I’m having spinal fusion surgery this upcoming Tuesday on 9/22 at 10:30 am and am really scared. Not so much for the surgery itself, but for the success of the surgery itself and the long, long recovery as long as 12/15/2020.
Thanks everyone!
If you feel so inclined, you can follow everything on https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bradpollina where we also have a go fund me as well as a mealtrain.
So sorry to hear. Brings back memories of my fall last Sept, with trip to ER and 3 day hospital stay for broken hip. Definitely an adjustment during recovery on what I could and couldn’t do (with or without assistance).
And mostly made me feel 10 years older using walker and cane. But with patience and time, back to 95%.
Prayers and Good luck coming your way.
@bpollina, I wish you all the best for your procedure and hope your recovery is faster than expected with the best possible outcome. You will have my prayers and thoughts on 9/22. Btw, I did edit your post to remove your comment. We don’t have any rules that would prevent you from posting your link. We only moderate the junk from folks that don’t contribute.
I will pray for you. Please keep us up-to-date on the progress.
You’ve got my prayers!
Sending warm thoughts.
My thoughts and prayers are with you for a speedy recovery 
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@bpollina, sorry to hear this, back issues are no fun at all. It sounds like you’ll be in good hands, though. I’m praying for you, too.
Sending my best wishes your way. Hoping you’re through the worst and on your way to a healthy recovery - Jessica
Sorry I haven’t commented in so long. I wish they had prepared me better for post-care. I honestly thought that when I woke up that my hip pain and leg pain would be completely gone and I would be a little sore, but nothing earth shattering. Boy was I wrong! I came out an my pain was off the charts! I had to have 3 shots of Dilauded (?sp) in the first 25 min. Once I got a room for the night nearly 5 hours later, I was placed on a morphine pump and woke nearly every hour for vitals and pills. Everything hurt worse than I came in, and I could barely sleep. The very next day, my doc came in mid morning and announced that I would be going home THAT DAY after 4:30. They said they were full, and he didn’t wanting me catching anything. So they sent me home with a stool softener, muscle spasm pill, and Hydrocodone 1-2 every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. I also opted for a shower chair and a walker.
Since being home, my normal morning routine, which use to take 30 min, now takes about 90 minutes. I have to be very deliberate in how I move and what I do. But I’m definitely on the mend and can see progress. Tomorrow 10/7 is my first follow-up visit with my general surgeon who will check my stomach to make sure there is no infection. Next week my back surgeon will evaluate the back itself and decide what meds to change. Eventually we will formulate a plan to get me back to work. I really hope we can do that as a team, because my back doctor himself is a very fast, arrogant male but has a fantastic team of nurses that are just the opposite. My work doesn’t allows part-time work nor light duty, so I want to make 100% certain that I"m ready rather than be forced to try and then fail.
But thank you all so very much for your prayers and concerns. Please keep them coming!
btw, from a diabetes stand point, the hospital was awesome. They made me move my G6 Dexcom and my Omnipod elsewhere during surgery itself. I chose my arms and hated it, but it worked. I’m still looping, so I opened the loop during surgery but got my phone back once in recovery. I had to sign a form saying I would be responsible for everything diabetic, and I never went over 150! I even had a nurse that was interested and actually helped me by holding things like my vial when it was time to change it out. I wish every hospital could be so easy.
Sorry to hear that it is a really painful recovery. Great news that you are on the mend, and amazing that they let you loop in the hospital!!
Isn’t it though? I’ve heard all kinds of horror stories about them taking all tech away and using sliding scale and letting you get into the high 250’s before they do anything. I stayed nice in the low 100-125 range the entire time and I owe it all to LOOP! I’ve heard tidepool is looking for guinea pigs, but I don’t know enough about it. I applied but no one has contacted me yet and unsure what kind of NDA they will require if any. If they will let me set any range I want, loose the riley link and allow total control from my Galaxy S10+ then I’m interested. If not, then I’ll just keep on truckin’ with my trusty Rileylink, iPhone SE2020 and my S10+ for everything else. why fix what isn’t broke (5.5 last A1C about a month ago).
Glad that you are recovering, but I’m sorry to hear about the pain. It’s scary to wake up and feel a crazy amount of post-surgical pain. I hope that things are going well for you now! Jessica
Thanks everyone. Still healing but doing much, much better.
Still home on disability but doing much better. I return to work 12/15 working from home. At my last visit a few weeks ago, my surgeon said that now is the time people think they can do anything and overdo it and sometimes relapse. He told me to be careful. I can definitely tell when I do too much bending or lifting, but I’m glad I’m on the mend. Looking forward to going back to work.