Recovery

Justin and I have been staying at my parents' house for the last 3 and a half weeks.  They have been so wonderful and have helped with my every need.  Justin's parents live only 5 minutes from my parents' house, so they have been so amazing and helpful too.  How lucky are we, seriously?!  I'll try to sum up how my recovery has gone and answer a few questions people have asked me.

For the first few days, I slept on the couch in my parents' living room, so I didn't have to walk up any stairs.  Justin slept on the ground beside me, and helped me get up, roll over, etc.  I was still in pain the majority of the time, and many times he would have to help me lift up my head whenever I'd move because it hurt so bad.  It was a relief to be able to sleep through the night without nurses coming in for check-ups.  I was also so happy to have the IVs out- one left a really dark bruise up my arm that stuck around for a while.  

Our routine consisted of taking my many medications, putting ice on my forehead and neck, putting heat on my back to help loosen the muscles, and lots of neck massages with Icy Hot (thanks Mom, Justin and Dad!!!).  Eating got a lot easier, and I was able to sit up for meals without getting nauseous.  I also have range of motion exercises that I have been told to do 8 times a day.  Here's what I do:

1.  Turn head to the left and then to the right

2.  Look up and down

3.  Shrug shoulders up, roll them forward, and roll them back

4.  Raise arms up from the front, and then raise them from the back.  

I do each exercise for 5 seconds, and repeat it 5 times for one exercise session.  

The first few days, I could barely turn my head to the left and right, and do the arm raises.  It was so painful!  I would think, they're crazy!  How could this possibly be helping me?  But I had been assured that doing the exercises faithfully was key to my pain management, so I've done them consistently and seen great progress!  

I also slept a lot the first little while.  It was difficult to want to get up at all.  I started walking around the circle of the main floor from the kitchen, to the living room and back to the family room.  At first I needed someone to walk next to me, but then could do it on my own.  I eventually graduated to walking around the block outside!  

A week after the surgery, I got the staples out of the incision.  Hallelujah!  My neck felt so tight with them in.  I was really scared about getting them out.  I didn't see how they could do it without it being painful.  But when the nurse went to take them out, I was sitting there waiting and she said, "Okay, there's the first one... and the second one... etc." and I couldn't feel A THING!!  How awesome is that!  It didn't hurt at all except for a little pinch with the last one.  There were 18 staples total, and we kept them for fun.  Justin asked if he could keep the staple remover, since they throw it away each time, but they wouldn't let him.  Goof ball :)  The next two days, my neck was really tender, but it was a lot easier to put ice on it.  (Before, the staples themselves would get really cold from ice and be really painful!).  After the tenderness went away, it got a lot easier to do the range of motion exercises.  

Recovery has been discouraging at times.  As I've remembered my blessings and turned to Heavenly Father through prayer and reading the scriptures, I've been buoyed up with comfort and love.  I am so lucky to have my husband always by my side!  He is so wonderful and understanding.  My awesome parents and sisters, other family members and friends have brought me so much joy too!  

It has also been a great time to relax and spend time with my family.  I've watched my favorite movies and tv shows, read some great books, and enjoyed lots of time with my parents' dog Indy!  Pets are so therapeutic!  My awesome cousin Mandy Burton is a massage therapist, and she's been coming twice a week to give me massages.  I can tell you, that has been just great :)  It's done a lot to help loosen up my neck, shoulder and back muscles, which have been so tight.  Thanks Mandy!

Look at that little face!  He likes to snuggle and take naps with me.  

I have been getting better and stronger everyday!  I still rest a lot, but small improvements mean a lot in a process like this.  Now I can walk around the block 5 times unassisted, get up and lay down by myself, ride in the car without nausea, shower and dress independently, and move my head around almost at my full range of motion!  

A lot of people have asked how my incision on the back of my neck is doing.  It's about 4 inches long.  Half of it is above my hairline, so I have a cute little patch of shaved hair!  You can't tell at all if my hair is down.  The incision itself looks really good!  It's still a little swollen and red, but in time it will just be a white line.  I have to use baby shampoo for a while, since it's easier on the skin around it.  

Here's a picture of my incision.  Notice the movie in the background ;)  Love me some Pride and Prejudice!

We have a check-up appointment with Dr. Schmidt next Wednesday, the 25th.  He will look at the incision to make sure it's healing properly, and take a CT scan to make sure the surgery was successful and my brain has plenty of space.  I'll try to get a picture of it so I can post a before and after picture of my brain!

So that's what's going on here!  I'm doing really really well, and looking forward to getting back into my normal activities soon!  I love you all very much and thank you for the many prayers, thoughts and acts of service!  Thanks!!   I'll post an update after my appointment on Wednesday!