May 17th Surgery

Hey everyone, it's Jennifer. Sorry I haven't posted anything about Mom's surgery yet. We'll blame it on my bad memory - darn passwords! Anyway, Mom had her bladder surgery yesterday morning, and so far so good. The procedure took about 2 1/2 hours, and there were no complications outside of what they were already expecting to have to deal with (scar tissue). I still haven't actually talked to her yet, just my dad, so I'm assuming she's still pretty out of it. I know that both Mom & Dad are so thankful for all of you who are praying for them, and we will keep everyone as up-to-date as we can on her progress.
~Jennifer

Thanks

I just wanted to thank all of you for the prayers during this last surgery (again!). There were some rough times and we thought the prolapse had re-occurred (and I was so scared) but the lump was not from the bladder but a small rectocele and, hopefully, it can be controlled and I won't have to have the weak area surgically reinforced. But it was so nice to get good news for a change. Have been taking short walks (only thing I'm allowed to do for 6 weeks) and I'm increasing a little all the time. Also coming down on the meds, even though it all is slower than I want but I have to remember that baby steps are just great as long as they are going forward and not backwards!

Released!

Sorry for the late update, but I wanted to let everyone know that Mom did get released from the hospital this afternoon. They are planning to head home around mid-day tomorrow and expect to be home by supper time.

Jennifer

Saturday

I talked to my mom again today, and she said she is having quite a bit of pain. They are transitioning her from IV to oral meds, and it's been rough. It has also been a little lonely, because my dad has been sick so he hasn't been able to spend as much time at the hospital as he would like. The doctors are still fairly confident that she should be able to be released tomorrow morning. Then they will spend one extra night at the hotel to make sure Mom is comfortable enough to make the trip home on Monday.

Jennifer

Day After Surgery

I just got a call from Mom, and there have been a couple issues to deal with since yesterday's surgery. She is receiving 2 units of blood today because her blood pressure has been extremely low. She has also been having a lot of back spasms that have been difficlut to keep under control, especially with having to lay flat to try to keep the blood pressure in check. She was part-way thru the first unit of blood when I talked to her, and she said her pressure is already starting to come up, so hopefully it will all be under control today.

Jennifer

Successful Surgery

Mom is out of surgery, and should be out of recovery & in her room soon if she is not already there. The surgeon said everything went great, exactly as expected. I will post more updates as I get them from Mom & Dad!

Jennifer

Just One More Glitch??

Well, I have an unexpected glitch in my recovery. I have been having bladder problems (won't describe all of what's been happening) and this weekend I finally put two and two together. I went to the doctor on Monday to confirm my suspicions and I was right - I have a bladder prolapse. It is a Stage 4, which is the worst stage, and the only correction is surgery. My doctor in Mayo is out of town until next week so I don't know when this will take place. I should have suspected it sooner since I was told at Mayo that, with my neurogenic bladder (the nerves are destroyed because of the spine problems not being taken care of soon enough) that at some point the bladder would fall. Now we have to stop any strengthening exercises below the waist and the only things I can do for the time being are some short walks and go to the warm water pool at the Wellness Center and move my legs around when I'm hanging in the water and do some stretches. We want to avoid making it worse than it already is. I'm sure it's been part of the lower back pain that doesn't seem to get better. The surgery will also delay us some on getting down off the meds - at least for a while. But I'll know more what to expect next week when I talk to Dr. Hussmann. It seems like I keep getting hit with unexpected obstacles but eventually I know it'll all get better. Keep praying. JAN