I'm home

[Guest guest]

So happy to hear that you're home, Tess! That was a big mess in there. I

hope you are finally resting well.

[ ] I'm home

> Hi Sweet People...I got home late yesterday afternoon. I had been

> running a fever since the middle of the night, so they ran extra tests

> before I could go. I have a number of things to keep an eye on.

>

> I've never been so " loopy " as with this surgery. If I was goofy on

the

> phone, please know it was wonderful to hear from you whether I was

" all

> there " or not. I KNOW your prayers and those of others got me

through

> a difficult time. I am grateful.

>

> I will write as I can. I slept very little at the hospital. I have

> been sleeping a lot since I got home...I wouldn't sell my funky little

> recliner that practically came straight from Heaven for a million

> dollars, at least not now. : )

>

> Em works today, so a friend is coming over. Em has had a very

difficult

> time - please keep her in your prayers.

>

> To say I love you all would be quite an understatement.

>

> Hugs & Hope....

>

> Tess

[Guest guest]

I hope the pain is not too awfully bad. Stay on top of it with the pain meds as

prescribed, not as needed for a week or two. If you keep it on schedule, it

won't get out of control. It's a very difficult surgery as far as pain goes but

definitely worth it after you recover! I was worried about you, so glad it is

over. Take it easy, do nothing unless it is absolutely necessary. It's hard

for me to not push myself but I found that rest was the best medicine at the

time.

Becky

[ ] I'm home

Hi Sweet People...I got home late yesterday afternoon. I had been

running a fever since the middle of the night, so they ran extra tests

before I could go. I have a number of things to keep an eye on.

I've never been so " loopy " as with this surgery. If I was goofy on the

phone, please know it was wonderful to hear from you whether I was " all

there " or not. I KNOW your prayers and those of others got me through

a difficult time. I am grateful.

I will write as I can. I slept very little at the hospital. I have

been sleeping a lot since I got home...I wouldn't sell my funky little

recliner that practically came straight from Heaven for a million

dollars, at least not now. : )

Em works today, so a friend is coming over. Em has had a very difficult

time - please keep her in your prayers.

To say I love you all would be quite an understatement.

Hugs & Hope....

Tess

[Guest guest]

Dear Tess,

Welcome back. I am in prayer for you and also for Em...

Take care of yourself and get better soon,

Hugs,

Joy

[ ] I'm home

Hi Sweet People...I got home late yesterday afternoon. I had been

running a fever since the middle of the night, so they ran extra tests

before I could go. I have a number of things to keep an eye on.

I've never been so " loopy " as with this surgery. If I was goofy on the

phone, please know it was wonderful to hear from you whether I was " all

there " or not. I KNOW your prayers and those of others got me through

a difficult time. I am grateful.

I will write as I can. I slept very little at the hospital. I have

been sleeping a lot since I got home...I wouldn't sell my funky little

recliner that practically came straight from Heaven for a million

dollars, at least not now. : )

Em works today, so a friend is coming over. Em has had a very difficult

time - please keep her in your prayers.

To say I love you all would be quite an understatement.

Hugs & Hope....

Tess

[Guest guest]

So glad to hear you're home! Hopefully you continue to recover...

> Hi Sweet People...I got home late yesterday afternoon. I had been

> running a fever since the middle of the night, so they ran extra

tests

> before I could go. I have a number of things to keep an eye on.

>

> I've never been so " loopy " as with this surgery. If I was goofy

on the

> phone, please know it was wonderful to hear from you whether I

was " all

> there " or not. I KNOW your prayers and those of others got me

through

> a difficult time. I am grateful.

>

> I will write as I can. I slept very little at the hospital. I

have

> been sleeping a lot since I got home...I wouldn't sell my funky

little

> recliner that practically came straight from Heaven for a million

> dollars, at least not now. : )

>

> Em works today, so a friend is coming over. Em has had a very

difficult

> time - please keep her in your prayers.

>

> To say I love you all would be quite an understatement.

>

> Hugs & Hope....

>

> Tess

[Guest guest]

Alpine, I'm SO glad you're out of that silly-ol' hospital and embarking on recovery road!

Thanks for the update, and please let us know how you're coming along.

Sharon (42 days and counting down!)

