Wednesday's Recap

9:00am - This was the first time that we were allowed to visit with Mom today. Shortly before we went in Mom was woken up for the first time and her breathing tube was removed. We were very pleasantly surprised to find her with a big smile and lots to say. Unfortunately we are still only permitted to go in to her bed side one at a time, but when I (Leah) was by her side I felt so comforted to hear her coherent words of contentedness. We were able to reassure her that the surgery went terrifically and that her spine looked quite straight in the x-rays.

11:30am- After waiting in the "Family Atrium" since the first visit we were so excited to be able to see Mom again. We suited up in our sterile yellow gowns and went to Mom's side one at a time. As I stroked her head she mentioned that it felt really good, so I kept that up for the 5 minutes I was able to be with her. She said that she felt a lot of pain in her back, but no pain in other areas of her body (this is actually a really good thing and I will explain why later in this post). As Kelty, Arian and I shared with each other our conversations with Mom the overwhelming feeling from her has been that she is very happy that she was able to have this surgery and also that all the medical staff have been wonderful.

During this visit I tried to acquire details from the nurse about when she would be transferred to her room and was told it would be later today. In the following visit we were told that she would actually not be able to leave the recovery unit tonight because they still wanted to monitor her closely, however, she would be moved to the "step down recovery unit." We were able to tour this area and the environment is much more peaceful and quiet. Although we really wish we were able to spend more time with Mom, we know that she is receiving top notch medical care.

1:30pm- Mom was so happy to see each of us again. She said to me "I keep asking the nurses when I can see my kids again and even if they say it is going to be another 15 minutes it seems like forever." When Kelty was by her side she requested her i-pod so that she could listen to music and she also wanted to use her mouth guard which helps her mouth stay closed when she is sleeping. It was a bit of a fiasco trying to get those items in to her and we ended up in a little meeting with the very kind charge nurse named Bambi who was able to help us get those things to Mom.

2:45pm- Earlier in the day we had requested to talk to another doctor (Dr. B is out of town until Sunday) about a few more specifics of the surgery. We were happy to learn that Dr. Kim was in Mom's surgery and would be in to talk to us soon. He was very kind and took time to answer all of our questions. Again we were so happy to hear that things were looking better then we had hoped for. Here is some of the information Dr. Kim shared with us:

1. None of Mom's rib bones were needed to successfully complete the procedure. This is great news because she was nervous about dealing with the additional pain if portions of her ribs needed to be used.
2. After about 1 year Mom should have a "normal" range of motion in her spine above and below where the rods are secured. We should never be concerned about the titanium rods breaking, the will not.
3. Although a full recovery could take up to one year, Mom should be able to "preform activities of daily living" after a few months. We are SO VERY VERY THANKFUL to Kelty and Duane for willingly moving into Mom's house for the next 3 months to care for her day and night.
4. In the x-rays we viewed last night her spine looked very straight, but Dr. B predicts that she still has about a 20% curve. However, until they are able to take an x-ray while she is standing up we will not have a completely accurate analysis about the amount of curvature. The exciting news that Dr. Kim explained about this remaining curve is that with appropriate daily exercise (which we know Mom has no problem doing) it is possible for her to lessen the curve even further.

3:30pm- Since this was the last time Arian would be able to see Mom he spent the visit with her. For the first time he was allowed to be by her side for 30 minutes, yippee! She had been moved to the "step down" recovery unit by this time, hoary! Here is what he said about the visit : "She was asleep with her i-pod on when I got in, but she did not have the mouth guard in and so I found it, washed it and put it right into her hand. She soon woke up and was happy to see me. I told her that none of her rib bone was needed in the surgery and this news made her very happy. She told me that she felt so well taken care of, everyone had been so kind to her and that she was happy and thankful to be here." When Arian came back to Kelty and I it was apparent that he was sad to say good-bye to Mom. We were all so glad that Arian was able to get away from his hectic life and be here during this important time.

Kelty and I are waiting to see Mom again during the 6:00pm visit and then again at the 8:00pm visit. I'm sure that all will go well and we hope she will be able to get a good night sleep tonight.

Love,
Leah & Kelty