Well mom finally got to come home on July 4th:) We are so happy to have her home & she is doing much better recovering there than when she was in the hospitals. Not that they didn't take great care of her, but she was getting depressed after being gone for almost 3 months.
Today dad & I took her to Pittsburgh for a follow up. The Dr. (the one that saved her life, not the one that almost killed her twice) has ordered another MRI, more Blood work & a series of spine x-rays.
He said he was surprised to see how well she looked & that she was able to sit up as long as she was. He showed us the pictures from the CAT scan she recently had. Up until now I have been able to hold myself together pretty well but what I saw & heard today brought tears to my eyes & if mom hadn't been in the room I probably would have just broke down & cried.
His main concern right now is that when the other Dr. went in the 2nd time & took out all but one of the screws & plates he put in during the 1st surgery, that the one left in actually should have been what was taken out.....GRRR!!!!!
The screw that's left in her lower spine is just kind of floating there, it isn't attached to anything!!!!!!!!!! So that is going to limit what the physical therapist is doing w/ her because the Dr. said it could just work itself down from where it is & do damage to her bowel again:(
He also informed her today that because of the nerve damage done during the 2nd surgery she may never be able to tell when she needs to go to the bathroom again. That nerve was almost completely severed. But there is still a chance so we'll keep our fingers crossed & keep praying.
Now what disturbed me the most was when he showed us the images from the scan. She has been having extreme pain in her hips & legs & now we know why. Because she had that infection brought on by the 1st surgery for so long it did some pretty major damage. He showed us the image of where her hip & pelvis bones are & that's when the tears came to my eyes:( The infection actually ate away almost all the area where the bones of her pelvis where. That just totally freaked me out. I mean how can that happen, bone just disappearing???!!!
OMG!!!!!!!!!! No wonder she can't bare to sit up for more than a few minutes at a time.
I'm just glad my parent's have a mini van, for the 2 hour trip today dad took out the rear seats & put a mattress back there so she could lay down. All I can say is my mom is one tough cookie & for the 1st time in my 36 years of knowing this incredible woman, I'm actually HAPPY she is so stubborn, tough & not willing to give up when she sets her mind to something.
So for now we just need to get the tests done that he ordered today & then wait for those results to find out what all he will be able to fix for her w/ more surgery. I'm just glad he will be the one helping her & not the quack from Johnstown. Please say a prayer for my mommy & the Dr. who will hopefully be able to fix the mess ups the other one made. Thanks again for all the concern, prayers & well wishes, I really appreciate it:)
Cheri
