Two weeks after surgery....I hope this might help others

[block]

I underwent translab surgery two weeks ago (January 25th).My surgical team of Dr's Patrick Slater and Craig Kemper are based in Austin Texas and I cannot begin to give them enough credit for all they have done.The folks at Seton Hospital were all great and I could not have asked for a better team to work with.Instead of going into the small details of my surgery I thought I would try and relay some of the things that I found to be most helpful for myself and my recovery.

My first advice to anyone about to undergo this procedure would be to make sure you have a strong support team.In my case I had my wife.She put up with my mood changes in the days leading up to surgery and as always she was very understanding.Also make sure that your suport team has a support team.I know my wife was under a lot of stress during all this and it really helped her to have friends there with her.I think these support teams build the foundation for a successful recovery.

I am a very active person and my physical fitness has always been a passion with me.In the weeks leading up to surgery I really stepped up my workouts and begin to incorparate walking into my workouts.I walked about 4 miles a day in the weeks prior to surgery and I am convinced that this really speeded up recovery and helped me to begin regaining my sense of balance quicker.

During the 3 days I was in the hospital I made a point to drink as much water as I could.I have heard bad stories about folks laying in the hospital and having their kidneys shut down and I knew that I did not want that to happen so I consumed as much water as I could stand,even with the upset stomach.Also keep your lungs active.The nurses brought me a device to exhale into and test my lung capacity.Exhaling too many times into one of these can really create dizziness so I discarded it and begin my own deep breathing excersises.

Eat what you can but do not stress if you have no appetite.I nibbled and my meals but my appetite was just not there during the first 3-5 days after surgery.For the first 3 days the thought of food really turned my stomach  but I did mange to eat some crackers and fruit.

Get yourself out of bed and walk as much as possible and then walk some more.In my case walking during the first 36-48 hours was pretty hard.I started out by walking only a few feet.I had the urge to crawl back in the bed and go to sleep but I knew that I needed to be on my feet.My turning point for this came right at 48 hours after the surgery.The upset stomach begin to fade and I made it my perosnal goal to be up and roaming the hallways and the stairwells as much as I could.Some folks recover quicker than others but in any case get out of bed as soon as you can and you will be taking steps to recovery.

In the days since I got home I have continued to walk.I felt good enough to do 5.5 miles yesterday (Sunday Feb 5th) My balance is still not 100% but everyday I feel a little better.I also believe in the healing power of the sun.Here in Central Texas we have been blessed with very warm sunny days lately and I try and absorb some sun everyday.

I hope that someone can gain a little something from thses tips.I know everyone is different and everyone heals in different ways but these ideas work for me.The one thing I have tried to keep throughout all of this is a positive attitude.I must admit the first 2 days I wondered if I had really messed myself up but at the same time I was noticing improvement in my condition almost hour by hour.That and the fact that burning desire to get out of the hospital and back on my feet.

[HeadCase2]

  I'm going in this coming Thursday.    Your note was very helpful in alaying some of the concerns.
Regards,
 Rob

[ppearl214]

Block, helps more than you know.... and Rob, sending you wishes and hugs for an easy procedure (well, as easy as possible) and a speedy recovery... please have someone keep us posted how you are doing, ok?

[JHager]

Howdy!

I can't agree more strongly - KEEP AS BUSY AS YOU CAN!  Push yourself a bit...  the balance issues are difficult, but your sense of balance responds to being stressed and recovers more strongly each time.

I had surgery November 7th (wow, today's four months - cool!), and am running a half marathon on March 18th.  At first, I would walk down the hallway to work on my balance.  Then, I would walk to stairs.  Then my neighborhood.  Then I started hiking.  Then jogging.  Etc, etc.  Each new thing pushed a bit more; today, unless I am really tired or it is very dark, I have no sense of balance loss at all.  Keeping active will help the healing process!

Rob - Good luck!  I hope your recovery is smooth and pain-free.

Keep the faith!

Josh