My journey with a T11 to L4 spinal fusion - 40 degree scoliosis curve

Update 12-13-24

Well, good morning 😊 I had planned to post an update sooner, but I was also prepared for the reality that I wouldn’t be feeling up to it.

My surgery day (Wednesday) began with reporting to the hospital at 5:30 AM. My sister is my caregiver and staff collected her contact information and advised her that she would be updated via text or phone call throughout the whole procedure.

At 7 AM, they took me back to surgery prep, where I received my gown, leg air compression wraps, and had my IV started.

Staff allowed for about two hours of surgery prep time. As soon as I was settled on the gurney, my sister came in and stayed with me for the remaining hour until they wheeled me off to surgery.

My surgery started at around 9 AM and was completed at around 4:30 PM. I was placed in a recovery room for about two hours before my sister was able to see me.

Not long after that, my surgeon, Dr McClendon came in to check on me and said the surgery went very well.

I have a high pain tolerance. But I had an extremely tough time that night, through the morning, and until the next afternoon when they were finally able to find the right pain medication that worked for me. Please don’t let this discourage anybody looking to have surgery in the future. Dr. McClendon was very clear that people react differently and some people have less pain than others. Unfortunately, I am one who has more pain

At around 3 o’clock on Thursday, after I was getting some small results from pain medication, the physical therapy team worked with me to stand and walk across the room and then sit in a chair. I was only able to sit for 30 minutes before turning to bed, but it was a success. Throughout this process, I die not had issues with nausea because they had provided to me via IV. But when I walked across the room, I became very nauseous. They told me it was the anesthesia and other medication’s moving through my system to get flushed out.

That evening at around 6 PM I got up again and sat in the chair for a full hour.

I felt better after I got in bed both times. Even though it hurt a lot, it obviously helped my body to move into different positions and to sit up straight. It was interesting how the pain changed in my back when I was standing.
I have a 45° curve where the Apex of the curve goes to my right side. When I stood up the muscles along the left side of my spine hurt so much that I had to use my left hand on the walker to support and keep weight off my left leg. The muscles on the left side of my spine have not done a lot of work over my life because of the curve and the were definitely getting stretched yesterday.

I had an amazing five or six hours of sleep last night. The nurses just came in a few minutes ago to do their handoff fe night to day shift. I let my dayshift nurse know that I have airline tickets home for Sunday and she smiled and said we have a lot of work to do!

I’m going to order breakfast now and then hopefully start doing some walking.

The staff here is amazing! There are so many people coming and going as they complete their tasks, but I have to give a shout out to Dr. McClendon and my day/night nurses, Joslin and Patrick.

Thank you so much to those of you who have reached out to me and if you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask, and I will respond when I am able. And thank you so much for your prayers.🙏🥰

I will update again!
Sherry

Update 12-13-24

Well, good morning 😊 I had planned to post an update sooner, but I was also prepared for the reality that I wouldn’t be feeling up to it.

My surgery day (Wednesday) began with reporting to the hospital at 5:30 AM. My sister is my caregiver and staff collected her contact information and advised her that she would be updated via text or phone call throughout the whole procedure.

At 7 AM, they took me back to surgery prep, where I received my gown, leg air compression wraps, and had my IV started.

Staff allowed for about two hours of surgery prep time. As soon as I was settled on the gurney, my sister came in and stayed with me for the remaining hour until they wheeled me off to surgery.

My surgery started at around 9 AM and was completed at around 4:30 PM. I was placed in a recovery room for about two hours before my sister was able to see me.

Not long after that, my surgeon, Dr McClendon came in to check on me and said the surgery went very well.

I have a high pain tolerance. But I had an extremely tough time that night, through the morning, and until the next afternoon when they were finally able to find the right pain medication that worked for me. Please don’t let this discourage anybody looking to have surgery in the future. Dr. McClendon was very clear that people react differently and some people have less pain than others. Unfortunately, I am one who has more pain

At around 3 o’clock on Thursday, after I was getting some small results from pain medication, the physical therapy team worked with me to stand and walk across the room and then sit in a chair. I was only able to sit for 30 minutes before turning to bed, but it was a success. Throughout this process, I die not had issues with nausea because they had provided to me via IV. But when I walked across the room, I became very nauseous. They told me it was the anesthesia and other medication’s moving through my system to get flushed out.

That evening at around 6 PM I got up again and sat in the chair for a full hour.

I felt better after I got in bed both times. Even though it hurt a lot, it obviously helped my body to move into different positions and to sit up straight. It was interesting how the pain changed in my back when I was standing.
I have a 45° curve where the Apex of the curve goes to my right side. When I stood up the muscles along the left side of my spine hurt so much that I had to use my left hand on the walker to support and keep weight off my left leg. The muscles on the left side of my spine have not done a lot of work over my life because of the curve and the were definitely getting stretched yesterday.

I had an amazing five or six hours of sleep last night. The nurses just came in a few minutes ago to do their handoff fe night to day shift. I let my dayshift nurse know that I have airline tickets home for Sunday and she smiled and said we have a lot of work to do!

I’m going to order breakfast now and then hopefully start doing some walking.

The staff here is amazing! There are so many people coming and going as they complete their tasks, but I have to give a shout out to Dr. McClendon and my day/night nurses, Joslin and Patrick.

