Coming up 2 years post Op

It feels like forever ago that I had my operation.

I have been to Disney World (my rods set the Airport alarms off on the wau back from America, I seriously had the cheesiest grin on my face when I heard them start beeping!) and rode on ALL the huge rollercoasters and water slides. I have also been to many theme parks in the UK, including Alton Towers where I rode every big rollercoaster I could find.

I do Brownies on a Wednesday night, which aggravtes my back a little but never enough to take pain meds. I think its just because they're such little people that I have to bend down a lot to talk to them, but if I ben with my knees instead (like I'm supposed to) it's fine.

I live the life of a regular 21 year old (I guess? Although there is nothing regular about me) and have joined in with everything my friends have done.

I'm going to New Zealand to live and work for a year, so I am definitely not restricted in ANY way, I can't wait. I am loving my life post fusion. Plus my scar makes for a pretty good conversation piece.

P.S I have been on nights out in heels and the only reason I couldn't walk in them was because I had too much Sambuca ;)

7 Months Post Op

7 Months?! It has gone so quickly looking back.

I don't get tired any more, and I feel normal in myself.

I have been on the back of my dads motorbike, been sledging, and re-decorated my bedroom - so I don't feel restricted in any way. The only thing I can't manage yet is a night out wearing high heels - I'm still rocking my flats at the minute.

I am driving again as normal, long distances too!

I struggled with my weight for a while after my Op - I found it hard to get my stone back on, but that is getting better now, I am pretty much back to my normal eating habbits.

I occasionally get a pain in my shoulder (where the pain from that orthopaedic pillow was) but it fades after a while and isn't sore enough to take pain killers.

My posture is brilliant - many people have commented on how well I sit and stand - My neighbour told my mum how graceful he thought I looked - he doesn't know me at all because I am the clumsiest person ever.

The first few months at home

I had a bumpy and uncomfortable car journey back from the Hospital. I was accompanied by my Mum and Gran and we had a rather embarassing stop at a service station where I'm sure I was mistaken for a recovring Heroin addict, with my thin frame, needle marks and awful hair. I couldn't wait to get into my own bed

My dog Woody was so excited to see me that mum had to put him on a lead. From the minute I got home he never left my side. He walked right by me when I was going anywhere, and laid on my bed with me all day long.

I had balloons, flowers, chocolates, cards and teddies waiting for me at home which was lovely, and they really cheered me up.

One of the first things I wanted to do when I got home was get measured so I stood against the wall, Mum and Gran did the measuring and I was ..... 2 INCHES TALLER!!! 5 foot 6 and VERY proud.

I had pain killers to take, although the pain was never that bad. Even in the Hospital, due to all the Morphine I never once thought that I really, really hurt. I was frustrated, but that is a completely different thing.

I lost about a stone in weight because I couldnt sit up long enough to finish a dinner, and I got tired even just getting dressed.

I had a special memory foam pillow which was supposed to be moulded to help the Spine, but this caused me alot of pain in my right shoulder. I phoned the hospital to ask if the pain was normal. They said no and asked me to come back in. I went back and they said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and it turned out that it was the specially adapted pillow that was causing all my pain. I can honestly say that the pain from the pillow was worse than any pain I got from the actual operation.

Every day I got dressed and put make up on, I even attempted to do my hair a few times just for stuff to do because I got so sick of daytime T.V. After a week or so of being at home I walked to the park and back with my mum which was a big achievment!

And from then on I just got better. Each week I could do more and more. Some milestones for me were when I could sit up for a proper dinner, do some washing up, have a shower, lay down in the bath, fill the kettle to make a cup of tea, walk the dogs, drive around the corner to see my Gran and do my hair :)

Before my Op I took for granted the ease at which I could do things. It's hard for me to accept that I got better and can do these things again, but there are millions of people that won't get better and can't do such things. It still makes me very sad.

I did need an awful lot of help from my mum to do everything, including having a bath. She took me out in the car just to get me out of the house and she was back and forward to Leeds with me many times before my op, and twice after. My parents were great at keeping me entertained and helping me out alot. So a huge thankyou to them.

I had quite a few visitors, but being at home that amount of time really made me see who my friends are. My friend Sarah came to see me almost every day and if it wasn't for her I would of gone crazy! She kept me company and made me laugh when I had bad days. I hope that other people waiting for the operation have someone that is as good a friend to them as she was to me.

I went swimming with Sarah 2 days before my check up appointment and was tired for the rest of the day, but it was really good and I felt so positive afterwards. It was so much easier to move around in the water.

I was off work for 12 weeks and returned on a phased basis. I built up my hours from 2 to my normal 8 and a half.

at around 4 months post Op I went to a Greenday concert which by the by was AMAZING, and I went back to my bar job. I got quite close to the front of the concert and I drove there and back in my car, and felt absolutely fine.

