2 1/2 weeks after neck surgery

I am doing alot better than before. Every day the pain gets better and better. Hopefully I will be able to have full range of motion before long!

I went to the doctor last week for my 2 week appointment and had x-rays done. It was really cool to see the plate and 6 screws in my neck. I had them print it out for me. Ken says I have a few screws loose…hehe.

 I also took some pictures a couple days ago to show you how my scar is healing.

Happy Birthday Kenny!!!

Today is my sweetheart’s 32nd Birthday! I hope he has a wonderful day today…he deserves the BEST of EVERYTHING! Ken is such an amazing man. He is so kind, loving and is always able to make me smile, even during the hard times. I am so grateful for this man in my life. I like to call him my “Angel”.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!!!

 

We have new Kittens!!!

We are so excited! We woke up this morning to 4 new, precious, little kittens. Our little Belle had her babies last night. They are absolutely adorable and I cannot wait to show the kids!

Last night, Ken and I were sitting on the sofa watching TV when Belle came over and sat down on my leg. I noticed some wetness on my blanket and kept feeling around and there was alot more fluid. It appeared as though her water had broken. Then there was a little bloody fluid that came out. She kept walking around meowing and finally went and hid under our bed. So we decided to go to sleep. We didn’t hear a thing all night. This morning I woke up and went in the living room to find her up on her “favorite box” lying there with 4 nursing kittens cradled around her. It is the sweetest thing!

Here are a couple of pictures, they are not the best…but you get the point!

 

Parents 50th Wedding Anniversary!

My sweet parents, Barbara & Leo, recently celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on April 4th! WOW, 50 whole years! That is something in this day and age. I am so proud of them! They never cease to amaze me. Even after so long together, they are more in love now than when they first met. I only hope I can be like that with my sweetie, Ken, at that age! I told Ken that and he agreed. He even likes to watch them bickering, he says it’s sweet bickering. I have to agree.

Here are a few pics:

Barbara & Leo  then on April 4, 1958 and now on April 4, 2008:

 

Post Surgery

I am home now and all I can say is OMG THIS IS PAINFUL!!! Hopefully it will all be worth it when it’s over. I think I have been poked and prodded more in the last day than in my whole lifetime. I am so done with surgeries!

Anyway, I figured out at about 11:30pm last night that Morphine doesn’t work for me. And now that I think about it, I remember it not working after my hysterectomy either. All it does is make me sleepy. So, after much crying out in pain, they finally gave me some Percocet, which gave me enough relief to sleep another 3 hours. Poor Ken didn’t get much rest either with all of my whining and moaning. He is such a sport though and was constantly by my side, making sure I was okay. I am so grateful for him in my life.

So then around 4:00am, it felt like someone was standing beside my bed, shaking it violently. I opened my eyes and no one was around, Ken was still snoring on his little sofa/bed, and I thought the medicine I was on was making me imagine the bed shaking. But then it started again and I REALLY thought I was losing it. Finally it stopped and I went back to sleep. Later this morning, I was half watching the news and heard there was an earthquake! Now I know I am not as crazy as I thought I was…only a little crazy…tehe!

So here are a couple of pictures of my neck. But you have to promise not to laugh at my pic! I had just gotten out of the shower…so beware!

 

 

Surgery coming up…

After having alot of trouble with my neck/back and finding out I have Degenerative Disc Disease, I was told today that I needed to have surgery on my neck. I will be having Anterior Cervical Discectomy on my C5-6 & C6-7.

Here is what the “Professionals” say about the surgery:

Surgical Technique
An anterior cervical discectomy is the most common surgical procedure to treat damaged cervical discs. Its goal is to relieve pressure on the nerve roots or on the spinal cord by removing the ruptured disc. It is called anterior because the cervical spine is reached through a small incision in the front of the neck (anterior means front). During the surgery, the soft tissues of the neck are separated and the disc is removed. Sometimes the space between the vertebrae are left open. However, in order to maintain the normal height of the disc space, the surgeon may choose to fill the space with a bone graft.

A bone graft is a small piece of bone, either taken from the patient’s body (usually from the pelvic area) or from a bone bank. This piece of bone fills the disc space and ideally will join or fuse the vertebrae together. This is called fusion. It usually takes a few months for the vertebrae to completely fuse. In some cases, some instrumentation (such as plates or screws) may also be used to add stability to the spine.

I will be getting bone from the “bone bank”. Ken asked me if they have ATM’s there…hehe.

I am a little nervous about it. Anytime you have surgery around your neck or back there are huge risks involved, but I am also VERY ready to not be in pain anymore! I can use any Prayers & Positive Thoughts you can spare!!!

I will be having the surgery THIS THURSDAY! YIKES!!!

 

 

Here we go…

Here I go. I thought I would start my own blog. I plan on keeping everyone up to date on me, Ken and the kids. I hope you enjoy!!