Aa
prayers for dpulum
tina should be just going into the er right about now, so lets start sending some prayers and good wishes her way! she is with dr. heffez in wisconsin.
so here you go, tina! sending all that good luck juju and happy healing karma your way with an extra dose of prayers for a successful surgery and quick healing!
elizabeth
so here you go, tina! sending all that good luck juju and happy healing karma your way with an extra dose of prayers for a successful surgery and quick healing!
elizabeth
thanks so much for this, tina!! it's so nice to hear how well you are doing! i'm greatly impressed and hope it continues for the rest of your life! but in all honesty, i'm soooo glad meg is going to be there and going thru this with me! it is such a huge comfort knowing that i will not be alone....after all, misery loves company, right? lol!
and thanks for the hair info! means a lot!!! : )
and thanks for the hair info! means a lot!!! : )
Thanks so much for posting these. I wasn't sure where you would look for me to answer about the haircut, so I'm posting it here too. Dr. H was really careful not to take off more hair than he needed to. He cut a triangle in the back of my head with the single point up, right in the middle of the back of my head. He pulled up the top layers and didn't cut them at all, so you really can't see that I have a shaved spot, even though my hair isn't very long. My hair is already starting to grow back and the incision from the decompression is really healing up nicely, it's hard to see it now, just 2 1/2 weeks after the surgery.
You are in such good hands with Dr. H. and his staff, I've really never experienced a health care provider that is sooo professional and has it all together like they do, I've really been impressed with both he & the staff at Columbia St. Mary's all the way through the process. I really liked all of my nurses and felt like I was really well cared for while I was there.
I have to go back fto Milwaukee for my follow up appointment in 6 weeks to get another MRI and neck x-ray before Dr. H will release me to go back to work. I continue to do really well, God has really had his hand on me through this. I don't have ANY of the symptoms that I had before the surgery, so it's pretty amazing. I still lack stamina, but I definitely feel like recovering from the disc replacement has been harder for me than the decompression. I'll pray for you Elizabeth and try not to be too anxious, you have a great doctor. :)
Tina
You are in such good hands with Dr. H. and his staff, I've really never experienced a health care provider that is sooo professional and has it all together like they do, I've really been impressed with both he & the staff at Columbia St. Mary's all the way through the process. I really liked all of my nurses and felt like I was really well cared for while I was there.
I have to go back fto Milwaukee for my follow up appointment in 6 weeks to get another MRI and neck x-ray before Dr. H will release me to go back to work. I continue to do really well, God has really had his hand on me through this. I don't have ANY of the symptoms that I had before the surgery, so it's pretty amazing. I still lack stamina, but I definitely feel like recovering from the disc replacement has been harder for me than the decompression. I'll pray for you Elizabeth and try not to be too anxious, you have a great doctor. :)
Tina
Hi! It’s Tina. This is my second day home and it is sooo nice to be here. We came back to a spotless house (thanks Aunt Diane) and to our sweet younglings who were so happy to see us. The kids are all doing well. Olivia is trying out for solos this week for this year’s show choir season, all of her friends think she’ll land the humorous solo that she tried out for, portraying the love song of a girl who is a stalker about her stalkee…it’s interesting that they seem to think this fits her…maybe there’s something we don’t know. Mallory brought home her report card yesterday, straight A’s, as usual…Ron told her that her report card is a bit boring, but I’m thinking it’ll do. And Griffin continues to master speaking the Ben 10 language. He’s funny, he’ll be talking about something completely mundane and halfway through, he flips into discussing ultra-detailed strategies to defeat Humongosaur or Four Arms, it’s almost a foreign language, thankfully, Ron understands him and can act as an interpreter when needed.
Life is settling into a routine again, although it is a MUCH slower routine than I am accustomed to. I am allowed to stay upright for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time and then I have to lay back down, so that is my routine. I’m still a little short on stamina and sleep quite a bit, but I’m thinking I’m way down from the 23 hours a day that I slept in the hospital, so I’m making progress. I’m not in pain and have been off the pain meds since I got home. I know this is a huge blessing since most people who have this surgery spend weeks dealing with severe headaches and nausea.
