Jonathan has been having off and on problems with his neck for a long time. After having Kingston, we had met our deductible for the year so we thought it would be the perfect time to finally get his neck checked out. Well, after an x-ray and an MRI, we were heading into surgery. Everything happened in a matter of weeks. At our first doctor's appointment (Wednesday) Jonathan explained the pain and symptoms he was having...neck stiffness and tightness causing headaches, numbness and tingling in his fingers, sharp pains down his arms, etc. Two days later (Friday) he got an MRI of his neck and then 5 days after that (Wednesday), we met with Dr. Montalbano again. He reviewed his MRI and showed us some white spots in Jonathan's cord that were bruises from his spine pushing on the cord. He also showed us some unstable parts in his c-spine. The bruises were causing the intermittent pain and it wasn't necessarily reversible...we would just have to see if the symptoms improved. The disk space between his 5th and 6th vertebrae was worn down and it was causing the disks to push on his cord. He warned us that Jonathan could become paralyzed and recommended surgery. We were kind of caught off guard because we were thinking Jonathan would just be needing some physical therapy. Then, we were really thrown for a loop when he told us that he needed to have surgery NOW. He said that it was really dangerous for him to be walking around with his neck so unstable and any accident could impinge the cord and cause paralysis. So we left there with an appointment for Monday morning at St. Luke's for an anterior cervical disectomy and fusion (ACDF).
Luckily all the birthday celebration took our minds off of the upcoming surgery. Sunday we packed our overnight bags for the hospital and filled out pre-admission paper work. Dan came down and stayed the night with us so that he could see Jonathan before his surgery.
Monday morning, I dropped Kingston off at daycare and then Jonathan, Dan, and I met Joan in the pre-op waiting area. They got Jonathan ready for surgery and gave him some relaxing medication that made him a little loopy. He insisted on taking my picture so that he would remember that I was there. Then, they wheeled him away to surgery.
It was 4:30 when Jonathan finally got up to his room and we were able to see him. Kingston, Joan, Kelly, Nick, Dan, my mom, and I were all anxiously waiting (Emily joined us later that evening). He was still pretty out of it and in a lot of pain. The nurses wouldn't give him any pain medication until he ate, but he was nauseous and unable to eat. He got sick a couple of times and after a few hours he was given some pain medication, but it hardly helped. The anti-nausea meds also made him sleepy so he just mainly rested.
My mom watched Kingston again so that I could spend the night with Jonathan again...so much for a one night stay in the hospital. Jonathan was feeling much better by bed time and I was anxious to get some sleep. I got Jonathan all adjusted with some pillows from home and he fell right asleep.
Around 3:50 am the nurse came in to check on Jonathan's beeping oxygen monitor. Apparently he slept so well because he wasn't breathing. I woke up as she ran out calling for the "rapid response team". His oxygen stats had plummeted and he was a grayish color. I hopped out of my bed and watched as the nurses and doctors worked on him. They were able to get him breathing again with a mask, but he was unresponsive and didn't even flinch when they did the sternal rub right over his incision site. They gave him an IV medication to reverse the effects of the pain drugs. They warned me that when he woke up he would be in a lot of pain. I stood by his side and when I said his name he would look at me and then close his eyes. He couldn't talk and his pupils weren't responding to light. Once they got him stable I had to call Joan and tell her what happened. She rushed right in. I had to go into work and by the time I left, he could mumble a few words, but he was still pretty out of it. By lunch time he was doing a lot better and then when I came to see him after work he was able to talk normally, but still pretty sleepy. He got quite a few visitors but I don't know if he knows who stopped by. Joan was there most of the day along with Monica. My dad and mom stopped by as well as Nick and Alyssa. Emily was there, too and of course Kingston.
Monica did a much better job taking care of Jonathan and when I came to see him before work, he was up walking around. By the time I came back at lunch time, he was looking more like himself and his pain was finally manageable. I was heading to the hospital after work when I got a call from Emily telling me they were discharging him. She brought him home and her, Cam, and I got Jonathan all situated with pillows on the couch. It was the most comfortable I had seen him in the last week. We had a pretty good night and Cam was there bright and early to spend the day with him. Emily came by after work and dropped off some soup (Jonathan was on a liquid only diet do to the swelling and trauma). She also brought some dinner that Trish had made for us. Lasagna and the most delicious chocolate trifle dessert. It was so nice to not have to think about dinner.
One of the nurses said to not look at your progress everyday, but to instead look back to where you were 3 days ago and see how far you've come. Today is Jonathan's first day on his own. It's been a slow recovery, but I think we are headed in the right direction now.
We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. Thank you to everyone who helped us during this very chaotic time. We appreciate the meals, the company, the well wishes, thoughts, and prayers.
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