Day 90 - Survey Says...

Three months. 90 days. It seems like an eternity ago that everything turned upside down, literally. It has been a long journey back for Jan and she still isn't 100% yet but progress is slow when you speak in terms of bones.

Yesterday Jan walked something over a mile and a half. Pretty good. I took her to the mall to get a jacket and a few other things Tessa had put on hold at Old Navy. I took her in my truck, which did not have the handicapped tag in it. This meant we had to park in a normal spot and she had to walk a little farther. She did fine. Jan thinks that when it expires at the end of the month I should renew it. I'm hoping she does not need it renewed after March 30th!

After we arrived home, there was a call from an odd number we didn't recognize. It was a survey about Bilkmore. Too bad it was only about the neurosurgeon that took the halo off. I dearly wish it had been about any other single visit besides that one! Would she ever have let them have it! Does anyone else think they are cherry-picking the visits they survey?

The pin sites are healing nicely. All but one is now a pink depression. The fourth hole, behind her left ear, is still a bit scabby but is also healing. They are still a bit tender but not overly painful. I continue to massage them as they heal to prevent the skin from adhering to the bone.

Another halo patient contacted us through the blog. She was in an accident and started her own blog. She was looking for advice and a friendly chat about what to expect. Jan has corresponded with her a few times. I'm sure the poor woman is overwhelmed, just as Jan and I were.

We cleaned out the closet of all the slit t-shirts. They are now in the garage and will be recycled as shop rags. Of course, if you know a halo patient that needs them, I'll gladly forward them on.

Day 88 - Appointment Rescheduled

The doctor's office called on Wednesday and we now have an appointment for Jan on April 1, 2009, at the children's hospital again. I've emailed them to find out about getting x-rays since we took the CT scan on CD that we had done in Bowling Green.

The cold weather has put a damper on her walking outside so we went to Sam's last night to get some things and let her walk around indoors.

She continues to exercise her neck in small increments when we change the collar in the mornings.

Her church brought over two kinds of chili last night. It was very good. There was also a pumpkin creme pie, too!

Standing for any period of time still tires her out pretty quickly. Moving isn't as bad. Pain pills are less frequent and valium is about the same. Tylenol is her current pain pill of choice.

Day 86 - Appointment Cancellation? NO!

Yesterday was the first day I returned to work. Jan spent most of the morning working on homework while I went to the office. We IM'd and I picked up lunch at Zaxby's. She's walking just over a mile each day.

She is showering daily even though it is strange for her after three months without one. Her pin sites are cleaned three times a day and are healing well but the depressions are still quite deep and pink.

My work changed the FMLA date on my form to yesterday and informed me YESTERDAY! To get me through the expected recovery period, I faxed another form to the neurosurgery clinic to get it filled out since she still can't drive or turn her head.

I emailed the clinic to follow up on the fax since they have been horrible about getting anything completed. You can measure their response time with a calendar. Within an hour of the email, I received a call to cancel Jan's April 2nd appointment! No reason, only that the doctor's office would call to set up an appointment instead. I can't say I'm sorry we won't be seeing her again. After all, she'd still have had Jan in the halo for nearly another week.

Next, I faxed the form to be filled out to the doctor's office since the nurse canceled her. I faxed it in around lunch and I got it back by 3:30 PM! Amazing! Unfortunately, we did not get the replacement appointment call. I'll call at noon tomorrow if they haven't made a new appointment by then.

For show and tell we have the halo and vest assembled off the patient. It can be assembled symmetrically but it never was.

The back and front of the vest should have been positioned at the same level on the body. Instead, the back was at least a few inches above the front and it rubbed the area at the back base of Jan's rib cage nearly raw. I suspect she was only a few days away from a pressure sore.

Day 84 - 12 Weeks Since the Accident

How would you like to have this framing your view for three months? Never changing, never shifting, literally a portable prison with no escape. You can't see your body from the waist up except in a mirror or the ground in front of you as you walk. No looking over your shoulder at all! This is the view from a halo wearer's perspective.

Not much new to report. Pain is much lower and Jan's sleeping in the bed now. She's walking at least half a mile a day and building up to more. I suggested she use the treadmill since it is right next to my office but I think she's afraid of the stairs.

I came up with another idea to allow her to wash her hair easier. The back of the collar is quite large and comes up over halfway between the ears and the top of the scalp, making it nearly impossible to wash the back of her head and neck. I took a long velcro strip and fastened it to just the front on both sides so that her neck is exposed in the back and all of her hair can be washed. This keeps her neck and chin supported since she mostly leans forward while washing her hair and the time without the back is about the same as when we change it and dry her hair.

She thinks she still looks a little right when she is sitting in a neutral position, caused by having her head pointed right for 80 days. Time will tell. I'm sure Nurse Ratched (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest reference) will have an excuse and equally useless explanation of why it doesn't matter and it had to be that way.

If we had let the NP decided when to get the CT scan instead of pushing for what Jan wanted, she'd still have another eight days in the halo instead of three days in the collar already!

After much thought and careful consideration, I've decided to contest the emergency room charges for the 16th of December. It is too bad the insurance company already paid their part because had the doctor, nurse, hospital or anyone that came in contact with us noticed Jan's higher respiration rate and lower blood oxygen levels due to the vest being too tight, it would have been completely avoided. To drive an hour, spend three hours in the hospital and be charged $2,300 to have the vest waist belt loosened by four notches when it was improperly fitted in the first place, is beyond my ability to swallow.

You can tell, I can't let it go. I get that but they won't learn unless someone makes them listen. Maybe it is me that makes them take notice. I seriously doubt it will have any effect but I'm too hard-headed to give up and they did not perform the required tasks nor give us the most rudimentary of halo-vest instructions.