I am very happy to report after months of waiting mum has finally had her “urgent” spinal operation and is recovering well.
As you can imagine its been a stressful week. On Monday mum and I were saying “well it can be cancelled right up until the last-minute”. Mum was refusing to pack her hospital bag as last time she did she had a phone call five minutes later to say it had been cancelled.
Mum was in theatre for five hours and the operation was much more complex than originally anticipated as these things invariably are. Mum ended up having to have her spine broken so that they could correct the dislocation and fuse her vertebrae.
After surgery she was in a lot of pain and ended up being in recovery for a few hours whilst they got on top of it.
It was a very long day for all of us patiently waiting to hear any news. If I am honest Tuesday felt like a thousand days rolled into one and I had barely slept the night before because mum’s impending operation was playing on my mind.
I was lucky enough to speak to her today (Wednesday) and although on morphine and a little out of it she was sounding an awful lot better than I thought she would. She will be in hospital until at least Friday due to the extensive nature of the surgery. She is very wobbly on her feet and can’t walk at the moment. She has managed to get out of bed and sit on a chair, which after what she has just had done is a major bloody achievement as far as I am concerned.
As I am exhausted from the stress of it all, as you can probably imagine, this is just a short post to let you know that finally mum has had her operation.
For more news on mum’s recovery please visit The Myasthenia Kid on Facebook where there will be more regular updates.
the myasthenia kid 
That’s Marvellous news Rach, please pass on my very best. Having had 3 surgeries on my Spine I am pleased that she came through it so well. My first two in the ’70s were brutal affairs and it took a long time to recover. It was the start of a downward turn onto being a full time wheelchair user two decades later. My third surgery was a failure and was the “Straw” so to speak. Today they wouldn’t have carried out the first surgery, or associated treatment, now considered to be almost Antediluvian and was ultimately the cause of the later breakdown. The Armed Forces carried out such surgery with the aim of getting a Soldier fit again to fight. The concern for the patient as a person was a second consideration. Today spinal surgery is carried out as a last resort, for the most part and a patient has to need it and alternatives are neither suitable or available.
So I’m pleased that your Mum is up already. Not the way they did it back then either, which probably led to less favourable outcomes. I hope that the recovery is quickly apparent and that it continues apace. You should not avoid sleeping, you need to sleep as and when you can. Take it from someone who is unable to sleep at night at all that getting into a pattern of not sleeping is almost impossible to recover from. So look after yourself Rach.
Seriously I’m stoked that things went well and I look forward to seeing her out and about in Chaddlewood soon.
Take care Rach,
Till next time
David
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Hi David,
Thank you so much and I will be sure to pass on your messages to my mum.
She is coming home later today (Friday 1st May) which is a day earlier than the surgeon anticipated – I think they thought it would actually be Monday. She is able to walk but will have to keep that very limited for a while. She is able to do stairs, hence why she is being allowed home. She has grown 5cm (2 inches) from the op which is just blowing my mind.
It will be a while before you see her out and about. I dont think she will be driving for a while and is only allowed up to the van when she can sit comfortably in the car. I am so proud of her she has been so brave.
It is amazing how quickly areas of medicine advance. I am sorry that your spinal surgery didn’t go as planned all those years ago. Surgery then was in its infancy when dealing with the spine.
Mum is sleeping a lot at the moment and apparently her back is black and blue. She is the poster girl for the surgery at the moment amazing everyone with her progress.
Thanks again
Rach xx
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So happy that she was able to have the surgery and is on the track to healing.
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Thanks Bee.
She is doing amazingly well and will be home later on today (friday).
Rach xx
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