Day 76 - This Is How It Works With A Halo

Day 76 and just four days to go. Four days! We've started a list of things to take with us, like a shirt that isn't slit down the back and has buttons for ease of dressing.

On the pain front, she's pretty much back to taking narcotics to sleep and some during the day for pain. It is not her neck like it was in the beginning, where the injury was. The pain now radiates from her back, around her shoulder blades and her arms. After a night of rest, it is better until about dark then the pain returns as bad as ever. Four more days.

Yesterday, she dropped something and bent down to pick it up. She said the room started spinning and she yelled for me. By the time I got to her, she was sitting in her chair but said she was dizzy. No idea what that was about. Probably something with the inner ear again.

This is in case anyone with a halo or supporting a halo user stumbles across this. This is how we wash her hair with a halo on. We are currently trying to decide when to wash her hair before the scan and halo removal. We've been doing that every two days since it is so exhausting for her and requires something for dizziness.

This is the chair setup we use so she can lay back with her head over the tub. Before this she was laying over the bed with her head suspended over it and pouring water from a pitcher over her. It was OK but took quite a while and I had to refill the pitcher multiple times. This takes about five minutes with her on her back. Wet, lather, rinse!


This is how we thread a towel through the back of the halo in order to keep the vest dry. It is best to use a smaller towel or an older towel that is not too thick as the extra bulk makes it difficult to not get it soaked.


This is the adapter I fashioned from a quick disconnect. It allows me to get the hot water to the faucet and then connect the hand shower head without having to wait for the water to reach a stable temperature.

Day 74 - Robocalled

Just six days and a few hours left.

We were robocalled last night from Bilkmore to confirm the appointment next Wednesday. I wonder if we will be robocalled again tonight for the second appointment on Thursday? I intend to cancel that one once the halo comes off next Wednesday.

She's been in almost as much pain over the last three or four days as she has been in since the accident. She's reverted back to taking stronger medication every day at least once. Her neck and shoulder muscles are so tight and sore that she can't stand it. They feel rigid despite muscle relaxers. I don't see how her muscles can be atrophied with so much tension in them. The halo must come off and in six days I think it will have been long enough!

It still annoys me that Bilkmore is such a well thought of facility yet they treat a very serious injury like nothing. No interest in patient health or well being, just where do we send the bill!

Day 72 - Scan In One Week

Just one more week until The Scan that will confirm the bone has healed! Eight days until the infernal contraption is actually removed! She says she just wants if off and one more day might as well be forever when you live day to day. She only cares about the day when the thing is going to be coming off!

I'm not wearing it, I'm just supporting her but I wish she were more positive. She irrationally fears the doctor won't take it off and that he'll make us come back the next day to see the NP or that the bone isn't healed and she'll have to wear it another four weeks or worse, surgery. It is hard to fight the negative energy.

She seems to think I'm torturing her with the yogurt but she will thank me when the doctor delivers the good news that the bone is well healed and the halo comes off!

Speaking of Bilkmore, six and a half weeks later, they addressed the over billing issues. They stated they gave her nine shots of morphine every 25-30 minutes. They did remove the second collar as a billing error. In rereading the reports on the visits, the 1/5/2009 visit notes the fracture in the x-ray. The 1/29/2009 x-ray notes no such thing so I'm hoping that means the bone was healing on day 46. If that's true, a month later should be significantly healed!

Now, a few pictures for illustration. The two images below are the same pin from above and below. This illustrates the amount of skin bunched above the pin and the skin stretched below the pin. From the above shot, you can barely see any of the unthreaded pin. From the below shot, you can tell that there is less of the pin buried.

Day 70 - Ten Weeks!

Today is 10 weeks since the accident and only 10 days or less, depending on what time of day you see this until the halo comes off! Single-digit days from here on out!

On the pain front, she thinks she's spent too much time working on her homework at the computer keyboard and handwriting on Thursday. I'm hoping that is it. She's tried to be proactive about getting up, moving around and not sitting in one place too long on Friday.

Saturday we had lunch with some friends. Unfortunately, she wound up having to take more strong pain medication to get to sleep. Her neck muscles and both shoulders were causing her a great deal of pain. She woke up feeling much better. I'm hoping today is a less painful day. With only 10 days to go, it is a shame if the pain grows as it gets closer to coming off.

For show and tell today we have a pin, made of nonferrous titanium. All the metal in the halo is titanium, which is only the pins and adjusting screws. The uprights and actual ring around her head are carbon composite while the blocks that attach it all together are plastic. This image is what is currently embedded from a 1/8th inch to 5/16 inch into her head at four points. She will be so happy to have them taken out. It is much sharper than it looks.