Surgery information

It’sabout to be surgery time – (again)!

Iguess I thought that if I never wrote this e-mail that I would wakeup one morning and be out-of-pain, straight, and no longer takingmind altering drugs with out-of-pain being my biggest hope ---- butstanding tall and clear headed would be such wonderful bonuses! Asmost of you that are getting this probably know, it was discoveredwhen I was 13 years old that I had scoliosis which is curvature ofthe spine. I wore a body brace that went from my chin to below mywaist right where I could bend enough to sit. It was called aMilwaukee Body Brace and Mother and Daddy took me to the doctor in ElPaso for treatment for 3 years. We lived in Carlsbad.

 

Aftermy treatment was completed, it was declared a success and had nofurther treatment or real problems until about 5 years ago. I alwaysprotected my back, but never needed anything more than Aleve orTylenol for pain. Then I started needing prescription pain meds. Whenthat no longer worked, my doctor put in spacers to try to relievepain, which did not work well for me, then did a short fusion whichwas working well, when the vertebrae above what he had fused androdded decided to slide over and cause more problems. He added alonger rod, and then I couldn’t walk alone. So with my body’sprogression, and to no fault of my doctor, I am left pushing awalker! I don’t like that and my pain has become horrific.

 

I havea casual friend whom I met through my work at the TTU School ofNursing. She had been walking with a walker and very bent over forthe 7 years I had known her. I didn’t know her well enough to askany questions but after she appeared this year standing up, I feltlike it was “question time.” She had basically the same “story”as mine, so I asked for names of her doctors, which she gladly sharedand I got in touch with their office. They are in Albuquerque. Thesedoctors have the sweetest coordinator who went straight to bat for meand set up an appointment and told me what items I needed to bringwith me. After haggling with my insurance, everything was approvedfor me to go out of state and see this team. They have explained theprocess to Blane and I and we believe that this is all in God’splan! Too many positive things have happened to get us here that itcouldn’t be from any other source!

All the pre-op tests have been done and I will enter Univeristy of New Mexico Hospital onFriday morning, June 15^thfor the surgery to begin at 7:30 a.m. The doctors have said it willbe a long surgery but that it won’t be over 10 hours or so,hopefully more like 8. They will be rebuilding my spine one vertebraeat a time starting below my waist and extending to up about where mybra fastens. After they complete their alignment and putting in longrods, I should be a new woman!!! I had to endure a CT myleogram acouple of weeks ago that indicated the nerves, etc. and the best partis it indicated that they will be able to do the surgery enteringonly through the back and not the front also. Learning it was onlygoing to be a one day surgery made all of the torture of that testworth it!

Our daughter, Rebekah, has set up a blog spot where youcan follow my progress day by day, and she said several times on theday of surgery. She named the blog spot: http://brendascrookedspinediaries.blogspot.com/. If you will highlight the blogspot name and enter it in yoursearch line, it will take you to it. You can then add it to yourfavorites and go to as you wish. If you want to send me a message,you can either put it on the blogspot page or on my e-mail atbrendablane@msn.com . If you don’t want to look at it, I hope youwill pray for me anyway!!! And Blane and my kids and Mother needprayers too. They are all suffering with me. I am to be in ICU for afew days (3 days to a week) with total time in the Albuquerquehospital estimated to be about 2 weeks; after that I will go back toLubbock to spend the next 2-6 weeks in residential rehab. My doctorshere (I’m in Albuquerque writing this) have told me that in 4 weeksafter the surgery I will be walking a mile without assistance! Ireally can’t believe this! (Just call me “doubting Thomas”). Wehave chosen for me to go to Trust Point for rehab.

 

Pleaseshare this with anyone who might like to see it; the more prayers thebetter! I thank God daily for all my wonderful friends and familywho have so patiently stood beside me; loaded my walker; refilled mydrink; visited me, etc. and the list is unending. I couldn’t havecome this far without you and I look so forward to the day when I canserve you and others! I appreciate your continued prayers. 

 

Mybest, 

 

Brenda