Its been almost two weeks since my spine surgery. I still can't carry Kaitlyn yet, but I hope to do so soon.
I'm writing this post as a diary, especially for others out there who are facing the possibility of spine fusion surgery. There are plenty of sites out there that explain exactly what spine fusion surgery is all about - removing the disc(s), replacing them with titanium cages, harvesting bone graft to be placed inside the cages, inserting screws into the vertebrae, titanium rods attached to the screws to hold the whole thing together. In my case, it was L4/L5/S1 which means that two discs were removed and replaced with cages, and a total of six screws were inserted.
(I'll post pictures once I figure out how to scan the x-rays into jpegs)
The thing is, leading up this op, I searched all over but could not find anything on what to expect when you wake up. So here's a brief diary:
Day 0 1200h
I woke up in pain. I am allergic to many painkillers, and since morphine (which I am not allergic to) is known to affect the respiratory system (I suffer from a condition called
sleep apnea) the doctors did the conservative thing and gave me a
safe painkiller just before I woke up - Panadol. Yes, Panadol. I complained that Panadol just wasn't good enough so they gave me a low dose of morphine, under the supervision of my
ENT surgeon.
[if you're preparing for spine fusion surgery, you might wanna let your doctor know before they knock you out if you're as terrified about catheters as I am. I made a deal with the doctor - he'd remove the catheter before I wake up but if I have any problems with my bladder, the catheter is going back in, this time while I'm awake.]
Day 0 1400h
I was wheeled into the High Dependency Unit. Most patients don't need to do this but because of the risk of sleep apnea vs morphine, they wanted me in there
for observation. I can't find the right word to describe the HDU, I'm torn between "circus" and "zoo". Ironically, patients in here are the people who need the most rest, but rest is something that's hard to come by. Visitors walk in and out, although they're not supposed to. The door is locked but visitors are crouching by the door, ready to pounce in as soon as anybody opens the door, especially the poor little cleaning lady who never knows what hit her. Once they're inside, the nurses are too polite to chase them away, except for this family that insisted on trying to sneak the entire clan into the ward at the same time. There is no space for visitors to hang out, there aren't even chairs, but that doesn't stop them. Some even chose to hang around until about midnight. I think they were visiting patients who were either unconscious or were otherwise unable to explain to their visitors that patients need rest. To make things worse, I had the nurse station and the only sink in the ward at the foot of my bed. The good thing about the HDU though, is that the nursing care was extraordinary.
Day 1 0500h
By 5am, 17 hours post surgery, I was feeling pretty disorientated. It's one of those situations where one had to choose between pain and sanity. The morphine dose was still low, but I was starting to think I was Mark Renton. I don't know for sure if it was the pain, the drugs, or the lack of sleep talking, but I asked the nurse to turn the painkillers off! She halved the dose for me until the doctors arrived and advised against turning it off completely. Apparently I was gonna feel more pain today than yesterday. The good news was that they were gonna transfer me back to the general ward. At least I could have visitors without being inconsiderate to other patients.
Day 1 1200h
I was told earlier that I was going to be moved to the general ward either before lunch, or after lunch. Wow!! Really?? I was thinking to myself, the stockmarket is either going to go up or go down today. Anyway, they moved me upstairs back to room 5520 around noon. At this point, I asked the doctor again if I could have the morphine removed. So here I was 24 hours after surgery, lying in bed waiting for the morphine to wear off and for the pain to hit me like a bullet train. It never came. Seriously. By that afternoon, the physio came in and helped me to stand up. We started with a walking frame but I think my core muscles were still sleeping, I simply could not lift the walking frame to take a step! It was hilarious and discouraging at the same time. Instead, we used the table - you know, the rectangular table on wheels, I think hospitals call them "mobile dining tables" or "over-bed tables" - anyway, we used that as support and walked out of the room into the corridor to the nurse station, and back. I felt like Lance Armstrong, ready to rock!
Unfortunately, I didn't last more than 5 minutes. I was exhausted but encouraged that I was up on my feet barely a day after surgery. I thought of the man at Bethsaida, when Jesus said "Get up, pick up your mat, and walk". I think there was more to it than just getting up and walking away. I think more importantly, that man had a whole new life ahead of him, and Jesus to thank for it.
The next couple of days saw an improvement in pain and discomfort but I still needed help to move around. I used a walking stick on one side and the support of another person on the other side. I could not do it alone because without the support on one side, I did not have the strength and balance to lift the walking stick to take the next step. I suppose I probably would have been able to do it alone if I had two walking sticks. Thank God for waterproof dressings! I think the ability to SSS and brush your teeth is a real morale booster. By Day 3, Doctor Li decided that I was ready to go home.
The last two weeks have been good and bad. There were days when I felt ready to start training for the triathlon and there were days when all I did was lie in bed. There were days when I felt an obvious improvement from the day before and there were days when I couldn't even sit through a meal. When I first got home, i think it was Day 6 or 7, I felt that I really needed to get some exercise and decided that afternoon to take a walk to my in-law's house since that's where Kaitlyn was spending the afternoon. Since it usually took me less than 10 minutes to walk there, I figured I would take not more than 20 and that would be more than enough exercise for me for a start. I ended up taking 45 minutes and was too tired to even eat my dinner.
That's another thing to take note of after surgery. It's important to eat. You need the nutrition.
Right now, two weeks into recovery, I am feeling extremely stiff. Can't sit in the same position for more than half an hour, can't pick things up if I drop them. I still can't lift most objects, not just heavy objects. Kaitlyn wanted a particular book the other day and I couldn't pass it to her! I still haven't taken my cameras out of the cabinet yet, will probably start light with the
M7. The
D3 will have to wait.
The stitches came off this morning. Doctor Li used dissolving stitches but he still had to cut off the knots at both ends. As of today, I can walk on flat ground unaided, but I still need help with uneven ground, slopes, stairs, etc. I am looking forward to starting
physio on wednesday. I'll also probably start walking in the pool by the end of the week.
I think the physical challenge is over, the bulk of the pain is gone. What lies ahead is the mental challenge, the willpower to work hard and
Livestrong.
