scaredandhelpless's Journal

Today is the 5th day after surgery and boy what a whirlwind of emotions that swept through all of us.  The surgery was 6 hours long but it went well.  The doctors corrected Piper's curve by 50%.  It doesn't sound like alot but it really is a substantial correction on her curve.  Starting with a curve of 28 degrees 6 years ago to a 54 degree curve in June and in the last 3 months it jumped another 10 degrees.  They worked on her spine from T4 to L2 placing rods and fusing the vertebra.  Three days ago I thought we would not get through this but now at day 5, it has suddenly turned around for the better.  I remember reading in the books, take one day at a time and what a difference a day makes.  Just last night my darling daughter crying in agony.  After getting up today for physical therapy, getting in her own Pajamas and looking in the mirror at her newly straightened elongated torso, she is feeling better.  The trick to this pain management thing is to keep the meds in your system and don't skip on any of them.  Tell the nurses to wake you if you are sleeping.  My daughter passed the physical therapy tests today and we are expected to go home tomorrow if and only if she is off of the oxygen.  She is having some issues with her breathing deep enough.  Of course she would, she just had her upper back reconstructed