The transformation..

Surgery Part 2

My next surgery was much bigger & more invasive, but I just wanted it done, I wasn't nervous, I was determined. The same surgery prep as I mentioned in my last post was all done again. I was a pro at blood tests by now & cannulas, even if I did still need my "magic" numbing cream.. I went off the surgery in the afternoon of the 9th of September with my mum this time. I bid my nana goodbye & was perfectly calm. I again got the floaty feeling with the pre med, & don't remember anything until recovery. Again I had tea & toast, (four slices this time) ha, & slept soundly through the night, I was comfortable in the early hours of the morning but by the time my mum arrived at 10am I was crying in agony, the dia-morphine injection had worn off & I could feel everything.. The nurses did their best to manage my pain, but it took 4 hours for me to feel any kind of relief. I was then moved up to my ward again & started getting a temperature.. This continued to increase through the night as well as my heart rate..there were only 2 nurses on my ward & 1 on call doctor for the whole hospital so very little could be done until the morning. My mum arrived at 6am & we were shortly surrounded by all sorts of Doctors. They did arterial blood tests, chest x-rays, & a CTPA scan with contrast dye where they found shadowing in my upper right lung, I was told I had a clot & that they would start me on clexane injections that evening to thin my blood. We were also told that the clexane could gather around the nerves at the base of my spine & make me lose all feeling in my legs & feet. I was on my ward with no monitoring apart from my mum tickling my feet and legs for an hour before I was moved back the HDU for another night. I was incredibly uncomfortable all night, & in the morning more doctors & tests.. It was then picked up that I needed a blood transfusion, 2 units. I continued to have the clexane injections every evening, they were injected into my belly, not the nicest thing ever & then I was started on warfarin. The doctors weren't convinced with the clot diagnosis so got a cardiologist from a neighbouring hospital to do an ultra sound of my heart, he said I had one of the strongest hearts he'd seen & there was no clot, nor had there ever been. I was discharged this day.. The surgery was completely successful & my back was the one thing that didn't give me any trouble. I grew 2 inches & had an incredible result.. What stood out for me was when my doctors were talking about me & said "this is Leigh, & she had scoliosis".. I didn't have it anymore.. Wow.
           LJxo

Surgery Part 1

Sorry for the absence of posts, but only now 3 months post surgery on Monday do I feel ready to talk about the past 12 weeks & everything the surgeries brought.. So I arrived in London on 1st of September veryyy early, 7am actually & wasn't being admitted into the RNOH until 2pm, was the longest wait of my life..(until that night). I arrived at the hospital & was lucky enough to be put in lovely ward 4 beside a girl who was my age, born exactly a week before me, & having a similar surgery on the same day. Us & our families quickly bonded & this helped to keep my mind off the upcoming surgery. My surgery was scheduled for the next morning around 10.30am. The anaesthetist came & met with me in the evening to take blood & talk through what meds would be used to put me to sleep, what I would have during the surgery & what I would have after the surgery. Mr. Shaw (my surgeon) came & introduced me to my Doctor, Adam Benton, he talked me through my anterior fusion, the procedure & got me to sign my consent forms. This surgery fixed my lumbar curve. That night I didn't sleep a wink, I was terrified. It was incredibly hard when my family left, just thinking the next time I saw them it would be my surgery day. The nurses came early that morning, I wasn't allowed any breakfast, had to have a shower, take off any make up & jewellery, tie my hair up & put on my surgery clothes (not the best thing I've ever worn). I said my goodbyes to my mum & nana. I met the scrub nurse in the prep room, the anaesthetists gave me my pre med which made all my nerves disappear & made me feel veryyy floaty..haha that's all I remember until I woke up in recovery, & of course the first thing I do after spinal surgery is sneeze.. *sigh* I was incredibly drugged up & sleepy, but much more comfortable than I expected to be. I was lucky with the morphine too, it didn't make me nauseous, the opposite, I had tea & toast as soon as I arrived in the HDU. My night there was very comfortable, even the next morning, I even put make up on!! That soon wore off once I had to be turned, changed & moved up to the ward, although my back gave me very little trouble, my chest drain was not so great, especially when it got caught on the side of my bed & moved about inside my chest. When that was removed on day 4, things got better & better, I could shower instead of bed baths, get my catheter out, & sit up out of bed, stand and eventually walk! I even got to go out for coffee in a wheel chair with my mum :) the surgery was very successful & I had no post up complications!! One down, one to go..
                                                                                             LJ xo