I can’t turn my head or look down, so I’m trying to figure out things to do that don’t involve either of those, so if you have suggestions, let me know. I did watch a few hours of daytime TV yesterday…who knew there were THAT many courtroom TV shows, since I’m never home during the weekdays, I had no idea. Anywho, I’m thinking that I might just have to take up internet shopping to fight the boredom…but let’s not mention that to Ron, he might not think that’s a good hobby for me. Maybe I’ll just act surprised when the UPS guy starts frequenting our front door bringing me my favorite stuff…scrapbook supplies…fun products from Sephora…and good stuff from the Ann Taylor store…hmm.
Take care all and I hope you have a good day!
Tina
Life is settling into a routine again, although it is a MUCH slower routine than I am accustomed to. I am allowed to stay upright for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at a time and then I have to lay back down, so that is my routine. I’m still a little short on stamina and sleep quite a bit, but I’m thinking I’m way down from the 23 hours a day that I slept in the hospital, so I’m making progress. I’m not in pain and have been off the pain meds since I got home. I know this is a huge blessing since most people who have this surgery spend weeks dealing with severe headaches and nausea.
I can’t turn my head or look down, so I’m trying to figure out things to do that don’t involve either of those, so if you have suggestions, let me know. I did watch a few hours of daytime TV yesterday…who knew there were THAT many courtroom TV shows, since I’m never home during the weekdays, I had no idea. Anywho, I’m thinking that I might just have to take up internet shopping to fight the boredom…but let’s not mention that to Ron, he might not think that’s a good hobby for me. Maybe I’ll just act surprised when the UPS guy starts frequenting our front door bringing me my favorite stuff…scrapbook supplies…fun products from Sephora…and good stuff from the Ann Taylor store…hmm.
Take care all and I hope you have a good day!
Tina
COMMUNITY LEADER
Congratulations on going home Tina!!!
I so enjoyed the humor ur DH has posted with....lol....love the clogging story : )
Thanks Lizzy for posting updates : )
I so enjoyed the humor ur DH has posted with....lol....love the clogging story : )
Thanks Lizzy for posting updates : )
todays update on tina! congrats my friend! you're going home!!!
Staples, chauffeuring and cloggingPosted in Uncategorized
17
NovThis is our last day in Milwaukee and in this hotel room. Yay. When I look at the staples embedded in Tina’s head I don’t want to think about how they are going to come out, but they will today. Maybe I’ll just sit in the lobby for that procedure.
As soon as the staples are removed we are coming home to our kids, Fabio (our dog), comfortable furniture. Tina will be spending part of her time riding in the back seat so that she can lay down. I get to be the chauffeur but I’m not wearing the chauffeur hat. Pray that we have a good smooth trip home.
I forgot to mention this little story…two days ago we heard people walking in the hotel room above us. It was a combination of thumping and a creaking sound like an old tree in an autumn wind. I naturally assumed that a group of cloggers with big fluffy, tacky dresses were in the room above us. The sound effects started at about 9 pm. Tina went to bed at 10 with the walking still going. I went to bed at 11 with the clogging still in effect. Honestly I don’t know how someone could walk that much in a small hotel room. At 2:30am I woke up to the sound of yelling and walking above us. This wasn’t mad yelling, it was like a couple good friends who were teasing each other. Regardless of their happy mood I called the front office and got it stopped. They can start their clogging exercise routine tomorrow.
The next day I saw someone walking down the stairs from the room above us. Being naturally curious I slowed down a bit to take a peek. He was a big hulking man with steel toed cowboy boots. He could have been a male clogger, I’m just saying.
Ron
Staples, chauffeuring and cloggingPosted in Uncategorized
17
NovThis is our last day in Milwaukee and in this hotel room. Yay. When I look at the staples embedded in Tina’s head I don’t want to think about how they are going to come out, but they will today. Maybe I’ll just sit in the lobby for that procedure.
As soon as the staples are removed we are coming home to our kids, Fabio (our dog), comfortable furniture. Tina will be spending part of her time riding in the back seat so that she can lay down. I get to be the chauffeur but I’m not wearing the chauffeur hat. Pray that we have a good smooth trip home.
I forgot to mention this little story…two days ago we heard people walking in the hotel room above us. It was a combination of thumping and a creaking sound like an old tree in an autumn wind. I naturally assumed that a group of cloggers with big fluffy, tacky dresses were in the room above us. The sound effects started at about 9 pm. Tina went to bed at 10 with the walking still going. I went to bed at 11 with the clogging still in effect. Honestly I don’t know how someone could walk that much in a small hotel room. At 2:30am I woke up to the sound of yelling and walking above us. This wasn’t mad yelling, it was like a couple good friends who were teasing each other. Regardless of their happy mood I called the front office and got it stopped. They can start their clogging exercise routine tomorrow.
