TLIF surgery - Post-op Day 3

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

So sleeping was interesting.  I tried to get situated on the bed and pain was intense...actually brought tears to my eyes!! Ended up back on the couch with every pillow imaginable propping me up.  Our couch has a recliner on each end but I couldn't use the recliner because I'm not able to push it back in. Still having the new pain in my right hip and leg that I'm hoping was caused by how I had to sleep in the hospital.  Certainly don't want to have traded in one problem for another.

Nurse Diezel keeing a watchful eye.

This pup is something else!!!

This is what happens when you can't get up and answer the door...LOL.  Yep, that delivery had to wait for Ron to get back.

Ron went out and about today to see if he could find my meds again.  Thankfully he was able to.  And, being the awesome hubby that he is, he also bought a new recliner so I can hopefully get some sleep!  He went to like 6 different furniture stores and ended up with one from Badcock.  It's an oversized recliner that is motorized so there is plenty of room for my boy to be up there with me, and I don't have to put the foot prop down.  Woot Woot!! The hubby came home a little grumpy...but I'll let it slide this time...LOL.  He's been so great, I know he's ready to go back to work so he can rest.  Now hopefully the next few days will be more comfortable for me so I can get some rest and heal.

Diezel absolutely loves the new recliner!!  He fits perfect right beside me and everytime I get up he takes it for his own.  

TLIF Surgery - Post-op Day 2

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Sunday morning selfie.  Should be going home today.  Slept ok...lots of hip pain though...probably from thie bed.  And I'm so hot.  But still doing good.

My roommate, a 90 year old woman who fell and broke ribs and had surgery, stays cold all the time so the room is hot.  I finally told the nurse they needed to throw some more blankets on her because I was burning up.  

Discharged from the hospital around 10am.  Given a prescription for Percocet.  Not sure why they don't give you prescriptions BEFORE the surgery.  We went to 3 different pharmacies to get the prescription filled and still didn't get it. Two of them didn't have it and one didn't take our insurance.  Finally just gave up and came home to take pain meds I already have.  

So good to be home!

Sure did miss this boy while I was in the hospital!!

TLIF Surgery - Post-op Day 1

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Good morning! Here's my Saturday morning update... I actually got some sleep last night. Not a whole lot, but more than I have been lately. I'm sure the anesthesia and pain meds helped with that. I got up again to use the potty - this time with less assistance than before so that's good. And even better I was able to pee!!! Yeah, I know, TMI. 😂 I am excited though because if I wasn't able too they were going to have to put the catheter back in. 😲 Bowel sounds are good this morning too so it seems like everything is finally waking up. Woot! At some point this morning I'll be walking more. In the meantime I will continue to rest and puff on this crazy thing to clear my lungs. I continue to be positive about this and am very thankful for all of you and your positive thoughts. (posted at 6:58am Saturday morning) 



I had a few visitors again today.  My friend, Diana, came by and spent some time.  She's had several health issues, including breaking her back.  Then my baby girl and her hubby came by.  It was so good to see them.  

I got up and walked again around 4pm.  Walking made the pain come back a little more but still tolerable with the pain meds.  Saw the doc when I was walking and he told me he didn't expect to see me walking as much as I was.  He came to the room to see me shortly after.  Told me that for a younger person my back was really bad, but he fixed it so all should be good.  He said I could go home tonight, or could wait until morning if I wanted to. Ummm.....I don't think so.  While I'm pleased that the doc is happy with my process I think one more night in the hospital won't hurt me.  So many things can go wrong while I'm still trying to figure things out.
8pm did some more walking - this time with no walker - woot woot!!  I did have a nurse with me but was able to walk with just a little assistance.  To bed I go now!

TLIF - Surgery Day

**Posting this blog entry after the fact based on notes I made on my phone the day of surgery and posts I made on social media sites.**

Managed to get about 3 hours of sleep last night...which is more than I expected. Up way to early today, but it takes time to do that wonderful cleaning procedure required beforehand. I definitely feel clean right now! 😂 About time to wake my boys up and get this show on the road. Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts. ❤️
January 27 at 3:36am



Stand-by....  
Getting prepped for surgery....