[ ] I'm Home

Hi Everyone - I'm an offical revisee, if that's a word. My surgery went very well, as expected 8 or so hours long, lost a lot of blood and needed 5 units (3 of my own). Unfortunately I did have complications with my lungs and came down with pnemonia (sp?). On top of that I was given a muscle relaxer called Robaxin, had an allergic reaction and went into respitory failure. So to say the least times were tough. I had my ups and downs while in the hospital, denied rehab because I was walking too far to qualify, so after 10 days I was discharged, and I was going to go into a hotel for a couple of days before traveling home, but my husband and I needed to stop at Dr. LaGrone's office first for prescriptions. I was in a tremendous amount of pain and every step was painful and I cried out quite a bit. So to my surprise Dr. LaGrone put me right back in the hospital and this time I qualified for rehab. Go figure. I spent another week in rehab basically gaining strength for the flight home. We flew home on July 19th and it's safe to say "there's no place like home". So all in all my hospital stay was about 2 1/2 weeks.The flight home went smooth as silk with minimal disccomfort. My husband had my son bring the Expedition to the airport with an air matteress in the back and I was able to drive home lying down verses sitting up which isn't very comfortable right now.I am about an inch taller and walk like I have a stick up my rear end. I am very straight!I know that some of you sent emails and that Sharon was the sleuth and tracked me down. Thank you for your kind comments and prayers.I never could have done this without my husband's constant presence and the friends and family that flew up to Amarillo to walk this experience with me.I DO NOT EVER WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!Dr. LaGrone and the hospital staff at BSA are remarkable. They were very faithful in helping me control my pain, they helped with my emotional lows with great amounts of compassion and TLC. They truly understand the gravity of this surgery and know that they have an incredible man in Dr. LaGrone at thier hospital.I will try to visit you all often and know that I am so very thankful for the power of prayer and the Grace of God as I went through this tremendous experience He asked me to endure. Many amazing events took place through this time of my life and the story is not over yet!Hugs to Everyone,Alpine

[Guest guest]

Alpine,

So glad to hear you are home and doing well...welcome to the " other

side " . Like pregnancy, before birth, all you worry about is the birth

itself....then voila! you have the baby and a whole slew of new

concerns crop up.

We will be here to halp along with your recovery and look forward to

hearing how you are doing.

Take Care, Cam

[Guest guest]

ALPINE,GLAD TO HEAR YOU ARE HOME AND IN THE HEALING PROCESS NOW.I

REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW ANYONE CAN FLY AFTER THAT OPERATION I HAD A

HARD TIME COMING HOME IN THE CAR WITH ONLY A 15 MINUTE RIDE HOME

NEVER MIND AN AIRPLANE..HOPE ALL IS WELL AND YOU HAVE A SPEEDY

RECOVERY...VONNIE .

>

> Hi Everyone - I'm an offical revisee, if that's a word. My surgery

> went very well, as expected 8 or so hours long, lost a lot of blood

> and needed 5 units (3 of my own). Unfortunately I did have

> complications with my lungs and came down with pnemonia (sp?). On

> top of that I was given a muscle relaxer called Robaxin, had an

> allergic reaction and went into respitory failure. So to say the

> least times were tough. I had my ups and downs while in the

> hospital, denied rehab because I was walking too far to qualify, so

> after 10 days I was discharged, and I was going to go into a hotel

> for a couple of days before traveling home, but my husband and I

> needed to stop at Dr. LaGrone's office first for prescriptions. I

> was in a tremendous amount of pain and every step was painful and I

> cried out quite a bit. So to my surprise Dr. LaGrone put me right

> back in the hospital and this time I qualified for rehab. Go

> figure. I spent another week in rehab basically gaining strength

> for the flight home. We flew home on July 19th and it's safe to

> say " there's no place like home " . So all in all my hospital stay

> was about 2 1/2 weeks.

>

> The flight home went smooth as silk with minimal disccomfort. My

> husband had my son bring the Expedition to the airport with an air

> matteress in the back and I was able to drive home lying down

verses

> sitting up which isn't very comfortable right now.

>

> I am about an inch taller and walk like I have a stick up my rear

> end. I am very straight!

>

> I know that some of you sent emails and that Sharon was the sleuth

> and tracked me down. Thank you for your kind comments and prayers.

>

> I never could have done this without my husband's constant presence

> and the friends and family that flew up to Amarillo to walk this

> experience with me.

>

> I DO NOT EVER WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!

>

> Dr. LaGrone and the hospital staff at BSA are remarkable. They

were

> very faithful in helping me control my pain, they helped with my

> emotional lows with great amounts of compassion and TLC. They

truly

> understand the gravity of this surgery and know that they have an

> incredible man in Dr. LaGrone at thier hospital.

