State of My Non-Union

On December 17, 2012 I underwent ACDF two level surgery (anterior cervical disk fusion of C5-C7)... My surgeon was truly amazing and within a short months I felt amazing... I was told of the down side and possible complications... I even had a follow- up stay in the hospital for treatment of pneumonia... a very expensive 4 days and I missed my family so much. I am so thankful for our neighbor and babysitter Katie who was there to help Brian out when I was gone.  It was honestly the scariest thing I have ever done... trust me I have very high anxiety over a lot of things but this surgery and the potential complications were by far the scariest thing I had to encounter at this point in my life. 

The surgery consisted of a team of 4 Doctors - my main surgeon, a backup surgeon, the anesthesia doctor, the neuro-tester doctor... plus I think about 3 nurses... they put me out after a delay in start time of about 5 hours!  They went in through the front on my neck - a fold by my collar bone on the right side.  Then the moved my windpipe, esophagus etc over to reach my spinal column... at which point they viced my the 3 vertebrae and removed the damaged disks, then inserted cadiver bone cages, placed a small titanium plate on the front of my spinal column and then attached 3 sets of screws to the vertebrae.

Among the biggest risks:  paralysis, heart attack, pneumonia, death and the not so serious but really sucky one.... the surgery not being successful.  Meaning that the bone cages do not union with the 2 vertebrae they have been places between.  This would mean that I would need an additional surgery to secure the original contraption...

So this past summer was great... I had so much fun with the kids and was feeling GREAT.  Then in September I started having similar symptoms to what I had the 1st time around... So I went back to the doctor... Good news = C5-C6 union was a success (the higher level)  Bad news = C6-C7 DID NOT FUSE... a non-union as my Orthopedic NeuroSuregeon described it.  So now I need another surgery....

This just sucks so much... it makes the idea of a 3rd child so hard to conceptualize.  Aside form hiring sitters and the occasional help from a member of my husbands family... I have no one to help with the kids. Its hard, I am not getting younger, I think our family would be more complete with a little boy tearing up the house but because of my medical failures, it may not be in the cards God has dealt me... its a hard pill to swallow.

Here are some photos from the time around the surgery:

 

 

Time Flies...

Life happens when you are making plans...  That is our lives for the past few months.  I feel like it was just yesterday that we "added" to our family and welcomed Mckenzie into our lives... Now she is 10 months old and since her birth there have been 3 major surgeries!  All of which have been mine.  Boy, when you do your yearly healthcare elections, never ever do you ever think it would bepossible to meet all your minimum in-network and out-of-network deductions... Well I found a way to do it!

Some updates... 

Kayla is very happy with her Pre-K3 teachers Miss Noreen and Miss Maria.  When there is no school, such as a holiday, she gets so upset that she won't see her teachers or her friends.  My little 3 year is seriously just like her mom...  she gets to class and flutters around making sure she says "hello" to each and every person!  She gave up napping about 2-3 months ago.  Actually, it was more like I stopped "forcing" it because at that point it was purely for my benefit to get a much needed "break" in the middle of the day.  But when she was napping, she would be up until 10pm!  Itwas killing me.... so I took away the nap and now she is in med ASLEEP most nights by 7:30pm.  As I have been telling people lately when they ask how the terrible three's are going I reply... "she is a great big sister but a sassy 3 yr old who is pushing my limits more and more each day!"  Another thing we've changed is really in response to her asking all day for snacks.... now its 6 meals - 3 full meals and 3 snacks.  Now she actually eats dinner and lately she has been eating what I cook for me and Brian.  It's really awesome to see her eat like a big girl. She has started answering the phone too so don't be too shocked if you call and she answers.  She has also discovered a love for boy bands (again, much like her mommy and to her fathers dismay!)... her favorite song is by One Direction... she calls it "Beautiful"....

Mckenzie... well she i just the sweetest ball of pudge this side of the Mississippi!  Her smile and laugh are so infectious!  She does not give them away very easily either.  She is waving hi and bye, she gives hugs, claps her hands loves "big people food" (damn she pretty much eats anything), she gets from point A to point B with more ambition than I have ever seen from a baby who refuses to get on all fours and crawl.  Her new thing is dancing the minute she hears any music.  And she gets really pissed and screams if Kayla cries or you are playing around tickling Kayla... she thinks sheis getting hurt and I think its her way of "sticking up" for big sister.  Her perfect sleeping is being challenged lately... going to bed unless she is exhausted is quite the challenge b/c she knows Kayla is staying up and gets mad.  Last night I actually took crying Mckenzie into Kayla's room when she was sleeping and said "see look - go to bed".... sure enough she went to sleep shortly after seeing her sister in dream land.   While she looks alot like Kayla did when she was little, there are definite differences - she has greenish grey eyes and light strawberry brown hair and her big sis still has eyes the color of the ocean and hair blond as can be!

Sticks & Stones...

It's been quite a long time since I posted anything, having two active children keeps me busy.  I have actually been thinking about starting a blog not so much about my family but about my thoughts... Since it seems that it's not right to post such things of FB or twitter.... this in the eyes of recent events and people in my life.

But an interesting fact about this blog... you can post comments but only I see the comments until I click the "publish" button. Having these settings is great.  You can also BLOCK people from seeing this and only allow people you WANT to see your business :)  It seems that there is a hater amongst us... someone who is a coward and can't actually post a comment with their real name... they are mysteriously going under the moniker "Anonymous".   Well... as they used to say when I was growing up... "sticks and stones".  Say what you want but understand that your words mean nothing, there is not a shred of truth to what you write.   you obviously have issues in your own life that need more focus than terrorizing someone's blog.