A Mum update

As my regular readers will know my mum had a major spinal operation on 28th April 2015. Since then I have been providing you all with regular updates. Mum has kindly given me permission to share these pictures with you so that you can see how well she is healing.

Mum and I have been overwhelmed by everyone's messages wishing her well. It is so very kind of you to do this when many of you are complete strangers. It is such a shame that some of the people who mum thought were her friends couldn't do the same. I guess it is true you certainly do find out who your friends are in your hour of need. Those messages of yours have been very uplifting so thank you for taking the time to do that.

The picture below was taken on or around 4th May (approx 6 days after her operation). As you can see she is very bruised. It was mainly the bruising that was causing her pain. Getting on and off the bed was the main source of pain at this point. Initially when she came home from hospital she was taking nothing more than Naproxen (NSAID) however this was not enough and she had to resume taking morphine for a few days. She had a couple of very rough nights, it seemed that night-time was when the post operative pain was at its worst.

The second picture was taken on or around the 8th May (approx 10 days after her operation) and what a difference there is between the first and second pictures. She just has some very slight bruising left when this was taken and her scar is healing beautifully. We are hoping that it stays this way as both my sister and I have a tendency for wide scars which consist of paper-thin tissue.

Mum has completely astounded me with how well she is doing after this major surgery. The surgeon had to break her spine to correct the dislocation and stenosis. Immediately after the operation as mum came around from the general anaesthetic she noticed that the pain she had in her foot for years had gone. This was due to the entrapped nerves being released. 

She is increasing her activity level every day. For the time being she is not allowed to do anything that involves bending or twisting. She has told me that the grabber she bought to help her pick up dropped items has been a life saver! She walks twice a day, two laps around the small street where she lives. Before the operation she couldn't have done half a lap of the street. She is back to doing the cooking, thankfully she has an eye level oven, so no bending required.

Mum stopped taking the oramorph within a few days of coming out of hospital and is gradually reducing her other pain medications as well. She can't believe how well she is doing and keeps waiting for the bubble to burst as she has read on so many websites about people suddenly getting all the pain back. The weirdest thing she has had happen was during her first few days home, her legs would jerk, not just a little bit but the would fly up in the air. We believe it is due to the nerves that were trapped finally getting messages through and the nerves that were damaged not knowing what to do with those messages. Thankfully that has stopped.

The last picture is of my parents dog Maggie Mae she is a Jack Russell Terrier and has always been my dads dog until now. Before the operation when my dad went off to work in the mornings Maggie would sulk upstairs all day until my dad got home in the evening. Mum said you wouldn't even know we had a dog. It is quite funny as my own dog Mollie does the same thing, she sleeps on my husband's bed all day when he is at work. Since my mums operation Maggie has taken to guarding my mum, so much so that she will growl at my dad when he goes to kiss her. She has stuck to my mum like glue since she came home. I asked my mum to take a picture so that you could see her. Mum is stretched out on the sofa and Maggie has got as close as she can get to her. It is funny how animals decide that we need their protection. As I write this Frankie is so close to me his bum is resting on the edge of the keyboard!

I have had a rough seven days, I came down with a chest infection which completely wiped me out and then I have come down with a stomach upset. A cough and diarrhoea is a dangerous combination. So I have been feeling pretty sorry for myself. So its nice to be able to tell you how well my mum has been doing since she had her operation at the end of April.