My Hospital experience

I got admitted to L.G.I on Sunday 21st June 2009 at 6pm. My Dad took me (it was Fathers Day. Bummer!) and stayed with me for 2 hours until he had to go. I was left sitting in my hospital bed with nothing to do until my operation the following day.

There was a TV room, so I went and watched Big Brother in there and got chatting to a couple of patients. I had my Ipod and magazines. There was a story in one of the mags about a girl who had Scoliosis correction surgery that was a great success - so I saw that as a good omen. Eventually I fell asleep around midnight.

I was woken up at 7am on my Op day and told there was one other girl who was going down before me. I had met her the night before and she didn't really think it was funny when I started to sing Justin Timberlakes song about bringing sexy back. you know - sexy back ... sexy BACK?! forget it, she didn't get it either. I thought it was hallario. I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything, so I just had to do some more sitting around and Ipod listening. Eventually I was told to have a shower with some special antibBacterial wash, and get into my hospital gowns. I got into my bed and waited. The Surgeon and Anethsetist (no IDEA how you spell that) came to see me and then I was wheeled to theatre. It was really weird being wheeled there in my bed when I was perfectly capable of walking, but they insisted I stayed in bed. The nurses kept asking how I was feeling and its fair to say that they were all genuinely surprised when I told them I was excited...I was going to be straight! The Anethsetist put a needle in my arm and told me I would feel like I'd had too many beers...

...And then I woke up in recovery! It was hard to believe that I had been asleep for the last 7 and a half hours. I don't remember much about being in the recovry bit at all, just that I wanted a can of Coke and some biscuits.

The nurses told me my dad had phoned up ALOT :)

I was moved to the H.D.U (High dependancy unit) after a few hours in recovery. I had a drip in each of my arms, 2 drains going into my spine to drain off the excess blood and puss (- VOM!), an Oxygen mask, a drip stitched into my neck and I was hooked up to a Morphine machine.

My Mum came to see me on the Tuesday and brought so many sweets and magazines but all I wanted to do was sleep. I had a bad reaction to the Morphine (it always makes me think of the Pink song - like a pill - "I can't stay on your Morphine 'cause it's makin' me itch!" I was itchy all over ... My mum later told me that I kept asking the nurses to scratch my ass and you-know-what!!

Mr. Rao also came to see me and told me he was very pleased with the results. Some Physiotherapists came and gave me a plastic thing to practice blowing into to make sure my lungs were ok.

On the Wednesday my Sister and my friend Sarah came to see me, bringing yet more food, a balloon and a card. They obviously had some really fun and interesting things to say because I fell asleep.

The Physiotherapists came around again and this time got me out of bed to sit on a bed pan and do a wee. When I stood up I felt really dizzy and couldn't wait to lie back down.

The next day my Gran came to see me - to this day I will never know how she made it all the way to Leeds, through the City, and through the Hospital to find me. I fell asleep then too.
On the Friday I was taken to a regular Spinal Ward, where I was in a room with 3 other girls which was very funny. I think we were all laughing at things weren't even funny purely because of how much Morphine we had all had!
When the Physiotherapists came to see me on this ward, they had me walking up and down the corridor! My dad came to see me and was surprised by how much movement I had. When I stood up he couldn't believe how tall I was! My dad is a worrier so I'm glad he didn't see me on the H.D.U ward because by now all my tubes were out.

At the weekend one of the Nurses washed my hair for me (instead of having a tea break - she was my favourite nurse) and I had a bowel movement (a poo to put it bluntly) which I happily announced to the whole ward. After a young male student nurse had heard me shouting about how itchy my you-know-what was, and cleaning up my wee for the last few days I didnt have to worry about keeping my dignity because I had none left.
Both my Parents came to see me together on the Saturday night and were both equally happy with my straightness and ability to move about ... go me!

On the Monday, I had 2 standing up x-rays, and after Mr. Rao had looked at them and showed me them he said I could go home!! I was sent off with a special adaption for our toilet to make it easier to sit down and get up and a handy 'arm-grabber' thing. I was told to come back on 26th August for a Check up.

Below are 2 images. One is of my spine before, and one is after. Pretty big difference huh?! I love Mr. Rao!

Pre Op Assessment

I was put on the waiting list for surgery in 2008 and told that when a space for surgery became available, I would be called in for Pre-Op Assessment. This would be one day where I would spend around 8 hours in the Hospital, getting tests done on me to make sure I was healthy enough and suitable enough for the Operation. It would be at this appointment I would find out just what the Surgery consisted of.
I was told that after Pre-Op assessment the operation had to be done within 3 months or else the results were invalid, so when I got the appointment for this I knew that my Operation wouldn't be far off.

I waited and waited, until one Friday (the 12th June 2009 to be precise!) I had a missed call on my mobile from Leeds Hospital, and a text from my mum saying to phone them URGENTLY. My stomach was all over the place when I spoke to the Pre-Op assessment Nurse (Fiona) who said a planned surgery had to be cancelled so there was a gap available. She asked if I wanted to come in on the Monday (15th June) for my pre-op assessment, and if all was well surgery was planned for the following Monday.