>

> I will try to visit you all often and know that I am so very

> thankful for the power of prayer and the Grace of God as I went

> through this tremendous experience He asked me to endure. Many

> amazing events took place through this time of my life and the

story

> is not over yet!

>

> Hugs to Everyone,

> Alpine

>

[Guest guest]

I thought that the recovery period was generally expected to be about

a year?

I think that Dr even said it would take a year to fully recover

from just the laminectomy/decompression!

> All that responded to my concern

about pain meds, thanks..I think I

> needed a pep talk. I know I am doing alot and I get frustrated with

> myself that I can't do more, faster! I feel the pressure from my

family

> too. In their minds I should be better, darn surgery was almost 6

> months ago!!

>

> Patience is not one of my strong points!!!, PA

[Guest guest]

Welcome home, Terry! I wish you an easy, full recovery. Take good care

of you and please don't try to do too much too soon. There are a few of

us who learned the hard way that's it's best to err on the side of

caution.

Welcome to the 'other side'!

kam

[Guest guest]

This has been written prior to my surgery.. so that I can let you all know I'm ok. I just have to hit a button or two I'm home... will be writing later when I feel a bit better, probably tomorrow.. I can't tell you about my surgery and all as I wrote this prior to me going in... but that will come later If you see articles from me,, it is my way of letting you know I'm ok but unable to type yet..I figure I can press a few buttons though.. So if you see at least one email a day - i'm ok... just can't communicate yet.. but I'm sure one of the girls will be calling I think I'm off for 3 - 4 wks....or so.. I'll be reading ....and typing as soon as possible They told me originally I could not do much computer work or talk on phone for any long periods.. Anyway, like I said this has been written prior to me going to surgery... but at least you'll all know I'm home and ok. Suzi i'm home did not go as easy as expected.. spent extra day in hosp.. some trouble talking and only liquids no foods will go down yet. will write more later.. but am home today

8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Search movie showtime shortcut.

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

I urge everyone to do their very best to come to the next Retreat, wherever it may be. You won't be sorry! It was so amazing to meet everyone. There was an immediate sense of camaraderie and complete understanding. We even have the same ways of accommodating and the same body maneuvers, like how we "bend" to pick something up off a low table. We were between 31 and 68 years of age, from all walks of life, from big cities and small towns, but we were instantly friends. I would definitely do this again.

Bonnie

[ ] I'm home

Dear Group,

Made it home today after a nice visit with Bonnie. The retreat was truly wonderful, all the gals were remarkably like they are online, warm, funny, and dear friends. The retreat site was truly beautiful, food was great, and neat to see the ocean once again, even if it was facing the wrong direction( us west coasters HAHA). Came home with a ton of sea shells that Joyce was so kind to help me find. Now that I'm back to reality, it will be tough to settle in again, will miss the conversation, and most of all our fun " Cocktail hour". Lets definately do this again, I truly feel rested, and sooooo glad to have met so many of you in person! Off to do laundry, back to the grind!

Colorado Springs

[Guest guest]

Congrats on coming home so quickly Peggy! It must feel wonderful to

be out of the hospital and back in your own environment.

I hope that you are able to get your pain under control quickly, and

I'm sorry that I don't have any advice for you.

How much longer will your husband be able to stay home with you?

>

> I got home yesterday about 4:30. My husband hasn't set my lap top

up yet so I finally turned on my pc in the wee hours of the

morning, The hip pain is excruciating - brings me to tears. Dr.

Hey said that where he inserted most of the hardware and should ease

soon. I sure hope so I can get some sleep. I sat on the bench seat

last night with my old neck collar on to keep my head up while I

slept. I just can't lie down in my bed in any way shape or form. I

would definitely recommend a hospital bed which I didn't think I

would need. Take it from me, you will need it all! Even the

bedside commode just so you can lower yourself up and down on toilet

until you are stronger. I wet myself trying to get to the bathroom

in time so it took me awhile to get cleaned up and dresses as

had gone to get my meds. Must have been a good 30 minutes using all

the gadgets to get my socks, undies, etc. on. I'm sure we all have

our moments like this when we are first home alone!

>

> I fell asleep and had forgotten to hit send. So I'm back, I just

had my first BM at home! Yea! I'm going to continue taking the

Senokot for awhile. Now to just get rid of the pain. I was supposed

to be one OxyContin 2 bid with Oxycodone for breakthrough pain.

Instead I'm getting 2 Oxycodone every 4 hours with Valium every 4

hours for muscle spasms. I just don't feel like it is doing enough

so I've added Tylenal an I'm to continue the Relafen. Hopefully

everything will even out in a few days.

>

> Peggy

>