5 posts tagged “broken back”

Health Update

 It's been six months since I broke my back. Five months since the last surgery to fix my back. Its two months since the end of the radiation treatments.

So....the neurologist appointment.....

 The neurologist ordered physical therapy for ten weeks to increase my core strength so I can 'wean' myself out of my brace! He told me to wear it while traveling, driving, and when I have to sit for a long period of time so it reminds me to sit up straight. He would like to see me out of it by March so this is exciting stuff. It's also sort of scary because it hurts to sit without the brace on and there are no more good drugs to fall back on. I can take massive doses of ibuprofen and maybe some tramadol,  but no narcotics. I will remain on the very expensive medication for nerves that causes my legs to swell but I can cut down on it. I will also remain on a small dose of Cymbalta to help the nerve med work the right way.

I have been decreasing the time I wear the brace each day. I usually try to do something standing up and then something seated where I can retain good posture. It's been okay but it does feel weird without the brace.

I was told that the pain in my hip that comes from the nerves will eventual ease up as I stop using the brace. I'm not sure about that but I have to admit that my hip hasn't ached as consistently since I have tried to not use my brace while seating while watching TV in the last 48 hours.

 I'll have to get one of those exercise balls and try to use that for an office chair.  That's supposed to help increase core strength and help with my posture.

 I was tested for protein in my blood which would indicate a return of the cancer. I have to go back for some additional testing but I am stalling until January.  I'm sort of tired of doctors and consistently managing my health. I need a little two week vacation from this. The oncology team thought this wasn't a bad idea but ordered a 24 hour urine test anyways. So I'll be doing that this week and we'll see what the gamma levels are and go from there.

If they are high I can do more treatment and go from there.  I have oncology appointments during the first week of school but they are in the late afternoon so I shouldn't miss anything at work.

We'll see how I do. I am not looking forward to physical therapy, cancer treatment and work but I'm not there yet. I just need to keep thinking good thoughts.

 
Besides all of this stuff....I have to get a root canal. I have a nasty infection on the root of one of my back molars. That's part of what has been keeping me up at night.

 Work stuff

 I got very angry and frustrated last week at work. It's a variation on a theme. In the new year I am determined to leave the martyr attitude behind and work on a pro-active response to challenges. It's time to take a different approach with the parts of my job I don't enjoy.

I am preparing my stuff for next semester. I try to do a little bit each day.  I need to hit this one out of the park for the students. I need to do well because I know I am a good teacher and I enjoy that part of my job.

Otherwise I have read some good books and I am watching episodes of "The Office" which I had never consumed before. One of the books has some characters in it that broke my heart. Maybe I'll write a review. 

I'm going to a wedding this week so that should be wonderful. I think winter weddings are sort of romantic. And you know I'm not that way.

I'm going to visit my sister and my family for Christmas for the first time since I am not sure. The last clear Christmas Holiday I remember spending in Connecticut was in 2000 before my mom died. Now I know I have been there for the Holidays since then but I can't remember it very well. Maybe 2003 before I got the house? I am not sure on this one.

One last thing....my roommate is back since they don't let you live in the dorm over vacations. It's been pleasant so far but I made him leave the really good speakers for his computer in his room. I think that was wise.

The Huskers and I Are Having The Worst Week Ever.

Go Huskers

I would like to tell you that I am having a worst week than the Huskers or my week has been as horrible as theirs has been. Now I know that is difficult for some of you to believe but I had some disappointing news at my ortho-neuro appointment. It may actually rival the problems my friends are having down at Big Red Athletics.

The Huskers and their fans are having a terrible time of it this week. Many of them are rejoicing at the firing of Athletic Director Pederson but still upset that the team isn't performing as well as it should. The University Chancellor felt the best way to handle this would be fire the AD. In my mind not a bad start, as the AD sets the tone for success for any athletic department. I know this from working under three very different athletic directors at WSC.

 The hiring of Pederson had always pissed me off. I hated that he didn't honor many traditions and just seemed to be motivated by celebrity or endorsements. Now I know some of you will argue with me about that but it made me angry that one of the first things the man did was fire former coach Solich, the handpicked replacement when Osborne left.  Solich was having a bit of rough time but wouldn't anyone after Osborne left? I mean come on. Give the guy a chance to build a team and tradition of his own. I am not sure he was given the opportunity to do that under the guidance of AD Pederson.

Big Red Suncatcher

Callahan is doing the best he can and may well be fired at the end of this season but again I am not sure this would be
the best course of action. I think we as a state need to have some patience and remember that we aren't dealing with the players or the coaching style we had in the mid-ninties when we were back to back. That doesn't happen to every team every decade. Heck, some teams are lucky if that happens every century. We just have to be patient. Most Husker fans aren't. They are vocal bunch that have made their voices heard on national and local sports radio as well as numerous websites, message boards and blogs. You have to admire the older fans that have embraced the new technology to express their fears and hopes for their beloved team.

So I am not sure what's in the future for the Huskers and their fans. You will see how this applies to my life shortly.  

When I had my last oncologist visit the news was great. The future was so bright we all needed shades. I was winning. I was a cancer survivor. My game plan for recovery was working. My healing team was behind me and helping me to do all of the things I needed to heal successfully like eat high protein foods, take walks, and keep me in a positive frame of mind. The tone for success had been set and I was sure it was going to carry over into my ortho-neuro report.

I went to the ortho-neuro doctor this week. He is not sure what is in my future. I have been ordered to wear my TSOL brace for an additional six weeks which for those who are counting would make for a full six months after my first surgery and five months after the third surgery to fix my back. I hate the TSOL brace because it is a hot, limiting, uncomfortable thing to wear. It also takes me a few minutes to 'strap up' when I need to get out of bed to go to the bathroom or get up to answer the door after a nap. I also do not like the TSOL because it limits my fashion items to stretch pants that will fit over the wide parts at my hip. The brace does not make for a very flattering silhouette. It's damn sexy if you are interested in boffing an Imperial Storm Trooper but who the heck would want to do that.

