6/16/03: I went to Lifeblood of Memphis to begin donating blood for my surgery.  The doctor wants 3 units to be sent to Amarillo so this was my first.  I tried to give the other day but my hematocrit (percentage of red blood cells) was too low.

6/17/03: The Lifeblood central office called and said that my unit of blood burst in the machine and it was lost. I am so upset because I need to get as much of my blood as possible and I’m running out of time.

6/23/03: I went back to Lifeblood again but my hematocrit was too low and they figure it will not be up in time for the blood to be sent to Texas.

6/26/03: I’ve been eating steak and greens so I wanted to try one more time to donate. My hematocrit has come up enough and I’m so happy to have at least one unit of my blood for the surgery. My brother, mother, and uncle also donated and the doctor said that blood relatives would be the best. I’ve had so many friends to donate for me and I’m so thankful for each one.

7/6/03: We flew to Amarillo today because I have to be at the hospital in the morning for Pre-Admission lab and paperwork. It was a long travel day but we had to make time for a run to Wal-Mart for some things for the kids.

7/7/03: This morning we went to Baptist St. Anthony’s and everyone was wonderful! They are so good that there is a special page about it.  Please see it and read all our comments - it’s unlike any hospital experience in Memphis.  I felt so tired from the blood taken that I rested in the room while Mike took the girls to Wonderland Amusement park.  You know I feel bad if I miss an amusement park!

7/8/03: I had my pre-op meeting at Dr. LaGrone’s office at 2:00 with Kelly Irons and Dr. LaGrone. They were great once again.  They answered all my questions and spent alot of time with me and my husband. While we were at the office, our insurance company rep. called and said that she received notice that our group insurance was terminated on 6/30.  Boo Humana billing and accounting department!!  We had a problem with a mysterious amount of $150 being owed on premium a few weeks ago and had been told that everything was fine and it was an accounting problem - not to worry. Well here we are and it could not be a worse time for this to happen!  Thank goodness that there are some helpful people. Amy White at Humana (not in Memphis) is the greatest!  She had already gone over and above getting all of our insurance agreements with the hospital so they would be considered in-network and now was on top of this helping get this problem fixed. Thanks also to Rick Cook, our agent for coming down hard on the Memphis Humana office and this situation was fixed in a matter of an hour.  My mom and her husband Jim flew in to be with us this week.  We went to the Big Texan restaurant for dinner and had steaks and ribs.

(From here forward, the perspective changes as written by Mike as I’m unable to do the log)
7/9/03: Surgery Day - We got up at 4:30 to get ready to go. We arrived at the hospital at 5:35 and had more lab work done.  The nurses were wonderful and prayed with us. Jennifer put on her surgery gown and hose and they took her back to the operating area at about 7:45.
8:15: The nurse called and they were beginning the surgery and she was doing fine.
9:45: The nurse reported that Dr. LaGrone had removed the existing rod and they had given her her own unit of blood to bring her counts up but she was doing fine.
12:20 The nurse reported that Dr. LaGrone had completed the Moss cage work on the lower discs and was performing the osteotomy.  She was continuing to do fine and it should only be a couple more hours to finish up.
1:45 The nurse reported that Dr. LaGrone had finished and was stitching her up.  She was doing great and only required the one unit of blood she had donated for herself. Dr. LaGrone will be out to speak with us in 20-30 minutes.
2:30 Dr. LaGrone came to the waiting room and told us everything went wonderfully. She was in recovery and would be transferred to the 6th floor to NIU (Neuro Intermediate Unit).  This unit provides more closely monitored nurse care for this type of surgery,
3:30 We (Mike, Marylynne, Kristina, Elizabeth, Barbara & Jim) went to the 6th floor waiting area and she had not been moved to her room yet. When she arrived, she was still groggy but knew all of us. She was very swollen from laying on her belly for the 6 hours or so during surgery and all of the IV fluids. We visited with her while she dozed off and on and she was doing great.
Remainder of 7/9: The swelling began to go down and she was resting good. She had a pain medicine pump that was helping with the pain and made her sleep also. Barbara, Jim and the kids went back to the hotel for the night while I slept in the comfortable (not) chair. The nurses were wonderful and began to get Jennifer laying on each side for periods of time.  Her oxygen level was great so they reduced the oxygen feed. Her blood levels are low but through the night they improved so no additional blood is anticipated at this point. She was given one unit of Vancomycin antibiotic as a precaution.  The nurses were very considerate over night to only disturb her if necessary so she slept well.  In the past in Memphis hospitals, they would come in all night long to take out the garbage or change paper towels and a bunch of other nonsense which could wait for the daytime.  This is another example of such a good experience here.

