Yikes

My unofficial count...

20 titanium screws
2 titanium rods
1 really really long incision

Kim deserves the pain tolerance reward...

Home and Glad

Kim made it home this afternoon. The longest walk of her life was between the car and the bed...the walker would not slide like the one in the hospital and the act of lifting her arms even as I lifted the walker from behind was excruciating. We learned something on that one.

I installed the orthopedic toilet seat after removing the old one and fixed the threashold between the bedroom and bathroom. It is not ideal, but is much safer for her since she has much difficulty raising her legs.

After she was settled, I was able to have some long overdue maintenance done on my bike, and a team mate was lucky I came by--he was stranded 5 miles from home b/c of the rain. Now, my bike is safer, and he doesn't have pneumonia.
At any rate, Kim has a long recovery ahead of her. It's one of those things that will seem endless, but once it has happened, we'll all think that it really wasn't that long...that's what I keep saying anyway.

Thanks to Dianne Petty (sorry I goofed this credit up earlier) for the yummy lasagna this evening, and thanks to everyone else for everything that you are doing for us. We feel so blessed that Kim has such wonderful friends.

I will do my best to acknowledge everyone in a subsequent blog soon.

Meanwhile, God bless, and take care.

With love,

Jay

Going Home

This is a quickie. Kim is walking around with a walker...she is off the IVs, and other than pain management issues feels pretty good. Therefore, we decided that she will leave the hospital one day early so that she can be in familiar surrounds. More later...

Pictures

If you're looking for pictures today...you aint gettin' 'em! Silly me trying to do everything left the camera in the other car...

Today included a trip to radiology for an x-ray...the tech made a comment about all that hardware....

...a shower...lots and lots of pills...and exposure to breakdowns in large organizations...I'll leave it at that, ok...

Kim's IV has been removed, and now she is free to roam...not gonna happen after all the exploits of the day however.....

Some moments are very good, and others we wish weren't part of the process of healing, but each moment is a step toward normalcy, home, and no more checking of vitals.

At any rate, prayers are being answered in many ways...some of it is in the small victories that peep around the corner, and others are in angry responses to the sensations of pain that Kim is feeling...she will simply refuse to let them prevail, and they will dimish hopefully sooner rather than later....

BTW...Pam, Kim's nurse during the day is absolutely wonderful!

TGIF

hey everybody, it's kim! Thought I'd give Jay a break from this tough job! Plus it will stop him posting pictures! Had a good day yesterday. Got rid of the extra plumbing, got to sit in a chair, got to watch UT lose (sorry UT fans!) I paid for all the action though, this morning I was screaming for the pain meds...ahhh the pain meds. I also got a visit from the occupational therapist with all sorts of gadgets for me to use when I get home which will probably be Sunday. Thanks to you for all the comments and visits and calls. It means so much to me. Makes me feel like I'm not so far away from Franklin. Well breakfast is here..mmmmm..talk to you all later.

Love,
Kim

She Walks!

...but, OUCH!!! Kim took her first steps this morning...She walked to the chair...sat down...stood up...went to the bathroom, turned around, and back to the bed...that was enough for today, thank you...

No, says the doc...you get to do it again this afternoon...JOY!

Now, it's about time for Kim to start leaving posts. I would like to enlist your help in busting her chops for making me write all of these posts...she is perfectly capable, and if she can walk, why can't she do some typing...

More Visitors...Yay!

(L-R)Diane, Monica, a cracker, and a barf bowl!!!


and...I snuck these three up to see mom....(actually,
they said of course! Bring 'em up!)

Random Fun

This...

Leads to this...(zzzzzzzzzzzz)

Results in this...

...and the excuse..."I can't stay awake and eat..." It's ok--you wouldn't want to eat it anyway...

"I've got..."

Kim knew as well as anyone else the pain she would have to endure to alleviate the condition of her spine on a grand scale. On a smaller scale, she is bouting with small moments of extreme pain to simply roll on to her side. She needs help to do this...she needs to do this. Each movement invites blood flow to areas that have not had it.

