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In 2012, I had 2 operations back-to-back. It was an excruciating and grueling recovery. I was doing well until about 8wks post-op when I broke my back (T12 transverse process) in therapy. I spent another 10 days in the hospital and a month in an acute rehab facility. I was in a clamshell brace for over 8 months with no improvement. I underwent surgery #5 on 11/20/12 and required a 6th surgery on 11/24 due to serious complications. After spending another month in the hospital, I finally came home on 12/21/12. Recovery has been difficult and challenges seem to pop up whenever they get the chance. My most pronounced challenge are these terrible positional headaches that started in early 2013. I had a prior CSF leak in Nov 2012 however both the neurosurgeon and ortho surgeon believe it's occurring all over again as my brain MRI shows "clear & obvious indications of a CSF leak." I had at least 1/2 dozen consults with various specialists to determine what would be the best course of treatment and since bed rest hasn't worked, surgery is the only option left. Surgery #7 is full of unknowns regarding length of surgery, stay and recovery.

Monday, September 3, 2012

8 Weeks and counting....

Well, a LOT has happened since last i wrote back at the end of July. And i apologize for not keeping up with my blog but i didn't feel it was important to write about the minutia of my daily struggles or reading depressing posts, so i waited til i had something worth writing about to post. You get the idea.

Anyway, to start....the shots i had for "SI dysfuntion/arthopathy" didn't work because as i said all along, it's not my SI joint (sacro-iliac joint) that is causing my pain - but hey, what do i know? I'm just the patient. But the pain dr and my ortho dr insisted that it was most likely the SI joint giving me pain and problems.  Uh...huh...right...okay then, so i get them done - wait - wait - and wait some more and nothing (as i expected). So once it was clarified that it was a big waist of time (my interpretation not theirs of course! haha!), i decided what's the point in waiting [for surgery, that is]...this back brace that i've been wearing since March 24th is not working (that's over 5 months!) - and I wore/wear it religiously, even now, when i don't really have to wear it anymore...i wear it...just in case - oh let's say I fall off a porch, for instance!  It's good to have it on.  And speaking of falling off porches, which i did last week without even thinking about it, accidents can and do happen - so i wear the brace all the time.

So on August 25th, my Uncle Larry took me to the sureons office to discuss, ask questions about and discuss the specifics of my upcoming 3rd spine surgery.  I, myself, even typing this can not believe #3 is just 8 weeks from tomorrow:

          WHAT:     3rd back surgery (see below for details)
          WHEN:     10/30/12
          WHERE:   Cooper University Hospital
          WHY:        T12 transverse process is still broken with no signs of healing
          TIME:        Early AM on Tuesday 10/30
          LENGTH OF SURGERY:    Estimated at 8+ hours start to finish

Here's what Dr. Clements will do to stabilize my back and T12 fracture:
  • He will go in and explore the fusion, tighening any exhisting loose screws, removing any bone spurs that may have formed.
  • He will ADD pedicle screws from 1 level above where my current fusion beings (L1); so in my case he will first add screws upward starting at T12,11,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3 and end at T2 which is very high up on the spine--S1 to T2---that's a 15-16 level fusion...that's enormous.
  • He will then REMOVE the current rods and put 2 new rods fomr T2 to T12.
  • The major risks for this surgery are BLEEDING & INFECTION.  It was explained to me and my Uncle as being a lot more risky with regard to bleeding and infection due to the number of major back surgeries I will have had on my spine *which 4 before this surgery* He said because i have so much scar tissue, that makes me much more susceptible to infection. I had NO idea scar tissue had a higher incidence of infection as opposed to muscle.  And basically since my spine is ALL scar tissue up and down my, back why he said that.
  • As for the loss of blood (last surgery i lost HALF my blood volume, he's going to add a blood recirculation machine so whatever blood I do lose will go right back into my body and then after surgery, i'll also get the blood that i donated back as needed.
SO there ya have it.  The "nuts and bolts" of it all.  In 8 weeks this will all be a distant memory!

So here's some good news: our Katie Kakes spent her first night in her big girl bed last night with NO problems whatsoever!!!  She LOVES her new princess sheets and blanket and pillow! Thank goodness for Walmart!  And Matt starts soccer next Saturday so we're very excited about spending our Saturday morning hour at his games :) - - they are, and continue to be my #1 priority in all of this and i want to try and keep everything as normal and routine as possible for their sake. And yes, my Mom & Dad will be shortly before my surgery to help out with the kids and help with me! I'm so blessed to have such loving and supportive family and friends.  I honestly don't know WHAT i would do without them in my life. I am so grateful to have them during such a scary time. But we WILL get through this. We will.

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