Skip to main content

The removal



The removal took less than 10 minutes and was a little painful. Not anesthesia was given, just a tight grip on the table was all they thought I needed I guess.

The orthotist assisted my neurosurgeon as they removed the hardware. The sound of the screwdrivers unscrewing the pins echoed through my head. The only real pain came when I felt a pressure against the front of my head when they had finished with the back pins.  The pin area itself never hurt. Actually as soon as the halo was removed my back left pin area felt relieved. I was then fitted with a plastic and foam neck collar that fits under my chin and comfortably around my neck. 

But, OH! how wonderful and weird and scary it was all at the same moment. I had fear and elation in my eyes at the same time. My head felt heavy, as if it was going to roll off.  I was terrified to turn my neck. It felt stiff and awkward.

I asked my doctor a zillion more questions about the safety and next steps. He was so casual and assured. I could do whatever I wanted he said. I could take the collar off to sleep, to eat, to shower... whenever I wanted and felt ready.  And that was it!

We walked out to the parking lot and I started shaking. My mom and W were just as happy as I was and stood wide-eyed looking at me. But I was shaking from fear, not joy. What if the doctor was wrong and I turned my head or moved wrong and I injured my spinal cord, or something even worse! What if my C2 wasn't healed!

Lot's of irrational thinking - but that's what I'm really good at.

So, Mom and W calmed me down with confidence and common sense and we were on our way back home. On the car ride back home I started to become adjusted to the prison bars being gone and the weight off my head.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 weeks, 3 days

It's hard to believe that if I would have had to keep the Halo on for the full duration I would only have been free 3 days. I also can hardly fathom that its only been 3 weeks since the damn thing came off. I went in for xrays on the 4th and had my final doctor appointment. While I was waiting for the xrays to come back a girl walked in with a Halo on. She appeared to have no other injuries and was walking on her own and seemed almost comfortable looking but she made no eye contact with anyone but her family. I wanted to speak to her and see how she was doing, but was too shy to approach her and her large family. My recovery from the accident is ongoing. Now that the Halo is off I just want to feel normal again! Other parts of my body are taking there sweet time. I still have neck soarness and can't sleep normally. I've tried sleeping on my stomach, but the bend in my lower back is too much to bear. I can sleep on my sides, but stupidly got my tattoo touched up last S
1 comment
Read more

I slept through the night

Yes, that's right, I slept through the night! OMFG! I'll post a picture later of the sleep position. I took a muscle relaxer and a pain med and laid on my back with a pillow just above my shoulders and a rolled towel under my neck. I was on the couch rather than my bed. The couch supports my right side if I need to turn slightly on my side. well, whatever! I feel good and that's all that matters right now. In the last 6 weeks I have slept through the night maybe once or twice. I dread going to sleep - knowing I will wake up in excruciating pain 3-4 hours later. No pain medication or muscle relaxer has worked. Some people refer to it as a "stiff neck". It is a sharp pain on the left side of my neck just above my shoulder. The pain also radiates on the back of my skull below the left pin. All I can do is rub the area and wait as the pain subsides. I will typically wake up to pain and know that I have to get up and readjust my position. Getting up is what m
1 comment
Read more

weight loss and gain

Before the accident I was a comfortable 145 - not too thin, not too plump. The ten days in the hospital left me ten pounds lighter. I had a tiny appetite and the food that was served was ever rarely what I ordered. I would consider myself a picky eater, but on the healthy side. Chicken dripping in gravy makes me think of clogged arteries, steak and potatoes is a heart attack - and the taste is dry and chewy. All I wanted was juicy fruit and vegetables. I ate up all the greens I could they hadn't wilted before they arrived to me. A friend brought me raspberries and I was in heaven! But eating with the halo was not easy... or pretty to watch. With the halo on I could not tilt my head to accommodate a large bite and would often leave most of the fork contents down my front. Sometimes they went down the inside of the vest! Lots of cookie crumbs ended up there... Eating something with my hands took a little getting used to as well. I had a broken right wrist in a brace for the first
Post a Comment
Read more