Limitations

Everyone goes through times where they realize their limitations a little too late to do anything about it. If you’re lucky, it’s a trivial thing when you notice, others, it could be life or death. Today was one of those trivial times for me.

Heather decided to do something with the girls to burn off some energy today, so I called my parents to see if we could bring them over to swim in the pool. Of course, they said yes and we headed over there. We all got in the pool. Riley decided she wasn’t going to be a water baby today and Heather had to take her to the park to play while Ansley and I stayed in the pool. After a couple hours of playing it was time to get out and head home. I got Ansley over the ladder and she got out. I reached up and realized I couldn’t do that. During my surgery a few weeks ago, my Doc had to remove a large muscle the runs from shoulder to shoulder off of my spine to do his work. The majority of my healing is that muscle reattaching itself to my spine. For the time being, I can’t lift any more than 5 lbs, I can’t use my arms to pull or lift anything while they are outstretched. So, as I looked at that ladder, I realized I couldn’t pull myself out of the pool. I waded over the shallow end and checked the height of the pool top to see if I could “jump” up to the top and sit myself out. It was too tall. My parents’ pool doesn’t have a set of steps going out of the shallow end either, so that wasn’t an option. And, there was no one there to lift me out. Crap. I felt like an idiot not being able to get out of the friggin' pool!! Finally, I asked Heather to go get a lawn chair or something out of my parents’ garage to help me get out. She found a small step ladder and brought it out. I used it to step out of the pool and all is well.

Limitations are ok, if you remember them before you cross them. :)

The Last 9 Months

Wow.. Have I really not written anything worthwhile since September of last year?? I have really gotten slack about this.. And, it’s not like anything interesting hasn’t happened over the last 9 months. To the contrary, too many things have happened over this time, and I think because of the severity of some of them, writing was the last thing on my mind.

On the good side, both Ansley and Riley-Kate are growing up fast. Riley has been walking since December (11 months old at that time.) She is talking up a storm and is showing some good smarts. (Must be from her mom) Ansley has been in dance class and had a “practice” recital back in December and her first real recital last weekend. She did awesome in both of them!! Heather has started running and biking. She has run a couple of 5K’s and even placed 5^th in her age group in one of them. She is working her way up to a triathlon and, later, a full marathon. That’s awesome and I’m proud of all of three of my girls..

We’ve had one real dive trip. We did our yearly manatee trip to Crystal River back in December. We had about 12 people in the group and we all had another great time.. I also did a two week TDY to MacDill AFB in Tampa back in March. We had tried to make a trip to Venice Beach during that time to do some megalodon teeth hunting but got weathered out. So, we made an impromptu trip to Crystal River and dove Rainbow River again. Another good time and I had my first raw oysters, ever, during that weekend. (Thanks Dee) And, I got a new tattoo back in October. I have the girls’ infant footprints surrounded by angel wings on the upper portion of my back. Ink done by Les Collier of Atomic Tattoo in Warner Robins, GA.

On the downside of things.. My sister’s cancer has returned. Her breast cancer has metastasized and has shown up in her brain and a couple of other spots in her body. They have been doing radiation treatments for her brain since the cancer is in an area that cannot be operated on. After three weeks of daily radiation treatments, the legions were less than half the size they were when they found them, so she will now a “surgical radiation” procedure tomorrow. They will pinpoint the legions and zap them that way. The radiologist is saying only one treatment is needed and they should be gone. She is still going through chemo for the other spots in her body. She is scheduled to go through that until, at least January 2011. Her fight is there and we are all optimistic the Docs will have her healthy in time.

On the same cancer note, Scuba Kat, our beloved dive buddy from Covington, GA lost her battle with cancer on 23 May 2010. Rest in Peace, Kat. You are dearly missed. Dive Buddy Dee and I made the trip up to Covington and went to Kat’s funeral. We got to speak to her mother again and meet her son. We wish the family well in their grieving.

On my personal note, I thought I was healing up pretty good from my neck fusion surgery. However, back in February, the Doc noticed two of my ten screws were not fusing to the bone like they should, so he said he was going to have to go in through the back and add more hardware to get the screws to set. So, on 7 May 2010, I went under the knife again. The surgery went well and after a couple days in the Hospital, I came home for 4 weeks of recuperation. Everything went well and I had my first post-op meeting with the Doc last Wednesday. He pulled pout my staples, cleared me to start driving again and told me I could take off my neckbrace, but I had to VERY careful not to pick up anything heavy and to especially not straighten out my arms while I had any weight on them. He had detached a muscle in my back from my spine to do his work and that muscle had to have time to reattach itself before I could really use my arms. Easy enough. Of course, that VERY evening, I was carrying something very light up the stairs and as I lifted it a bit higher to get over the baby gate, I felt a “rip” in my neck. I came downstairs and asked Heather to look at it. She said part of it looked a bit sunken in, but other than that, no big deal. I didn’t worry about it, but, as I was taking my shower the next day, I felt the sunken area and it freaked me out. It was “huge.” So, I called the Doc’s office, I told them what had happened and they had me come in today. The doc wasn’t there so I saw his PA. After some tests and finally, some x-rays, we figured out what had happened. During my surgery, to get all my new hardware to fit, the doc had to remove the “spinous process” from my C4 and C5 vertebral bodies. What is a spinous process you ask? “The bumps that can be felt down the back are the spinous processes. They are bony projections that arise at right angles (perpendicular) to the midline of the lamina. Each spinous process is attached to the spinous process above and below it by ligaments. Sometimes these processes are absent or bifid in the cervical spine.” (Link where I got info) So, after all was said and done, I did no further damage to my neck area and even went to my first Physical Therapy session today. I hurt afterwards, but I know it’ll help me out in the long run. I’ve got 4 weeks of that to go.

