Making Lemon-Aide: Let the Journey Begin

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Let the Journey Begin

Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of Mom's journey towards a new back. Over the next two weeks she will be taking steps to prepare for her surgery. On Tuesday (9/27) she has her pre-op doctor's appointment and she has to go off of all her current pain medications. This could prove to be the first of many challenges as she is currently pretty dependent upon the medications. Although they don't completely take the pain away, they definitely take the edge off so that she can get through her days. I know she will still be determined to live her life as usual, but I hope that she is able to respect the pain and use this time to rest up for her surgery. Resting will be difficult since she wants to get all her last activities in before surgery. I fly to California on September 29th and will be staying with Mom and Dad in Pasadena. Mom's first surgery to place anchors in her pelvis is on the morning of October 10th. Her second surgery to untwist her back and insert rods follows on October 13th. She will be in the ICU overnight after her second surgery and will later be moved to a private room where she will reside until approximately October 20th. That is the tentative timeline for now. I plan to update this blog as she progresses through her journey, so please check back here over the next couple of months for updates on how Mom is doing. Also, please feel free to leave comments and words of encouragement. I know this will be a very difficult time for Mom as she is already nervous about her surgery and the months that follow. I am sure she could use all the love and support she can get :).

Until next time,
Nurse Julie :)

4 comments:

AZkriderSeptember 25, 2011 at 7:24 PM
Wow, you're brave to "volunteer" for this -- though I'm sure the pain makes it pretty much mandatory. I sure hope everything goes as smoothly as possible and wish you a speedy recovery.
ReplyDelete
Replies
SarahSeptember 26, 2011 at 8:12 AM
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
Replies
CeCeSeptember 26, 2011 at 9:17 PM
We are trying to make a comment! CeCe and Papa
ReplyDelete
Replies
CeCeSeptember 26, 2011 at 9:23 PM
Lettice---So much love is coming your way! We want to be there for you as we are the "artificial sweetners" to help where needed. Julie--How wonderful that you can be there with your Mom during this challenging time. You are a devoted and loving daughter. XO CeCe and Papa
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

About

As many of you know, Mom has been suffering from severe back and overall body pain due to Scoliosis and Stenosis for over five years now. She is at the point where not a day, hour or even a minute goes by without her being in severe and sometimes debilitating pain. Despite the constant pain, she still manages to put a smile on her face every day and continues to do her favorite activities. She draws strength from Pilates, throws hay to her goats, and of course endures the long plane ride across country to visit her wonderful grandchildren. To me, this is the best illustration I know for the saying "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."

It is time for Mom to get corrective spine surgery for the 60 degree curve in her back that is a strong contributer to her constant pain. She will undoubtedly be thrown many lemons during her recovery process, but I am confident that she will continue to courageously turn her daily dose of lemons into lemonade. My job will be to aide her (hence the name "Making Lemon-Aide") during her recovery process and I will try my very best to keep you all updated on her progress. In addition to Mom's courage, I drew inspiration for the blog's name from Mom's love for everything lemon and her collection of lemon squeezers, which are a fond memory of mine since childhood. I know the lemon squeezers will definitely come in handy for making lemonade ;).