Vertebroplasty

We got up at 3:30am and left the house at 5:00am headed back downtown. We arrived and got her onto the surgical bed by 6:30am. She got sick and vomited a small bit right after we moved her to the bed ... so they are now using general anesthesia versus the other heavy sleeping method they had planned to. She went back at 7:15am and they started at 7:30am. Its now 8:20am and they should be calling us back any minute. We are praying that this procedure will give her some much needed relief from the incredible pain she is in. More later today.

9:15am ... we just met with Dr. Ting. Mom did fine in the surgery though we have yet to see her -- it will be 40 more minutes or so. She had three (3) fractured vertebrates and he fixed all of them. I remember when I had a slight fracture of my pinky finger and it felt like it had been cut off. I cannot imagine the pain Mom must have been in. I say "have" as we are praying that the procedure worked and she has no more pain in her back. We should know in a few hours. It will take 40 minutes to an hour for her to wake up. Then she has to lay on her back for 2 hours. Then they do another x-ray of her back ... and if all is OK then we can take her home. Keep praying! More later.

11:50am ... I saw Mom about an hour and half ago. She was really groggy but OK. Dad has been sitting with her for the past hour. He just came out to get the wheelchair and said that she was in really bad pain. They are going to move her into her reclining wheelchair and see what happens. I thought the pain would go away (or at least be reduced) upon her waking but that does not seem to be the case at the moment. Only one person can be with her at a time so I am in a "wait and see" until Dad comes back out. Pray that its just her muscles hurting and that they will relax soon so that she can get relief. Stay tuned.

8:34pm ... Dad and I are sitting here listening to Mom breathing through the monitor praying that the muscle relaxers that Bert got at the pharmacy will work. After we finished x-ray we headed home at 12:30pm. Once we arrived home Mom crashed and did not move. She feel asleep and woke to painful muscle spasms. We tried the pain drugs but ended up calling the doctor twice to get drugs and direction on how to manage this unpredictable pain. We called our friend Krista who coached us through the drugs and lab results. Oh, how I pray that the spasms stop soon.