So, in a nutshell, that’s what has been going on for the last 9 months. I’ll try and do better with this writing stuff again. I enjoy doing it. Finding the time to do it, that’s the problem.

Medical Update

For the last three weeks, I've been feeling better each day. The first week, I wore the neck brace 24/7 and took my pain meds on time every day. The second week, I didn't take any pain meds (unless I over-did it; which I did twice) and I only wore my neck brace in the car, when I was sleeping, in public and if my neck really started to hurt. (Which, again, it did on a couple of occasions) The third week, I only wore my neck brace when I was in the car and going to sleep and took zero pain meds. The range of motion in my neck felt really good, but I didn't know how much I was supposed to move it, so I never went to the extremes when moving my neck.

Finally, the day had arrived for me to have my first post-op appointment with my Dr. Since I still wasn't supposed to drive, my sister took me to the appointment. Once we got back in the room, we started looking at the pictures on the wall and tried to figure out where the cadaver bones went in my neck. BP seems to be very interested in my "Dead Guy Bones" so I wanted to try and find out for him. My sister is a Registered Nurse and has never dealt with this type of treatment before, so her curiosity was piqued also. As we were looking at the picture on the back of the door, the X-Ray tech opened the door and scared us both. She took me back into the x-ray room and I was explaining what we were doing behind the door. She asked what the Dr. had done to me and I told her he fused 4 layers of my neck. She looked through her little window and said, "Four layers??? Can you even move your neck?" I showed her what I could do and she was amazed at the range of motion. That made me feel good. After we got back to the room, the Doc showed up less than 5 minutes later. He started answering my questions and explaining a bit more on what he did.

OK BP, here it is.. The discs between my vertebrae also have bone on them. When they do surgery like they did on me, they actually remove the old disc and put in a "fake" one with wire mesh type stuff around it and the cadaver bones. So, the dead-guy bones are between my vertebrae where the new fake disc is located.

The Doc was pleasantly surprised at how well I was moving and said I was doing very good. He released me for minor activities. I can drive again (whoo-hoo!!) I no longer need to wear the brace, at all!! I can only pick up things that weigh 25 lbs or less. I have to do some exercises to work my neck and shoulders. I can go back to work, but I can't do all the manual labor stuff that can be involved. I can only do computer work right now. I have Physical Therapy twice a week for an unknown amount of time. But, all in all, I'm doing great!! I still have no use of my left hand, but it should come in time. I feel good and I'm determined to get my left hand back.

The next day, I had my first Physical Therapy appointment. I showed up and had gotten my Physical Therapist I had been assigned back February again. (I actually requester her) We spoke for awhile getting caught up and once she knew what all was going on, she started my routine. Heating pad, TENS machine, neck stretches, squeeze balls, wrist curls, bike you pedal with your hands and the neck massage. The end of the session neck massage is worth my co-pay alone!! Last time I was doing physical therapy, it was trying to help a problem that couldn't be helped. Now, I feel like it will actually do something. MK (my physical therapist) was very impressed by my neck motion also. However, she is still very worried about my hand and arm. So, instead of just doing the neck stuff like the Doc has ordered, she is also working my hand and arm at the same time. She even had another PT specialist come over and look at my hand so she could get another opinion on how to work it. She said we'll step it up each time I come to work it out. I've got all the faith in the world in her (which is why I requested her again) so I feel she'll get me back my hand in time. So, that is where we are. I have PT appointment # 2 tomorrow morning.

On a family note, the baby is doing awesome!! She is still a dream child. Ansley has come around and has really warmed up to "Baby Sister." So, everything is good with the kids at the Hall Household.

I also have some great news about the Rag-A-Muffin. It flew on April 18th. I'll write about that day tomorrow, probably.

PS: The picture up top is not my x-ray. I don't have a copy of my own, so I just grabbed one from the web that had a 4 layer fusion done. They are missing one set of screws in their neck. but it's close to what mine looks like.

