"The best laid plans of mice and men".............
Sandy will be spending the night tonight at the City of Hope. She is in Unit B, Room 8621. The Kyphoplasty was longer and more challenging than expected, and she has been in quite a lot of pain. For those of you who don't know what a Kyphoplasty is (I'm shocked and dismayed! Where have you been?) Think of a giant needle going in through your back and into your spine. Once it's in the right spot, through images, x-rays, and constant monitoring, a small balloon is carefully inflated in an attempt to raise the collapsed vertebra and return it to it normal position. (In Sandy's case the vertebra are being damaged from the cancer tumors) Once the vertebra is in the correct position, the balloon is deflated and removed. The void or space is then filled with bone cement to stabilize the fracture. (If I sound anything like I know what I'm talking about, it's because I am reading straight from the brochure right now!) In her case, they worked on the T9, T10, and T12 vertebra. They entered her back in 5 different places while she was under a general for 3 hours, and although this is supposed to be a "simple outpatient procedure" (If I've learned anything over the last 3 years, it's that there is no such thing!) her bones were "harder than expected" (either through the cancer fighting drugs or because of the tumors) and the procedure was much more difficult. The doctor used very little cement on the T9 because it was "leaking out" and had to stop, but was successful on the T10 and T12. We are hoping all of this lessens Sandy's back pain, but after what she went through today, we won't know for a few days. While in Recovery her pain spiked up and she received a lot of pain medicine that made her sick to her stomach. The anti nausea medication makes her tired. You know the drill..... Everyone thought it was best to keep her in the hospital overnight for observation. A special thank you to Dr. Laura for facilitating that decision and for being there.
Also special thank you's out to Grandpa Marv and Grandma Judi for watching the girls, Bill and Kelley Alley for getting Michelle to softball practice and back, Dan & Missy Harris for getting Rachel to youth group and allowing her to spend the night, and to Chris and Lori Martin for bringing El Pollo Loco for dinner. Also to my staff for holding down the fort today. I'm sure I missed someone, but it's been a long day.
Jon
