms and hands.
She had a couple of MRIs to check things out and it confirmed what she already knew, she has problems with her spine. She had some large bone spurs that were contacting her spinal cord, two bulging disks and loss of the natural curve of her neck.
The surgeon said it was something that needed to be repaired, probably sooner rather than later. The next opening the hospital and doctor had was probably in August. She told us she would schedule it and would come by our place later. When we saw her that afternoon, she said they were able to schedule her in two weeks, on June 17th, wow, much quicker than expected.
Tuesday she went to a different doctor and had another cortisone shot in her neck. Once again, this was supposed to help cut back the pain for awhile but wasn’t a cure/fix. We were with her as she isn’t supposed to drive after this procedure. We spend the afternoon with her at her house to make sure she didn’t develop any problems but every thing seemed good all day.
Thursday afternoon about 2:30 Susy called to let us know her doctor had an unexpected opening and could do her surgery the next day, quick change of plans. She would have very limited action for a couple of weeks afterwards, probably not be able to drive a car for six weeks and be off work most, if not all, of that time too. Of course, she had some things that had to be handled first and was busy for most of the evening and night. We did, however, go out for a good meal as she wouldn’t be able to eat/drink anything after midnight.
His surgery was scheduled for 10:30 and she needed to be at the hospital by 8:15. We left our place and headed down to her house, picked her up and made it to there in plenty of time. Shortly thereafter, they took her down to pre-op and said one of us could be with her after they had her prepped for surgery. They led Lorraine down first, she was there for 45 minutes or so then it was my turn. While I was there, her surgeon came by to see her and I got to ask a couple of questions and told him to take care of my daughter. He promised he would do his best. I then traded places with Lorraine again and she stayed with Susy until they wheeled her off to surgery. We were told to wait in the waiting room and they would take us to the surgery consultation room when the doctor was done and could give us an update.
A couple of hours later, they directed us to the consultation room and shortly afterwards the doctor came by to see us. He said the surgery went very well, “couldn’t have gone any better” were his exact words. Boy that was good to hear. She was still in the operating room yet and they said it would be about an hour before we could see her in the recovery room, still only one of us at a time.
I went down first and found her hooked up to lots of machines and IVs with a neck brace on. She was pretty pale and very sleepy, of course, but did wake up enough to know I was there. I only spent a few minutes with her then changed places with Lorraine so she could be with her. I went down one more time but was only able to be with her for about 10 minutes as they were going to move her to a regular hospital room.
Susy was in her bed by the time we made it up to her room, still sleeping most of the time but she said the pain was under control and bearable. I was amazed on how good her movement was, except for turning her neck and of course, looking down with the neck brace on, she was doing well.
Her nurses were very attentive and kept checking on her, especially for the first few hours. She was still hooked to lots of machines and had IVs going in both arms. She did have a self-medicated machine that she used to control her pain, she could push the button and get some injected into the IV every 12 minutes. This was a pretty strong pain medicine and kept her out most of the time.
Lorraine and I headed downstairs to the cafeteria then came back to sit with Susy for awhile. Lorraine posted an update of Facebook, in fact, Susy even added a note during one of her more lucid moments too. Once again, thanks to everyone who was praying and sending good thoughts, very much appreciated!
Susy was scheduled to spend at least one overnight in the hospital so Lorraine and I headed back to our place before 8 that evening. It was a long day but we were sure glad to see that Susy was doing so well and now in the recovery mode.
Saturday morning we got to the hospital a bit after 9 and the doctor had already made his rounds. We went to Susy’s room and it was empty, Huh. But she was only out for an X-ray and pretty soon we saw here coming down the hallway in a wheelchair. The doctor told her the incision was weeping a bit more than he would like so he wanted her to stay for at least one more night.
Susy was much more alert, able to hold conversations and even talked on the phone. She was able to walk to the restroom and the physical therapist took her for a walk down the hallway. Susy told us she had gone on a walking trip with one of the nurses before we got there, wow, less than 18 hours after surgery and walking already.
Later Katie and her dad came by, they had been at the Girl Scouts Pinewood Derby contest most of the morning where Katie had her car entered. She was excited to see her mom and tell us about her car race. She even crawled into bed with mommy and cuddled for awhile.
