Hanging in There, But Barely

Here I am....home from the hospital and still in one piece.



I arrived at the hospital at 5:30am on Thursday morning...yes that meant waking up at 4am. I was glad I got an induced sleep later, but I felt sorry for Tommy. Everything went as planned....kissed Tommy good-bye at 7:30am and headed back for surgery. I remember thinking as they wheeled me back, "Wait! Stop! I've changed my mind!" I was very scared. I assumed that I would already be sleeping when they wheeled me back, but I wasn't. The surgery doors opened and I remember seeing so many people scrambling around doing their part. It was very cold and I really started to panic. I had to just close my eyes and tell myself that I was going to be okay.



I remember being told by a doctor that this medicine might sting a bit....yep, he was right...my arm felt like it was on fire. That was the last thing I remember....scary how fast a drug can put you out and how you will never be able to recall those lost hours. This was the first time I had ever been put under general anesthesia, which is why it was very difficult for me to wake up in recovery. Apparently, I had been in there for 2 1/2 hrs, but never really fully woke up. I just couldn't open my eyes and was soooo tired.



The surgery went well. The L5 disk was as damaged as the doctor had expected, which is to say there was no disk left. The S1 disk was questionable and the extent of repair would be determined once they got in there. The S1 disk was in pretty bad shape and needed to be replaced and fused also. There was quite a bit of nerve damage that wasn't expected which has left my right leg numb from the knee down. The left leg had some numbness too, but has already regained most of the feeling there. This could take a few weeks to return to normal. It is very hard to walk when you can't feel one of your feet.

I have to say that I am a big fan of muscle relaxers and hydrocodone....it makes everything better! I feel 50 pounds lighter (now that's a way to loose weight) and apparently I can fly with the best of them. The warm and comfy feeling I get with those is wonderful. It keeps the pain away and lets me rest, which is what is important I guess.

Meanwhile, Tommy now has a terrible virus. He has been down in bed since yesterday afternoon and I haven't seen much of him. I hope he starts to feel better soon because I am exhausted doing things on my own without his help. Amanda has been in school all day and Josh has been here off and on running errands, going to job interviews and taking to boys to T-ball when needed.

I'm hanging in there, but barely...maybe tomorrow will be better!

The Week From Hell

My week has been far less than ideal. Here is what unfolded for us this week.

Tuesday night we arrived home from work to find that Samuel had a fever of 102.3'. Poor baby, he was very winy just like sick kids are. His fever broke about 11pm that night. Just in case, I took him to work with me on Wednesday and kept him out of school. Just after 4pm Wed. afternoon the fever came back and was 102.9'. I was very worried; #1 because of this swine flu and #2 because I would be headed to the hospital the next day for surgery and would be gone for 3 days. So we had him checked out and he was tested negative for A-type flu. However, they couldn't rule out the swine flu so we were sent to the Urgent Care Center for more testing. After another hour of waiting, he was cleared and of course it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

Meanwhile, at home on the same day, same time, Amanda was watching Carter. The boys play outside all the time in our yard and we check on them every 5-10 minutes. When Amanda went to check on Carter, he had followed our dog out of our yard and across the street. We live on a small, quiet cult de sac, however a slightly busier road is a few houses away. Well Carter had crossed the busier road when Amanda had found him. Carter was fine, however, the bad news came when he was spotted walking alone with the dog by a CPS worker. The worker and Amanda got to Carter at the same time, but this didn't stop the worker from calling the police. Amanda was devastated and crying when she called me while the worker yelled at her to get off her cell phone. So, yes we are now being investigated by CPS. Just another worry I didn't need the night before surgery. I tried calling the case worker when I got home from taking Sam to the Urgent Care Center, but only left a message. So far I haven't heard from her, so I'm not sure what the status of that is.

I sure hope that nothing comes of all that, I know its their job, but my kids are hardly neglected. Carter has never wondered off before, I guess with Sam not being there that day got him to wondering.

As we speak, I am still in the hospital. It went very well. The doctor said that it was a little worse than he had anticipated...I had some nerve damage on my right side. I am not in any pain, in fact this morning they took me off the automatic drip. I can dispense it myself if and when I need it. I was up and walking down the hallway yesterday, and did fairly well with that. My legs have some numbness in them from the nerve damage, however that will go away slowly and it already has.

I should get to go home tomorrow...I'm ready for my bed and to see the kids. I can't that all my friends and family enough. Your support has been uplifting and very helpful.

I will keep you all posted on the "happenings".