I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update you since my last post. As most of you will know, I had my lumbar spinal fusion and I'm now 5 weeks (tomorrow) post op. I had a difficult time in surgery as I suffer from a blood clotting disorder. Despite being given 5 units of a substance called Octaplas by transfusion before my operation, I still lost 4.75 pints of blood during surgery. I was told this equated to my body weight in blood and was over half of my body's blood supply. In the 5 days following surgery, I had 4-5 units of blood transfused and another 25 units of Octaplas to help stabilise my haemaglobin levels and blood pressure.
The usual procedure for my surgery is that they remove the offending disc and thereby releasing the trapped nerve. They then use a mixture of bone graft and bone substance to fill the area between the two verterbrae where the disc was and put a protective cage around the area affixed with two screws either side. Due to my substantial blood loss, I only have two screws on my right side securing the cage in place. I was told that they had to make a decision based on my safety and that there was no time to put in the other screws. My surgeon has said that there should be no problem with just having the screws in on the one side, I hope he's right because I don't fancy the thought of having to have a further operation to put them in!
I am now wearing a corset to help support my back whilst the bones heal and start to fuse. I should wear this for a minimum of 6 weeks. I am going to keep wearing it until I start my physio on the 2nd April and see what they suggest. This is also the day that I am currently scheduled to return to work, but I will see how I am progressing before rushing back.
At the moment, I don't feel too bad. It's hard to describe, but there are times when I can "feel" that there is something in my back that shouldn't be there. Having had previous metal work in my back, this feels different to me and I don't know if it's because it's right at the base of the lumbar spine. Like I said, it's very hard to describe!
Card making is currently a no-go area for me I'm afraid. It's surprising how much bending we do whilst making a card! 4 weeks stuck at home so far is driving me mad so I'm hoping to have a go at knitting and see how I get on with that! Wish me luck as I wasn't much good when my dear gran tried to teach me many, many years ago!!
I didn't get a chance to say before my op that the lovely Tracy of Dies To Die For asked me to me on her new challenge blog design team - Die-ing for a Challenge. There is a new challenge running at the moment, so please pop over and have a look! I was able to participate in the first challenge as I made the card before my op, which was also my husband's valentine card.
Sorry for the long post, I hope that I've not sent you all to sleep! I'm sorry that I've not really blog hopped since I've been back. It may sound strange, but it's difficult to look at everyone's wonderful creations when I'm unable to do anything. It gets me quite down and frustrated and that isn't a good place to be. I hope you understand.
I just wanted to let people know that I'm still here.
xx