The next day I saw someone walking down the stairs from the room above us. Being naturally curious I slowed down a bit to take a peek. He was a big hulking man with steel toed cowboy boots. He could have been a male clogger, I’m just saying.
Ron
Hi,
I'm new here but have been reading about the progress Tina is making after her surgery.
Sounds like she's doing well! I haven't had surgery yet..don't have an appointment with NS till the 24th.
Best of luck to her. Looks like she has someone really special taking good care of her.
Hopefully after she's done healing she'll be pain free!
Take care and thanks for keeping us up to date.
Kim in NH
I'm new here but have been reading about the progress Tina is making after her surgery.
Sounds like she's doing well! I haven't had surgery yet..don't have an appointment with NS till the 24th.
Best of luck to her. Looks like she has someone really special taking good care of her.
Hopefully after she's done healing she'll be pain free!
Take care and thanks for keeping us up to date.
Kim in NH
sorry i have missed a few days! here's the latest update!
Believe it or not, I wasn’t looking forward to going to Milwaukee Wisconsin in November. But this is actually a really nice little city with great architecture, friendly people, Lake Michigan, plenty of parks, museums, and plenty of non-chain restaurants. Regardless of the pleasantries, we are ready to be home.
I have a feeling that when most people see Tina for the first time they will be surprised at how good she looks. If she didn’t have the neckbrace you wouldn’t even know that she had brain and spine surgery 1 week ago today. What you don’t see is how fatigued she gets. For example, yesterday she took two naps that were over an hour each and then went to bed as usual. Right now, I’m listening to her snore. (she didn’t snore before the surgery) She’s been taking 2 or 3 big naps each day. Obviously, her body is in dire need of rest so my task for the next 4 or 5 weeks will be to keep her from overdoing it.
The other thing that you cannot see is the tightness and soreness in her muscles. Holding your neck like your balancing a book on your head everyday, all day, is causing her shoulders and arms to be a knotted up mess. I hope over the next few weeks that this gets better and better each day. (If someone who’s had the surgery wants to comment about this, that would be great)
Tomorrow she gets the staples out and we get to talk to Dr. Heffez again. Tina really wants to know when she can drive again. I’m sure there will be no driving while under the influence of pain medication and muscle relaxers.
Ron
Believe it or not, I wasn’t looking forward to going to Milwaukee Wisconsin in November. But this is actually a really nice little city with great architecture, friendly people, Lake Michigan, plenty of parks, museums, and plenty of non-chain restaurants. Regardless of the pleasantries, we are ready to be home.
I have a feeling that when most people see Tina for the first time they will be surprised at how good she looks. If she didn’t have the neckbrace you wouldn’t even know that she had brain and spine surgery 1 week ago today. What you don’t see is how fatigued she gets. For example, yesterday she took two naps that were over an hour each and then went to bed as usual. Right now, I’m listening to her snore. (she didn’t snore before the surgery) She’s been taking 2 or 3 big naps each day. Obviously, her body is in dire need of rest so my task for the next 4 or 5 weeks will be to keep her from overdoing it.
The other thing that you cannot see is the tightness and soreness in her muscles. Holding your neck like your balancing a book on your head everyday, all day, is causing her shoulders and arms to be a knotted up mess. I hope over the next few weeks that this gets better and better each day. (If someone who’s had the surgery wants to comment about this, that would be great)
Tomorrow she gets the staples out and we get to talk to Dr. Heffez again. Tina really wants to know when she can drive again. I’m sure there will be no driving while under the influence of pain medication and muscle relaxers.
Ron
COMMUNITY LEADER
Awwwwww Tina u r so lucky to have such a loving man looking over u!!
Lizzy thanks for the updates!!....Still sending my good vibes and prayers : )
"selma"
Lizzy thanks for the updates!!....Still sending my good vibes and prayers : )
"selma"
Day 4 Chiari RecoveryPosted in Recovery
12
NovThis morning was even better than the day before. Today Tina is out of bed and walking around. She’s not going to win any speed walking contests but she is up and moving around. Amazing isn’t it. Her arm stiffness is gone, nausea is gone, tingling in her feet is gone, vision problems are gone, I’m still here so not every one of her problems are gone.
