Author Archives: proprietor

Spine Surgery

After the second opinion, I was scheduled for lumbar surgery a couple of weeks later.  As the day approached, I was left in a sort of surreal mix of expectation and dread.  While I knew surgery would be painful, I focused on the less-invasive surgery that I would have instead of the spinal fusion recommended by the first doctor I was referred to.

I was able to pre-admit to the hospital after the second opinion, so I was able to show up at the appointed time and place for surgery without having any other requirements.  Since the show time was 6:30 AM, we decided to get a room at a hotel adjacent to the hospital.  Also, since we still have a nursing three-month-old, we needed make some arrangements for his care.  I was able to get one of my sisters to come down and watch the little one while my wife spent time with me as needed.  This arrangement worked well except for the dirty old men who made comments about my son sleeping in the baby borjn carrier worn by my sister, including something about “I’d like to sleep there, too”.  Creepy.

The morning of surgery I got up and we walked across the pedestrian bridge to the hospital.  I was totally at ease;  I expected to be a little nervous, but I found that I was really calm and composed.  I guess when the status quo is difficult enough, a chance at improvement is nothing to be worried about.  After checking in with the admin folks, I was taken back to prep for surgery.  Off came my clothes, and on went some sort of paper gown with built-in heating capacity.  It was even decorated with a dog paw or something.  When hospitals take your dignity, there are no half measures.  Shortly after my transformation to surgery chic, the IV lady came in.  She managed to use an apparently dull needle to penetrate the “tough skin”, as she put it, on the top of my hand.  I’m not sure how that is tough skin; I guess I need to stop backhanding everyone.  After some muddling around with needles, I had an IV successfully installed.  Soon, the anesthesiologist came and introduced himself. He introduced himself as the head of anesthesiology.  I wondered if this was due to a lack of volunteers to work with my surgeon?  I imagine he is a demanding person to work for, like he should be.  Soon, the neurosurgery PA came in and marked on my back.  I asked him how they would identify where to operate when the time came, and he explained how they have a one level x-ray that can pinpoint exactly where on my spine the problem is.  In a few minutes, several more doctors came in and introduced themselves.  Apparently there were going to be several interns for both anesthesiology and neurosurgery, as well as for the nurses.  It this point I’m wondering where the head doctor is, and if I should charge admission to this thing.  I don’t know how large the operating rooms are, but I suspect it will be pretty crowded. While we were waiting for the doctor, my wife was brought back to wait with me.  I think she was more nervous than I was about the whole thing.  While she was there, the doctors and nurses formed a sort of circle outside of the cubicle where I was lying resplendent in my paper gown.  Then we heard a hushed whisper- “Dr. So and So is coming,” and the kibitzing circle melted away.

The doctor was reassuring and briefly said hello, went over the details of the surgery, and then vanished.  I was given something to relax me (not really needed), said goodby to my wife, and was wheeled down to surgery. I remember asking how many operating rooms were in this hospital, and being astounded by the response, but I don’t remember what the number was.

The next thing I recall was lying sideways in a modified fetal position, with some people I’d never seen before asking how I was feeling.  Since they asked, I checked that I could still wiggle my toes, and then noted that there was considerable pain from my back, and I was experiencing a little nausea.  I told the nurse that I was feeling a little sick, so she gave me some medicine and put a alcohol swab across my nose.  This actually helped, although I did ask her to get me a bucket.  It dawned on me that it was probably going to be very painful to retch with a massive cut in your back.

Another doctor came to talk to me, and I discovered that he and I graduated from the same college.  Since all of these doctors had introduced themselves to me, I wanted to make conversation.  I began asking them what college and medical school they had attended, hoping to get one who had gone to the same college as my wife and I did.  It was a small triumph in a fog of nausea and pain, but I found one.  We even remembered some of the same professors.

Eventually I was wheeled to my room, where I was placed in one of the most uncomfortable beds I’d ever lain in.  It had some feature where it inflated a bladder with air to keep circulation and prevent bed sores, the nurses advised me.  What I noted was that just about every time I got comfortable or almost to sleep, a surprisingly loud pump would start to inflate the bed and make my comfortable position uncomfortable.  The good news is that I didn’t get bed sores; I also didn’t get any sleep to speak of.

