thursday

Clive is still in hospital as he has had a setback not with the back surgery but with a very reduced levels of sodium and potassium which is what we think caused all the symptons of nausea, headaches, and general drowsiness.He has been on a drip for the last 24 hours and the levels have gone up but not to acceptible levels so he will have to stay put until they do.So he will not be out entil probably Sunday.In himself he is much brighter and beginning to grumble always a good sign.He is happy to talk to people either on his mobile or the hospitol number is 01689 877855 room 109 ,and it is Chelsfield Park that he is in in Orpington.I will ipdate again when we know the date when he will be sprung Sonia

saturday

Although Clive is up and about he has unfortunately suffered another leak of cerebral spinal fluid which has caused him to be very sick and to have severe migraine type headaches.We hope that this will sort itself out very quickly so that he can come home.At the present he is not up to having visitors and when I go in I sit quietly in a corner and read my book.I will Update again in a couple of days.

It's a bit early!!

Well, on Wednesday I have to be at Chelsfield Park at 6.45 am! Having showered with a special soap both that morning and on the previous night. Sounds as though I am first on the list. I have a great list of what I must have with me. But I shall have the mobile, so I shall be able to make and receive calls and txts. Not a lot more to say at present.

We have a date!

Well, things happen fast when they do happen at all. X-ray on Monday, telephone consultation this morning at 10 am. Appointment at Chelsfield Park for the op next Wednesday, 20 October, with pre-assessment tomorrow at 4 pm. Same as before - de-compression and discectomy. But without the complication of an aneurysm op 2 weeks before and without a newly damaged femoral nerve, so that hopefully I shall be less disabled afterwards.

Now I have to cancel all the social events immediately afterwards - the problem is to decide for how long I have to hang about at home. At least I know that I cannot go swimming for a month or so. Pity - I have quite enjoyed getting into the water again on a frequent basis, although it was much better in the Caribbean!

The Next Step

A phone call from the specialist was disappointing. I have a further slip of the disc, and a big one at that. He is very unhappy, as he had hoped that it would all go away, but it has not. So there is to be another operation to remove the bit of disc that has popped out and is prodding the nerve, and he may also have to do a fusion, which means doing something to fuse 2 vertebrae together. I must find out a bit more about fusion operations. The next step is an ex-ray of my back this afternoon to see a bit more about whether a fusion is needed.

In the meantime I am still cultivating the allotment, which the specialist probably would not approve of, and swimming about four times a week. And the village social season has started, and have to draft a quiz for the village hall in February. Keeps me out of mischief.

Now we know the answer!

Went for the scan last Wednesday in Harley Street. All very salubrious. Attended by a couple of delightful young ladies in white coats. Emerged into the pouring rain and stood there for 5 minutes on crutches until a taxi arrived. And the rain stopped...

The result was phoned through to me today (Sunday). In brief, there is a recurrence of the disc problem. The last operation was to chip away some bone at the joints between the vertebrae and to remove some disc that had slipped out. There is now more disc that has extruded and it is pressing on the femoral nerve. The risks attendant on these back operations are multiplied on every recurrence. And often the disc that has slipped out will be absorbed by the body, which is why slipped discs get better without an operation in most cases. So we are waiting a month to see if this starts to happen. If it does not, or it gets worse, he will go in again. In the meantime keep taking the painkillers!

A step backwards

Well, it was all going swimmingly. Then about 3 weeks ago something moved in my back, and I am now back on 2 sticks! The GP said that there must be another impingement (i.e. something is pressing on the femoral nerve) and to see the specialist. I did that yesterday, and it is not straightforward. To see what is wrong they need an MRI scan. But you cannot do this when there is metal in the vicinity. And there is metal in the stent that they put in my aorta to deal with the aneurysm. This will, at best, distort the image, and may, because of the magnetic fields, move the stent! They are thinking about it....

But we had a great time on the Rhine last week. Sonia was brilliant, towing 2 suitcases, while I followed on 2 sticks. Then she went on all the incidental trips, and I stayed on board with a load of books and caught up with my reading. I could do that for a long time!

Now things are on the move again, there will be more frequent postings. All e-mails and letters gratefully received.