Today is going to be a big day. Tina’s parents and the kids arrive around lunch time today. I’ll be monitoring the kids time with Mom. I’m sure they are dying to see her but they bring a little chaos with them. (especially Griffy) I’ll be taking the kids to the Children’s Museum and other places to keep them occupied and to keep Tina from being overwhelmed. Since Tina is doing so well, she will be released from the hospital tomorrow. We will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in a hotel here in Milwaukee because Tina gets her staples removed early Tuesday morning.
I’m going to post some pictures later on today. Olivia is bringing an adapter that I need to upload pics. So come back a little later in the day to see those.
I would like to publicly thank all of you who have helped, commented, prayed, and shown love to us during this surgery. We are definitely feeling loved.
Ron
12
NovThis morning was even better than the day before. Today Tina is out of bed and walking around. She’s not going to win any speed walking contests but she is up and moving around. Amazing isn’t it. Her arm stiffness is gone, nausea is gone, tingling in her feet is gone, vision problems are gone, I’m still here so not every one of her problems are gone.
Today is going to be a big day. Tina’s parents and the kids arrive around lunch time today. I’ll be monitoring the kids time with Mom. I’m sure they are dying to see her but they bring a little chaos with them. (especially Griffy) I’ll be taking the kids to the Children’s Museum and other places to keep them occupied and to keep Tina from being overwhelmed. Since Tina is doing so well, she will be released from the hospital tomorrow. We will spend Saturday, Sunday and Monday in a hotel here in Milwaukee because Tina gets her staples removed early Tuesday morning.
I’m going to post some pictures later on today. Olivia is bringing an adapter that I need to upload pics. So come back a little later in the day to see those.
I would like to publicly thank all of you who have helped, commented, prayed, and shown love to us during this surgery. We are definitely feeling loved.
Ron
Day 3 Chiari recoveryPosted in Recovery
11
NovWhat a difference a few hours make, this morning I was greeted by something new. Sleeping beauty is awake and talking and sitting up in bed and eating toast. She is back among the living.
The plan for Tina today – They will gradually raise her bed through the day and hopefully by tonight she will take her first steps since surgery. One of Dr. Heffez’s assistants came in and checked Tina out this morning and said everything was going well. The only issue she is having today is with her right arm. She can barely move her arm but they think it’s just stiffness from laying still for 2+ days. She has strength in that arm but not much movement. I guess we are going to have to throw on a leotard and put in a Jazzercise tape and work that arm out. Me in a leotard…sorry for the bad visual.
The nausea is better and it doesn’t look like she is going to have the much dreaded spinal headaches. Honestly considering what they’ve done to Tina, I’m amazed that she is doing so well. On the Chiari related boards Dr. Heffez is treated like a rock star and it seems that it is warranted. When I’ve asked the nurses about him they all say he’s the best. So if you need to have Chiari Malformation surgery this is the place to go. AND if you could have people near you pray, like we’ve had people praying, God will be near.
Ron
11
NovWhat a difference a few hours make, this morning I was greeted by something new. Sleeping beauty is awake and talking and sitting up in bed and eating toast. She is back among the living.
The plan for Tina today – They will gradually raise her bed through the day and hopefully by tonight she will take her first steps since surgery. One of Dr. Heffez’s assistants came in and checked Tina out this morning and said everything was going well. The only issue she is having today is with her right arm. She can barely move her arm but they think it’s just stiffness from laying still for 2+ days. She has strength in that arm but not much movement. I guess we are going to have to throw on a leotard and put in a Jazzercise tape and work that arm out. Me in a leotard…sorry for the bad visual.
The nausea is better and it doesn’t look like she is going to have the much dreaded spinal headaches. Honestly considering what they’ve done to Tina, I’m amazed that she is doing so well. On the Chiari related boards Dr. Heffez is treated like a rock star and it seems that it is warranted. When I’ve asked the nurses about him they all say he’s the best. So if you need to have Chiari Malformation surgery this is the place to go. AND if you could have people near you pray, like we’ve had people praying, God will be near.
Ron
COMMUNITY LEADER
Lizzy thanks for the updates.....and am keeping Tina in my prayers .
Sending good vibes for her first soild bites of food....I am sure will taste good even tho it's not...but it is food!!
And....for her first sit up......it is an awesomely weird experience : ) very surreal.
