Geno's Back

On August 31st, Geno was leaving for work as usual. He bent down to put his lunch cooler in the Camaro and couldn't stand back up! We tried ice, heat, muscle relaxers, a massage, and everything else we could think of before finally heading to the ER the next day--under the orders of his co-workers from DC who were in town for a technology conference. They gave him shots, stronger muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, oxycodone and an appointment with a spinal surgeon the next morning. (The photo above is him waiting for the spinal surgeon to see us.) Even with the meds from the ER, Geno got out of bed and made it to the bathroom, but then he had to crawl back to the bed. After x-rays, an MRI, and a discogram, the spinal surgeon determined that Geno has dysplastic spondylolithesis (a congenital spinal defect where two vertebrae didn't fuse correctly). So, surgery was scheduled for the next week to fuse L-3,4,and 5. Oh, I forgot to mention that he also has some degeneration of discs L3-4 and L4-5. When he went for the discogram at the Center for Pain, he was prescribed a stronger dosage of Valium and Diladid. The drugs just kept getting stronger! They also scheduled him to come back the next day for an epidural to help control the pain until the surgery.

Before the epidural, they give you some anesthesia to help take the edge off. Geno has always been a lightweight when it comes to anesthesia! When they brought him out to the waiting area, he was too funny! He was slurring his words, didn't make a whole lot of sense, and trying really hard to act like he knew what he was doing. If you notice in the photo, he is reading TWO magazines. At one point, he lifted the magazine up close to his face and was moving his lips in an effort to read the article. That was when I couldn't resist pulling out the camera. I did miss the shot when he turned his head to the side listening to the tv...kinda like a dog. Sadly, after going through all of this, it didn't take care of the pain at all. But he sure does look happy here!

Then, the insurance company did not approve the surgery, so he was pretty down about not being able to get some relief. They wanted him to try some more conservative approaches first: physical therapy, epidurals, and medication. Well, he had already done the epidural and that wasn't going to work. Geno was born with only one kidney, so taking medication on a regular basis is too dangerous. Plus, he has a Top Secret Security Clearance for his job and can't take such strong pain killers on a regular basis. He did try the physical therapy, but it was making the pain worse. Finally, he got an appointment with a neurosurgeon for a second opinion and it was determined that he did not have dysplastic spondylolithesis. However, he did have joints in L-4 and L-5 that were pinching the nerves and causing the pain in his lower back and all the way down to his feet. The surgery was scheduled for Monday and the insurance company approved this one.

We went to St. Vincent's in Birmingham for the surgery. We had to arrive at 5:30am for pre-surgery. This place was awesome! All of the staff were wonderful and very attentive. After changing into his hospital gown he was cold, so they hooked up this awesome blow dryer type heater that filled his gown with hot air. How cool is that?

The surgery was a little over an hour and then he went to recovery. I was allowed to see him after an hour in recovery. The surgeon came out and spoke to me right after he finished and said that everything went well. He fixed the joints (I think think that means he shaved off the parts of the vertebrae that were pinching the nerves) and while he was in there he went ahead and checked the discs that the spinal surgeon said needed to be fused. He said that there was some degeneration, but they did not require surgery at this point. He did not mention, however, that Geno had had an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they gave him before the surgery and was scratching himself like crazy. They had to pump him full of benedryl but he was still scratching himself like crazy when I got into the recovery room! I'm so glad he cut his nails the night before, because he was doing the scratching while he was still out cold and he was leaving some serious welts. He must have really itched! Also, he had a lot of swelling at the top of his incision, so he was laying on ice in recovery. Apparently that happens, but it has to be watched closely. As soon as he got up to use the restroom, he wanted his own clothes back on.

Just to show how incredibly crazy he is (and how crazy I am for listening to him), we went to Whole Foods for lunch on the way home from the hospital! He could barely stand up since his feet were numb and he fell asleep if he sat still for more than a few seconds, but he assured me that he was good to go to Whole Foods for lunch! We come here for dates every once in a while because we love the good food. At least they had a wheel chair for me to push him around!

I was pretty shocked at how swollen it was when I first saw it. Since Geno couldn't see it, I took a photo to show him. You can judge how swollen by seeing the indentation of his backbone and then the big bump. It is still pretty swollen, but I can tell it has gone down since this photo.

I got him home and medicated and comfortable. We were watching tv and he was getting tired. He asked for the remote "just to hold onto it." It is too funny that the remote is his security blanket! This was passed on to our grandson when he was living with us. He just wanted to hold it!

Thank you to all of our friends who have emailed, called and texted to check on him. He is supposed to sit or lie for 30 minutes and then get up and move around-when he isn't sleeping. I am really impressed with how well he is moving around. It isn't like he is gone long when he is working, but I am enjoying having him here with me all day. He has never been one to stay at home, so we made a trip to Wal-Mart yesterday and will probably go to our church Halloween party tonight.