I Am Titanium

The post-surgery update

We are now six days out from surgery, and I can officially belt out this chorus:

I left the hospital on Tuesday with the exciting take-home prizes of 14 screws in my spine, two cages where vertebra used to be, some metal rods, one less tumor mass, some bone cement, and what seems to be at least two more inches of height. (It’s possible that that my screws are actually cobalt instead of titanium—I didn’t confirm with the surgeon which ones he used—but as far as I know no one has ever written a catchy song with a chorus that hits the high notes with “I am cobalt!” So I am sticking with the titanium version of the story.)

The doctors all made encouraging noises before discharge: the neurosurgeon and his team seem pleased with how everything is going, and the [young!] plastic surgery resident who helped with the complex procedure to put me back together was especially giddy that he was able to match up the petals on my dogwood flower tattoo. The nurses grumbled about the way the anesthesiologists scraped up my face by not using the recommended tape—I look like I got beat on the face with a hairbrush (it’s healing fine).

I was ready and relieved to be out of the hospital, for so many reasons. Obviously the top line is that they feel like I’m doing well enough to manage outside the hospital, which so far has been true. No reason to stick around longer than necessary and acquire a nasty superbug or finally encounter that one intolerable medical provider, I say! Also, the food was terrible. Not that I had an enormous appetite, and I know they were short-staffed, but … wow. It was bad. Much happier to be out and to eat my mom’s cooking of green beans and October beans that my dad grew in his garden. But maybe the biggest emotional reason I was ready for discharge was that I was so tired of feeling like this:

As far as I know, I did not haunt the nightmares of any teenagers. But at one point I had a wound vac, two drains, four IVs, vital signs monitors, anti-clot inflating leg wraps, and more. The process of moving at all required the nurse to go through a whole sequence of unclipping this and pocketing that and then checking that all the right wires were reconnected again. The neurosurgeon had said that the most important things I needed to do were to stand and to walk. That felt almost impossible with so many lines and electronics attached to me. Much nicer to be home, unencumbered, and able to do my required practice of standing and walking.

And now for the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind: How do you feel? I wish I could report that the first post-op days I felt blissed-out on pain meds. I did not. They do not bliss me out. I take them because they tell me to, but they are not a favorite part of this experience. I am, though, overall feeling OK. As would be expected, some times I am more sore or tired or uncomfortable than others, but so far it has been manageable. I am incredibly grateful that I could ride from the hospital comfortably in a car loaned to us by friends, sit in a comfortable chair loaned to us by my cousin in a comfortable house being shared with us by friends who are on vacation, with my gold-star spouse who has not murmured one word of complaint or inconvenience about his care-giving duties. (I can’t even begin to itemize all the other acts of generosity, from preparing a house and stocking the fridge to answering the call for good coffee and delivering it within an hour. And so, so much more.)

Physical therapy came yesterday and we started on my basic rehab plan and exercises. My follow-up appointments with all the doctors will be Monday, July 25. Until then, we’ll keep working and praying that I continue to heal and grow stronger.

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Additional Notes

A few people have kindly asked for our address here. We anticipate being a bit nomadic, so if you are mailing something likely the safest address is 102 Lisa Drive, Carrboro NC 27510. If you are hoping to send something quickly or if you want to inquire about a visit, send a message to either Dave or me to get our current address and a sense of how the situation looks, and we can advise you on what would be the best time or place.

To conclude, one more song (does not include “titanium”!) We are so thankful for all your prayers, support, kind thoughts, good vibes, funny messages, and well wishes. We pray that God’s good work of healing that has begun will continue. Praise God, all creatures here below, indeed. This version is my favorite musical setting of the Doxology, and although this one does not include a glorious three-fold “Amen,” it does include a second verse that I love: Praise God who loves us, great or small / Praise Him who hears our faintest call.