"selma"
Sending good vibes for her first soild bites of food....I am sure will taste good even tho it's not...but it is food!!
And....for her first sit up......it is an awesomely weird experience : ) very surreal.
"selma"
Day 2 of Tina’s RecoveryPosted in Recovery
10
NovWhen I can honestly say I’ve never watched someone sleep as much as I’ve watched Tina sleep. Since I got here this morning, she’s been awake for about 10 minutes total, a minute hear and a minute there. Obviously the rest is good for her but I’m bored out of my gourd. The nausea is definitely better than yesterday, which is good.
When I arrived this morning the first thing I noticed was that she had color today. Yesterday she was so pale from the surgery but today her color is normal again. It’s one of those little things that we don’t notice until it’s wrong. They are hopeful that she will be able to eat a bite or two of solid food tomorrow and that she will sit up for the first time. The chiari’s surgery requires that you stay flat for 48 hours and then slowly, ever so slowly you can start sitting up more. This is to avoid the spinal headaches that can accompany the surgery. Some patients have weeks of headaches.
ron
this was one of rons posts from today...please keep tina in your prayers for her continued recovery. let's let her know how much we care about her, folks!!!!
elizabeth
10
NovWhen I can honestly say I’ve never watched someone sleep as much as I’ve watched Tina sleep. Since I got here this morning, she’s been awake for about 10 minutes total, a minute hear and a minute there. Obviously the rest is good for her but I’m bored out of my gourd. The nausea is definitely better than yesterday, which is good.
When I arrived this morning the first thing I noticed was that she had color today. Yesterday she was so pale from the surgery but today her color is normal again. It’s one of those little things that we don’t notice until it’s wrong. They are hopeful that she will be able to eat a bite or two of solid food tomorrow and that she will sit up for the first time. The chiari’s surgery requires that you stay flat for 48 hours and then slowly, ever so slowly you can start sitting up more. This is to avoid the spinal headaches that can accompany the surgery. Some patients have weeks of headaches.
ron
this was one of rons posts from today...please keep tina in your prayers for her continued recovery. let's let her know how much we care about her, folks!!!!
elizabeth
i forgot i had bookmarked her page! below you will find a post from tina's husband....
Tina’s surgery was 5 hours and she was in recovery for over 2 before I got to see her. When I spoke to Dr. Heffez (Tina’s doctor) he said that everything went well. He was surprised that her chiari was as compressed as it was. His quote “it was a mess in there but everything went well”
Right now I’m sitting beside her listening to all kinds of machines as she fades in and out of sleep. (mostly sleep) In one of her waking moments she said “they didn’t kill me” and cracked a smile. Showing a little humor is a good sign. She had a lot of nausea after the surgery but they are layering medicine to keep her from tossing cookies again. All other checks on her have been positive in nature. She has to wear a super sweet neckbrace now that I hope they will allow me to add spikes to but that might take some convincing.
Thank you all for your prayers
Ron
the web page is:
http://cloerfamily.com/
Tina’s surgery was 5 hours and she was in recovery for over 2 before I got to see her. When I spoke to Dr. Heffez (Tina’s doctor) he said that everything went well. He was surprised that her chiari was as compressed as it was. His quote “it was a mess in there but everything went well”
Right now I’m sitting beside her listening to all kinds of machines as she fades in and out of sleep. (mostly sleep) In one of her waking moments she said “they didn’t kill me” and cracked a smile. Showing a little humor is a good sign. She had a lot of nausea after the surgery but they are layering medicine to keep her from tossing cookies again. All other checks on her have been positive in nature. She has to wear a super sweet neckbrace now that I hope they will allow me to add spikes to but that might take some convincing.
Thank you all for your prayers
Ron
the web page is:
http://cloerfamily.com/
help!!! tina's husband started a blog and was going to post her progress on there. he emailed me the address, but someone has hacked into my account and all my emails are GONE!!! even my saved folders are empty!!! if anyone has his/her email, please pm it to me! or even better, the web/blog page he made for her!
thanks!
i'm still praying for you, tina and sending you a special dose of no pain juju!!!!
thanks!
i'm still praying for you, tina and sending you a special dose of no pain juju!!!!
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi Tina....joining the others here to send good vibes and prayers ur way.
Godspeed
"selma"
Godspeed
"selma"
My prayes and thoughts will definatly be with Tina. I pray all goes well and she has a speedy recovery!!
Meg :)
Meg :)
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