Hubby's back operation.

Warrigal

Warrigal

SF VIP
Location
Sydney, Australia
Two weeks ago my husband had surgery to stabilise his lower spine. It was a minimally invasive technique that involved two smallish incisions on either side of the spine. Post op he was off his tree for a couple of days on the pain killers but after that he seemed to be recovering according to plan with one minor complication.

His left foot seemed to have had some nerve damage because there was a lack of sensitivity in the foot but the skin of his ankle area was hyper sensitive to touch. He was unable to lift his toes towards his body but could do so with his right foot perfectly OK. As a type II diabetic, he did have some loss of sensitivity before the operation but now the foot was a bit floppy when he tried to walk. The surgeon assures us that this will improve over time.

He was due to be transferred to a rehab hospital one week after his op but another complication came up. He is prone to constipation and had not been able to open his bowels for two days before the operation and nothing since. He was completely gummed up and developed overflow constipation. This happens when there is a solid plug that won't shift and nothing can get by it unless it is liquid. The colon contracts, trying to clear the blockage but all that passes in a searing liquid rich in HCl from the stomach. This is a very distressing condition and the rehab was delayed until it was treated.

It took the last week to get it under control. There is a history of gut cancer in his family and he has been X rayed and scanned and given various laxatives but things only started to move a couple of days ago. Boy, did they move. Those nurses and cleaners have had a lot to contend with and deserve to be lauded as angels in human form.

All the while this was going on he was catheterised and inclined to mess the bed, his chair and the bathroom in general so the idea of physiotherapy was pretty much out of the question although the physios did try to get him walking down the corridor. His back and foot had to be put on hold for the past week.

The good news is that today he has been transferred to the same rehab hospital where I received physiotherapy after my recent hip replacement. He will be an inpatient for the next two weeks with daily heated pool and gym physio sessions. I'm feeling very relieved because things were looking fairly grim last week. Hubby had regressed into a state of relative helplessness and wasn't attempting to do much for himself. I had to bounce him a bit two days ago because rehab requires the patient to be self managing and co-operate with the program and I was worried that he wouldn't be ready. I'm pleased to say that at this moment his mind is reset to positive.

For the sake of members who might be contemplating this kind of surgery I will continue to post about his progress and the final outcome.
 

Thank you so much for sharing this with us Warrigal. I haven't been in the exact same situation but I have been in the hospital 24/7 for 8 days with my husband. Our son was going to have back surgery (3 trucks slide into the back of his semi during an ice storm) but he died of a stroke before that came about. Anyway, I for one, will be reading all your posts on your husband's progress. And yes, aren't those health care workers truly angels on earth? Are you holding up OK? You seem like a strong person on this forum but I hope you are taking time to do whatever it is you like to do for yourself to relax and unwind.
 
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Thanks Linda. I am OK. I have been posting daily to my extended family on Facebook and to some Australian friends on another couple of forums and I do have support. I thought than now that things are back on track that members of Seniorforums might gain something from this experience.

I'm sorry to hear about your son. That is a loss that is imaginable for us parents and very hard to come to terms with. My condolences to you and your family.

I'm about to go to the rehab place to deliver a lot more clothing, including his swimmers. I know that he is in excellent hands because I have experienced it myself.
Before he was discharged from the other hospital I baked a cake for the staff room as a thank you gesture. I thought that was better than a box of chocolates.
 

Warrigal, sorry to hear about all your husband has been going through, but I'm glad things are looking up. He's lucky to have someone like you there by his side through all this. Very nice that he's going to the same rehab hospital you were in, it looked like a great place. Hope all continues to be well with your hip also. :love_heart:
 
Thanks Imp and Seabreeze. Don't you worry about me because I am fine although the last two weeks have been rather tiring.

He's very happy today and has a nice room that looks out onto a bit of a fernery.

Day #1 @ Alwyn web.JPG View from Room 3 at Alwyn web.JPG

He's been checked over today by the doctors, had a visit from the occupational therapist and met the physios.
The staff remembered me and addressed me by my name.
It is all so friendly, especially the lady who brings morning and afternoon tea.
 
