Home sweet home

Greg's surgery went very well yesterday. It lasted just under an hour. He awoke saying his leg did NOT hurt. The leg pain is really what's been keeping him down, so to hear that was incredible. So far, everything has gone wonderfully. He tolerated anesthesia well, was only on morphine for 12 hours or so, tolerated eating very well and walked the hall w/the PT standing taller than I've seen in a long time. Those were the required markers to go home, so home we are. We got out about noon. Of course, his low back still hurts. But he feels so much better. He's not pale anymore; he's not wincing at every move. He can return to work part time in 2 weeks and sees the doctor for follow-up in 3 weeks. I'm sure he'll be working from home in a day or two.

Thanks to all for the prayers, healing thoughts and positive energy sent our way!

12 hours...

Plans have changed and we have to be at the hospital by 6:30 AM. We are NOT early risers. So I'll be taking my melatonin a bit early tonight. Right now we are waiting for my FIL to arrive and then we'll get something "out" for dinner.

I got some ornaments on the tree, but there are so many to go through! My mom brought about twice as many ornaments as I already had. And she's got it organized. The boxes have notes of what ornaments are in it and who it came from/when she got it. My child will not be so lucky. :)

So send all of your prayers, healing thoughts, and positive energy our way. I'll update tomorrow if I am able to.

Love you all!

4 more days...

Only 4 more days until Greg's surgery. It's been a bad week for him. He's having trouble sleeping. He can't sit for very long. But he has been able to make it to work 4 days this week, half days that is. He goes until he can't think anymore, and then he comes home.

I'm beginning to think ahead. We've been stuck at this roadblock for a while, and while it sucks, it has become our routine. It'll be nice to get back to other routines. And I'm hopeful to see just how much better he'll feel. He's likely had this injury for a long time and it finally got severe enough to stop him. He's always had some back pain, since the day I met him in 1985.

My niece is getting married in March and I really want to dance with my husband at the wedding. And it'll be nice to be able to focus some more attention on Gregory. He's really been flying solo for a while. We've missed so many outings because of Greg's condition combined with my car being out of commission. We hope to go ice skating next Friday!

My FIL will come up Monday and stay at the house at night to sit with the furbabies. It'll give Gregory the choice of coming home if he doesn't want to stay at the hospital with us. And it'll give my FIL something to do. He's a very nervous guy to begin with, so letting him help us will help him.

I'm off to bed now. Early for me, but I'm really exhausted these days.

6 more days...

We've looked forward to this for a while, and now that it's so close, it's become surreal. Well, for me it has. Greg's getting nervous. Because he didn't get the relief he'd hoped for with the injections, he's saying "I hope it works". I feel for him. I've had several surgeries, but most were emergencies, so no sit and wait time.

We continue to receive blessings through this all and I refuse to be overcome with concern about finances. My daily needs are met daily. If I don't have it today, I don't need it today. :)

So surgery and then 2 weeks later BAM Christmas. Believe it or not, I've been able to get some bargain shopping done. Still need to pick up a couple of toys for the church toy drive though.

Surgery

We saw the surgeon today, and after talking with him, and talking it over this weekend, Greg is scheduled for surgery Tuesday Dec 9th (3 weeks). The hurniated part of the disk, the part that's pressing on the nerve and causing the pain will be removed, not the entire disk. The rest of the disk looks very healthy. The surgeon saw no problem with getting another injection between then and now, but because we were delayed at the surgeon's office, we weren't able to see the shot doctor. The next available appoinment there was Dec 2nd. And that wouldn't be for a shot, just for a visit with the doc. So that's off for now. Now we just need Greg to make it another 3 weeks in pain.

He should be in hospital overnight, then a gradual 6 week recovery. They said he should be able to be back in the office a few hours a day in 2 weeks. Which to Greg means he can work from home as soon as he can sit up. He's hard to keep down.

This whole process has been slow as molasses. Getting from the GP to the orthopedic took 2 weeks (because we complained about the original 4 weeks). Then getting to the shot doctor (again with much calling and complaning) took another 2 weeks, and then 4 days till the 1st shot. It's an outpatient procedure under some sedation, so not just an office visit thing. Then 2 weeks till the 2nd shot. That was 2.5 weeks ago.

Prayers for peace, pain relief, and a financial miracle are greatly appreciated!