Spinal Fusion date set...

[Joanna]

Hi Carmen.

Hope your doing okay.. guess that's a pretty crappy statement being that your waiting for your surgery. Note to you darlin.. TRY your HARDEST to get an epidural.. I think it might have helped Greg alittle more, but since the anesthesiologist isn't on staff 24/7 they couldn't do that because they have got to monitor him. Go to a big hospital where they have them on staff and do that. The first few days of pain are the worst your going to experience with the surgical incision and what not. You sound like your very knowledgable about whats going on with you, i'm just trying to give you a little friendly advice. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

[Rob]

Hi Carmen,

I’m doing okay. I just returned from Chicago as my mother (82 yo) had a shoulder ball joint replaced. I’m not supposed to really be traveling but they ousted her from the hospital and sent her home. Let me know if anyone reading this is planning on using Medicare for their surgery and I’ll provide some interesting insight.

As I wrote to Greg (good lessons learned from his experience), almost all of the anterior discomfort is now gone (14 weeks post-op). I still have some posterior discomfort, perhaps due to the stabilization hardware.

My 12-week post-op check-up is tomorrow (actually it’s 14 weeks after surgery), as the surgeon has been out of town for the past 1 ½ weeks. They’re supposed to take a CT to see if there’s new bone growth. The surgeon previously explained that the new bone growth should meet the existing bone ~3-4 ½ months post-op. He referred to this as the ‘sticky’ stage, where the bones begin to stick together.

I’m of course hoping all is good and they lift some of the restrictions so I can start getting back to a normal life.

Are you still on schedule for part 1 to be on Wednesday? Wow that came up quickly.

Regards,

Rob

[Rob]

Hi Carmen,

I hope and assume all is going well. It would sure be good to hear from you when you're up to writting. I beleive the second and final phase is tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about you and wishing you a quick and as pain free recovery as possible!:^)

Regard,

Rob

[Greg]

Hi Carmen,

I hope and assume all is going well. It would sure be good to hear from you when you're up to writting. I beleive the second and final phase is tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking about you and wishing you a quick and as pain free recovery as possible!:^)

Regard,

Rob

Rob,

Just in case you didnt know Carmen has a thread in Surgical Outcomes about her surgery and experience.

Link to thread below:

http://www.spinepatientsociety.org/f...p-thread-1719/