Waiting for surgery to start with my sweetie by my side...



Shortly after this picture was taken they gave some of the good stuff and I started to zone out. They were great at keeping me informed of what was going to be happening.  I was the first surgery of the day so I at least my waiting was just normal waiting.  They told me that they would give me something right before that would pretty much knock me out right there in the pre-op room and then I would be taken to the OR where they would flip me over on my stomach on the special table for this surgery and woudn't remember anything until I was woke up in recovery.  That was almost what happened....  They came in and said it was time to say nite-nite to the hubby and pushed something into my IV.  It hit quick!  Almost as soon as I gave him a kiss I felt like I was fading out.  It was really more like I was just kind of watching myself.  I remember them moving me down the hall and passing people and then into the OR.  I remember seeing lots of stuff and people in the OR, and trying to see the bed I was going to be moved too but I couldn't locate it.  They were doing the usual stuff like checking my blood pressure and moving things around.  The guy giving the meds was talking to me - I was probably asked what was I having done 100 times.  While he was talking to me he leaned over and said "See you in recovery".  And...that...was...it.  I don't remember anything else until I woke up in recovery with some other guy staring at me.
They took me to surgery somewhere around 7am.  Not sure exactly what time it started but I assume it wasn't long after they took me.  My husband posted on Facebook at 11:50am that the surgery was over and I was in recovery.
When I woke up in recovery I wasn't really in a lot of pain at first.  I was obviously extremely drowsy and still concerned that I was going to end up getting sick.  I wasn't feeling nauseous yet and was hoping they had given me the right cocktail.  About an hour after waking up I started to feel the pain so they gave me Diladid, which did the job.









Finally made it to my room about 3pm.  All the essentials for comfort - pain pump, pan, and tv. One of my friends posted that my look was the look of the GOOD stuff.  Diladid was for sure making me high...LOL.
My husband decided to go take care of some things (like our pup) and right as he was about to leave I felt the first wave of nausea.  I was so sure I wasn't going to get sick at that point.  I told him to hand me the pan...he could tell by the look on my face I needed it right then!  He greeted me with the trash can...which I promptly deposited every fluid in my stomach in.  Nurses brought me Zofran...didn't help...nurses brought me Phenergan...success! 
Finally brought some dinner around 5pm and it was pretty dang good!



Had a great visit with the oldest baby girl:



She stayed for a while visiting, which was great because it kept my mind off of the pain that was creeping in.  She was still there when I took my first steps too.  :)  Before they mentioned me trying to walk they told me they could take the catheter out.  As much as I wanted it out there was no way I was agreeing to that until after I knew I could get out of the bed and walk at least to use the bathroom!  So shortly after 7pm they came in to get me up for the first time.  I'm not gonna lie - it wasn't easy.  That log roll to get off the bed is difficult and my brain was telling me things might hurt even though they weren't.  So many instructions...log roll off of bed, keep spine neutral, push with your legs and assist with arms...yikes.  But I did it!!!








After a very eventfull day I was ready for some rest and to let my body continue to recover.  Here's to a successful surgery and on to a successful recovery - hopefully with minimal pain.

TLIF - Positive thoughts needed

I try not to post too many negative things on any site – there’s way too much of that.   And while this post isn’t necessarily negative, it’s not my usual kind of post.  If you’ve seen my recent social networking posts this week you know that I haven’t been sleeping well.  The reason I haven’t been sleeping is because I can’t stop thinking about my upcoming back surgery.  Yep, I said back surgery. 

I’ve been dealing with some back and hip issues for several years now.  I’m not fond of taking pain pills, and have had to take more than I would like to deal with it.  A few years ago I went to one of the orthopedic doctors here in town and was told I had trigger points.  The treatment was trigger point injections and pain pills. Time passed.  Sometimes things were better, sometimes things were worse.  I went back to the same doctor.  I had x-rays and an MRI, was told they didn’t show anything other than arthritis (even though they had about 10 different diagnoses listed on their notes which I obtained later) and was referred to the Pain Clinic.  I went to the Pain Clinic and made it very clear that I was not interested in treating this problem with pain pills indefinetly and needed to know what the problem was so it could be fixed.  More tests were done.  More injections.  More pain pills. More physical therapy. More time passed of me just dealing with it.