I feel for your husband DW my hubby had his back fused from the waist down in 1996 he as fairly young at the time (49)
I remember him being so embarrassed when I went into see him ..he said he was horrified after he woke up after surgery to find he didn't have any underware on ( I had to stop myself laughing at him) :eek:ops1: He had never been in hospital since he was 4 years old .
 
I'm sorry Dame W. It sounds like you both have your hands full right now. All my best vibes to your DH for a speedy recovery from his surgery and rehab. At least he does have a pretty view with greenery. It will help.
 
Warri, how worrying for you and what a struggle for your poor hubby. Glad things are looking up now.

Linda, so sorry about your son.
 
Thanks Annie, Chic and Kadee. I was quite worried about him while he was in hospital because several times he became disoriented and rather irrational.
He's back to his old self now and I intend to spend less time with him each day from now on to encourage self reliance.
 
DW---There is so much that can go wrong with spine surgery. However, a very good neurosurgeon can over-come most of what can happen and prevent issues from happening. In 2010, I had 3 spine surgeries within a 33 day period. My first surgery was to repair a herniated disc on the L-5, S-1 disc. That only required an over-night stay in the hospital. About 10 days after I got home, my wife had bought a new car. I did not like the wax job that was done to it because it had swirl marks on it, so old dummy here, redid the wax job. The next day, I had unbelievable pain and had an MRI, which showed that the disc had ruptured, surgery two. Within a few weeks, I kept swelling around the area of the surgery and was told that my spine was leaking spinal fluid from a hole in the spine, surgery three. BTW, they kept removing the leaking fluid with a large hypodermic needle taking out massive amounts of spinal fluid that had leaked from the spine. (This is not good.)

A few things that I learned. Never do anything unnecessary after spinal surgery. Go home and rest. (I did not.) Walk as soon as possible. Walking is the best exercise post spinal surgery because it strengthens the back. I had also lost feeling and use of my left foot and ankle. The surgeon told me not to worry that this is a common occurrence after my type of surgery and that I would regain use of it within a few weeks, which I did. The constipation may have been caused by the pain meds. Opioids will cause this to happen. I was on Percocet and Dilaudid, which are opiates. If it is let go, a blockage may occur. I took stool softeners until I could get off of the pains meds and all was OK.

Today, I do have some pain from time to time, which is relieved by taking facet injections with an 8 inch needle. Hurts like the devil, but the back pain is much worse and lasts longer.

Good luck to your husband, but I believe he will recover well.
 
Thanks Oldman. Pre-op we spent over an hour with the surgeon's nurse and she explained all of the things that could go wrong. We went into it with our eyes open because he has been in pain for a very long time now. He has tried the facet injections, physiotherapy, acupuncture and attended a spinal pain clinic. In the end he has been existing on targin and lyrica which are not something you want to spend the rest of your life on.

I am confident that as he works his way through the physio program at the rehab he will recover the use of his foot and that his pain will be a lot less.
Then we will be able to consider taking a holiday again some time in 2016.
 
Just had a phone call from hubby with a shopping list of things to get for him. He's had his breakfast and ready for the pool. He had a visit from the social worker who has laid down the rules about what he is and is not allowed to do and he feels very cared for at the moment. We are both very glad that he is getting this care and attention before he comes home again.
 
Nice to see the photo Warrigal and I never would have thought of what you said "I intend to spend less time with him each day from now on to encourage self reliance." What a good idea, I'll remember that.
 
Today is Sunday (actually the early hours of Monday) and I didn't go to visit him today. Sunday is my day off. I teach Sunday school in the morning then have lunch at a club with friends. In the afternoon I rest and go to café church in the evening.

Friday and Saturday my visits were shorter than they were when he was in the surgical ward because I was worried about him then and because he needed my emotional support. His days now are fuller with the morning pool sessions and after lunch gym. As well, he is receiving more visitors now because I discourage them while he was in difficulties with his gut. Nights are the longest time for him but he has to endure them by himself.