Shortly after they left, Susy’s friend Chichi and husband Adrian came by for a visit. Susy was really glad to see them and they had a good visit. But once again, Susy was getting pretty tired so as soon as they left, she took a good nap. Lorraine and I headed out to find a café place for a late brunch, found a place with good breakfast and lunch menu too.
Later that evening, we once again headed out for home. Susy had been itching all over from the medication she was getting so the nurse called the doctor to see if they could give her some Benadryl to help. The nurse was heading in to give it to Susy as we left, she said she was pretty sure it would help Susy fall asleep too.
Sunday morning, today, we headed back to see Susy, once again getting there shortly after 9. And once again, we missed seeing her doctor as he had been there and gone. He did change the bandage and removed the drainage tube and said everything was looking good and he would put in the order to let her go home, yea. We got there just in time for Lorraine to help Susy with her sponge bath.
It takes a few hours for the procedure to happen but around 11:30 or so, the nurse gave me paperwork to take down to the pharmacy to get Susy’s prescriptions and move the car over to the entrance where they would bring Susy down in a wheelchair. Shortly after I got there, here comes Susy in a wheelchair and Lorraine following closely. We got her loaded up and headed for our place where she will be staying with us for a few days until she mends a bit.
Susy is able to walk and move well, she is in a neck brace to keep her from moving her head too much. She said the pain is manageable but wants to reduce the amount she is taking. She has a bunch of physical restrictions like no bending, don’t lift her arms above her head, can’t lift more than 5 pounds and the like.
We haven’t seen the incision yet as it’s covered with a bandage and her neck brace. Like I said, I’m really pleased to see how well she is moving about, from my layman’s eyes, she is doing really well. She has a follow-up with her surgeon in two weeks, bet she will be recovered much more by then.
Lorraine has been going to her speech therapy a twice week too. Every time we see her, the therapist says she is seeing good improvement and gives Lorraine some more advanced homework. This is stuff Lorraine would have not had any problem doing before her stroke but she sometimes struggles with now. The therapist says she needed to build new pathways in her brain for these thoughts to travel. So Lorraine does the therapy and homework and I think it is helping too. Beyond that, she is doing just great and feels good although she is disappointed she isn’t 100% recovered by now. Most people who talk to her said they can’t even tell she has some speech issues.
Lorraine has her last aneurysm repair procedure scheduled for later this month. We are looking forward to her finishing up and not having this stuff hanging over her head. I asked her doctor if he could say for certain what caused Lorraine’s strokes and his best guess is the blood flows into the aneurysms, slows down and clots a bit, then the clot drops back into the main vein and plugs off the blood flow/oxygen to that portion of her brain. He can’t say for certain but that is his best guess and said after he repairs this one, she should be good to go. She will probably remain on the blood thinner medicines she is taking and have many follow-ups but that’s a small price to pay for her to not have any more strokes!
Katie had fun building her Pinewood Derby car this week. She came up with a design and I cut it out on our scroll saw, she sanded and painted it. Mark put the wheels and weights on it before they turned it in on Friday evening. She has been having some sore tummy issues and missed a couple of days of school this week and spent one of them with us as both her parents had to work. But she is doing better now, the doctor thinks she picked up a virus somewhere and time will be the best healer for that.
We did get some bad news this week, our brother-in-law back in Washington has been diagnosed with terminal, stage 3 lung cancer. We are keeping him and the family in our prayers and thoughts and ask if you would do the same. We are hoping for one of those God given miracles to help him!
The weather has been nice again this week, even seen a few days in the high 70s. The forecast is for a bit warmer weather for the next few days, glad we have air conditioning for these kind of days. Our coach has some dark exterior colors and it gets hot inside in the afternoon, especially since our front windshield is facing the afternoon sun.
The Elks Lodge here has once again given us permission to stay here without having to move out for at least three days. We certainly appreciate that. But I think Lorraine is starting to get itchy feet and wants to move on as soon as we can. But like I tell her, her medical care is foremost for us right now and we will stay here as long as necessary. I’m sure glad we are in an area where she is getting such excellent medical care.
We have once again listed our house up in Washington with a realtor and have two contractors working to fix it up, one repairing damage from the fire we had back in April and the other replacing the decks and doing other work. Sure will be nice to have it sold and not have to worry about it. Anyone want to buy a nice house on the salt water in Washington state?
I know Lorraine has taken a few pictures with her phone camera this week but I won’t try to download them and add any here. So guess that’s it for now.
Thanks Chuck
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