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

preparing for my fusion from T12 - S2 -- what is a hand sprayer? Trying to get my house and hospital stay in order!

@sassytwo
It is part of your shower head where you can use it to target spraying off your legs/arms, etc. to keep your back and wound/dressing from getting wet. I used my bench and hand sprayer to do a better than “sponge bath.” I was told I could not shower for 2 weeks and felt gross so I found a way to get clean in the shower without a shower. 😉 I kneeled over my tub and laid my upper body on my bench for support while using the hand sprayer to wash my hair. I used a back brush to help me wash my legs because you aren’t supposed to bend or twist/reach for some time after surgery.

oh these are great tips!!!! thanks! I will practice! I was hoping they would wash my hair before i leave and i could just stop at my stylist enroute home for the rest😂. would I be able to sit in a wash chair at a salon??

i am practicing with my grabber.. i didn’t realize how klutzy I am. I drop a lot of “stuff”

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.😊

Good afternoon! I have not posted anything for a while because it’s been a painful journey the past week. I was supposed to fly home on Sunday but here I am, still in the hospital. I fly home this afternoon and should be in Sacramento by 5:30 pm.
I have lots to share with you and hope to do that within the next couple days. I hope everyone is doing well.😊

Good afternoon! I have not posted anything for a while because it’s been a painful journey the past week. I was supposed to fly home on Sunday but here I am, still in the hospital. I fly home this afternoon and should be in Sacramento by 5:30 pm.
I have lots to share with you and hope to do that within the next couple days. I hope everyone is doing well.😊

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