He swears that his foot is improving already but I have my doubts that it will be that easy if it is caused by nerve damage. If he is right this is good news indeed. What I want to see is a reduction in his pain medication by the time he is ready to come home. This will be a plus for his future general health IMO. I'm also hoping that the weight loss that he has achieved - 14kg - will help his Type II diabetes.
 
Good to hear he's doing better Warri, I'm sure the weight loss will help with the diabetes. You're smart for wanting the pain meds reduced by the time he comes back home, they're so unhealthy to take for extended periods of time. Wishing the best for your hubby, and I hope his foot is really improving.
 
I broke my back over 20 years ago while on duty (long story). It took me almost a year before I could return to work. It was only a few years later after a lot of physical therapy, or as it's called, PT, that I can hardly tell that anything ever happened. Advancements in medicine have been a great thing, but choosing the right surgeon is the key to a good recovery, or at least, that's my opinion.
 
Also Smiling!

Kadee46 said:
I feel for your husband DW my hubby had his back fused from the waist down in 1996 he as fairly young at the time (49)
I remember him being so embarrassed when I went into see him ..he said he was horrified after he woke up after surgery to find he didn't have any underware on ( I had to stop myself laughing at him) :eek:ops1: He had never been in hospital since he was 4 years old .
Click to expand...

Two weeks before our first experience at leaving the farm for the winter, Nov. 2010, I was securing the windows in my shop, up on the workbench nailing plywood sheets over the windows. Some wooden dowel got underfoot, and I took a flyer off the bench, nearly headfirst, my wife standing just a few feet away. I recall attempting to break the fall by grabbing the door handle of our vehicle parked there, missed, forehead hit the concrete floor. Conscious, but "out of it", I got up, dazed, kept asking her what the hell happened.

She drove me to town, 23 miles, a cop coming towards her pulled a U-turn after she furiously blinked lights at him, he came up, took a look at me, bloodied, told her to follow him in, he will have paramedics waiting. They were. Put me on a gurney, preparing to shove it into the ambulance, I stopped the process long enough to explain carefully to the lady EMS in apology, for not having on any underware, as I knew she was about to cut away my clothing! Working about the place in my work pants, I seldom wore any (big revelation!). She must have smiled and said something like, don't worry about it, my wife, standing by, surely had a good laugh!

Funny, the things one deems most important, right after having fallen on one's head! :p

imp
 
Warri, I wish you and your husband all the best following surgery. My wife had spine surgery (L4 and L5 fusion and decompression) at the beginning of September to alleviate chronic pain from a compressed nerve. The pain was all in her leg and she endured it for two years. We were fortunate to have a great surgeon who did a procedure called MASPLIF. 3" incision. Now about 9 weeks post-surgery she's pain free, both at the incision site and from the leg. She's so glad she had it done. Worst part post-surgery was bandage changes (I played nurse for that part) and after about 3 weeks the incision finally stopped draining. She's a whole new woman now, going for walks with me and just enjoying her recent retirement. Best of luck.
 
Thanks Bob. That is what I we are hoping for too.

Walking difficulties have been a problem for both of us recently and have limited our chance of taking a holiday. I'm feeling very different after my hip replacement and have recovered my enthusiasm for life. That has happened in just 3 months. It might take 6 months for the back but pain free is what we are hoping for. He has suffered for a long time now.
 
Good to hear your hubby's better DW think it's important to get moving if you can at our ages or we tend to find it harder the longer we leave it ...My hubbies back problem is the reason we stated going to Coolangatta ( Qld) in each winter for the last 7 year
We haven't been dancing for over a month due to that major health scare I had ,I know when we get back to it we are both going to have to maybe sit out a few as I'm sure our fitness has deteriorated
 
Hubby has had nearly a week of rehab now and he is progressing well. He is walking better and the physios are working on his foot as well as the back.

He has a little Irish nurse on his case. She makes him rest with his feet above his heart and since his room is adjacent to the nurses station she keeps a close eye on him. He would never take this from me. I owe her a home made cake for her diligence.

Day #6 at AlwynMoving forward.JPG
 

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