Fast forward…. I decided to make a lifestyle change and get healthy and hopefully take care of this back issue at the same time.  Being overweight had to be the problem, right?  I stopped drinking soda, limited my sugar intake, practiced portion control, and started exercising.  Lots of changes started happening with my body.  I’ve lost over 50 pounds…went down several sizes….dropped my cholesterol down to normal levels…and feel better overall.  BUT, my back continued to get worse.  There was no way I was going back to the doctors I had already been too so I started researching.  

After lots of research I decided to pay a visit to Dr. Rohan Jr at Panama City Spine.  Before my first visit I gave him copies of all of my records and he ordered more x-rays.  During the first visit he walked into the room with an image in his hand and asked me if I knew I had a bulging disk and pinched nerve since I didn’t mention it on my paperwork?  Well, no….no, I didn’t!!!  He showed me an image from the MRI completed by the first doctor I mentioned…the one who said I may have to just deal with it and sent me to the pain clinic.  Dr. Rohan Jr ordered a new MRI and more x-rays in several different positions then we sat down and discussed a treatment plan.  The MRI and x-rays confirmed the bulging disk and pinched nerve (which is much worse now than it was in the previous MRI) - Spondylololisthesis (a spinal disorder where a vertebra slips onto the vertebra below it – in my case it’s L4 and L5), facet degeneration, disk degeneration, and minor scoliosis.  Pretty obvious why I’ve been in so much pain for so long.  I’ve already done pretty much every least restrictive treatment…so my options are pretty limited: continue to take more and more pain pills (which I’m not willing to do) or surgery.  Surgery it is.

Friday morning (01/27/2017) I will be having back surgery at Gulf Coast Medical Center.  The type of surgery is called Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF).  The surgery will provide lumbar decompression & instrumented fusion with bone graft substitute.    You can watch the video attached to get a better idea of how it’s done. Sounds like fun huh?  Spine-health.com - video/tlif  

While I’m fine with my decision to go ahead with the surgery, I can’t help but to be pretty nervous about it – especially about the recovery portion.  There will be quite some time where I will not be able to bend, lift, or twist (so the fusion will work).  And I’m expecting quite a bit of surgical pain.  How can there not be when screws and rods are placed in your bones.  But, I have pretty high pain tolerance so I’m hoping for the best.  Of course that high pain tolerance also makes it hard to treat the pain.  I have educated myself the best I can on the surgery and recovery.  I’ve read many, many articles on it and watched countless videos of previous patients and the surgery itself. We’ve made a few changes at the house to meet my needs after the surgery, and will probably make some more over the next few days.  I’m as ready as I’m going to be.

I have to be at the hospital at 5am.  Maybe I’ll be able to sleep some before then, but it’s guaranteed I’ll sleep some on Friday…LOL.  I’m not sure what time the surgery will be but I assume around 6:30am or 7am.  The doctor said the surgery will take about 3 hours and I will be in the hospital 2-3 days.  I’ll post as I can and keep everyone updated.  You know this won’t keep me off social media.  Any positive thoughts you can send my way will be greatly appreciated.  Ron’s way too since he will have to take care of me.   

Purple Tears For My Mama

22 years ago yesterday (April 28) my Mama passed away.

The emotions that happen on this day each year are crazy.  I will admit that it has got better over the years.  I don't spend so much time sad about it anymore.  I spend most of the day thinking of good times.  That's how my Mama would want it.

I miss being able to talk to her every day. Well, I really miss her talking back because I still talk to her all the time.  Anytime something good or bad happens I think I need to tell her.  She loved Prince and would have been especially sad to hear of his death.  When I heard the news she was the first person I thought of.

I'm sure some people have a problem with the things that are so special to me and make me feel so connected to my Mama.  But I don't care...LOL.  She wasn't perfect (who is?).  But she loved me with all her heart.  And she never put blinders on me for how the world was - the good or the bad.  She exposed me to all types of music, all types of literature, all types of art, and all types of television and film.  She encouraged me to make my own decisions and like things because I liked them (not because someone else did or thought I should).