Thank you so much to those of you who have reached out to me and if you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask, and I will respond when I am able. And thank you so much for your prayers.🙏🥰

I will update again!
Sherry

Update 12-13-24

Well, good morning 😊 I had planned to post an update sooner, but I was also prepared for the reality that I wouldn’t be feeling up to it.

My surgery day (Wednesday) began with reporting to the hospital at 5:30 AM. My sister is my caregiver and staff collected her contact information and advised her that she would be updated via text or phone call throughout the whole procedure.

At 7 AM, they took me back to surgery prep, where I received my gown, leg air compression wraps, and had my IV started.

Staff allowed for about two hours of surgery prep time. As soon as I was settled on the gurney, my sister came in and stayed with me for the remaining hour until they wheeled me off to surgery.

My surgery started at around 9 AM and was completed at around 4:30 PM. I was placed in a recovery room for about two hours before my sister was able to see me.

Not long after that, my surgeon, Dr McClendon came in to check on me and said the surgery went very well.

I have a high pain tolerance. But I had an extremely tough time that night, through the morning, and until the next afternoon when they were finally able to find the right pain medication that worked for me. Please don’t let this discourage anybody looking to have surgery in the future. Dr. McClendon was very clear that people react differently and some people have less pain than others. Unfortunately, I am one who has more pain

At around 3 o’clock on Thursday, after I was getting some small results from pain medication, the physical therapy team worked with me to stand and walk across the room and then sit in a chair. I was only able to sit for 30 minutes before turning to bed, but it was a success. Throughout this process, I die not had issues with nausea because they had provided to me via IV. But when I walked across the room, I became very nauseous. They told me it was the anesthesia and other medication’s moving through my system to get flushed out.

That evening at around 6 PM I got up again and sat in the chair for a full hour.

I felt better after I got in bed both times. Even though it hurt a lot, it obviously helped my body to move into different positions and to sit up straight. It was interesting how the pain changed in my back when I was standing.
I have a 45° curve where the Apex of the curve goes to my right side. When I stood up the muscles along the left side of my spine hurt so much that I had to use my left hand on the walker to support and keep weight off my left leg. The muscles on the left side of my spine have not done a lot of work over my life because of the curve and the were definitely getting stretched yesterday.

I had an amazing five or six hours of sleep last night. The nurses just came in a few minutes ago to do their handoff fe night to day shift. I let my dayshift nurse know that I have airline tickets home for Sunday and she smiled and said we have a lot of work to do!

I’m going to order breakfast now and then hopefully start doing some walking.

The staff here is amazing! There are so many people coming and going as they complete their tasks, but I have to give a shout out to Dr. McClendon and my day/night nurses, Joslin and Patrick.

Thank you so much to those of you who have reached out to me and if you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask, and I will respond when I am able. And thank you so much for your prayers.🙏🥰

I will update again!
Sherry

Hi Sherry, Thanks for taking the time to share your journey. Very helpful for what to expect with my similar surgery! I am happy to hear your Doc said surgery went well and the tweaks were made in medications to be able to manage the pain better!!! What hospital are you in that you are flying home? Sounds like you have a great medical team and loving support from your sis! Hope your flight isn't too long! Tamra

Hi Tamra, it was definitely wonderful to hear my surgeon say that it went well!! Even though the minimally invasive approach was a lot more work for him, we knew that it would be much better for me in the long run for the healing process. It’s also been so great to have my records and labs, etc., available immediately on my patient profile online. I was able to see pictures of x-rays of my back that they took during the surgery.
I had my surgery at the Phoenix Mayo Clinic. I am going to provide another general update because a few things have changed regarding my timeline to return home.😊

Great planning and praying! 🙂

I had cervical and lumbar surgeries in 2022 and 2024 and the hardest was lumbar (L3-L5 decompression and fusion). Mine was invasive. Pain was 11/12 out of 10 for the first week but started to get better gradually afterwards.

I bought grabbers and a bed assist bar to help me pick things up and maneuver in bed/help me get out. I also bought a walker at the hospital and had a cane at home to help me stabilize when standing up and moving about my home after surgery. Bathroom/toilet wiping tool helped to wipe when I wasn’t able to twist/turn. Lots of pillow to prop up head and legs when in bed and a bedside organizer for everything you need close to you next to couch and bed. I used my chair in the shower when I was able to (I needed to wait a couple of weeks but did sponge baths using my hand sprayer).

I am also a single parent of a 15 year old son but do not have any family so you are blessed to have the help you have. Don’t forget to stock up not just for yourself and daughter but also all of your pets. I have 2 rescue dogs and 8 cats so having food, litter, etc. stocked, helped with heavy lifted before surgery. Bending down and twisting is restricted so putting food down and picking up bowls was difficult. Get all vet appointments and grooming done in advance. Pay as many bills ahead as possible to reduce burden for several weeks post op.

A plane trip after surgery puts you at risk for blood clots so make sure you are able to move around often. Will you be in first class? You will be in pain and need more room to move around. If you are in CA and need to go to AZ (I used to live in CA), I would probably opt for driving rather than flying. Yes it is longer but you can control stops and movement breaks and fully recline in your car seat. I moaned in pain for the first week so would be embarrassed to be around people on a plane. 😉 I would have never been able to fly with the pain and discomfort I was in.

Good luck and keep praying! Ask God to guide you in preparing for what is a major surgery, even if minimally invasive. 🙏