I was hoping the doc was going to let me out of the brace based on my x-rays. He is pleased with the amount of fusion going on but has warned me that the 'front' part of the appliance planted in my back may never fuse correctly because of it's position. That will be okay but I will always have to be extra careful so this piece doesn't go slamming into my lungs. kidneys, or ribs. No skiing or rugby for me.

Too Much Metal Too Many Nerves

 After some discussion of how things are fusing the orthro-neuro told me that the horrible pains that I have been having in my hip may not go away. It's hurt in some way since I got out of the hospital on August 23rd. It's been x-rayed and cat scanned with no significant findings.  The pain is probably due to nerves in my back that were located in proximity to the appliance site. One of these nerves goes across the pelvis and is in charge of all of the feeling in my hip area. He is not sure that this pain will go away on a regular basis. This was not the news I wanted to hear about ortho-neuro recovery. I want my left hip to stop hurting now because it interferes with my sleep and also my ability to walk more than a mile which I need to do to build up stamina for going back to work.

The problem is these nerves are right up against the appliance that is implanted in my back where I have no vertebrae because of the cancer so they could be irritated because of that. The nerves could also be irritated because of the radiation therapy for the cancer. I have read that this is a common problem for cancer patients. Since I am only two weeks out from the radiation therapy the ortho-neuro would like me to be more patient about this pain.

The ortho-neuro would like to see me be more realistic and patient about my orthopedic recover. He said that now that the cancer part of my health difficulties is behind me I can concentrate on the orthopedic and neurological aspects of what's been wrong with me. He says I haven't had that much time for recovery. Three months is almost nothing to the body at my age. I am not a teenager producing bone and regenerating the mylan around my nerves at the speed of light.

All of this is just very frustrating. I want a winning season now but I can't have one because of a variety of issues, some of which are not under my control so I need to be more patient about how I proceed with myself. I need to set the tone for success by not being to impatient and realizing that there will be victory done the road. I just need to have the patience to do all of the things that need to be done to obtain it.

I think the Huskers and their fans need to do the same thing.

So.......all of you die hard Huskers are allowed to make fun of me if you will but this is what I believe. I want them to have a good season.  There have been some disappointing news along the way for the Huskers and myself but each week brings a new opportunity for success so I think there is still time to have a winning season.  

I would hope the Huskers would do a better job because I'm a middle aged woman and those guys are big tough highly trained athletes in their prime.

TSOL Brace

Recovery is a full time job.

After people get over the shock of my sudden injury and the consequential illness the next question they ask is when I will go back to work. My answer is "I don't know, we'll have to see how I am doing"

Injuries that have to heal...hip, back, incisions.

I have to recover from the injury which is specifically a broken back vertebrae L2. I had had three repair surgeries which involved the removal of bone from L2 to T11. Those bones were replaced with cadaver bone, my bone, and a titanium appliance made up of rods screws, and mesh which supports all of it. Keep in mind there are 5 lumbar spine parts which hold up most of the weight of the body and there are twelve thoracic bones. The thoracic parts aren't very mobile because they are hooked to the ribs and protect the spinal cord connections and nerves.

The first surgery I had on July 10th failed because the mesh from the appliance was resting on the screws and not the bone. They did the second and third surgeries to secure my spine. I didn't have much bone to attach anything to so they harvested some from the top of my left hip. They also took bone marrow samples at that time. So in addition to the back surgery my left hip is irritated and injured because of the bone marrow sampling and bone harvesting. When they harvest marrow they use a drill and when they harvest they use a tool that looks like a Dremel that shaves part of the iliac crest or top part of your hip. Orthopedic pain or having to do with a bones is different than muscle or incision pain.

I was also in bed for three weeks. Bedrest is how an injury like this heals but it does some bad things for your body. I have lost muscle in my hips and thighs that I need to walk with the brace. I use a walker, hopefully I will use a cane soon and then eventually walk on my own again. This process should take about a month.

If you've read this far you now know my back and hip hurt like mofos. I also have some incision irritation. I have two incisions. One small eight inch incision on my left side and eighteen inch incision down the middle of my back to my butt. The larger one is constant contact with whatever I am wearing and that's made worse by the brace I have to wear.
I wear a TLSO brace or Thoraco-Lumbo-Sacral-Orthosis brace that fits close to my body. I must wear it every minute I am supporting any weight on my spine. It is stiff, unyielding and uncomfortable. It's also fairly ugly. I must wear it for 90 days.

I posted this in bed with the computer perilously close to falling off of the bed. I had so much trouble trying to see the screen even though it's huge.

I am back in the hospital again. Mercy in Sioux City
The cadaver bone they put in fractured. 2 surgeries are needed, I have no clue what's going to happen.

I wasn't even home one day.

I am so frustrated.

I am posting all of my experiences in sequential order cause I wasn't posting online while I was sick.

First Posted August 4th while I was in Providence Medical Center thinking I would be able to return to work soon.

I am doing better.

I can't sit at the computer they have at the hospital because it's uncomfortable and they have no wireless. Its'a a blessing in disguise so I don't Google the survival rates for Multiple Myeloma every minute of the day.

Otherwise things are moving along. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and calls. Keep it up cause there is a phase two to this thing that I haven't even thought about yet. The whole cancer radiation thing. Anybody know anything about that?

I hate being in the hospital. Everyone is nice but it's hard to be without my dog and son. I miss my messy house. I miss being able to walk over to the park.

Things will get better soon just not today. Today I will sit still most of the time and walk with assistance. It's the best thing I can do for now.