Prayers needed!

[newleaseonlife]

Thanks for the update, Lillyth! You're a peach!

I am wishing this person all the best and hopefully they can come home soon!!!!!

[JEVE19]

Here's a good thought

[Lillyth]

For the sake of dancing around gender, I shall from here on out refer to our Fellow Board Member as FBM.

I called over to Spain a few days ago and spoke to FBM. FBM was very out of it, and couldn't even tell me how many surgeries had been done so far! (FBM's spouse says four as of when I called).

Only few of you on here have met me, and a few others have spoken to me on the phone. I am pretty much the way I look on the board when I post. Super happy, energetic (even when I am exhausted), and in good cheer and laughing most of the time. FBM is the same way.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much it broke my heart when FBM picked up the phone. On the other end was practically a zombie. FBM didn't even recognize my voice when I called (we have been talking a few times a week since we first met when we had dinner at my place, and have been exchanging nearly daily emails since we met - FBM even called ME while I was in Spain to see how I was doing!). FBM's spouse had to tell FBM who I was!

I don't think I have ever been so depressed or worried about ANYONE in my whole life. Sure, I've had family members with illnesses and surgeries before, but all routine. I actually went outside and attacked my garden because I felt like I needed to be outside in nature, working on helping something grow after our conversation. I have never felt more helpless in my life. I have never had that reaction to anything.

It sounded like all the surgeries are being considered "revisions", but I am not sure. I hope so for the sake of their pocket book.

We left the conversation with FBM that FMB would call me when FBM was feeling up to talking and wan't so out of it anymore (meaning BETTER). It was agreed the spouse would send me emails every once in a while with brief updates.

On the bright side, though the lumbar still isn't figured out, the cervical (FBM did almost as many levels as me), which was the chief complaint when FBM went in for surgery is no pain free, so at least on that front, things are good. The downside is that FBM is in far more pain than before any of the surgeries.

So, in short, until I hear FBM is on the mend and feeling WAY better, PLEASE keep praying, sending energy, whatever it is you do. And, for those of you who go to church, please ask your pastor to lead the congregation in a special prayer for FBM, every week, until FBM is up and walking again.

On a side note, Clavel literally translates into "Carnation", which in Christian (especially Catholic - which FBM is) tradition symbolizes God's hands made flesh, so I have been working that into my prayers and encouraging others to do so. And remember, this is coming from a card-carrying Athiest!

So please, please, please, please, PLEASE everyone, KEEP THE PRAYERS COMING!!! Remember that even if you do not believe in God (as I don't), prayer has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN in a double blind study to have an effect on patient's healing.

I will keep you all updated as I hear more.

Thanks a million guys!

[newleaseonlife]

Any news yet? I am so worried about this patient!!!

[Lillyth]

No *official* news yet, other than we have been exchanging emails, which is a good thing. No news yet on the lumbar (they did both lumber and cervical like me), but the cervical is feeling great.

I am still worried too as I keep asking about the lumbar and keep not getting answers. My guess is they just kind of don't want to talk about it right now, but, like I said, emails are being exchanged about regular life stuff, so things seem to be at least somewhat better. I will post when I have more news.

[newleaseonlife]

Still praying that our FBM comes home soon, and with a good outcome!

[SonjaB]

So I'm on tenderhooks here!!!! Who was it? Are they better? Are they home? Lillyth you can't leave us hanging like this. I have trouble finding my way around these forums so it might be posted elsewhere but if so can you post the link here so others who are also forum challenged can find the answers too? Or post here, that works too.
thanx
Sonja

[Lillyth]

Originally Posted by SonjaB

So I'm on tenderhooks here!!!! Who was it? Are they better? Are they home? Lillyth you can't leave us hanging like this. I have trouble finding my way around these forums so it might be posted elsewhere but if so can you post the link here so others who are also forum challenged can find the answers too? Or post here, that works too.
thanx
Sonja

Sorry about leaving you all hanging. Part of that was just trying to sort out what happened. I don't have permission to say who it was, but likely none of you will know FBM because FBM is more of a lurker. I think FBM posted ONCE that I am aware of. Maybe.

Anyway, FBM IS home. Got home less than a week ago.

Essentially it comes down to one of the ADR's in the lumbar region needed to be fused instead. The ADR subsided. So they did the fusion. FBM was still in a lot of pain. Three or four surgeries total (not sure, can't quite nail that one down yet). Bone density tests were all fine, even though FBM has 20 years on me, FBM's bone density is consistent with someone my age, so this next part is weird. Dr. Clavel said when he put the screws in for the fusion, they went in "too easy". He did all of these "revisions" (technically speaking a revision is any operation on a level - or adjacent level - in the period of one year. Might be two years, someone feel free to correct me if I am wrong on this) FOR FREE. FMB chose not to pay the extra for the insurance, and, though there were extra costs from the hospital that FBM had to pay, Dr. Clavel didn't charge an extra dime for himself, despite the fact that no insurance was purchased, which I think it pretty damn cool. He could have been a total *** and been like, "Well, you didn't purchase the insurance, so, sucks to me you." But he did ALL of these surgeries with NO extra charge. (AND, lest this seem like a cheerleading session for Dr. Clavel, I do know that last I heard from Dr. Dare, he said his fee included anything that may go wrong or any extra re-operations while still in hospital - so just putting that out there too.)

At one point, Dr. Clavel had a team of FIVE neurosurgeons in there trying to figure out why FBM was still hurting. In the end, they are all baffled. No test shows anything wrong, when they were in there they couldn't find anything wrong, so they are stumped. At this point we are all just hoping FBM gets better. FBM is less than a week off the plane, and since FBM had a surgery similar to mine PLUS a posterior fusion, I can promise you that plane ride FMB UP! That was absolutely the worst part for me, and I didn't even have my back cut open! I was doing my best to reassure FBM that pain right now, so close to the plane ride is TOTALLY normal (I had forgotten, by hubby tells me I was calling for him about every five minutes to do something for me in the week after we landed).

So at this point, I would say keep the prayers coming. I may have had six levels done, but FBM had at least FOUR surgeries done while there. (The initial one - which was, BTW, almost as many levels as mine - plus the other ones trying to fix what is wrong).

The sad thing is that no one can really figure out why FBM is hurting so much.

BUT, on the MAJOR plus side, FBM's cervical ADR's were a success! FBM's MAJOR concern prior to surgery was the cervical, as that was where all the burning pain was coming from, and, for those of us that have had it, I don't need to tell how you horrible it is.

I will keep updating as there are updates to write. Don't know for sure when that will be. But FBM is home now, and we are all just waiting to see what happens.

I DO know that I am three weeks ahead of FBM, and I only had anterior stuff done, and I still have pain every day, so, I wouldn't imagine that someone who just got off a plane, had more surgeries than I did, AND one that went through the back to boot (!) would not be in pain.

But DO keep they prayers up. I swear to God (LOL!) it has been proven in scientific studies. So says The Prayerful Atheist. (And science.)

[SonjaB]

Lillyth appreciate you taking the time to keep us informed, I pm'd you then found you had updated this post. I feel better knowing whoever it is has survived the ops and the flights.

Prayer is not my thing either but I'll do whatever helps

It's all real scary when you are pre-op and yeah for Dr Clavel, that too makes me feel better as I shall be under his knife very soon.

18 days till we fly out.......