Prince was one of the many artists that both my Mama and I shared a love for.  I spent my teenage years singing to Prince's music....and still do today.  As with many people, he helped define my youth and my musical tastes. I listened to his 1999 (album) and Purple Rain (album) for HOURS on end. When the movie Purple Rain came out we watched it over and over and over....signing to every tune of course.  Purple Rain was shown at The Grand Theatre in Pier Park last night.  I had never seen it on the big screen and thought it was fitting to see it on this day - on the anniversary of my Mama's death.

The movie was as great as it was every other time I have seen it.  Classic 80s! The music!  The clothes!  The hair!  The memories!  I just wish my Mama would have been there to see it too.  I like to think that she's getting to sing those songs with the man himself these days.  I can see her now singing and dancing along, partying like it's 1999.  Partying was one thing she was really good at...LOL.

In the days to come there will be lots of information released on Prince's death and the suspected causes of it.  The tabloids are already having a field day.  I will not focus on this and let it taint my memories associated with Prince.  He was a musical genious and his music and movies will live on forever.  Take some time to enjoy them.  Spend some time listening to his lyrics - really listening to them.  Listen past the sex references and see how they actually relate to life in general.  And take some time to tell the people that mean something to you how you feel.  You never know when it's the last time you will get the chance.  This year my tears for my Mama will be purple....just like the rain.

***

Purple Rain (1984) - (IMDB link)
Directors: Prince, Michael Ballhaus
Stars: Prince, Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Clarence Williams III...

Check out this link for Prince's 40 Biggest Billboard Hits - WOW!

Check out this link for Rolling Stone readers poll: The 10 Best Prince Songs

And some of my personal favorites (I can't pick just one) with release year.  There are so many more I could list here...anything off of 1999 and Purple Rain should really be here as I LOVE both of those albums. Check out the first link for video and song facts link for more info about each:
Purple Rain (1984) - song facts
When Doves Cry (1984) - song facts
Let's Go Crazy (1984) - song facts
1999 (1983) - song facts
Little Red Corvette (1983) - song facts
Darling Nikki (1984) - song facts
Take Me With U (1984)

Mamita's Pizzeria - Authentic and Delicious!

We LOVE pizza so when a place says they guarantee it's the best in 50 miles or its free, we have to try it.  Tonight Ron and I tried a new place and we were very pleased.

Mamita's Pizzeria is located at 2808 W 23rd Street in Panama City.  It's in a small building set a little back from the road, but when the Highway 390 expansion is complete they will have the prime corner spot!  That could take a while so we need to keep them in business now!

The restaurant wasn't crowded.  It was quite intimate actually.  There appeared to only be 1 server. He did a great job, once we got our drinks initially. We also met one of the owners, who came out from the kitchen to say hello to us. He was very nice and thankful to us for eating there.

We wanted to try everything! We couldn't do that...but we made a great effort.

We started with Garlic Knots as an appetizer.  They were awesome!  They were light and fluffy with the perfect amount of garlic and Parmesan cheese on top.  They are served with homemade ranch or marinara sauce - we had both!

Instead of settling on a large pizza of one style we ordered three different small pizzas.

I chose Mamita's Classic (The Italian Pleaser) - pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, onions, Italian sausage, green peppers, and black olives...Yum!!!  I loved how the mushrooms and Italian sausage were sliced thin.  I don't like thick pieces of either of these so it was perfect.

Ron picked a Meat Lovers (All The Good Stuff) - pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, ham, Italian sausage, and smoked bacon.  It also come with hamburger but Ron didn't get it on his pizza.  He said this pizza was great!

Just look at those yummy pies!!

And we also got a Buffalo Wing Pizza - mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, smoked bacon, spicy buffalo sauce, and homemade ranch.  It also comes with onions but we left those off since Ron doesn't like them.  This pizza....OMG...this pizza is awesome!

Sorry, I didn't get a picture of the whole pizza.  It was too good and we couldn't help ourselves.

I strongly encourage you to check this place out. We will definitely be back.

Be sure to sign up for their birthday club and email club so you can get special deals.  You can do that here: Birthday Club

Follow them on Facebook too: facebook.com/mamitaspizza/