Surgeries

In the last month, I have had two surgeries.  The first was my nose.  You would not think this would be high on the list of priorities, however, I could not breath through my nose, so I could not use my CPAP.  Most people with EDS have obstructive apnea.  Because our soft tissue is really soft, the back of the throat collapses while we sleep causing the apnea in even tiny 100 lb women.  (I am not nor will I ever be 100 lbs.)   I am exhausted all the time since I have had to stop using my machine.

Anyway, my nose was "out of joint" so I had a septoplasty to fix the deviated septum.  Unfortunately, lead to a 13 hour nosebleed.  Not to go into too many details, but if you do have to have this surgery be very cautions of the words "nasal tampons".  After a night in the hospital, I was sent home.

Two weeks later I had surgery on my left arm.  I was unable to use my fingers reliably.  I would lose function dramatically through the day.  It got to the point that I had to reserve using my left hand for important tasks.

I was sent to a orthopedic hand specialist.  He determined that I needed carpel tunnel surgery as well as  having the radial nerve released in both arms.  The pain was worse on my right but it is still functional so I decided to have the left helped first.  The surgeon is very good, but he was doubtful it would restore function. 

I am happy to say that I think the surgery not only reduced the pain, but it also help me regain use.  I am only a little over 3 weeks out, but I am already very pleased with the results.

My mom dropped by yesterday.  She had a pre-op appointment with her spine surgeon.  He plans on operating on her lower back to give back some of the function of her legs, but he thinks that she has broken her back again, in the middle.  This is devastating and we are unsure what she will do.