After a full month later, after my wife injured her back at work, she had her spine surgery today. It was a very positive experience in every way, and we are very hopeful for a good and quick recovery.
We arrived at 0815. She was then prepped in the pre-op area, and we waited for 1 1/2 hours. Her neurosurgeon was running late on his first surgery of the day, and she was next in line. Her surgery was expected to take 45 mins to an hour, but ran 1 hour and 20 minutes, as the surgeon found more wrong once he was in there.
I then had to wait 1 1/2 hours in a recovery waiting room before they would let me see her. Normally, she has lots of nausea from being put under, but that wasn't the case. She came out of surgery with extreme levels of pain they hadn't expected, so they had her on serious IV morphine doses, while I waited. Finally, I got to go in and spent 45 minutes with the recovery room nurse. There were lots of instructions post-surgery to follow.
I then carefully, avoiding every possible bump on the 15 mile ride home. The hardest part was getting back into the house and to the bedroom safely. We had to do that in 2 stages. She has been resting comfortably in bed since, for the most part.
The surgeon removed the two ruptured discs that were known, plus a lot of bone fragments, and several large bone spurs. The surgery immediatley unpinched the sciatic nerve that had been causing her so much pain the past month.
She is going to have to take her recovery time seriously, and she will, as she so badly wants to get back to work as a nurse.
True to his word, the surgeon called her at home this evening, to make sure everything was fine, and gave her a personal number to contact him if anything out of the norm happens. He's expecting a full and total recovery within 4 weeks, plus or minus.
The staff at this surgical unit was amazing, caring, and well organized, would have to give them a 10 out of 10.
So, we are now on day one of her recovery side, and that's a good thing. All the support, care, and prayers of the bretheren and sisters here at HW really have helped. I have read her many of the posts from folks to help encourage her. Her employer has acted first class, even though its a worker's comp case, and they are eager for her to get back to work. Money is tight right now, until WC ever gets around to making wage payments to her, as we are down to my SSD income until that happens. But I have faith that things will work out.
David in SC