Tay’s Scoliosis: Recovery Begins

Post-Op Recovery (Surgery Day)

After all of the madness of getting her set up in her room, all of the post operative checks and tests, and the medication was doing its job we got a little glimpse into the recovery process. Taylor has IVs in both arms. There are wires and tubes coming and going from every direction. It is hard enough to help while she is hooked up to everything, but even more difficult to help when you aren’t yet sure of what she can and can’t do.

Her face and body were swollen from all of the fluids that were pushed into her throughout the surgery. Robbie and I were able to stay with her through the night. Neither one of us could bear to leave her. It probably would have come down to a Paper, Rock, Scissors match where I would have to cheat or kick him in the shin to win. We got the permission then compromised and Robbie stayed on the chair bed and I slept in the little bed by the window, mostly because I have been getting very little sleep for the past few days. He is a trooper.

Pain management is obviously a big part of recovery because without it, the pain would be excruciating. When your body is in extreme pain, hard work and healing cannot get done. We talked to Tay a lot about the importance of staying ahead of the pain and how fast it can go from tolerable to unbearable. This was not the time for her to suck it up and work through the pain. This is the time allow your body to heal. With gentle reminders, she used her pain pump when her pain started to reach mild discomfort and she was also given Tylenol to help. The rest of the day she was sleeping on an off. When she did wake up, she wanted to eat or drink something. Doc said only clear liquid because throwing up food would not feel good with the pressure it puts on your body. She has already been through enough for one day.

The first thing she wanted to do once she got settled into her room was to sit up. She wiggled around a little bit. She gave it a few tries. She needed some help moving higher on the bed so when she sat the bed up, she wouldn’t be all squished down. With all of the movement, she got dizzy and threw up a little. Not terrible, but not fun. We got her situated and she relaxed again.

A little while later, Robbie and I were laughing and teasing her because of how funny she was being. She was still pretty out of it as the anesthesia was still trying to work its way out of her body. I kept asking her if she wanted to watch anything on TV. Background noise is always appreciated, so I was really asking for Robbie and I. She kept telling us no, so we had to keep ourselves occupied with other activities.

That eventing she finally found a movie to watch. She started moving up, down, and around to get comfortable for the show. All of the sudden, BAM! It hits her again. A little more this time. At this point it was hard to tell if she was going to be able to relax or if this was going to be the beginning of a rough night. She relaxed enough and took it slow enough that she didn’t have any more trouble with vomiting.

She did lose some blood during her surgery. Her blood levels were low, but Dr. Yang wasn’t ready to order a blood transfusion yet and would like to wait for a day or two to see if her body will rebound and produce the necessary additional cells. When your red blood count is low, it is really difficult for the oxygen to move around so your body has to work harder to get the energy you need for even basic tasks. It also contributes to dizziness and nausea while you try to move around.

There were some tears of frustration as she realized that moving wasn’t as easy as it once was and this was process was going to take some major effort. Just pulling yourself up is hard and requires a lot of energy. Not being able to cross your legs or twist your body is a difficult habit to stop right away. Sleeping on your back when you prefer to sleep on your stomach or side is extremely difficult. Her body had been through a lot and it just needed rest, but it was hard to get comfortable to stay asleep and the nurses had to come in every couple of hours, which never helps.

She worked hard throughout the day to figure out how to pull herself up into a seated position on her bed. Her determination is unwavering. Every time a nurse came in and needed to check the incision, she started sitting up on her own.

One Day Post Op

Today, Taylor really started to show what she is made of. Dr. Yang did his rounds nice and early this morning. He was impressed that she was already able to sit up when he needed to check her incision. He was happy to see she had tolerated the liquids for the most part yesterday. He allowed her to go back to solids, whatever she would like, but advised her to take it slow so her stomach could digest her food without overfilling because that would cause her to throw up. He wanted her to get moving around today. The faster she gets moving, the quicker she will heal.

She also had a visit from the Occupational Therapist and the Physical Therapist this morning. They worked with her on what she needed to do the basic things, like get dressed, brush your hair and your teeth, and bathe. They also helped her learn how to log roll to sit up and get back into bed because twisting right now is not an option. It is amazing how much we rely on our body to move in a variety of ways to get minor tasks done.

Once she was able to sit up, they moved her to a wheelchair. She took a couple of steps to get there. The therapists asked her if she would like to go for a little ride and she immediately said yes. Sometimes a quick change of scenery is good for the soul. They took her around the hallway loop to help with her sense of movement. They had to stop for a bit because she got nauseous. She was able to push through that and spent about an hour and a half just sitting up in the chair. The work from those two hours eventually caught up to her. She got extremely tired and went into on and off nap mode for the better part of the day.

She finished out the day with another ride in the wheelchair, a nice wipe down bath and new clothes. She even took a few minutes to talk to her grandparents. Every single nurse and doctor has been genuinely surprised to see her up and about so soon.

Now for the good stuff, not that it hasn’t all been good stuff. We were able to snap a quick picture of the after x-rays. These are from the operating room before she was brought to her room. The view of the scoliosis side shows the rods and pins and how straight he was actually able to get her spine. She was blown away by this picture.

Isn’t that crazy! What a difference! The kyphosis view was done before they closed so they could see exactly where they were with it. You can see some of the surgical tools they used to keep her open. This picture is flipped so we can kind of compare it to the pre surgical x-rays. Once we get back up here for her post op check, he will take more x-rays the same way the first ones were done that will be a more accurate view. You can still get the idea of the change from this picture.

Isn’t that the coolest! Here is the comparison photo from the before and after so you can really see the difference. I can’t wait to see her as she is moving around and in her regular clothes. It is hard to see while she is sitting in a hospital bed with a hospital gown on.

Wow! Wow! Wow!!!

For now, she will keep working at her pace, taking breaks as she needs them. She is on track to be released and sent home in the next couple of days.