7/10/03:
Morning: Dr. LaGrone and his assistant Kelly came in around 8:15 and bragged on how she is such a good patient.  He said she is doing great, the surgery went as planned, and she may get moved to a regular private room later today.  Her back is hurting today but it is from the trauma of the surgery.  She said the prior lower back pain that she’s been living with is not there. She has no numbness or tingling in her legs.  The swelling is continuing to subside and the doctor said she has used much less of the pain medicine than prescribed which is also very good. She was able to eat some Jello and drink some apple juice for breakfast. At 12:30 she was moved to room 787 which is normally a shared room for 2 patients but they were so nice to let us have the whole room.  I will get a hospital bed to sleep on instead of the recliner chair.
Evening: Jennifer has had a rough day pain wise. She is doing great and they continue to brag on her recovery.  We got in the regular room on the 7th floor and I got to take a nap for a couple of hours. They have increased her pain meds so she has been out of it most of the day.  She has had x-rays and been moved quite a bit today so that’s contributed also.  She’s started doing a breathing treatment 3x a day to strengthen and clear her lungs. She will probably begin physical therapy on Monday the 14th.

7/11/03: Today was better yet. Dr. LaGrone came by this morning to check on her.  She is concerned that her bowels are not sounding active and she will develop an ileus. She was given a pericolace laxative tonight to assist. The physical therapy nurses came in and got Jennifer up on the side of the bed for 10 minutes.  She did great but was dizzy from the first time up since Wednesday morning.  Brooks, Carol and Wendy Hall drove in from Memphis and arrived this afternoon. She slept alot the rest of the day. She was able to discontinue her oxygen for a few hours but her level dropped so they resumed it at a low level.

7/12/03: This morning Jennifer was not resting well and in alot of pain. She was a bit grumpy which is to be expected.  Her stomach was distended and she is more worried about an ileus which would require an NG tube and would slow her progress. Dr. LaGrone came by and said this was still to be expected at this point.  The physical therapists came in and she was able to stand and take a few steps.  She could not seem to get comfortable back in the bed so they gave her some Robaxin which helped her rest for a couple of hours. They also gave her a Dulcolax suppository this morning and later a dose of Reglan to stimulate the bowels. This afternoon she was able to get up and go to the bathroom and had a good bowel movement - this made her happy.  She also felt better and in a better mood for the remainder of the day.

7/13/03: Jennifer was awake off and on throughout the night and was restless this morning. Physical therapists came by and walked her across the room again and rolled her side to side. She got up again around 1:00pm and went to the bathroom because her stomach was still distended and she was nauseated. She did not have a bowel movement so she rested for a few more hours. The nurse gave her a Dulcolax and within 1 hour she was able to go to the bathroom and had another good bowel movement.  Her distention decreased and she felt much better.  Her back pain was still about the same.

7/14/03: Today she was moving around better and getting stronger.  She began eating food this morning. She had jello, potato soup and some milk.  Her pain was about the same and she continued her breathing treatments twice a day. The robaxin is continuing to help her to rest at times.

7/15/03: A very busy and much improved day.  After a restless night due to the pain, she had eggs, bacon and milk for breakfast.  She walked a little way down the hall with physical therapy this morning and prepared for moving to the rehab. wing. Her pain meds were switched to oral Oxycontin which helped more than the existing PCA pump.  Around noon her IVs were removed and she resumed her normal medications she has been without since last Tuesday. These include Cenistin (estrogen replacement) and Urecholine (for her bladder). My mother Marilyn Garey (Grandy) arrived from Memphis and we picked her up from the airport.  We got back to the hospital about 2:30 and Jennifer was packed up to move to rehab. The nurse removed her foley catheter and we moved about 4:00.  The new room is bigger and the A/C works much better. After we got settled in, Grandy took the girls back to the hotel to swim and get a good nights rest.  We met with the rehab. doctor and reviewed her condition and she had some soup and ice cream for dinner. She was pretty tired from an active day but her pain is being manager better with the oral meds.

7/16/03: The morning started good as Jennifer was able to take a shower but as afternoon came she had a new problem.  The pain medicines have caused her to get constipated and impacted.  Her stomach began to get distended and the nurses tried laxatives and suppositories with no success. She was so uncomfortable that the physical therapy was called off for the day. We tried some mineral oil later in the evening but still no luck. We are praying that something will work during the night.

7/17/03: After a restless night, Jennifer still had not gotten any relief from the impaction and her stomach was distended even more. By 10:00 I asked the nurse for some Magnesium Citrate which most doctors call “GI Draino”.  She was hurting so much that nothing could get her comfortable. The Mag. Citrate arrived about 11:00 and Jennifer began to drink it.  After she had taken about half the bottle, she began to vomit all over herself and ruined her new gown and shoes.  She was so upset and the nurse had to come in and give her a shower.  They decided to try 2 peri-colace laxatives and another suppositories. By 2:00 she still had no relief and was in sever abdominal pain.  I decided she should try to take the remaining half bottle of Mag. Citrate but this time a little at a time.  She was able to get it all down and went back to bed for a couple of hours.  She finally got relief around 4:00 and it did the trick.  Her distention went away and she finally felt better.  They changed her pain medicine to Ultram which should not be as constipating as Oxycontin so we’ll have to monitor it closely from her on. She was able to make 2 walks today in the midst of this problem so we’re hoping she will have a better day tomorrow.

