Pre-Op Appointment

Mom had her pre-op appointment at Cedar Sinai today.  This is also where she will be having her surgery for those of you that have been asking. She met with three different surgeons that will be contributing their talents to reconstructing her spine.  I talked to Mom prior to her appointment and she was extremely nervous and feeling down about the daunting surgery that is to come.  After spending approximately five hours talking with Doctors and having various pre-op procedures performed, I am happy to report that Mom walked away from the appointments with a more positive outlook on what is to come.  Her main Doctor (Dr. Pashman) was very optimistic about the surgery and said she is an excellent candidate because she is in relatively good health (aside from her back) and she is "clean", meaning she doesn't have harsh pain killers (such as Vicodin) in her system.  I think the recovery process is more challenging if you have those types of pain killers flowing through your body prior to surgery.  The one surprising (if not shocking) fact that she learned today was that her spine is no longer at a 42 degree angle, but rather at a 60 degree angle.  I think this solidifies the fact that the surgery is completely necessary as her spine is literally collapsing at a significant rate.  On a similar note, for those of you that don't know, Mom has lost approximately 4 inches of height since her initial symptoms appeared.  We aren't sure if she will gain some of the height back, but I'll be sure to update you when I am able to measure her post-surgery :). All in all, I think today turned out to be a better day than anticipated.  Thank you to everyone for your positive thoughts and words of encouragement. I know that all of your support means so much to Mom and our whole family!

Julie