After so much trial and tribulation and seemingly endless road blocks, I had surgery this morning, Friday, 26 February 2010. It was very successful!! The surgeon explained to me that the L5 S1 disc was so huge that they had to pull the spinal chord over the enlarged disc to get the disc cleaned off the nerve. It was difficult because of the size of the disc. It took 2 hours longer than expected but I can walk!!! The disc had bulged, scarred over and turned hard against the nerve and then bulged again from a softer part of the disc and then that hardened. Literally, the body could never have removed all of the tissue from the nerve because of the scar tissue that had formed there. The same thing was happening on the L4 L5 disc which he also cleaned out.
Just for the record, LSI is an incredible institution. I have NEVER been treated like that at any medical institution. Every single care giver was friendly and kind and so human. They cared for me at every moment. They were cheerful and actually loving. When I was in so much pain they comforted me as a close family memeber might have done. They would soothe me by saying they knew how much pain I was in and how did I stand it so long and how sorry they were for the delay in my surgery as if they had all been in on the trials I had faced. It was remarkable to say the least. I don't know if everyone has a healing that goes there but one of the surgeon's assistants said that he loves working there because they help so many people get their lives back and he feels so good at the end of his work day. He actually came to help get me from our vehicle with a wheel chair and said he would be with me throughout surgery. The director of LSI came to my room twice.
I asked the nurse in charge at the beginning if she could help get me warm before they brought me out of the "twilight sleep" as they call it. I explained that I go into shock if I wake up cold. This has been my hospital experince. She said that she would be sure I was warm and then she pulled out a hose heater type of thing and put it under my blanket and it began to warm me immediately in the most perfect manner. I've never had anything like it before. It was amazing! But when I woke up I was so PERFECTLY warm as I could never have imagined. They had me under a special blanket of the type I've never before seen with the heater hose conncected and I was so lovingly "tucked in" that I was PERFECTLY warm. Oh, it was such a beautiful way to wake up. They told me that their surgical beds were warmers too and that I would not be uncomfortable.
Again before the surgery, I asked the nurse if she was going to cathetar me. I dispise that procedure because I ALWAYS get a bladder infection. She answered with a shocked, "Absolutely not." It was a kind but serious answer as though it were repugnant to her to put me through that. WOW!!!!!
Then I asked if I would come out of surgery feeling that I had played a game of rugby. She asked me what I was talking about and I told her that when I had a D & C three years ago the post-operative pain that I dealt with was something akin to what I think a 40 year-old woman would feel like after playing football or rugby with a championship team. My shoulders hurt sooooooo much as well as my hips and legs. Then I found out that when a patient is out cold they don't care so much how they handle the body, plus the body is heavy and in my case they put my arms and shoulders in huge straps and my legs at the hips in the same sort of sling. So my body was in a sling of types with all the weight being born by the shoulders and hips. Ouch!!!! I told her all of this and she looked straight at me and said, "We won't be doing any such monkey business here." Needless to say I began to feel more and more calm as they prepped me for this surgery.
Of course, the miracle is that I CAN WALK!!!!!! I will be able to sit very soon. He told me that my recovery time for full nerve recovery might be as long as two months but that I would begin feeling better immediately. He is right. As I write this, groggy from surgery and feeling extremely tender, I have no apparent leg pain. I WILL SLEEP TONIGHT maybe for hours in a row. I believe you are all angels sent straight from heaven. You have given me a new life. Thank you! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
I am giddy with delight to think of blessed sleep and playing with my children and dancing with them the way I used to. I am so incredibly grateful to you all!!!! I am praying that God will bless each and every person who donated to my surgery with blessings bigger than you can imagine.
With all of my most tender affection,
Sherri
