Tuesday, December 11, 2007

luke, i am your father...

hello friends in blogging land...

this is D. i've been asked to update you all on my momma's condition after her surgery today. you all are so sweet - your comments are wonderful and just what she needs to help her through this. you guys were right up there on the list of people to contact, too - she made sure i had her login information before they took her up this morning.

so she mentioned the ice storm and the potential of staying in the big city to be closer to the hospital. however, she didn't mention that we'd have to browbeat her into making that decision. it took a day's worth of phone calls and texts to get her to decide that staying overnight in dsm was a good idea. and honestly, i don't think she was convinced; i think she was just tired of arguing with us all.

she and mark were there bright and early this morning - 5 a.m. intake paperwork and a barrage of questions took about an hour and a half; i got there a little after 6 and she was getting prepped. i could tell she was nervous; she wanted to talk more about me than her. her anesthesiologists put together quite the knock-out cocktail and the doctors whisked her off just after 7 a.m. - right on time. we were told it would be about 90 minutes in surgery, but the surgeon appeared after an hour and 15 minutes and the news was good. the procedure went as planned and things looked good. he said that he's hoping this relieves a lot of the weakness in her legs and arms.

we got to go up to see her after about an hour - and considering what she's been through, she looks beautiful. and she can talk AND HER VOICE HASN'T CHANGED! that was one of my biggest concerns, that my mother would never sound like herself again, that she'd be cursed with the voice of darth vader or lily von shtupp or something equally awful. but she sounds wonderful. she has a bandage on the front of her neck, where they went in to fix things up and she's having a lot of pain in the back of her neck, obviously where they performed the actual fusion. she kept saying that she's surprised with the amount of pain back there. it was hard to judge pain in her legs and arms because the pain in her neck was so strong, but she was moving and was acutally up walking to the bathroom before i left. but when she's up she has to wear a neck brace to keep her from straining her neck too much - it makes her look like she's about 5'11" with that thing on - her posture is so good. :)

they're keeping her doped up on some pretty strong pain meds and she snoozed up until lunch time and pretty much all afternoon, from what i've heard. she did eat some lunch (as much as anyone can eat that crap - you should have seen it) and she's keeping liquids down. there didn't seem to be much of a reaction to the anesthesia and she's recovering quite nicely. i noticed my mom didn't tell you that usually she's a grade-a-pain-in-the-ass kind of patient, but today she was on her best behavior. i'll tell you though, the nurse mentioned going home just casually in conversation and she jumped out of drug-induced haze to tell him that she was could be ready in a matter of minutes if they wanted to let her go. it was kind of funny. but they are thinking she'll be ready to go home after breakfast tomorrow.

i can't thank you guys enough for the love and support you give her and i know she appreciates it too. i'm not sure if i'll post again or if she'll take over when she gets home, but someone will keep you updated.

love,
D

21 comments:

ac said...

It's great to hear things went well. Thanks so much for the update.

Mary said...

D., Thank you for letting us know. Jamie has been in my thoughts and prayers since I heard about the surgery. I'm so happy to hear that she's doing well considering her pre-surgery condition and the scope of today's surgery. I'm no medical person, but I know this wasn't a simple procedure. Let her know that we're all still keeping her in our prayers and that we will be here when she's home.

Summer said...

D... Thank you! I thought of her all day today. I hope you will update us again to let us know when she will be coming home. This is such good news!

Angel said...

YAY!!!! Get well soon Jamie!!!

Golden To Silver Val said...

D...thank you so very much for letting us know about your mom. I'm so happy that she's doing so well..and the prognosis sounds very good. I just knew she was going to come through this A-OK with all of the prayers going for her. What a great Christmas gift this is! God Bless you all. Val

josie2shoes said...

Oh D, you are an angel of a daughter for updating all of us here in blogland who have been on pins and needles waiting to hear how your mom was doing. I am so relieved that everything went well, that her voice is working just fine, and they had her up and walking already, all very good signs. Wish she didn't have to deal with so much pain, hope they are giving her all the pain meds she desires. I know this was a scary time for all of you, but it's over now, and things just have to get better. Please let your mom know how much we missed her here today, and how she is all we've been thinking about, and will be until she's safely home and feeling strong enough to play with the keyboard on her own. Hugs to you D, I KNOW how much your mom loves you, and how hard it is to watch your parents suffer. She's got three great kids, and she knows it! :-)

Anonymous said...

thank you D...you're so sweet. I am sure that she depends on you a lot for things. but good to hear! come back soon jamie!

Janelle said...

i talked to mark just a little bit ago and he's on his way home to make sure that the house is still standing after all the ice and bad weather. he wanted to make sure the driveway and sidewalks were salted and clear and that the heat was working - he's such a good guy.

last i heard, my youngest brother and his girlfriend were making another trip to the hospital to check on mom. she was up and walking around earlier and even though she was in pain, she was reading a book and seemed in good spirits (i'm sure some pain medication is helping with that, lol!).

but the good news is that she can leave anytime after breakfast tomorrow, which is 8-8:30 in the morning. you can bet she's going to be meeting them at the door to her room. but all seems to be going really well - thanks again you guys for all the support.

love,
D

Karen said...

Thanks so much D for your update. Its a HUGE relief to know that your mum is going well all things considered and I just hope this will bring some long term relief to her pain. Btw, I love what you wrote in the labels....hehehehehe. Yep you sound like your mother's daughter.

Raine said...

oh what good news to hear!!

Raine said...

oh what good news to hear!!

Amanda said...

Thank you SO much D for this update! I'm hoping so badly this will be the turning point for Jamie...

SOUL said...

D
you are just great!
thanks so much for the update. and a very good one at that.
i did wonder if she was able to eat, drink, and more than anything....WALK.... (i am hoping she is getting around better and with less pain than before the surgery, and that it continues to ONLY get better for her from here.
mark is great too--- tell him tanks again from me-- a million times. you know i was a nervous wreck about all of this.
we all love your mom ya know. and she really does have a great family.
you said "we" helped her through this...
well... she wouldn't have even had this done if not for y'all. you kids are great and mark is great...
and of course-- although a brat at times-- your mom is great too. although she would never admit that! :))

thanks again girl---- and i am really happy for you and your family that your mom is okay!

SOUL said...

btw---
WELCOME HOME JAMIE!!!!!

and.. yes D... you ARE freakin awesome! :))

Portia said...

Thank you, D! Still thinking of you, Jamie. Glad to hear things went smoothly.

CRUSTY MOM-E said...

I'm sooooooooooo glad she's doing okay!! Please tell her that we'll continue to pray for her in her recovery!!
And if anyone asks why the bangage? YOu tell her that Crusty says to tell everyone it's just a bad hicky bruise from H! :)
HEehee..a get well soon chuckle!
Always,
crusty~

josie2shoes said...

WELCOME HOME JAMIE!!!! :-)

Billy said...

JAMIE!!!!! Welcome home girlfriend! You were missed by all of us so very much. D. did an awesome job of keeping us well informed. She has a gift of writing, just like you. Can't wait to hear from you.

We Miss You!!!

(((((HUGS)))))

Andrew said...

Welcome home, Jamie!!!! I am keeping my fingers crossed that you recover fully in just a few more days and that this is the start of a new way of living for you. I am so excited that you will be feeling better!

desert dirt diva said...

thank you D, for keeping us all posted, you have a wonderful....i'm glad all is well and can't wait to hear from her(you )again

Pen said...

I hope that you recover well, Jamie. And thank you wonderful D for keeping everyone posted. Looking forward to seeing you out and about... both in the real world and out here in cyberspace :o) ~Pen