10 day post surgery diary

My 14 year old daughter had her scoliosis spinal fusion 10 days ago and I though it might be helpful to do diary on what she has gone through for people thinking of going through with it.

Surgery day. We had been waiting for 2 years for her surgery so the day of the op was quite emotional. The day was basically in 2 parts. Once she went down for her surgery it was hard for us as parents to wait around whilst she was down there. She was in for 7 hours and the day felt like a week when waiting. She came back into recovery around 5pm and was so High on drugs was having the best time lol. It was emotional knowing she was ok. She was taken to a high dependency until for her first night. Around 3 hours into it the good drugs wore off and her pain started. All through that night the nurses were chasing the pain to get ahead of it. Day 2. Alot of pain and alot of drugs. Morphine, tramadaol,diazepan,paracetamol and ibuprofen throughout the day. She was very uncomfortable, she said her back felt really heavy and was subdued that she couldn't move around. Day 3. This was a very tough day as the higher level drugs were gradually removed and therefore the pain levels felt higher. She was able to go for her x ray and we could not believe the results, she stood up straight, no crease in her waste anymore and grew 2 inches in height! She was incredibly emotional and the nurses say day 3 is the day for thos Day 4. She was up and about walking gingerly to the toilet, she was given an enema as the oral morphine had made her constipated and laxative drinks had not helped. Physiotherapy work started , ensuring she was up walking 3 or 4 times a day and sitting up for a periods of time. Day 5 was a bit traumatic, she had held a really high heart rate since surgery and extremely high when walking. She had investigation from cardiologists, scans and x rays to ensure there was no blood clot. It is believed the surgery left her with low levels of haemoglobyn in her blood so an iron treatment was started. Heart rates levels are now down, still High but much lower. Day 6 and 7 showed good continued progress, less dependent on medication, went for slow walks around the hopsital. They were ok with the heart readings and said we could go home the next day. Day 8 was a hard day, as we do not live in the uk we had to travel home. She had to sit upright for 3 hours including car journey and flight. The pain on the plane became so large she was throwing up with it. Something to consider when getting the ok to go home. Day 9 and 10. The turnaround in her has been unimaginable, she is walking around, able to role, move and get herself out of bed. Obviously she can't do things like put socks on but her positive attitude is getting her through it. She only takes paracetamol and ibuprofen a couple of times a day and is planning what she will do each day to make sure she is as mobile as she can be.

Overall I am so proud of her for being so brave at a young age and going for it. Some days have been very tough for her. And as a parent / carer you feel so helpless, all you can offer us support and a helping hand when needed. I knew from the first time she stood up on front of a mirror that she was glad she had done it. She is already talking about wearing different types of clothes and not hiding behind a hoodie. For her getting the surgery was huge, she feels happier about her self. If anyone is thinking about the surgery I hope this helps a little. It's a tough time but it gets better and you can visibly see results.

Thanks for reading and for letting me decompress by writing this jumbled message lol.