Spinal Fusion #1: May 31, 2007

Spinal fusion is a surgical process in which the vertebrae are fused together with bone graft to heal into one solid bone. The fusion helps to correct and discontinue any further curvature of the spine. The rods and screws are put into place to hold everything together until the bone fuses. A blood transfusion is usually required due to massive blood loss during this type of surgery. The 3-D animation below illustrates the process of placing the instrumentation. Once the instrumentation is in place, the doctor applies bone graft so that the fusion can take place. 

My Surgical Process

My first surgery took place at Texas Children's Hospital on May 31, 2007. I was 21 at the time and engaged to be married the next year. My mom and my husband (who was my fiancée at the time) took great care of me during my difficult recovery. I was the oldest patient at Texas Children's because my surgeon actually worked at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital. He preferred to do my surgery with his colleagues at Texas Children's, so he was able to get me in even though I was technically "too old" to be there.

My surgery took 13 hours. They gave my mom a pager to call for the nurse anytime she wanted an update. In one of my pre-op visits, they did an MRI and found that I had a tethered spinal cord. This had to be fixed before they could begin the fusion. So, the first hour or so of surgery I had a neurosurgeon working to untether my spinal cord. The next 11-12 hours I had two orthopedic surgeons straightening my spine. 

But wait, there's more... 

Bone graft was harvested from my own rib. They went through my back to break my rib and they ended up accidentally puncturing my lung during that process. I had to have a general surgeon come sew up my lung toward the end of surgery. Bone graft is often taken from the hip or from a cadaver. They chose to take from my rib to correct my rib hump that was beginning to form as a result of the scoliosis. When the spine shifts, it also causes the attached ribs to shift. This can cause a noticeable hump on one side of the spine. Taking from my rib helped to correct the rib hump and improve my posture. 


In summary,  I had neurosurgery, spinal fusion surgery, a broken rib, and a punctured lung all within that 13 hour process. I lost so much blood during surgery that I had to have a blood transfusion. I knew this ahead of time so I donated my own blood prior to surgery and my father-in-law donated for me as a back up. I was also told that they invited the medical students into the operating room because they got to see something during the neurosurgery that they only see in textbooks. I don't remember what that "something" was, but I'm sure it is somewhere in my 57 pages of medical records from that week. 

My After Surgery X-Ray

Recovery

I had to stay in the hospital for a week. They tried to get me up and walking the next day, but I could barely sit up without vomiting. This was due to the anesthetic wearing off and I was on some very heavy pain medication, including a morphine pump. I had an allergic reaction to the morphine, so they decided to take me off of it a couple of days after surgery. That was a bad idea. 


I believe my exact words were, "WHERE IS MY PAIN MANAGEMENT TEAM??? THEY ARE NOT MANAGING MY PAIN!!!!" When they took me off the morphine pump, I was screaming and in so much pain that I had every doctor on that floor in my hospital room. My screaming could have been translated to...Um, HELLO PEOPLE?! IN CASE YOU FORGOT, I JUST HAD MY SKELETON REALIGNED AND IT LIKE, REALLY HURTS!!! PLEASE, DO SOMETHING! They decided that the rash I developed was preferable to the pain, so they put me back on the pump and gave me several other medications to calm me down and ease the pain. Words cannot even describe the pain level I was experiencing at that time. 

My nurses had to come into my hospital room to turn me every 4 hours. I had to lie on my side, then my back, then my other side. My mom had to continue this when we got home. She had to set her alarm during the night to wake up every 4 hours to turn me and give me my medicine. I could not even go to the bathroom or take a shower by myself for a long time. My weight dropped because I did not have much of an appetite for a while. I weighed 88 pounds at my lowest and I did not look healthy. I am thankful that I had my mom to take care of me during my recovery. She passed away from cancer 3 years ago and it has been an adjustment to life without her. I miss my mom very much, but I now have an amazing husband that will take care of me during my next round of surgery. He proposed to me 2 months before my first surgery and he was there for me throughout my surgery and recovery process, even before we were married! I am extremely blessed. 

"I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me."   

Psalm 13:6 

The doctor told me that it would take about 6 months to fully recover and that was an accurate estimate. Over time, my pain subsided and I went through physical therapy. The physical therapists were intrigued to see my progress after having such a major surgery. Many years ago, scoliosis patients were put into a full body cast after surgery. Spinal fusion surgery has come a long way and so have I! I have run multiple 5K races, 10K races and two half-marathons. I hope to run many more in the future.