Recovery Ahead of Schedule

I had my appointment with Dr Hu yesterday December 12th and everything is progressing perfectly. Dr. Hu reviewed with me all the Xrays showing the before and after and he said it was looking great. In reviewing the Xrays it seemed strange seeing the spine inserts and rods that are screwed on ( Pretty Big Screws), you could clearly see the change in the spine spacing and alignment. As the old pain in my leg and back are completely gone the surgery obviously has been successful.At this stage there is very little pain in my back just a little stiffness and minor pain in my lower back related to the surgery, which Dr. Hu said will subside in the next couple of weeks. So for now the recovery continues to be walking, unfortunately with the weather here in Calgary, more snow yesterday and minus 30 degrees, I can not get outside so walking consists mostly of laps around the house.
My next appointment is for January 5th when I will have another Xray and if everything keeps progressing at the same pace I will be able to start my rehab program. The good news is that I will be able to travel and so Sandi and I plan on going to Palm Desert on the 15th of January for a couple of weeks. The Physio Therapist will outline a program that I can do for a couple of weeks in Palm Desert. Much better than hanging around in the Calgary weather.
This will be my last update for 2008 so I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Keep in touch through EMail or Blog.

One Week Later

Well it is hard to believe but one week has passed since my surgery. Reflecting back on the week I would like to express my gratitude to the wonderful nurses and staff at the Foothills Hospital who helped and encouraged me. Also thank you to DR. HU and his surgery group. The Spinal Fusion procedure was obviously a success as the pain in my right leg, related to the pressure on the sciatic nerve is completely gone. The only remaining pain is the stiffness/soreness in my lower back which I am managing with one or two percocet pain killers daily. The pain is not that bad, no worse than the minor hockey/soccer injuries that I have experienced over the years.
The last couple of days I have been out walking around the block and I am more mobile everyday. The only drawback is that it snowed last night so the street are to slippery to go out today. Boy I wish I was in Palm Desert.
I cannot believe the progress I have made in the first week and I hope this continues.

Home out of Hospital

I came home from the hospital on Thursday morning the 27th at about 11AM. only three days after the surgery amazing and what a relief! They say the first couple of days after surgery are the worst and that was absolutely the case. On Tuesday when Steve Hampton was at the hospital for a visit things were not very good and at that time I was thinking that the surgery may have been a mistake. I had a bad reaction to morphine and the worst imaginable headache, could not move to get in a comfortable position,was not able to sleep and time just seemed to stand still. Then what a difference the next morning Wednesday the 26th the physiotherapist Debbie, one of the nicest and most patient people I have ever met, came in and she was able to get me out of bed and with the assistance of a walker I was off on my first walk down the hallway. When I got back I was able to sit up in a chair. After a few minutes of rest and the help from the nurses I was able to use the walker to get to the bathroom and wash up and brush my teeth, an amazing feeling. Now I had the motivation and I was determined that I was going get better and get out of here as quickly as possible.
When Sandi came back to the hospital that morning she was shocked to see me sitting in a chair. I know when her and Berrit left the night before they were both emotionally upset because I was in such bad shape. So it was great to see the relief on her face when she came in and saw that I had improved so dramatically. The only way I could describe the change from day to day was that I felt 2000 times better. Sandi and I had a coffee and a piece of toast the first food I had in days and boy did it taste great.
The rest of the day saw continued improvement as I went for numerous walks around the hospital and not once did I go back to bed. At about 1Pm with my improvement the nurses then were able to remove the catheter and IV's which gave me freedom to move around with out much help.
I also got to talk to Kirsten, she is at UBC in Vancouver, on the cell phone and told her how much better I was feeling and of course she was extremely relived as well. I know she wanted to be here for my operation but she is very busy with her school work. Kirsten I know you were always thinking about me and I know it was hard not being here, the same feelings mom and I have about you when we can't always be there for you when things aren't going well.
When Berrit finished at the University she came back to the hospital and we went for dinner in the cafeteria by wheelchair. Later Berrit's boyfriend Joe came to the hospital for a visit and we all sat in the lounge and talked. Everyone left the hospital in much better spirit than the day before.
When DR. Hu and his Resident came to visit that day they were also amazed at my improvement and said that I could be out in a couple of days. The next morning when they came back to see me again I was even better and they said I could go home that day if Debbie, the Physio gave me the OK. In order to get this approval I had to show that I was capable of using a cane not a walker and able to safely maneuver up and down stairs. With a little help from Debbie and some practice I was able to handle this reasonably well. So after some paperwork for my release and they made a wooden cane for me to use it was time to go home.
Here at home I have finally been able to have my first shower, what a great feeling to get the hospital smell off, and get dressed, with a lot of help from Sandi. Also yesterday Friday the 28th I got out for my first walk outside not very far just down to the mailbox and back maybe 200 yards, in a world class time of 20 minutes, but it felt wonderful. I still have to use my cane for walking so I look like Mister Peanut out for a walk. That's all for now I will try and post again in the next day or two.

