Jeff’s Spinal Surgery

Since I wasn’t able to blog yesterday, this post will just include two days all in one…

Wednesday was Wacky Tacky Day at school, and although we tried to mismatch some clothes, she still ended up looking adorable. She told me exactly how she wanted her hair, and even that was super cute!

 

So Monday morning, we took Jeff to the ER with some severe neck/back/arm pain. They did CT scans and referred him to the neurologist. So Tuesday he saw the neuro doc and after looking at the scans and doing some physical tests on Jeff, he wanted him be able to get an MRI as fast as possible. So the doctor had him admitted to the hospital, which was the fastest way to get the MRI done. So the MRI took place Wednesday morning, with the potential for surgery on Friday.

And then came the shocking news that he was being wheeled straight from the MRI to the surgery center, and would be having surgery that day. Apparently, the injury was worse than we realized, and it needed to be done right away. (What I didn’t realize until tonight even, was that his actual spinal cord was lacerated.) He had a bulging herniated disc between C6 & C7, with the laceration on his spine, causing partial paralysis in his left arm. They performed the surgery through the front of his neck, removing the “bad part,” put in a spacer and a plate, and rebuilt an area by inserting a small bone fragment. The surgery took about two hours. And I was a nervous wreck the whole time. Lemme tell ya, I went through about a million emotions all in one day yesterday!

But he finally made it back to his room after recovery, and he was groggy and sleepy, but was able to get some rest and eventually eat a little bit of dinner. They gave him more pain meds and an Ambien, and so he conked out in no time for the night.

I had picked up Emmie after school, and we went out to Grammy & Papa’s house for dinner, and to spend the night with them. Mama made baked chicken with peas and sweet potatoes,  and everything was yummy. Emmie was a little scared to pick up the chicken leg at first, but after some help from Grandmommie, she eventually went for it on her own, and took a giant bite… But she decided she didn’t like it.

She had fun playing in the bathtub for a while, and then she snuggled up next to Grandmommie on the couch, and Papa played a show with animals on it that she was very interested in. Grandmommie read her bedtime books while she loved up on Grammy’s lap, and then she went to sleep with Grandmommie in her bed, and slept all night long!

I stayed up way past my usual bedtime hanging out with my parents, watching three episodes of Jeopardy (one of our favorite pastimes), and just chatting forever.

We did really good getting dressed and ready and packed up and left on time, and had a good drop-off at school. Today was “college colors” day, so she was reppin’ Flagler College, where Mommy went to college in St. Augustine!

Last night I was treated to a home-cooked meal I didn’t have to make myself (or clean up after), and then this morning, my Mama packed my lunch for me! And would you just look at this snack/lunch spread! Tuna, low-carb wrap, rice cakes, strawberries, cottage cheese, pickled okra, pickles, tamed jalapenos, boiled eggs and pork rinds (which are my new fave snack). And gracious this was a ton of food and so good. I ate some for lunch and some for snacks and I still didn’t finish all of this throughout the day.

The caption on this next photo from her teacher said, “I’ll give Jake some of my paper because he doesn’t have as many as me.” What a little sweetheart!

Jeff got discharged from the hospital mid-afternoon today, and his Dad picked him up and took him back to their house to rest for a while. So after I picked up Emerson, we went over to have dinner there.

Publix rotisserie chicken, kale chopped salad, green beans and I could not resist a warm Hawaiian roll, even though I’m not supposed to have white bread. But for dessert, we had sugar-free ice cream with strawberries, and it was actually really delicious sugar-free ice cream.

Emmie really wanted to help wash the dishes, and she was actually a really good little helper.

Emmie did the shapes book for me at home for bedtime, and then I had to do it for her too.

And we were so glad to have Daddy back home with us! He of course has some post-op restrictions (like he can’t lift anything over 5 lbs, so he can’t pick up his girl), but he’s on the mend and hopefully he’ll have a quick and easy recovery, and be back to “normal” very soon!

It’s been a tumultuous few days, but I hope all the hoopla and the drama is behind us for a while, and that the next couple of months go smooth until Baby Girl makes her arrival in May!

Thank you again for all of your prayers, and for everyone who checked in with us and prayed with us and for us and just for all of the love and support. We felt it, and it was very much appreciated!!