Surprised

 My visit with my spine surgeon did not go well last Tuesday. He had 5 x-rays taken. After he had viewed them, he came into the examination room and told me my cervical spine did not look the way it should 3 months post-op. There was too much motion evident on the extension and flexion views. 

He ran into a complication during the surgery on December 22nd that he had not anticipated. When he tried to position the new titanium plate, he found the level where he planned to insert the screw was soft and mushy as he put it. This was the donor bone graft from my 2003 surgery not my body's original vertebra. He put in a longer plate so that he could insert the screw elsewhere. 

He is concerned that the lack of stability and evidence of motion on the recent x-rays means we might "lose fixation", his terminology. The motion also means there is a risk that the two fusions he did with cages and bone bits might not actually fuse. He laid out 3 options: wait, do posterior cervical fusion to place rods and screws on the back side of the spinal column, do posterior cervical fusion with a minimally invasive procedure that would not require cutting through the muscles but would put cages in the backside to eliminate motion. I was stunned. I certainly don't feel emotionally ready to face another surgery. 

I told him to schedule the minimally invasive surgery, but when the scheduling nurse (the same one I had in December) called, I told her to pick a date in June. I will wait until almost 6 months past the original surgery. I also told her I was not 100% confident I was going to have the surgery; that I was going to seek a second opinion. She encouraged me to do that so I could have peace of mind. She said I could always cancel.

Today I called about an appointment with another spine surgeon who specializes in cervical surgery including the type of minimally invasive procedure. I am waiting for a call-back for an exact time.

It is true that I am taking a risk that a screw could loosen and perforate the esophagus or the plate could slip and harm the spinal cord. I see those risks when I read stuff on the internet. But my doctor did say waiting is an option. I have to believe that if it was urgent, he would have said so. Because of the risk, I think I will probably end up doing something to reduce that risk eventually. Just what and the timing are something I will discuss with the second-opinion doctor. 

Yesterday morning my doorbell rang. A bouquet was being delivered from a local florist. My sweet husband knew I was feeling down after the doctor visit. He decided to cheer me up. The decision to delay surgery so I have a few months to enjoy life again has also helped me tremendously. I wish I could ease his concerns about me. 

Bouquets and beds

The bouquet the literary club hostess gave me a week ago Wednesday is still pretty. Maybe even prettier because the hot pink buds opened fully. What do you think looking at the two photos? I am enjoying them so much. I can't believe how long they have lasted.

My quince bush is full of blooms, too. The fothergilla bush has bottle-bush type of "blooms" which are turning from green to white.

I saw while driving last week a bush of lilacs and red bud trees flowering . The apple trees also have blooms about ready to burst into full color.

It has been rainy today. It poured when I drove to my Silver Sneakers class this morning. My umbrella wasn't much help because of the wind-blown slanty rain.

My Silver Sneakers instructor had surgery on her rotator cuff two weeks ago. Various people have been substituting, but we are doing hardly anything similar to what we did previously. After next week, I will have Mondays and Wednesdays free; I think I will attend the Enhance Fit class instead of the Tuesday/Thursday Silver Sneakers for a few months until the original teacher has recuperated and is back. She made the class interesting and fun. 

Last Saturday I bought a twin bed to replace my queen bed. It should arrive next week sometime. For the past 2 years I have been buying twin-sized bedding on sale in anticipation of this change. I took some discolored and worn queen sheets to the animal shelter. I have a few better sets I will take to Good Will, maybe tomorrow.

It has been a time of changes. My husband is having a tool sale Saturday. He is downsizing a bit. He already sold the drill press even before the sale. A few years ago he sold some kind of measuring tool my father had given him on our neighborhood garage sale. It was more for metal workers. (My father was a sheet metal machinist.) The man who bought it lives at the end of our block; he gave it to his grandson in Michigan. Now he has bought the drill press which also came from my father. My husband used it some, but again it is more for metal than wood workers. If the big saw also sells, we should have more room in the garage. My husband is keeping many hand tools though.

Yesterday I went to the Mother's Day Tea in the dining room at Grace Village. When I arrived home, my husband asked me what kind of tea they served. They didn't serve any! We had punch or water to drink. Little finger sandwiches and bon bons and fruit cup and lots of deviled eggs. People took 2 or 3 eggs, but even so when my table went through the buffet line (we were next to last), there were still beaucoup eggs on the trays. The program was a mother/daughter duo sharing about their fun of finding plants to make 15 gardens on their acreage. So, I guess you could call it a garden party rather than a tea party.

May Day

The sun finally came out this afternoon. We had light rain and sprinkles earlier. The table decorations at the Winona Literary Club were fresh flowers today. As I was locking doors, turning off lights, putting away the mic, etc., one of the hostesses asked me if I would like to have one of the centerpieces. Wasn't that nice?

After club, I took the money collected for the Winona Literary Club luncheon on May 15th to the bank to deposit. Just one more meeting (the luncheon) and I will be done as President. Hurray. I did agree to serve as treasurer next year though.

It has been a rather soggy April, but now with some warmth I see  more signs of spring. My cheddar pinks are putting out flower stalks now. Probably blooms in a few weeks. Just the barest hint of red growth means the moss roses are also going to come up pretty soon. My quince bush is loaded with buds turning slightly coral. The neighborhood tulips are opening; maybe I can go Saturday afternoon to Peabody in North Manchester to see its tulips. Tonight my husband is taking me to Texas Roadhouse.

I stayed up way too late last night reading a book on my ipad. This is one of those "freebies" from Wall Street Journal. The book is about the Thai soccer team stranded in the cave after flooding. I thought since I knew the outcome the book might be uninteresting, but I am finding it a good read.

Happy May Day!