These are essential to opening those areas to the healing nutrients her blood carries. It comes at a price...a price that diminishes infinitessmally each time. The good news is that it is not an infinite journey...it is finite...it just seems like the price she pays for these movements will be there forever when coupled with the monotony of the hospital room, including the sounds of the ventilation and the of the hallway.

Kim's job is to breathe in to the pain and be thankful for it...to make it the vehicle by which her healing will occur. There is some more good news...tonight, after her painful shift in the bed, she said, "I've got ___." You fill in the blank.

Visitors

Nana and Maggie visiting me!!!!

Visit Tomorrow If You Like

This is Kim...I'm on drugs...c'mon by (ed. comment; starting tomorrow afternoon)...

Recovery Day 1

It's a room with a view...the Round Wing, an older part of the hospital. It is quieter and less frenetic than other parts. Kim is fortunate to be in a room in this section...



Kim at 7:00 this morning...smilin', feeling good...



The resident doing rounds this morning said Kim's spine is now straight as an arrow. That's pretty remarkable given the severity of the curves.

Keep those comments coming!

Comments

thanks again for your comments...I realized that the original settings did not allow anonymous comments, and that may have prevented some posts...anonymous simply means that you have not set up a blogger account...you can still let us know who you are by leaving your name even though the blog thinks you're anonymous.

thanks again

Thanks for the comments and e-mails...I read them to Kim immediately and she loves hearing from you!

Amazing...

she says...noting that it is over...wondering why she waited so long...the shot below shows Kim a few minutes after being wheeled into her room...(I'm sure she'll kill me for this)


Jean, her mom and I keep saying what? What did you say?

Kim is very conscious of what is going on around her--she is in some pain--she asked about the kids--about making her Tuesday evening Pilates class tomorrow (just kidding), and doesn't remember much about the day--who could blame her? But she is doing great, and all indications are that she will recover nicely...here's a shot of her at about 6:25...glasses on no doubt...



She is in room 5421 in the Round Wing...we ask that you don't visit until we say it is ok on this blog...thanks again to everyone for the offers of help...if I knew what to ask for at this point I definitely would...

The Waiting Continues, but...

Kim has been in recovery for over an hour. So far, so good...We expect to be called up very soon...I decided to post this pic of Jean, Kim's mom and me to kill some time and tempt fate...that the call would come while I was in the middle of posting this...cabin fever is setting in big time...

ok

maybe the harp music wasn't so bad afterall...Dr. Mencio (the surgeon) called and said that Kim is stable and that the correction to her spine that was desired was achieved. Ofcourse, this is pending confirmation by x-ray. More later....

Huh?

They're playing harp music in here...I would rather here some Metallica...James Taylor...anything but harp music!!! Sheesh....

Good News

It's 2:16 p.m. and I received word a couple minutes ago from the O.R. that the surgery was successful. They are now beginning the one hour process to close her up and prep her for recovery.

Lunch Anyone?

This is, afterall about me and the interminable wait...It is 12:58, and if all is on schedule, Kim has about another hour or so in the O.R.

So, about an hour ago, I met Julie, a co-worker who had been at a regional meeting of our trade association last week. It gave me a chance to catch up on work and get the story of the meeting she attended in Athens, GA all last week. As usual with such meetings, the best part were the massage therapists and manicurists at the Showcase. Other than that, I guess I didn't miss much...

Here's a shot below of Vanderbilt's gleaming new dining and student center on the Peabody campus. This was on the way to lunch. It is called the Commons.


The next shot is of the Wyatt Center (once known as the Social Religious Building)

11 o'clock update

They didn't call with an update, so it's off to a quick lunch with a co-worker to make sure most of my work bases are covered this week--and to get out of that noisy waiting room. Let's hope they were busy with Kim and forgot to call. I like that better.

