Surgery update

The surgery went well on Tuesday. Jason got in close to the time we were told the surgery would take place, although I can't say that made the waiting any easier. I left Jason with a nurse at 9:30 and didn't see him again until 2:30 (I think - times are kind of blurring together). His Mom and Dad and I waited and waited and waited, it seemed like forever. Our wonderful preacher came to sit with us - it felt like for a couple of hours, but it might not have been that long. I really started to lose my mind a little when we were told he had gone back to surgery, so things from there are not completely clear for me....

According to his doctor, everything in the surgery went smoothly; it looked just like it did on the MRI he had done a week or so before surgery. The doctor removed the piece of disc that had been pushing against the nerve. To do this, they have to scrape a small piece of vertebrae to make space for the instrument to get through to do the "scooping". We believe this (in addition to the actual incision) is responsible for most of the recovery pain Jason is having.

Jason spent all day Tuesday in the hospital and came home Wednesday morning. The children stayed with my sister Monday evening, and I went to collect them Tuesday evening. This meant leaving Jason alone in the hospital overnight, which I was not crazy about, but I didn't know what else to do....next time I'll listen to my Dad who said, "You should have called Dad"!!!!! Wise words - for real.

The night Jason spent in the hospital was not pleasant for him. His nurse was not helpful at all. He stayed in bed - on his back (against doctor's orders) - all night, and the nurse did not bring him his promised pain medicine for hours. I have always heard people say that a person shouldn't be left in the hospital alone if they can't take care of themselves (you know get up and walk, etc). Well, I have no plans to ever do so again. Poor Jason. I got there about 8:30 on Wednesday morning, and he was up for the first time since I had left him (at about 8:30 the night before). He was in a lot of pain, and was still waiting on his morning dose of pain medicine.

All that said, he left the hospital and came home. The car ride was a little rough, but after collecting the kids from a friend's house, we got him home and as comfortable as we could. He has a prescription for some good drugs, but he ended up being allergic to one, so we had to switch it around.

Since being home, things have gone as well as can be expected. He is in a lot of pain from the surgery. His leg pain is completely gone, although part of his leg and one toe is still numb (and may stay numb permanently, from what we understand). Numbness is much better than excruciating, shooting pains though. The doctor told us before surgery that they were not going to repair the nerve; they were only removing the disc from touching the nerve, so there may still be some lasting effects. They could be temporary, or they could stay. We'll just have to wait to see.

Jason is up and moving around most of the time. He has already gotten some great pictures of flowers, of the kids, etc. As long as he doesn't have to bend at the waist, twist or lift to get the shot, he can take as many pictures as he wants! The pain is still pretty significant, but everyone we've talked to have said it will be one week to 10 days before he'll feel a lot better from the incision - and we're only on day 4. So overall, he is doing really well. We have taken a walk after dinner each night since he's been home, aiming to increase how far he walks each day. Yet another reason I wish there were more flat places around our house...

The kids and I are doing all we can to help him and make him comfortable. There are very few things he can't do for himself, but we do those things for him as he needs them. I don't have any other interesting stories or pictures, since we've been pretty focused on surgery and recovery. We're in the process of making a new schedule and routine, so I'm sure some interesting stories will come out of that! Thanks everyone for the prayers I know were offered up for Jason. Please keep it up through his recovery. It's going to be a long 8 weeks for him.