Past 3 days...

April 8, 2013 Monday night:

Good evening family and friends. I just wanted to check in with everyone and
let you know Jacob is good to go for surgery tomorrow. Today Jacob had pre-op with neuro-surgery,
labs, prescriptions, and pre-anesthesia.
Other than the lab refusing to use Jacob’s port to draw blood, today was
long, but uneventful. We were so happy
he did not have to be admitted for traction and we have been able to have a
free evening in Gainesville. Jacob and I
enjoyed a nice dinner at Chilli’s and dessert at Cold Stone Creamery. I went for a short run and Jacob has spent
the evening watching the second Tooth Fairy movie with Larry the Cable Guy and
Anger Management. When did he get old
enough for the latter? Anyway, he’s all scrubbed up with his antibacterial pre
surgical wash and as ready as he can be for tomorrow. We are to report to the hospital at 6:00 am
and Jacob’s surgery is scheduled for 8:00.
We were told by our nurse practitioner that surgery should be done a
little after lunch. We also asked if the
hardware would be extended or replaced with larger rods. Dr. Pincus said he won’t know until he opens
Jacob up for the procedure. We also
asked if Jacob could expect to lose another rib and they said they “don’t think
so.” Lastly they informed me of the
risks, and of the greater risks of this fusion being higher up and to the base
of the skull. I was informed that they
may even need to make an incision in the front of Jacob’s neck (throat area)
and go behind his esophagus and place a plate so both sides of the spine are
supported. I reassured them that we want
them to do whatever they think is necessary so Jacob doesn’t have to go through
this again anytime soon.

That is all.
I am sleepy, snotty, sneezing like crazy, missing our other family parts
and worried to pieces about tomorrow.
Jacob is calm and cracking up at whatever he is watching now on his
iPad.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and
support. I will write an update as soon
as I can tomorrow!


Blessings,

Tammy

Apr 9, 2013 8:44 AM
Tuesday April 9, 2013 8:00 am

Jacob checked in at 6:00 am and they immediately took us up to pre op holding. Jacob got his port accessed and vitals taken...and his favorite part of all, undressed for the dreaded gown. We talked to several doctors, none of which that we have met before. Jacob was in good spirits. We laughed and joked and he played music for me. Jacob did get upset when the Neuro surgeon went over how high up Jacob's new incision will be, or so he said it will be all the way up to the middle of the back of Jacob's skull. This was the first we heard of this so we'll see how Jacob looks in recovery. We didn't see Dr. Pincus, the operating surgeon, yesterday or this morning.
I'm waiting on TD to get here and Jacob's dad and family will be here sometime today as well. So Jacob will have a lot of loved ones to wake up to.
Now we wait.

Wednesday April 10, 2013

Last night was a bit rough and, considering how well Jacob was doing after Recovery (which has become a nightmare thanks to the x-ray crew… Thank goodness he doesn't remember it…), a bit unexpected as well.

Last night Jacob was plagued with a pretty horrible case of the shakes and nausea. After throwing up everywhere and fighting hard to get his pain under control without making him sick, we settled in around 1:30am only to have a new patient admitted to our room. You may recall that during the first fusion recovery, Jacob’s roommate was a motorcross child (maybe 8?) that broke his collar bone and cried the entire time for his grandparents that were nowhere to be found. Well, we lucked out a little more (if that’s what you can call the situation… “luck”) this time that it was a 17 year old boy who had been in a SUV accident. He was in a collar and under watch due to the fact that the vehicle flipped. This kid walked away with just scratches. I'd say he's got an angel. And aside from us being woken up during the shuffling in, he's been quiet all night, hasn't complained and is very polite. His family hasn't been here since they brought him in. I always find this odd, but I guess all of us are just doing the best we can.

Fast forward to 6:00am, one of Jacobs surgeons came in (we'll call him Dr Far because I can't remember, or pronounce, his full name). He talked to Jacob and looked at his incision. Jacob's was thrilled to know that his incision only extends slightly above his hairline and this time they chose to use glue instead of staples or stitches. They even cut out the old scar and pulled the unaffected skin together in hopes it will look nicer when it heals. A little ray of sunshine! Since J had such a hard time stomaching the dilaudid, they took him off the pump and switched him to oral pain medications. They also started his tordol!! Jacob ate a little breakfast and got up for the first time and took some steps. Dr Pincus and Leigh Ann, our nurse, came in and saw Jacob. They reviewed Jacobs neuro exams and said he could go home whenever he was ready.

Since I started this post earlier this morning, Jacob has eaten well, taken a shower and done PT. He's really doing great. His pain is being controlled well and he had a nice visit with his dad and step mom. Jacob even said he’s ready to go home. I talked him into staying tonight. One more night.
Thank you all for your support. I know he has a long recovery but the healing has begun! Thank you God!!