TMI

OK...Vanderbilt can tend to overcommunicate...I know this because I work here. At 9:03, I was paged and told that Kim was wheeled into surgery 2 minutes ago...ok, I knew that...for the benefit of those who like that level of communication, I won't complain, but I really didn't need to know that. Oh yeah, they're gonna call me again in two hours with an update...alriiiiight, I think. I am just trying to occupy my time with work right now. I was going to get ahead of the game on month end work to occupy my mind when a co-worker calls me. He says...I don't know if you're available, but...ok, here it comes...a shipping pallet containing an $8,000 order of food arrived and was stacked improperly...a few $90 cases of salmon were on the bottom...I say, ok, I'm only a five minute walk from you...I'll be there in a a few...stuff the eggs in my mouth and walk briskly (it's still cold)...for those of you wondering, this is for Kim's benefit so that she knows what I was up to while she was in the chamber of horrors...

Here's a pic of what went on...

bad bad bad...work work work

Off to Surgery

My disconcertedness was unfounded...I was called up to anesthesia and was able to send her of with a kiss and an "I love you." I admire the way she approached this...I would have been freaked out knowing the extent of the surgery necessary...

For those of you that were wondering...that baby pic was not of Kim...it was actually an animated pic of the baby moving his/her hand saying "Oh Really?" Unfortunately it did not animate on blogger...ho hum.

Many have asked about visiting...As soon as she is able...the more that can visit the better...the parking really isn't THAT bad...it's just a little intimidating with all the hustle bustle...

She was rolled into the O.R. about an hour from the writing of this post...I will update more in a bit...

Headed Up

Kim entered the elevator to go up to the surgical area leaving me slightly disconcerted because I was not sure at that point if I would see her again before anesthesia...the nice lady at the surgical desk politely ushered me out. So, I assume that I will not see her until she is in recovery later today. I can't keep the image of her being wheeled into the room after AJ's birth out of my head...

At any rate, we arrived at the hospital cattle call early enough to sit down and wonder...what's next? First came the issuance of the pager and the ushering into the registration area...give paper to the lady...lady tells us to sit and wait to be called...another lady, named "Adema" (reminded me of edema) called us to desk 4. We sat down and answered all those questions you would assume they would ask...next, the waiting area and then potty stops...pager sitting on table...BUZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ BUZZZZZZZ....we were slightly embarassed by that only to realize everyone in the room is in the same boat.

At this point, I am preparing myself for a long wait...Kim on my mind and in my prayers knowing that the two year or so lead up to this moment was not a fantasy and not a bunch of discussions about whether she really wants to do this...when she is recovered, I have faith that she really did want to do this. Not because of the constant pain she was experiencing...not even because the kids would be taller than her in a couple of years...but because she'll be able to look Debi straight in the eye for the first time in about 38 years! ;p

The Day Before

We took the kids to my folks in Smyrna and had Easter dinner together. Attempted to do taxes but ran out of time. Oh well. Thanks to everyone for prayers and encouragement. I am feeling good. Not very nervous. I hope I have gotten everything done that I needed to. If not it will just have to wait. Will see you all soon.

Kim's Surgery Begins

This is Jay...I will be doing many of the updates to this blog to keep youn informed about how Kim is doing with the lead up to her surgery, the actual surgery itself, and her recovery. Kim will chime in from time to time, and I anticipate that she will dictate her updates to me in her hospital room.

The basics...Kim has a double curvature of her spine. It looks like a reverse "S" on xray film. Note, I will attempt to find a format of it that I can post later. Vertebrae at the top and bottom of her spine will be fused and permanently secured with rods and screws. This will greatly enhance her quality of life by limiting the pain she has experienced of late. She will also be a couple of inches taller!

First, thanks to everyone who has shown concern and offered support. It is much needed! We will attempt to acknowledge everyone in this blog, but if we miss you, it is because Jay gets too distracted with everything he is up to and drifts off into lala land.

At some points during the process, I will post some pictures of Kim during her recovery, so stay tuned.

Comments and well wishes are most welcome, as we will be checking the blog frequently.