Prayers, good thoughts, bead rattling, etc. for Star's family

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Thank goodness surgery went well.

And I'm with someone else who expressed concern that they send patients home too soon after such major surgeries. YES they DO!!! And NO it's NOT a GOOD thing. And that's all that I'm gonna say about that right now. lol It's a major thing with me, sorry.

Wow. Just WOW about the accident and the shape of the car. Black ice is the only thing that scares the heck outta me as far as winter driving.

So glad it turned out so much much better than it could have. And yes the power of this board pulling together for someone is downright awesome to behold. I hope Star Sis recovers without complications.

I think this is one of those situations you just look at it and know, it just wasn't your time.

(((hugs)))
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
My sister wanted to send her thanks and amazement that my friends were so involved in her life. (Told you we are not so close) However - she was taken to tears and truely touched that so many people were praying for her and my niece and said to extend her thanks and appreciation for your kindness even though you don't know her or her daughter. She was very touched and wanted you to know that she sent her thanks.

As far as the car? Ahhhhhh yes, well - (exhale) I have been in seven crashes by drunk drivers hitting me and two other wrecks not alcohol related where I was not at fault. FLYPAPER for freaks. Told you. I've rolled, spun, had to be cut out of cars, et al. Not fun. I could not go to the car and when offered pictures did not immediately look. It took a while to say "Okay." And only at my nieces urging. After I saw it? Made me want to run out and buy a lottery ticket, rub it on the car or something. I've been a Ford person nearly 20 years. I belive I shall continue - even the 'stolen' car (ahem) is a Ford. (sigh) oh that's right - 2010 purchase - we are in 2011 luck right? Right.

As far as the artery? It is something - and Marg please forgive me I am no medical especial and lack even rudimentary speaking skills, so bear with me, but in the back of a vertebra there are arteries (okay you got me there) and apparently this one artery was crushed or pinched. It wasn't life threatening, but damaged enough that they needed to un-pinch (oh I could see the look on my sisters face too when she said un-pinch) it. Anyway they took cadavar, cadaver,(sp) -you say cadavar, I say dead person......bone and fused it to a vertebra or vertebrae (sp again) in her neck then they took rods or plates and I'm guessing screwed them into the other two or three bones and fused them to the other one, and voila (that's my word not hers) neck better. Believe me - I got lost after 'my incision' to the ------actually? I got lost in the hospital, but that is a whole other adventure - and WHO in the blue blazes designed that quagmire of a maze anyway? And NO I had NO idea I couldn't get to the 5th floor from the morgue. (I just kept pressing buttons) Over two elevators down this hall around the bend - I mean just take me okay?

Long story short? She's home now - and happy to be there - OMG You have no idea how happy I am.......(germaphobe 'member?) There are no words.......NO words. Blech......does not even begin.....to.describe.the.horror. And cafeteria? H no - that's a 9 letter word for He**

THANK YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
I get it, Star. You described it very well. If you ever get the chance to look at a model of the neck (bones, nerves and blood vessels) you will see how it looks like an intricate puzzle with little tube spaces here and there for nerves and blood vessels to fit through, like multi-coloured spaghetti. The problems come when you get those tubes in the bone collapsing for whatever reason, and pressing on whatever is trying to fit through the tube. If yo over-compress a blood vessel, it doesn't do its job well, of carrying blood from this place to that. And blood vessels carry good blood (nutrients, oxygen) to various parts of the body, as well as waste products away from various parts of the body. If the blood flow is impaired, then the cells 'fed' by those blood vessels can become toxic, starved and die. Nerves also are important - if they're blocked or swollen (and right now, there will be nerves in her neck area that are swollen, but this will ease) then they don't feed electrical signals to the muscles so well, and this over time can lead to a reduction or loss in function. Nerves are more easily permanently damaged. There are a lot of things that can be done to compensate for reduction of nerve function, but hopefully your sister won't need any of that.

I predict that in two weeks she will be feeling a vast deal better. In two months, exponentially more so. It will take time and she will probably have some problems that will continue for longer, but all improvement will be good. From here, the only way to go is up.

My nephew broke his neck in a school football scrum. He was a soccer player who decided to play ONE game of rugby. It was also his last. WHen the scrum collapsed on him, he was lying there unable to move. They air-lifted him from Newcastle to one of Sydney's best spinal hospitals and operated on him to stabilise the break. They said it was his strong neck muscles form soccer-playing (heading the ball) that saved him. The muscles cradled the neck and stopped the spinal cord form being severed. A week later after surgery, I got to see him take his first steps. He had a halo on, had to wear it for a few months while bones knitted. Wires wrapping around him like a roll cage for his head and neck. That was many years ago - if you are able to see any of the wedding photos on my FB site, you might see this very handsome blonde man who jumped off the back of the boat to push us off a sandbar. He'd be about 37 now. Still a model of physical fitness. I know he took about a year to recover enough to go back to training.

Marg
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Marg -

They gave her the option of a halo or surgery. Halo said the doctor - would take over a year for this type of injury to knit itself - and be very painful - emphasis on very. No guarantees on proper healing and then there was the artery collapse question. Second option was surgery. Recovery time was six months, with pain free feeling in less than three weeks. She said the immediate relief was felt the day after surgery, however like we all stated it was the morphine talking. She's home now, and in quite a bit of pain. However the fact that she can walk at all to us? Amazing.

Her poor head is black and blue, purple and green, yellow - behind her ears and her scalp is black and purple. She had an orange sized knot on her head that took two full days to subside. We're told the blackness is not bruising behind her ears, but rather the blood from her knot. It will eventually dissipate and be gone.

The scar on her neck from the opening for surgery I'm told is very painful. I would suspect from being held open by the fork things during surgery and stretching? (Told you if it's not a family member I can watch all day - family member? Queasy) Reason for becoming a trucker and not an ambulance person.

As far as that blonde nephew of yours? No need to remind me......lol. I remember. :flirtysmile3:(slaps hand over eyes and does quick math - okay 37 is NOT young enough to be my son - I'm safe) hehe.
 
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