short and fast

Just wanted to let everyone know that my Dad has been moved to rehab and will be there for about one to two weeks. I will update more tomorrow

A good sign

So yesterday my Mom went to see my Dad, and he said he feels like he has more movement in his left hand. He is not sure about his left leg yet since he has only been up and around a couple of times. So only time will tell but it's a good sign for his hand already. We should know today or tomorrow if he will be coming home or going to rehab for a little bit.
If things keep going the way that they are he will probably be able to just use a walker to help him get around. Though I'm sure if he were to go shopping or somewhere he would need to walk a lot he would need a cart or wheelchair of some sort.

Went to see my Dad yesterday

So I went in to see how my Dad was doing yesterday after his surgery. He looked good, all doped up on some good pain killers and being a smart ass as usual. The doctor said everything went great, so now we just have to wait and see what all he gets back.
The doctor said he will know more in about two days as far as him coming home or going to rehab for a little while. When my Mom first said rehab she made it seem like he would be there for a while, like a few weeks maybe, but now I guess they are just thinking a few days, enough time for him to get back up and moving around better on his own.
Well stubborn man that he is does not want to go to rehab and thinks he will be home by this weekend. Ya right Dad keep dreaming.
Of course only after being there for just a little while to see him, he was already kicking me and my Mom out. So we gave kisses and hugs and told him not to harass the nurses to bad while he is there. My Mom will be going back today to see him, I might be able to get up there this evening.
So for now we are just on a nice long waiting game to see what all will happen and what he gets back, keep him in your prayers and thoughts. This will not be easy on anyone in the house.

Sugery

I just talked to my Mom and she said everything went fine. They were able to do what they could, they did stop it from progressing any further and as far as how much mobility he will get back only time will tell. The doctor said that it will take from six months to one year to know how much he will get back, if any.
They are going to wait a few days with my Dad in the hospital but he will most likely be going to a rehab facility. Which I feel is for the best, that will ease the burden of what my Mom would have to do for him. Now I'm not saying that my Dad is a burden but with my Mom's health not being the greatest right now it will just be easier on her with him somewhere that they are trained and equipped to take care of someone who can't dress and bathe themselves right now. Plus I'm sure they will be able to manage his pain better than we could at home.
I do know is I know my Dad and I feel bad for who ever has to take care of him :) He can be kind of a grouch sometimes.
As of right now he is not on a ventilator but they are watching for swelling to see if he will need to be ventilated at some point.

Waiting

Right now I'm sitting at home and my Mom is on her way to the hospital to wait for the doctor to let her know how everything went. I really want to go and be there with her but I can't seem to find anyone right now to watch the kids. I don't want to ask someone that does not live close since I have no idea how long I will be up there, this is when living out in the middle of no where does not help :)
So as soon as I know anything I will try and update as soon as possible

My dad

So it started a little over a month ago, maybe two months at the longest I can't remember for sure. It started as just some back pain, and that back pain got worse and worse. Finally he went to the doctor and was told he has arthritis in his back. He then went to another doctor to get his shoulder checked out, he has had surgery before on his shoulder years ago. That doctor said he would do surgery on his shoulder in July after they figured out what was really going on with his back, and after they fixed his back if his shoulder was still bugging him.
About three weeks ago things just went from bad to worse. Over time my dad has been able to walk less and less. He had just started a new job as a school bus driver. A job he thought he would be able to do with a bad back and shoulder. Last week he came home and said he had taken a leave of absence because he did not feel safe driving the bus anymore.
He then went back to his doctors office and another doctor saw him because his normal doctor was out of the office at the time. This new doctor suggested an MRI of his neck. We all found this very odd since all the pain seemed to be in his back and he was having problems with his left leg and being able to use it at all, by this point he pretty much was just dragging his left leg behind him now.
Last Wednesday he went in for his MRI. The MRI tech called his doctor right away and told him he needed to see this now. We then got a call from his doctors office that he will be coming in Friday to talk with the doctor about the MRI. From there he was referred to a nuro doctor and was squeezed in as an emergency appointment.
Today was his apt with the nuro doctor and was admitted to the hospital right away. The doctor told him and my mom that his neck is fused in place and that it is cutting off his spinal cord. If they were to let this go and continue the way that it is now it would make it's way to the nerves that control his lungs and he would be put on a respirator.
So tomorrow first thing in the morning the doctor is going to take my dad into surgery, they will try but do not think that they will be able to repair any of the damage that has already been done. What they are mostly going in for is to stop it where it is at now. It will take between six months and one year to know how much my dad will regain as far as walking and being able to use his left side anymore.
There is also a chance that he will be on a respirator after surgery due to the area that they are operating on. If his neck and spinal cord swell they will have to put him on a respirator for sure.
He has not had the surgery and they are already talking that he will most likely be in a wheelchair, for a while at least. As of right now he can't bathe himself anymore, he can barley get around the house by himself, he has to stop and take breaks just going from his bedroom to the kitchen. All the while dragging his left leg behind him.
After surgery he will be in the hospital for about three to four days and then most likely will be moved to a rehab facility to live for a while.
As of right now we are just waiting for tomorrow for the doctor to come out from the surgery and let us know what is going on. From there we will start to know more day by day. I will try and update this blog with any progress that he is making.
Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts through all of this. This is very hard for him, he is not the type of person that will let others do things for him. He wants to do everything by himself. And for him going into this surgery knowing that he may never get any better than he is right now is very hard and devastating for him.

A Dream is coming true

So today I had to go to the doctor for a infection not fun. But I did find out that once this infection is cleared up in about two weeks my doctor will give me a referral to the plastic surgeon for a breast reduction.
Most who know me know this is something that I have wanted since high school. It will be so nice to be able to buy cute bras, not have to go to a special store to even hope I can find a bra that fits. I will be able to wear button up shirts again. I will no longer have back and neck pain. Heck maybe I can have a conversation with some guys and they will look at me and not my chest. Yes I know there are a lot of women out there who wish they were more blessed in the chest, but for me I'm way to blessed.
I was really hoping that after I was done nursing my daughter that I would get a little smaller than I was before, well if anything I think I'm a little bigger than I was before. I know that they will probably want me to lose at least 10% of my body weight which is fine with me since I'm already trying to lose weight. This will just help motivate me even more to lose the weight and then keep it off afterwords so that they don't grow again.
This could all take awhile to complete, since I will have to be approved by my insurance. Please pray that they will approve me for this. If I do not get approval from Kaiser then I have no clue when I will be able to have this done. I know that this surgery is not cheap. I also do not go into this lightly. But for me the benefits out way the risks by a lot for me.
My husband, well he is standing me hind me. Does he wish I would stay the same size I am now, sure but what man wouldn't. He does understand why I want this so much and because of that he is supporting me 100%. Though I did tell him just the other day that he needs to be prepared to take time off of work to help me afterwords. He looked at me and said why. Ugh sometimes I just want to smack him.
Um hello hunny your wife will be having major surgery and not be able to do very much for a while that's why. He has had surgery in the past and should remember how much I had to do for him afterwords. You would think that since what I'm having done is way more invasive that he ever had that he would get it, but oh well I guess not.
So please pray that Kaiser will approve me for this so that they will pay for the surgery for me. If not then please pray that I will come up with a way to pay for it myself someday in the near future.