7/18/03: Jennifer’s strength improved and she felt much better overall.  Her bowels have gotten back in order and she had 4 physical therapy sessions today with alot of leg exercises and she even went up and down a flight of stairs.  The other milder pain medicine does not work as well but she is more alert and does not have to worry about the constipation problem.

7/19/03: Today was a better day still. This morning Dr. LaGrone came by to check on Jennifer and was impressed with how well she was doing.  He decided to remove her foley catheter to see if her bladder would start working.  He gave her 8 hours to urinate on her own or would put the catheter back in.  Within 2 hours she had and it appears that her bladder is functioning correctly. Late in the afternoon, the technician came to our room to cast a mold to make Jennifer’s brace that she will wear for a few months. She had a few walks, went to the Cafeteria for lunch, and felt the best yet.

7/20/03: Another improved day! We took a few walks around the halls and went down to the SubWay (in the wheelchair) for lunch. We are hoping that she will be released on Wednesday afternoon and return home Thursday morning so she is anxious to continue improving and build endurance for the return trip.  Since the catheter was removed yesterday, it looks like her bladder problems that she had prior to surgery have been solved!! This is a miracle from God.  She has had a neurogenic flaccid bladder as a result of nerve damage during her hysterectomy of 1996 and has struggled with being able to empty her bladder.  The urologists have performed test after test to try to find an answer but had resolved that she would have to cath intermittently from now on.  I had read about the incidence of bladder problems due to nerve problems being much improved after these spinal revision surgeries so I was hoping she might improve also. In the past 2 days her bladder has worked perfectly normal!  Her strength is improved and she is moving around much better.  She still has alot of back pain (from the surgery site) but is dealing with it quite well.

7/21/03: Today was thankfully an uneventful day. She is continuing to improve fast! She got her brace which she will wear for 3-6 months until her fusions heal. She had a full day of physical therapy and the doctors decided we can fly home on Wednesday, 7/23! We are ready to get home and hopefully the pain medicine will give her enough comfort for the 4 hour travel time.

7/22/03: Jennifer was discharged this afternoon and is resting in the Best Western until we fly out tomorrow morning.

8/26/03: I know many of you have been wondering how Jennifer is doing. I’m sorry for not updating the site but since we got home I have been covered up with caring for Jennifer, taking care of the house, kids staring back to school and of course, work. I’m so far behind on work projects and have had to put these other things above this site. 
The flight home on 7/23 was rough on her.  We had a small jet on Continental that had to stop over in Houston. We had requested assistance from the airline and wouldn’t you know, they put her in the back of the plane by the window.  The plane was packed so I asked the stewardess to give us the row 3 seats at the bulkhead and she arranged it. Jenn had lots of pain and took an Oxycontin to get her through the trip.  We arrived in Memphis at 12:30pm and my sister Vicki picked us up.  A terrible storm had hit Memphis the night before so traffic was backed up all over the city. It took an hour to get home but she made it!  She had been glad to be at home and is slowly improving.  She is getting her apetite back but has lost 15 lbs. since the surgery. She has reduced her pain meds now to Ultram every 6 hours. Her hips and lower back are very sensitive and the brace hurts her when she is in the bed.  She can sit at the table for meals and to take her medicine for a short period but then has to lay down. We walk once or twice a day either laps in the house or in the driveway.  A few times the weather has been cool enough for her to walk down to the lake.  She is getting stronger as well but the process is too slow for her.  It’s been 7 weeks now and she is tired of staying in the bed.  At times she gets very depressed about it so we have to work to keep her spirits up.  She has not been able to ride in a car and is so ready to get to go out to eat. She has been able to use her computer a couple of times and finally got to see this site.  Thanks again for the continued prayers, visits and phone calls. It’s going to be a while longer before our life can get to somewhat normal.  I added one picture in the Photo Journal. If you want to email her directly, 

11/3/03: Jennifer has continued to improve over the last two months.  She is still wearing the brace and the subsequent xrays have shown that the hardware is in place and everything looks good. She has been able to care for herself and has been riding in a car going shopping and out to dinner.  The main key to her progression is that she walks 2 miles each day which has strengthened her and improved flexibility in her legs. She has some nerve pain in her sacrum area that shoots down her legs but this is also improving.  Dr. LaGrone said that the nerve roots get stretched during surgery and this would be a normal timeframe to still experience this type of pain.  She is looking forward to January 15th when we go back to Texas for her 6 month checkup and to get out of the brace.