The Surgery

Hello Everyone,

This is Berrit posting a quick note for my Dad.

My Dad's surgery went well, and he is recovering at the Foothills hospital. Surgery was scheduled for 7:30am this morning but started a little late (the hospital was very busy) at 8:30am. The surgery took longer than expected, but his doctor (Dr. Hu) said everything went well and that he will be in to check on my Dad first thing tomorrow morning. Needless to say, my Dad is in a lot of pain and feels quite groggy and tired. His throat is extremely sore because he had to have a breathing tube down his throat during surgery. He did make a few jokes with my Mom and I at the hospital though and was awake and talking to us before I left around 8:00pm. Hopefully he will get a good sleep tonight and will be feeling much better tomorrow.

Will post again as soon as there is more news!

Surgery Scheduled for 7:30 AM Monday

The hospital just called and I have to checkin at 6AM Monday morning the 24th, a little early but at least I don't have to think about it all day. The schedule is for the surgery to start at 7:30 AM and should be over by 12 noon and then a couple of hours in the recovery room. Hopefully then I will be transfered to a room and not be stuck in a hallway, but who knows with the state of our over crowded hospital system. Once I am in a room and after the surgery my daughter Berrit will post on the Blog so everyone will know the outcome.
Last item. GO! Stamps GO! Hopefully the Stampeders can win the Grey Cup.

Back From Palm Desert

Arrived back home in Calgary last night and snow on the ground, so no golf here. Definetely a rude awakening from the weather in Palm Desert it was amazing mid to high 80s everyday. With the help of voltaren I was able to get some last golf games in. Sandi also got me out to do some Christmas shopping in LA.
The count down is now on just three more days to wait. It can not come soon enough. On monday I had to stop taking the voltaren and boy has this proven to be tough, constant pain with every little move. The hardest part though was leaving Palm Desert and knowing that there will be no golf for a long time.
I would like to thank everyone for all the support, encouragement and well wishes. I greatly appreciate the advice and suggestions on how to deal with the surgery and recovery.

Final Appointment with Dr. Hu

Monday October 27th Sandi and I met with Dr. Hu and he gave us the final update as to the procedure for the spinal fusion operation on November 24th. I am extremely anxious to get this operation over with but still a little apprehensive. He reassured us that he has had a lot of success with this procedure and he expects I will recover better than ever. I followed the Dr Hu meeting with an appointment with his physiotherapist Marco Lebrasseur who gave me a set of stretching exercises to do prior to the operation. I will be working with him starting 3-4 weeks after the operation. I also completed all the pre-operation stuff, blood work, chest xray, etc and I am wearing the yellow identification band so no turning back now. Sandi and I are going to Palm Desert on November 4th for two weeks, may as well get a couple of weeks of sun before, as it will be quite some time before we can go back.

How did we get to this point.

For those of you who have suffered from a bad back or know someone with a bad back you know that you will try anything to make it better. I was the same. I tried physio, chiropractor, spinal decompression all of which proved to be a total waste of money. The pain and the effect on the quality of life, not being able to do the simplist of things such as walking and the fact that things were getting progressively worse led to my decision to pursue surgery.Thanks to my good friend and personal physician (Bob Harper) who was instrumental in getting me an appointment with a top Spinal Surgeon (Dr. Richard Hu) I made the decision to proceed with surgery. Dr. Hu will be performing a spinal fusion using spacers for fusion between the L4/L5 vertebra and a rod system to stabilize the spine(see attached picture). The operation is scheduled for Monday November 24th and takes approximately 4 hours. I will be in hospital 4 to 5 days.