My wife was able to spend time with me in my room.  I was in considerable pain, but was able to make do.  She told me that a doctor called her from the the operating room and told her that there was tissue that was impinging on the nerve which was removed, in addition to some of the bone in the area that was narrowed.  The surgeon didn’t have to do anything to the disc.  This was actually better news than we were expecting.

Somewhere along the way, someone, perhaps a doctor, had told my wife that I needed to urinate or they would use a catheter.  I didn’t like the sound of that at all, so I drank quite a bit of water, and the next time the nurses showed up, I told them that I needed to go to the bathroom.  Suddenly a walker appeared and placed in front of me.  I started to get up, but the nurses told me to take it easy and go slow;  grab the bed, then with one hand, grab the walker, then the walker with the other hand, etc.  I didn’t think I was that bad off, but I did what they wanted me to anyway.  Eventually I was permitted to shuffle off in the direction of the bathroom.  Much to my chagrin, the nurses followed me in to the bathroom, and provided me with a custom jug to urinate into.  Now I don’t know of anyone had had this same experience before, but it is pretty difficult to urinate into a jug with two burly female nurses watching and with your back feeling like a knife was stuck into it.  It soon became apparent that nothing was going to happen, so I told them that I didn’t think I was going to fall, and didn’t think I was going to be able to produce anything with them standing there.  They turned the faucet on for a little helpful ambiance, but even that wasn’t enough to open the floodgates.  I shuffled back to the bed and climbed in after drinking some more water.

After they left I got the walker and shuffled off to try again.  My wife told the that there was a large sign on my door proclaiming me as a “Fall Risk,” explaining why the nurses were so careful.  I eventually was able to produce a small amount of urine, which I hoped was enough to keep from having a catheter.  Just to be sure I could go, I had even more water, something that I would later regret.

The nurses kept a tally of how much went in, and how much came out.  They were concerned that there was an imbalance.  The surgeon and his lackeys breezed in to check on me.  He said that I didn’t need a catheter since I was relatively young, and told me the surgery went well.  He asked me of the nerve symptoms had abated, and I told him that most of them had, but I still had a pain in my right buttock.  He explained that this was normal, as they inflamed the nerves while doing surgery, and told me I might have other symptoms as well.  I asked him if I needed to have my dressing changed, and he said “I’m really busy, I’ve got to go” and beat a hasty retreat.  Since he indicated that I wouldn’t likely need a catheter, when the nurses came back and expressed concern over the liquid imbalance, I asked them to call the surgeon before they used a catheter.  That delayed them enough for me to get things moving, and I averted that fate.

Food was brought, but I wasn’t very hungry.  I think I had a little yogurt, and little else.  I had some pain, so they brought some morphine, but I didn’t notice any effect from it at all.  I got a couple of loritab pills and that was it.  Honestly, though, I didn’t really need anything else. While I wasn’t comfortable, I wasn’t about to die from pain either.

As the hours ticked by, I sent my wife to the hotel so she could get some sleep and to care for the little one.  After she left, I had a very eventful evening.  All of the water that I had drunk, plus the IV fluids that I had been given, and the coffee that I drank had left me over hydrated.  From about 1 to 4 in the morning I did little else besides urinate, call the nurse or tech to measure the urine and empty it, and seemingly as soon as they left, I refilled it again.  I developed hiccups, and when combined with my over-hydrated state resulted in heartburn and eventually nausea.  I paced around the room, breathing in through my nose and out my mouth in an attempt to calm my stomach.  It narrowly worked.  I actually had the bile in my throat, but managed not to wretch and eventually was able to get my liquid balance back, and my stomach settled.

In the morning, I was discharged.  All in all it was quite an experience.  The best advice I can give is not to drink a lot of water after surgery, forget your dignity, and don’t expect to get any sleep.  I’ll have to heal to see if the surgery will ultimately be successful, but I’m optimistic.

Book Review: Patriots, by James Wesley, Rawles

I recently had a friend recommend that I read Patriots by James Wesley, Rawles, published by Ulysses Press.  In the publishing page it states that this book had an earlier version, titled Patriots:  Surviving the Coming Collapse.