Adrenaline

You ever notice what adrenaline can do for you? A couple nights ago, I woke up about 2:00 am and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured I could go out and watch a bit of TV to see if I could clear my mind and get back to sleep. While I was watching something, I heard a noise upstairs. Both of the girls sleep upstairs, so I muted the TV to listen. I heard Ansley cough but something didn't sound right. I decided to walk up and check on her. I walked up the back set of stairs so I wouldn't have to open the baby gate in case she was still asleep. I got into the computer room and heard another noise. Then, I knew what was happening, she was getting sick. I ran from the computer room through Riley's room, down the hall and into Ansley's room. It was pitiful. She was sitting up in bed, both arms drenched, the front of her nightgown soaked and all in her hair. She was crying lightly and then started to heave again. I yanked her out of bed and ran down the hallway to the bathroom with her so she could stand over the toilet and not get any more on her. As she was getting sick again, I called into the baby monitor down to Heather that we had a problem. She came right up. We got Ansley all cleaned up with a bath and new clothes and got her down in the bed with us so we could keep an eye on her. She got sick, slightly, one more time that night and nothing more after. All we figured was it was something she ate the day before.

But, what I was meaning about adrenaline; Since my surgery, the Doc put me on very specific restrictions. One of them is not to lift anything over 10 lbs for at least 6 weeks. I don't exactly know why or what damage/setback in healing it would cause, so I just follow the rules. However, when your baby girl is sick and you don't want her to get sick on herself any more, all that goes through your mind is grab your 26 lb precious one and run her where ever you need to take her so she feels better. I didn't even realize I had done it until about 45 minutes later when we finally got back to bed. And then today, she fell off her chair at dinner and hit her head. She sits right next to me, so what did I do? I turned quickly to her and scooped her up off the floor. That's twice in 48 hours I've done that. So far, no residual pain or seemingly setbacks, so hopefully, I'm healing enough where I didn't screw anything up. Adrenaline is a funny thing.

April 2009

The last time I sat down to write a blog, I was amazed at how it was already February 2009. Now, the next time I sit down, it' s April 9th. Wow, time flies. But, life goes on and we do what we can in the time we have and pick up the next day where we left off today.

In the last entry, I mentioned that I would going to see my Doc and was expecting to be referred to a Neurosurgeon to get my hand/neck/arm fixed. That is exactly what happened. I saw the Neurosurgeon. He scheduled me for three rounds of spinal injections that would put steroids/pain meds directly in the area hoping to restart the nerves. I took one shot and showed up two weeks later with no improvement at all. He told me that we could take another but, in his professional opinion, the only thing that was going to help me was surgery. He diagnosed me with "Degenerative Disc Disease." He said that 4 layers of my neck (C4-C5, C5-C6, C6-C7, and C7-T1) had collapsed on themselves to the point where my nerves weren't being fed the impulses. etc they needed to work or grow the muscles. The only thing that would fix it would be to separate the vertebrae and open back up the passageways. So, I said, "Let's not waste any more time. Let's schedule the surgery." That was Wednesday, the 25th of March. Next thing I know, my surgery is scheduled for a week from that Friday, April 3rd. They are going to fuse all four layers of my neck. I will get titanium plates screwed into my neck bones to keep them the proper distance apart and then they will place cadaver bones somewhere int here to also aid in the correct positioning.

The week goes by and the morning of my surgery comes up. Heather and I get my Mother-in-Law to come watch the girls while we go to the Hospital. Everyone says I will be in the Hospital from 1 to 3 days. Luckily with it being a Friday, maybe heather won't need to take any time off if I can come home within the 1 to 2 day mark. We are checked into the Hospital by 0650. By 0730, I'm in my room dressed for surgery, got my IV's in and I'm waiting for them to come get me. Heather and my parents are there with me. They come and roll me into the surgery area and give me my "feel good" shot. Awhile later they roll me into the operating room and get me on the table. I remember the mask going on and thinking, "This stuff isn't working." That's the last thing I remember until I wake up in recovery.

Once I wake up enough, they feed me a few ice chips and then wheel me into my original room. They go and get my family and tell them, as soon as I wake up enough and the Doc checks on me, they start my go-home paperwork. Huh??? The Doc said the operation went so well and I lost so little blood (only three tablespoons worth) he saw no reason to keep in the hospital overnight. Awesome!!! So, I went home that afternoon and I wasn't even the Hospital a full 12 hours.
I've been at home since then. I had a chest cold the day after my surgery and that hurt a whole bunch!! Every time I'd cough, it felt like I was coughing up my entire chest. But, it was slowly gotten better over the days. The only "post-op" pain I've had was my throat. Since they had to move it out of the way to work on my neck, it has been very sore and swollen from all that. Each day that goes by the pain gets a bit better. The neck itself is ok. I can't go without my neckbrace and I'm scared if I do go without it, I'll over do it, so i keep it on for safety reasons if nothing else. I have a follow-up appointment in the 28th of this month and we'll see how I'm doing by then. Doc will release me to do certain things in "baby-steps" so even if I am doing ok on the 28th, I still won't be able to pick anything up or drive. We'll see how it goes..
I've had a few visitors stop by the house. Thank you for doing that!! It was awesome to see some folks. My family, my In-Laws and especially Heather have been GREAT during all this. I appreciate each and everyone of them.

Thanks for all the emails that have been sent also.. They make my days go by quicker..
That's where we are, medically, for right now.. As soon as I get an update, I'll post it here..
I've got other stuff to talk about (kids, ultralight, etc) but I want to keep this as short as possible, so I'll more another blog or two in the coming days talking about those...