So at the Pre-Op Assessment (because of course I said yes!) I had a Lung Capacity Test, an E.C.G (which measures my heart rate) some blood tests, some x-rays in which I was bended and stretched (to test the flexibility of my spine) and some medical photos. The medical photos are photos of me standing in my nuddy pants, and will be repeated 6 months Post-Op to see the difference. L.G.I (Leeds General Infirmary) is a teaching hospital, so I hope no one I know goes to study there, or they at least chop my head off the pictures.

I then went and spoke to Fiona and Mr. Rao who told me all about the surgery. There are 2 major risks associated with this kind of surgery, the first one being that there is a tiny chance of paralysis – which would restrict me to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. This chance is miniscule as they have many measures in place to avoid this – I would have electrodes in my head and feet which run currents up and down my Spine to make sure there are no abnormalities. If something odd came up then the surgery would go no further and they would sew me up and leave me be.
Another risk is that the surgery may not work; the bones may not fuse properly which could cause me to need further operations, or cause my Spine to collapse (that’s a very severe case).

While these risks are very serious ones, I decided that surgery is right for me because the long term health issues if I didn’t have it could be just as serious. Professor Rao assured me that even though there are risks, there was about a 0.01% chance of either of them happening.

My surgery would be Anterior which means it would be performed through my back (some surgeries are done from the side). In a nutshell, I would be opened up from the top to the bottom of my spine, and then I would get some screws and rods put in to straighten me out.

When I finally got the phone call on the Wednesday 17th June to confirm that my test results were all O.K, I was so excited! I sorted out everything with my boss about going off on Long term sick, and started to prepare myself for staying in Hospital (by prepare I mean putting a upbeat and positive playlist on my Ipod and stocking up on magazines!)

I would be admitted to the hospital on the Sunday (21st), and taken down to theatre on Monday.

Straightness here I come!

My Scoliosis Story ... the beginning

This will be a long post because its my first, and up to now I have been keeping a record of everything on paper. I'm picking and choosing the best bits and putting it on here. I should have really done this the first time round but never mind.

I guess we start when I found out that I had Scoliosis. This was in in 2005 (I think!) My mum had bought me a bikini and I went to try it on. When I showed her she told me to stand up straight - which I thought I was doing! I hadn't noticed before but now that it had been pointed out it did look like I was leaning to one side.

So I went to my local GP who did some poking and prodding. He then referred me to my local NHS Hospital to see a Spine Specialist. The Specialist sent me for some x-rays and explained that I had what is known as Scoliosis. While looking at the x-rays I think he sensed that I was a bit upset, and probably a bit confused so he tried to lighten the mood by telling me the dark spots on my x-rays were farts - and I believed him - much to the amusement of my mum. One word of recommendation for ANY hospital appointments that may require you to strip off: wear sensible pants. I had to bend over for the Doctor in just a pair of tiny green spotted thongs.

This is about where I found out what Scoliosis is, so here you go:

Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine. In most cases the cause is unknown (Idiopathic) however sometimes it can be a side effect of another Spinal problem (Congenital) such as Spina Bifida. Thankfully I only had Scoliosis. Some people have just the one curve, but this curve can get so bad that the spine tries to correct itself which creates a double curve in an S shape. This is the sort of curve I had, however the 2nd curve was much less noticeable and would probably be fine once the major curve had been sorted. Scoliosis can cause your internal organs to get a bit squashed – especially the lungs. That was my excuse for not exercising ... I didn’t have the lung capacity!

The main problem I had with Scoliosis was the appearance of it. Being a young girl surrounded by ‘perfect’ body images in the media, I did get a bit self conscious. The only time I really experienced bad pain though is when I got cold and my body tensed up. I did think it was pretty cool that when I sat down my ribs neatly tucked in my hips on one side though.

The Docotor at the Hospital referred me to a specialist in Leeds, at St. Jimmys Hospital. At this appointment at the end of 2006 (which turned into a family day out, with my mum, dad and granny) I just had some more x-rays and the professor said that surgery was an option. He sent me away to think about it as obviously it would be a major decision.

So I went away and I thought about it, and I decided Surgery was in my future. It scared me but I know that the thought of being a hunchback in years to come and being in pain all the time, scared me a hell of a lot more.

I didnt hear anything from the hospital for months, and when I phoned up they just told me to keep waiting. This went on for over a year which was very frustrating. I eventually got into contact with my local MP - after getting nowhere with the hospital - who got into contact with Leeds. Not long after, they invited me for an appointment (in 2008 - it was a huge waiting game)) with a new surgeon. Apparantly the one I had seen before had retired! (Nice of them to let me know...) My new appointment was at Leeds General Infirmary, because St. Jimmys specialised in Children, and I was no longer seen as a child - and was with a man named Dr. Abhay Rao. Again I had x rays, and it was evident that my curve had worsened.

I was put onto the list for surgery.
AAARGH!!