First note.  The author has a comma in his name.  I have never seen this before and consider it a bit unusual, but it certainly does identify him well.

This book is survival manual thinly disguised as a novel, in my opinion.  I am very glad that I read it, and consider it well worth your time and money to obtain and read.  However, I don’t think the book falls in the category of a great literary masterpiece or a great novel.  It does have interesting characters and an interesting plot, but there are long, somewhat awkward passages where technical details are discussed that tend the interrupt the flow of the story. In my opinion, the value in this book isn’t really the story, but the underlying question and message of the book:  are you prepared for a societal collapse into anarchy?  Are you prepared for a natural disaster that knocks power out in your area for several weeks?

A quick summary of the plot:  A number of friends decided while in college to setup a survival retreat and prepare for a calamitous collapse of society.  They each have a specialty(or developed a specialty) in some area that benefits the group as a whole.  Several members of the group have purchased land in Idaho where the group has setup a fortified retreat in the case of societal collapse.

In the scenario in the book, the government loses control after massive inflation causes a collapse of the markets.  Law and order breaks down, and the group members flee from their suburban existence to the relative safety of the group’s retreat in Idaho.  The book details both the defensive measures and the basic survival methods that the group employs to survive without a functioning government or even basic utilities or energy supplies.  Since there has basically been total societal collapse, a reliable electrical grid or readily available gas or diesel has become a thing of the past, and the group is forced to cope without electricity and rely on the fuel that they had stored for such an eventuality.

Eventually the group deals with visitors to their compound, some who are refugees, and some who are out for plunder.  Some time later, militia groups restore some order and the area begins to get back to normal.  This covers the first half of the book or so.  The next half is also rather interesting.

In the second half, a government has formed under the auspices of the United Nations, and is seeking to impose law and order in what remains of the United States.  A struggle breaks out between the freedom-loving militias and the UN troops who have come to implement gun control, national ID cards, and other such ideas.  A civil war breaks out between the militias and the UN troops.  Because the UN has modern military equipment, such as tanks and armored personnel carriers, and the militias have little more than guns and ingenuity, the militias fight a guerrilla war against the UN troops.  After several years of struggle and sacrifice, the militias win, and several amendments are made to the United States Constitution as law, order and freedom win the day.

The book is full of survival ideas and knowledge.  In fact, later editions of the book have added and index to allow easy access to particular information.  If you are vaguely interested in the topic of survival, it is likely you will enjoy this book.

While not likely to be studied by literature professors decades after its publication, this book is certainly a good read and it fulfills the definition of a good book in my mind because it makes me think.  In this case, it caused me to think what could happen if the banking system broke down, electricity wasn’t available, and gas was virtually non-existent.  I determined that I would be in dire straits, even if no anarchy and chaos occur.  This book takes me back to my Boy Scout days and the motto of “be prepared.”  Am you prepared?  Am I prepared for even a week without electricity?

For me, the answer was a resounding “no”.  I actually looked in my larder and realized that if the power is out, we’d be reduced to eating dog food within about a week or so if we couldn’t get to a grocery store.  Much of my family’s food storage is in freezers or refrigerators, and I don’t even have as much as a generator.  While I don’t think it is practical for me to take all of the steps that the characters in the book did to ensure their survival, I can at least prepare for a natural disaster that might affect this area.  What scenario is realistic?

Hurricane Katrina occurred several years ago and resulted in our power being out for several days, despite our being about four driving hours from the coast.   More recently, massive tornadoes devastated areas within an hour of where we live, causing widespread destruction and leaving many areas without power for several days.  We also are south of a large fault zone, but a large earthquake could conceivable affect us.  We don’t actually have to sustain a direct hit, just have the area that produces our electricity or where our food comes from to feel the impact.

The storm that I think is brewing that concerns me the most is the large number of impoverished people that live in my area.  Many of these people are dependent on the government for their food and sustainment.  If the government either has trouble giving money away because of long overdue fiscal restraint or inflation increases rapidly so these people are not able to feed themselves based on what is given to them, civil unrest or at least a dramatic increase in crime is likely to occur.  Were this to happen, I think I would be quite vulnerable.

I recommend this book, not because of its literary value, but because it challenges you to think about preparedness.